Gooey Cranberry Chocolate-Chip Sandwich Bars

By MooK

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (10 ounces), at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet or white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
• Filling
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Line the dish with parchment paper, leaving 1 inch of overhang on the long sides.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add the egg followed by the egg yolk and vanilla, beating well between additions and scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the dry ingredients, then add the chocolate chips and cranberries and beat until incorporated.

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips in the sweetened condensed milk over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and let cool to room temperature.

Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared baking dish. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the dough and spread evenly. Top with small dollops of the remaining cookie dough; don't worry if the dollops don't completely cover the chocolate mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.
MAKE AHEAD The bars can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. NOTES The cranberries can be omitted from the cookie dough if desired.