Ingredients
Ingredients:
- ½ cup white (granulated) sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (not sifted – pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa*** (I used Hershey’s)
- ½ stick salted butter, melted (¼ cup, 2 ounces, 1/8 pound)
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used a 12-ounce package of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips)
- 3 cups miniature marshmallows (pack them down in the cup)
- 1 and ½ cups flaked coconut (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I use either pecans, or walnuts)
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position
Directions:
- Mix the white sugar, flour, salt, and cocoa together in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the bowl and mix it in with a fork. When the butter is incorporated, the mixture will resemble small beads. (You can also do this in the bowl of a food processor, using chunks of chilled butter and the steel blade.)
- Spray a 9 inch by 13 inch cake pan with Pam (or other nonstick cooking spray), and dump the crust mixture in the bottom. Gently shake the pan to distribute the mixture and then press it down a bit with a metal spatula.
- *** You can find unsweetened baking cocoa in the baking aisle of your grocery store. Make sure you get an American brand. Some of the others are Dutch process and they won’t work in this recipe. Also be careful not to get cocoa mix, the kind you’d use to make hot chocolate or chocolate milk.
- Sprinkle the milk chocolate chips evenly over the crust layer. Sprinkle the marshmallows over that. Sprinkle the flaked coconut on next, and then sprinkle on the chopped nuts. Press everything down with the back of a metal spatula. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the very top as evenly as you can.
- Bake the Ooey Gooey Chewy Cookie Bars at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bars are nicely browned on top.
- Let the bars cool on a wire rack or on a cold stovetop burner. When they’re cool, cut them into brownie-sized pieces.
- WARNING: DON’T REFRIGERATE THESE COOKIE BARS WITHOUT CUTTING THEM FIRST – THEY’RE VERY DENSE AND SOLID WHEN CHILLED.
- A Note From Edna Ferguson, the Queen of “Cheat” recipes: If you want a shortcut for the crust, just buy a chocolate cake mix and use half of it dry, mixed with the melted stick of butter. Keep the rest of the cake mix in an airtight bag and you can use it for the next batch you bake.
Hannah’s Note: Kids love the name of these cookie bars.
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