Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

     Last week we had our first family photo shoot with our super talented and amazingly kind wedding photographer,  Katie Slater.  We have loved Katie since we met her and were so happy with our wedding photos.  She made us feel so relaxed and she captured our day better than we could have ever imagined.  Since our wedding, I have followed Katie on Facebook and have enjoyed seeing the others wedding she has done, pictures of her own lovely boys, and read her blog posts.  One blog post from a while back has stuck with me.  It was all about family and the value of photos to capture the love within a family.  Arnauld and I said the day of our wedding, that when we had kids, we wanted Katie to take pictures of our family.  It was so surreal to have that happen nearly three years later.  Our shoot was scheduled for day one of three of a May heatwave.  We smiled and loved Wren as sweat dripped down our brows and backs.  But in those moments frizzy hair and wrinkled clothes didn't matter.  No matter how those pictures turn out, I know that our love will radiate through and someday we will look back at those pictures and marvel at how young we looked and how tiny Wren once was.

     These cookie bars were just a small token of our appreciation that we brought for Katie and her family.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups dark chocolate chips
coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Method
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
1. Spray a 9x13in baking dish with a non-stick baking spray or line the baking dish with parchment and then spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set this aside.
3. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Continue to stir the butter with a wooden spoon until the butter begins to brown slightly.  As soon as this happens, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the butter to a large bowl to cool.
4. Once cool the butter cools, transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer and add the dark brown sugar and sugar. Cream the ingredients together. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until each is incorporated. Next add the milk and the vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
5. Now in ½ cup increments add the dry mixture to the wet, mixing completely.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips until mixed thoroughly and then transfer the cookie dough to the prepared dish.
7. Press the dough down with your finger tips, until it reaches the edges.  Sprinkle with sea salt.
8. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until the edges begin to brown slightly.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool on a drying rack before cutting and serving.