Cappucino Bars
With Love & Butter
32 bars

To get really flat bars, I find it works best to smooth them over with an offset spatula, using gentle pressure, just after they come out of the oven and before you apply the glaze.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tbsp. instant coffee or espresso powder (not granules)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Glaze
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 F with the rack at the middle level.  Line a 10×15 inch pan with baking parchment or grease lightly.  (DT: This is also called a jelly roll pan.)

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, instant coffee, and vanilla.  Blend in the flour, baking poser, and salt.  Last, stir in the chocolate chips by hand.  The mixture will be very crumbly, with barely enough dough to hold together the chocolate chips.

Use your fingers, palms, and heels of your hands to press the dough evenly into the pan.  If necessary, cover the dough with wax or parchment paper and use a small rolling pin to flatten the lumps.  Bake 5 minutes, rotate the pan, and  bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until the edges are just starting to brown (watch carefully).  Cool in the pan 5 minutes before spreading with glaze.

Put all the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan on medium heat.  Don’t leave this stuff!  Find a whisk and stir until smooth and barely bubbly.  Drizzle the glaze evenly over the bars and smooth out to the edges and corners with a rubber spatula.

Cool until the pan is just warm to the touch and cut into bars with a sharp knife.  (Holly recommends cutting 8 on the 10-inch side and 4 on the 15-inch side, equaling 32 candy-bar sized cookies.  You can halve them too.)