Best Teacher Ever? I think so.

Tomorrow is our last day of school before "spring break." In the five years I've been teaching at the school where I am, I've yet to understand why we have such a short spring break. Oh well, a few days off of school will be so nice to get caught up on grading, getting ready for state testing (a mental state I am yet to be in), and preparing for Prom next weekend.

With the break coming up and me making my kids review for the next week for standardized testing, I deciding I'd be nice and do some baking for them. I mean it's not like I really mind, considering I do love to bake.

A few years back I tried out this recipe, by taking the ordinary chocolate chip cookie dough and instead of making cookies with it I made bars. They were a huge hit, so I've made them a few times since and that it what my students should enjoy...or else. It's easy to make a lot of the bars at once, and they are delicious; a chocolate chip cookie in a bar format-can't really go wrong.

I obviously had to use my KitchenAid mixer. Let me tell you, it is possibly one of the best presents I have ever received...wedding gifts are magical, especially because you get to register for things that you'd never buy yourself, this being one of those. Look at how pretty it is...

I use this thing any chance I get, it is so versatile that I can literally use it for most anything.

I regress...chocolate chip cookie bars.

The typical ingredients for chocolate chip cookies are what you need for these bars; I do not like nuts in my bars/brownies, so I never put those in this, but if you are a nut lover (no pun intended) add them on in.

I quadrupled my recipe, because I needed to make approximately 180 bars, but obviously you only need one of everything listed on the back of the Nestle package. 

No secret here, I use that recipe; it's a classic, how can you not?

Nestle Tollhouse (said like Phoebe on "Friends")

Making the bars goes in the same order as the chocolate chip cookies, once the dough is made is where things change a bit. 

mix, mix, mix

I use the whole bag of chocolate chips.
You probably could measure it out.

Once the dough is made, spread it out on a 11x18" pan (I think that's the size; it's the biggest shallow brownie pan). Spread the dough in a thin layer, anything thicker than 1/2 inch will make the bars very doughy and thick. I usually even spread them thinner than a 1/2 inch so the bars are relatively "normal" sized once baked.

Cook them for about 9-11 minutes, until golden brown on the top. Take them out and let them cool before cutting into them. Once the pan is cooled, cut the bars into small squares or big ones depending on who you are making them for. I would also suggest taking a knife and go around the edges so they are easier to take out of the pan once completely cooled.

These are more delicious, I think, than the actual chocolate chip cookies. I guess I'm probably biased. 

We will see what the verdict is tomorrow, when I surprise my students with these. If they enjoy them, maybe I will bake for them more. 

Teacher of the year, I see it now. Although it would probably be skewed since I bribed them with sweets to vote for me.