Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The one quarter of my heritage took over this weekend and decided that we need an Irish treat. I like to credit my pale skin and my maiden name to that quarter. Apparently there used to be an O’ on the front of our family name that was removed at some point, which is a bummer since it really would have elevated my Irish credibility. 😉

There’s nothing exceptionally Irish about these bars other than that the icing is green, but they melt in your mouth and are a crowd favorite, so you can’t go wrong with them. As usual, I made them gluten-free, which I think adds to the “melt-in-your-mouth” quality, but you’ll be fine to use regular flour as well. I used a large 9″ x 13″ rectangular pan for these but you can cut the recipe in 1/2 or by 1/4 (depending on how thick you want them) if you’re going to use a smaller 8″ x 8″ brownie pan.

The timing on cooking these is variable and my oven is somewhat finicky, so I would say set your timer for about 30 minutes if you’re using the same size pan, and then watch from there. Mine took quite a while and I didn’t time exactly, but once it looks like the middle is set and not a gooey dough consistency anymore, you should be alright to take them out of the oven.

Cookie Ingredients:

2 sticks butter

1.5 cups granulated sugar

.5 cups light brown sugar

1 tbp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 tsp salt

3/4 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tbsp baking soda

2 cups flour (I use Krusteaz gluten-free blend)

1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Icing ingredients:

1.5 sticks Imperial vegetable oil spread (you can use regular butter, but I think the fake spread sticks actually make a lighter/sweeter icing)

3.5 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 tbsp milk or milk substitute

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. In your bowl, add softened butter. I like to heat it up in the microwave until the edges start to melt some, but not all the way. Add both sugars and blend together. Add the vanilla extract and eggs and beat on high. Add in salt and baking powder and soda and continue to mix. Measure out your flour and add it a little at a time until fully blended. Finally, add in your chocolate chips. Spray a 9″ x 13″ with PAM and scoop the mixture into the pan. Spread it out evenly and put it in the oven. Bake for at least 30 minutes and then watch from there. As I said, my oven is finicky, so results may vary. When the middle looks like it has set and isn’t gooey in the middle anymore, you can remove it from the oven. The edges will be golden brown early on, but make sure the middle is set or else you won’t be able to cut these into bars. In separate bowl, add the 1.5 sticks of vegetable spread, vanilla extract and 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Use a beater and begin to blend. Add the milk (you can adjust and add more if your butter/sugar isn’t blending). A little at a time, continue to add more powdered sugar until you’ve added it all. Make sure it is light and fluffy – feel free to add more sugar if you need to. Let the cookie bar cool COMPLETELY (important unless you want a gooey mess) before adding the icing. Once it’s cool, spread the icing evenly over the bars. Let them sit for about 30-60 minutes to let the icing set, and then cut them into event bars and serve!