This foolproof recipe has everything you love about your favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies, but baked in a 9×13 pan and no mixer or chilling of the dough needed! An extra egg yolk and brown sugar leads to their soft and chewy texture, and each bite is full of rich butter flavor and loaded with chocolate chips. Whenever I show up with this treat at a potluck or family gathering, these bars are the first thing to disappear!
My Family’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dream-Come-True. In One pan!
There’s nothing like a warm-from-the-oven, soft and chewy homemade chocolate chip cookie. For me, just the thought of it brings a flood of memories — of baking cookies with Mom and my sisters on the farm, and sharing them with family and friends. Mom was never without some CCC’s stashed away in the big chest freezer. And my friends were well aware of that fact, with regular requests for “Barb’s chocolate chip cookies”.
Well, fast-forward a few decades and having a family of my own. Life got real full, real fast.
So my goal became this: a bars recipe that is quicker, easier, and 1000% reliable, with rich butter flavor and soft, chewy texture. Isn’t that just so “Midwest” of me? I adore bars recipes!
The secret to this recipe’s craveworthy success is in the combination of melted butter, an extra egg yolk, and more brown sugar than white sugar (I will never, ever make a chocolate chip cookie that does not include the moistness and deeper molasses flavor of brown sugar!).
Each one of these ingredients unlocks its own individual moist qualities, and when combined with the classic ingredients of a truly great chocolate chip cookie — to include really good chocolate (Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips are my favorite) — this recipe is a soft and chewy force to be reckoned with.
These bars have now become my own family’s go-to. Our oldest daughter Hatti even requested this to be her “birthday cake” one year instead of my mom’s ultimate fudgy brownies, her other favorite. She’s awesome like that, not concerned about following the any birthday cake rules, only asking for what she wants!
“I’ve made these several times now and they are excellent, just excellent! They are a hit with everyone! Easy and over-the-top good!”
—Melody
baking soda is key to the chewy texture
Yes, this is a common baking ingredient, but I love what it does to these bars! You see, when baking soda mixes with brown sugar (which has acid from the molasses), it releases little bursts of carbon dioxide gas (our youngest daughter Tessa would appreciate this little bit of nerdy science as she’s currently in year 2 of her bio-chem degree). This causes the pan of bars to puff up slightly while it’s baking, then sink a bit as it cools. Which is GOOD – this helps to give you that incredible dense, chewy center.
OH, AND ONE LAST THING: DO NOT OVER-BAKE!
Yes, that’s my yelling voice! If your goal is to have the softest, chewiest chocolate chip cookie bars on the planet, it’s VERY IMPORTANT to not over-bake. I’d even go so far as to say, for the ultimate soft bars, slightly under-bake them!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (no mixer!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, gently melted and then cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus a bit more for sprinkling over the top of the dough (I recommend Guittard semisweet chocolate chips)
- sea salt flakes, optional for sprinkling over the top (I recommend Maldon Sea Salt Flakes)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly spray a 9" x 13" metal baking pan with non-stick spray. For super clean cuts, see Notes below.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and sugar until combined. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.
- With a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. When about half-way combined, add chocolate chips and continue to fold until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Transfer dough to prepared pan. Dough will be thick and sticky. Press evenly into pan using a spatula and/or your fingertips. See Notes below for more pressing tips.
- If desired, sprinkle a few more chocolate chips over the top, pressing them in a bit. It's also fun to sprinkle M&M's over the top – the mini M&M's are our first choice!
- Bake for about 23 minutes or so, or until top is light golden brown and slightly firm to the touch. For the chewiest bars, do not over-bake. I even recommend to slightly under-bake!
- Remove pan to wire cooling rack. Optional: Sprinkle some sea salt flakes over the top IMMEDIATELY (so they stick) after the pan comes out of the oven.
- Let cool to room temperature and then cut into individual bars.
Notes
- Other chocolate. Try milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate chips — or a combination. Or chop up your favorite dark chocolate bar for a more indulgent adultified treat.
- Candies. Our daughters like to sprinkle mini M&M’s over the top.
- Nuts. Throw in some chopped walnuts or pecans for some nutty crunch. I recommend using roasted, salted nuts for the best flavor and texture.
- Counter – To preserve the soft texture, leave the cooled bars in the pan, covered tightly, and store them on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Fridge – Store the bars in the pan, covered tightly, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer – Place bars in an airtight, freezer-safe container, then store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the bars in the fridge before serving.
