Chewy cookie on the bottom, marshmallow-like meringue on top, and a rich layer of chocolate sandwiched in between - these halfway cookies have got to be one of the best inventions ever! The recipe has been around for decades and we often find it in old church and community cookbooks. The only problem is that some of the instructions are unclear or have gotten scrambled over the years, and that makes it rather hard to follow along. An updated version is definitely in order!
What You Need
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, separated
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
Equipment
9x13 baking dish
aluminum foil
parchment or wax paper
Instructions
1. Preheat the Oven and Prepare the Pan: Preheat the oven to 350°. Cut two pieces of aluminum foil and fold them to match the width of the pan. Press one piece into the pan lengthwise and the other into the pan crosswise with the ends hanging over the sides of the pan, like this. This makes it easy to lift the bars out of the pan once they're cooled. Spray the foil with nonstick coating.
2. Make the Cookie Dough: Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. Using a standing mixer, a hand mixer, or by hand, cream together the butter, the granulated sugar and just 1/2 cup of the brown sugar until this looks like smooth frosting.
Separate the eggs, reserving the whites. Mix the yolks into the butter-sugar mixture one at a time until they are completely absorbed, then mix in the water and vanilla. With the mixer at a low speed, add the flour mixture and beat gently until all the flour has been absorbed and the dough looks crumbly.
3. Add the Cookie Layer: Press the cookie dough gently into the pan with your hands, making sure the surface is even.
4. Add the Chocolate Layer: Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the cookie dough and use your palms to press them slightly into the dough. This will help keep them from moving when you add the meringue.
5. Make the Meringue: Using a stand or hand mixer with a clean bowl and a clean whisk attachment, start whisking the egg whites. Gradually increase your speed to medium-high. When the egg whites are very frothy and look like loose foam, start adding the remaining cup of brown sugar a little at a time. Continue increasing your speed to the highest setting. When all the sugar has been added, continue whipping the meringue until it holds a soft peak. It should look like glossy, soft-serve ice cream.
6. Spread the Meringue on Top: Scoop the meringue down the middle of the pan. It will be very sticky! Use a spatula to gently spread the meringue from the middle to the edges. We found it helpful to skim meringue from the top and gradually push it outward.
7. Bake the Bars: Lightly press a piece of parchment or wax paper on the top of the meringue (this makes an even layer and protects the meringue from scorching). Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the parchment. Continue baking for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the edges look toasted and are pulling away from the sides of the pan.
8. Allow to Cool: Wait until the pan is completely cook before lifting out the bars and cutting them into pieces.
Additional Notes:
• To make a crunchier meringue layer, use granulated white sugar instead of brown sugar and beat the meringue until it forms firm peaks.
• You can also reduce the amount of sugar in the meringue down to 1/2 cup (minimum) if desired.
• Other ingredients can be used in place of or in addition to the chocolate chip layer! Consider things like butterscotch chips, nuts, toffee bits, dried fruit, and fruit preserves.
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(Originally published May 21, 2010.)
(Images: Emma Christensen)
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I've never heard of these before... but they sound delightful! Adding this to my never-ending list of recipes to try!
What do we do with the tablespoon of water? Is it for when we get thirsty after whipping the meringue? What about the vanilla (cookie dough or meringue?)
@Turtleneck - Good catch! They get added to the cookie dough. I'm updating the recipe now.
I have never seen this cookie either, but I've eaten a pie that looks very much like this. I can't remember what it was named though.
What a perfect recipe for a sunny weekend. I'm heading to the kitchen right now to try these babies out :D
Mmmm...this would be good with a layer of raspberry jam below the chocolate chips...
I'm so making these this weekend!
@SunnyBlue - and thanks for that ...I'll be turning these cookie bars into a pie now - a pie with a cookie crust? Yes please.
These look awesome! And I have everything I need to make them. Too bad I have to go to a wedding tomorrow. Maybe Sunday...
Made these today and I have to say they turned out fantastically well. Gooey and delicious. Next tome I think I'll swap out some of the choc chips for raspberries. Mmm mmmmm!
Oh, these are delicious! I just made some and they are so goooooood. Being meringue-lovers here, I think I'd add more whites and make more meringue for the top layer and maybe even a little less chocolate, this recipe is really easy and very good. Kids and parents all enjoyed this one.
These sound excellent! I'll have to try them...maybe with butterscotch chips in the middle?
Update: We are out of butter, so I made a cookie base out of the molasses cookies recipe, with butterscotch chips and this meringue. While I'd say there could be a bit more meringue, OMG they are good!
The parchment covering stuck pretty bad, though.
I just made these -- they're cooling now, but smell awesome. Next time I would use 3 egg whites for the meringue. My parchment stuck, too. Would it help to butter it first?
These are in the oven right now with chocolate butterscotch chips. I listened to the comments and used buttered foil instead of wax or parchment paper so we will see how it goes!
My husband has eaten half the pan since yesterday morning so these get our stamp of approval. I concur about needing more eggwhites in the meringue though - it was just barely enough to get to the edges.
Made these yesterday, and they came out great! I tried out three different fillings--chocolate chips, chocolate & peanut butter chips, and my personal favorite: chocolate chips & chopped pecans & toasted coconut. I agree that they would probably be good with some raspberry with the chocolate...maybe a layer of raspberry jam, then chocolate chips.
