Congo Bars

by Jessica | January 15, 2026 11:00 pm

guess what I made last week and like completely forgot to tell anyone about until my kid found the recipe card stuck to the fridge with a magnet.

so my grandma had this old recipe box, right? and I was going through it last month because I was bored and procrastinating on laundry. found this card that just said “Congo Bars” in her weird shaky handwriting and literally nothing else. no ingredients list, no instructions, just those two words.

had to google what Congo Bars even were and apparently they’re like these blonde brownie things from the 60s that everyone made. my mom was like “oh yeah those” but then couldn’t remember how to make them either so super helpful there.

tried making them three times. first batch was flat and greasy and looked like someone stepped on cookies. second time too cakey. third time I finally got it right and now I can’t stop making them which is becoming a problem because I’ve made them four times this month and my jeans are getting tight lol.

Why do I keep making these

they use brown sugar instead of regular sugar so they taste kind of like caramel but not really

everything goes in one bowl and I hate doing dishes so this is perfect

the edges get crispy but the middle stays chewy for like days after you make them

you can throw literally anything in them and they work—like I added toffee bits once by accident thinking they were butterscotch and it was still good

way less annoying than brownies because you don’t have to melt chocolate or do that weird folding thing

ingredients or whatever

How to actually make them

 

Preheat oven to 350 or maybe 325 if your oven is like mine and runs way too hot because the temperature dial is broken.

 

Grease a 9×13 pan. I use parchment paper because then I don’t have to scrub the pan later and also I can just lift the whole thing out.

 

Melt the butter in the microwave. I do like 30 second bursts until it’s liquid but sometimes I forget and it explodes a little.

 

Mix the melted butter with brown sugar in a big bowl. should look like wet sand or something.

 

Add eggs one at a time. I always get shell in there and have to fish it out with a spoon which is gross.

 

Pour in vanilla. I never measure this I just tip the bottle and count to three in my head.

 

Dump the flour, baking powder, and salt on top. some people use two bowls for this but why create more dishes? just dump it all in.

 

Stir everything until it’s mixed but don’t go crazy with it. it’s gonna be really thick like almost hard to stir.

 

Add most of the chocolate chips and the walnuts if you’re using them. save some chips for the top because it looks better.

 

Spread this into your pan and honestly it’s so thick I usually just use my hands. a spatula doesn’t really work that well.

 

Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top and press them down a tiny bit.

 

Bake for like 25-30 minutes? mine always take about 28 but I have no idea what normal is. they’re done when the edges look golden and the middle isn’t wet looking anymore.

 

Cool them completely before cutting which I never do because I have zero patience. always cut them too early and they fall apart but whatever they still taste good.

random tips

• Seriously don’t overbake these or they’ll be dry and crunchy instead of chewy. I set a timer for 25 minutes and then check them every few minutes after that because I’ve burned them before.
• Dark brown sugar makes them taste more like caramel. I’ve mixed half dark and half light before when I ran out and couldn’t tell the difference honestly.
• You can put in other stuff like butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips or M&Ms. my neighbor uses peanut butter chips and says they’re amazing but I haven’t tried it.
• Cut them small because they’re really rich. I do 24 squares usually but my husband cuts them huge and eats like three at once.

Storage stuff

they keep on the counter in a container for maybe 5 days. never lasts that long at my house though because everyone keeps eating them.

I put parchment paper between the layers when I stack them. learned this the hard way when I didn’t and they all stuck together into one giant bar.

you can freeze them wrapped in plastic wrap for months. did this before Christmas and forgot about them until February and they were still fine.

found a container in my pantry last week that I thought was these bars but it was some weird granola thing from forever ago. I really should label stuff but I know I won’t because I’m terrible at organization.

Nutrition numbers

for 24 bars:

got these from some website so probably not accurate. also I use way more chocolate chips than I’m admitting.

Questions people ask me

 

Why are they even called Congo Bars?

no clue honestly. I googled it and some people say it’s because the chocolate chips look like rocks? others say it’s from when Congo became independent in the 60s? there’s like five different stories on the internet and nobody actually knows. I just call them what my grandma called them.

 

Can I skip the walnuts?

yeah I do this all the time because my daughter’s school doesn’t allow nuts. they’re just as good without them maybe even better. just add more chocolate chips instead.

 

What’s the difference between these and blondies?

they’re basically the same thing. Congo Bars is just what old people used to call blondies I guess. some recipes are a little different but it’s the same general idea.

 

Mine came out dry and crumbly help

you overbaked them or you used too much flour. if you scooped flour straight from the bag you probably got too much. next time spoon it into the cup and level it off or just bake them for less time.

Source URL: https://ladysuniverse.com/congo-bars/

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