Nutrition Information:
For the memory book: This photo was taken while staying with my sister’s family in Florida in 2019, when we celebrated our daughter Hatti’s and my dad’s shared birthday with – yes, you guessed it – these chewy chocolate chip cookie bars!
Delicious & best buttery flavor ever I have tasted in cc bar cookies!
Thanks for this recipe! I especially loved that the butter was melted, not softened! It makes impromptu cookie baking possible. These cookies were perfect!
So glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and rating! Enjoy!!
so good!!
I typically hate chocolate chip bar cookies bc they’re too dry or hard. I was hesitant but lazy enough to give this a try.
I was amazed! Totally blown away! I just tried one cold to see if that would change the wonderful first impression. It did not! These are just as good later.
Thanks for satisfying my lazy girl choc chip cookie dream!
Excellent recipe. Very easy and fast to make. Family is already begging for more. Will make again next week. Great for lunches. Texture of cookie is perfect. The salt flakes are the crown. Amazing and thank you for this lovely recipe.
SO GOOD to hear! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know, and to rate this recipe! :)
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s my go to recipe when I need a chocolate chip cookie recipe but don’t want to mess with making individual cookies. They’re so good and chewy. I switch the eggs out for flax eggs so my daughter can have them, and they still turn out wonderful.
So glad you like this, and that you’re able to modify it for your daughter! Thank you for coming back to let me know! :)
These are so good! The consistency of the dough had me a little worried but I trusted the process and it came out great!
I have been making your lasagna soup for years and everyone who’s had it raves about it… I can’t believe it took me so long to try another one of your recipes. I’ll definitely be making more of them in the future!
I’m so glad you liked another recipe here!! Thanks for coming back to let me know. (And what will you try next?!)
Thank you for the recipe!! Very easy and especially love not having to get out the mixer! Delicious and I agree to slightly underbake!
SO GLAD you like!! Thanks for coming back to let me know. :)
We love this recipe. Thanks for posting this it! Can these be made ahead and frozen?
Can I put these in 2 8×8 pans ? If so how long should I bake them ?
These were warm, chewy, and soooo yummy! The sea salt was a great addition! Next time- I will add pecans and or white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts! I undercooked the bars by 3 minutes, and the bars were so easy to cut cleanly!
Thank you!
Can these be made and frozen?
I lined my pan with parchment paper (making sure there is extra over the edge to provide a handle) and sprayed with a little cooking spray before filling with the batter. After cooling completely —- they come out of the pan easily flip them onto a big cutting board.
I made these tonight because I wanted a chewy Chocolate Chip cookie without taking the time….these are delicious! I substituted 1 cup flour with WW flour, and I added 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut. Yum! And thank you for the recipe!
So glad you liked this recipe – and I like the sound of coconut!! :)
Just made these… they were fantastic!
Hubby and I had a whim one Saturday afternoon and we wanted something “chocolate chip cookie-ish”! Instead of making actual cookies we looked up “chewy chocolate chip bars” and found this recipe first search! They turned out so delicious! Simple and very tasty!
The pan lasted about a day and a half! Needless to say, they are a big hit in our home! (And the salt option at the end, that brought the flavors all together! Definitely try it!)
We will enjoy this recipe for years to come! Thanks for sharing!
So wonderful! Thank you for coming back to let me know. ENJOY!! :)
Last time i ised a glass pan and it came out perfectly. I did have a metal one but have no clue where it went. Lol
I’m making these right now I had read the reviews and one of them said they had used cream cheese in place of the eggs. I used my kitchen aid mixer with a dough attachment I’m waiting to have surgery on my hands so it’s hard for me to stir anything. My sweet husband put the dough in the pan for me. He is so sweet and helpful runs the vacuum and does things I can’t do. Baking and cooking isn’t his forte lol.
I’ve made these several times now and they are excellent, just excellent! They are a hit with everyone! Easy and over-the-top good! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
These are great. Usually make them vegan subbing with Earth Balance vegan butter sticks and a hefty flax egg (4 tablespoons of water with two tablespoons of ground flax seeds- I mix and let that sit for five minutes to get the “egg” texture”) and it’s awesome- perfect for using to make cookie dough ice cream since there’s no raw egg. Have also made with the eggs and both come out great.