I made these over the weekend and two of us finished them in exactly two days. Probably mostly me. My parchment stuck too.
I made these over the weekend too and realized I had no parchment or wax paper in the house after everything was mixed, so just decided to leave the pan uncovered and they turned out just fine.
I made them for the LOST party I went to yesterday. I called them smoke monster cookie bars.
I thought they were delish! It could be interesting to add some instant espresso or coffee to the meringue...
These were good, but I would DEFINITELY recommend cutting the sugar in the meringue to 1/2 a cup! These suckers are SWEET!
Other notes.... I also used 3 egg whites, and it was perfect. I agree with comments above - some espresso would be so good (and cut some of the sweetness). Also, I LIGHTLY crisco-ed my parchment, and it pulled off perfectly.
I just made these, but instead of chocolate I melted some strawberry preserves and spread that over the cookie layer. I thought two egg whites made plenty of meringue, although next time I think I'd cut back the sugar a little as even without the chocolate the cookies are really sweet. Also, I used waxed paper instead of parchment and I didn't have any trouble with it sticking.
I sprayed the parchment with cooking spray, and it came right off.
I didn't think the meringue added much to the cookies (except to make them a bit too sweet); next time, I might just make the other two layers and leave the meringue off.
Saw these last week and I was super excited to make them. Will be doing so for my son's pre-K graduation on Friday and I'm glad I saw all the comments here first! I love the espresso in the meringue idea but pretty sure that's not the best choice for a gaggle of preschoolers! Might try the peanut butter/choc chips combo and stick to the granulated sugar rather than brown on the meringue.
I made these a couple weeks ago after not being able to get them out of my head. They were just as irresistible as I had imagined.
I totally grew up eating these at every family gathering, church function and bake sale. For whatever reason, they were popular in my hometown, yet I've never made them myself. Too much work.
These look awesome! I love the idea of making them with jam instead of chocolate, and will be doing that this weekend!
I tried this with Almond flour but I need to tweak it some more. The cookie portion did not firm up much at all.
HELP! I've made these twice now, the first time with perfect success. The second time, however... I subbed white sugar for brown for the meringue and for some reason (can't figure it out, and I'm a seasoned baker) the cookie layer is completely underdone! Like melts in your hand, not in your mouth underdone. What do I do?! The meringue on top is cooked to perfection and if I stick the whole thing back in the oven, the meringue will surely burn. Do I just enjoy these sweet, gooey treasures? I was hoping to send these off with Mr Susan to share with his coworkers but these will *definitely* not transport well.
These sound so yummy! Love that topping!
I have never heard of halfway cookies before and now I want them really bad. :)
Saving the recipe for the weekend!
These became one of my all-time favorite treats when the Kitchn posted them about last time. They're a tradition now for a couple events, and they're always super popular. It's a little time consuming, but not too complicated, and totally worth it!!
Yes! I made these before and loved them so much! Thanks for the reminder. I totally need to make these again.
Just pulled mine out of the oven! My meringue browned pretty well before I even got a chance to take the parchment paper off, so I didn't put it back in for another 5-10 min (and my oven cooks things hot & fast, so I put it in for a bit less than the recommended time anyways). Hoping the cookie cooked enough underneath! I sprayed my parchment paper before putting it over the meringue, but I missed a few spots and the meringue stuck in those places-- I just hit my butter knife with cooking spray and gently eased the meringue off the parchment paper, and it looks fine :)
I was just looking at this recipe in the book of family favorites my mom made us each as a nest-departing gift. While it was never a favorite of mine (I'm not a meringue fan unless it's on top of Grandma's lemon meringue pie), I've been thinking that I bet my hubby would love them. (We called them Choco Chip Bites)
We called these "seafoam squares" and it was the first treet I learned to bake. I will always remember it because, I didn't clean the mixer blades before trying to make the meringue! Lesson learned!
Last wednesday I made 4 batches for a church meal. Big hit!
I made these back in the early 70's.
Just had a thought, instead of chocolate chips, why not use Nutella for the middle layer? I see an experiment coming on...
Tried these yesterday with some changes: swapped out a cup of flour for 1/2 cup of oats and a 1/2 cup of coconut; used raspberry jam instead of chocolate; and cut the meringue's sugar down to a half cup.
They are delicious. Buttery oat and coconut on the bottom, tangy jam in the middle, meringue on top- airy, crumbly, delicious...
Only issue: a bit sweet. Probably because of the sugary jam. Next time I would cut the sugar in the cookie layer to 3/4 or just a 1/2 cup, and keep the meringue at 1/2 cup sugar.
Just tried these for a crowd that I was feeding over the weekend, and they were a HUGE hit. I am making them again tonight...especially considering that I only got one tiny little corner before they were devoured. :) Oh - I used three egg whites for the top as suggested by previous commenters, but I didn't adjust the sugar. It worked great. Only thing is to be sure and spray the parchment paper thoroughly. I must have left one corner unsprayed because the meringue peeled off with the paper in one spot. Oops.
Very Delicious! Pictures are helpful!