Congo Squares - Ann W.

I remember mom making congo squares growing up and liking them, but I remembered them being just a blonde brownie, and I have a really excellent blonde brownie recipe so I assumed these wouldn't live up.  I was wrong.  They were excellent.  One challenge was that the recipe called for a box of brown sugar, which I didn't know how much that was, but a a quick call to Jennifer solved that problem (2 1/4 C) and it called for a pkg of chocolate chips, but not what size, so I went with 1 1/2 C.  We loved these, they are kind of like carmel in a pan.  I had one (more then one) while they were hot and then another (or more) the next day and they were still very moist.

One thing to note is that the edges cook faster than the center.  The recipe calls for them to be in an 8x10 pan, I did an 11x7 pan, and I think I might try them in a 9x13 next time to see what happens.  They are just too thick to cook all the way in the center in 30 minutes and the extra time makes them a little browned.  That said, it was delicious.  I will definitely be making these again.

Congo Squares
2 C flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2/3 C shortening
1 box (2 1/4 C) brown sugar
3 eggs
1 C chopped nuts
1 pkg (1 1/2 C) chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together. Melt the shortening and mix well with brown sugar. Allow to cool a bit and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 7x11 pan and bake for 30-45 min on 350.