Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 9 × 13 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
2 3/4 cups flour, 2 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
Using an electric mixer beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy.
2/3 cup butter, 2 cups plus 2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
Then add in the eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth.
3 eggs
Then add in the vanilla. Mix.
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture, and stir until just combined.
Mix in chocolate chips.
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 15 minutes. You will notice that the dough is quite sticky, so you must do this step so you can spread the dough in the baking pan.
After the dough has cooled, press it evenly into the baking pan, making sure to spread the dough to the edges.
If you want to press coloured candy or extra chocolate into the top of the slab, do it at this point.
1/4 cup chocolate candy
Bake until the cookie bar is golden around the edges, about 30 min.
When the bar is done, the sides should look more puffed up than the centre.
Cool in the pan until the cookie slab is completely cooled. You can even put it in the fridge if you like.
Once the slab is has completely cooled, remove the slab from the pan, by holding the parchment paper. Place it on a cutting board and cut into 24 - 36 squares.