Lactose-Free Chocolate Chip Bars

My poor husband is severely lactose intolerant. He cannot have butter, milk, cheese, or anything related to any of those. He cannot even have milk derivatives without having symptoms :-( But, I have made it one of my missions in life to find him some yummy sweets he can eat!

I found this recipe on ThatSweetAng's website, and the original source is www.verybestbaking.com I took this recipe and made some changes. I usedOrganic Smart Balance whipped buttery spread instead of butter. Most chocolate chips have milk (or some form of milk) in them, so I used Bakers semi-sweet chocolate baking bars instead of chocolate chips. And I omitted the nuts. With the substitutions, they turned out ok. I still might try to play with it a bit.........seemed like it might be missing something. And I never thought I would say something had too much chocolate, but I could cut back on the amount in this. Not sure if there is a difference in using the squares............again, may need some tweeking. But DH loved them...........so, success!!

Here is my version of the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Organic Smart Balance buttery spread, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Bakers semi-sweet baking chocolate squares, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Chop chocolate bars into bit size pieces. I used a large chef's knife and a cutting board......no problems!

Mix together flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl; Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat buttery spread, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Gradually beat in flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in chopped chocolates. Spread batter into a greased 13"x 9" baking dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 mins, or until the top is golden brown. Enjoy!!