chocolate chip snack cake

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snacks. we go through a lot of them. teenagers can eat a lot, and my kids always seem to bring a few extra home with them. teens not snacks. those they hunt for the minute their feet hit the kitchen floor.

i try to shop once a week, usually on sunday afternoons. i love starting the week with a stocked fridge and pantry. trouble is that by wednesday the shelves are nearly bare and the kids start complaining that there is no food in the house.

i buy two boxes of crackers instead of one. two blocks of cheddar instead of one. 2 pounds of grapes, double the yogurts, salsa and chips. the food still disappears and i am headed to the store mid-week which is something i dread doing. you know those side trips where you head in for one or two things and leave with a cart-full…that is me. every time. so i try to limit those trips.

enter chocolate chip snack cake. no matter how much food the kids go through i always have pantry staples like flour, sugar, butter, and chocolate chips. cookies and cookie bars get made almost weekly. cake not so much. layer cakes stress me out, but snack cake is beyond easy. i could eat this apple ^[4] or pumpkin cake ^[5] all year long. the kids are all about the chocolate minus the pumpkin. this easy chocolate chip snack cake comes together is a flash. a few minutes of prep and mixing and the cake is ready for the oven. it doesn’t even need frosting.

Print Recipe ^[6]

Yield: 16-20 pieces

chocolate chip snack cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick )of butter, softened
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips (i prefer dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate chips)

Directions:

• spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with non-stick baking spray
• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• in a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt
• in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (can also be done by hand) cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy
• scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs, one at a time
• add vanilla
• gradually add the flour and milk (alternating beginning and ending with the four)
• fold in the chocolate chips
• spread batter into the prepared pan
• bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (a pick inserted in the center should come out clean)
• cool in pan before cutting into squares

left plain, this chocolate chip snack cake is easy to pack in school lunches. stella refuses to take anything messy, but if planned to serve this chocolate chip snack cake for dessert, i probably would add a simple chocolate frosting or glaze similar to the one from this cake. ^[7]

not that the kids needed it, the cake didn’t last a full day.

enjoy!