I press this stiff dough evenly into my prepared pan. This is the hardest part! I use clean, slightly damp fingers or the bottom of a flat glass to press and nudge it into an even layer, making sure to get it into all the corners. It bakes for 18-22 minutes. The key is to pull it out when the edges are a deep golden brown and the center looks just set, but still soft. A toothpick inserted will have some moist crumbs. I made the mistake of overbaking once, and while still tasty, the bars were dry and crunchy instead of soft and chewy.
Pro Tips for Best Results
For the absolute best texture, let the melted butter cool for about 5 minutes before adding the eggs. If the butter is too hot, it can start to cook the eggs, creating little scrambled bits in your dough. I tested this three different ways (piping hot, room temp, and cooled), and the slightly cooled butter gave the smoothest, most uniform dough.
To prevent your chocolate chips from all sinking to the bottom, toss them in a teaspoon of the dry cake mix before folding them into the dough. This light coating helps suspend them throughout the batter. I’ve tried it both ways, and this method gives a much more even distribution of chips in every bar.
For a bakery-style finish, as soon as the bars come out of the oven, I’ll sprinkle a handful of extra chocolate chips and a light flurry of sea salt over the top. The residual heat slightly melts the new chips, making them look gorgeous, and the salt cuts the sweetness perfectly.(See the next page below to continue…)