Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are baked in a pan, a quick and super easy chocolate chip cookie recipe with no mixer and no chilling. You’ll love how soft and buttery these are!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Well, Hello Spring. We’ve been waaaaaaaaiting for you!
This date, March 20th, holds so much more significance for our family than saying “Goodbye, Winter”, however. It’s also my dad’s birthday AND Hatti’s birthday. Yes, our oldest daughter was born on the same day as my dad…and just two days after Blake’s dad’s birthday.
To celebrate with a recipe here on the blog, I’m sharing another chocolate chip cookie related recipe, in honor of Hatti’s love for chocolate chip cookies. My dad would definitely not pass up a good CCC, either!
This year, it’s all about enjoying those chocolate chip cookie flavors, with easy-to-make bars.
(Last year I shared this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, and the year before that this Cookie Monster Ice Cream that’s stuffed with cookie dough.)
You’re going to appreciate the fact that you can whip up a pan of these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars in less than 15 minutes. But even more than that, you’re going to love how buttery, chewy, and absolutely fantastic these cookie bars are. I promise!
We just spent the past week of Spring Break on the gulf coast of Florida, staying with my sister’s family. My parents were also there.
My sister and her husband are boat club members, and got us out on the water several times. The sun’s warmth was healing, the very best cure for our long Minnesota winter.
And having our daughter and her grandpa together just a week before their birthday, well you know that called for some early celebrating!
Bar recipes always win!
I realize that these chocolate chip bars may not look the most celebratory when it comes to a birthday treat. It’s not exactly a 3-layer cake piled high with buttercream, adorned in sprinkles.
But I can’t imagine anyone turning down one of these chewy treats, any day of the year.
They are a chocolate chip cookie party in a pan. I think that bar recipes always win!
I also know how Hatti likes to bake a pan of her favorite brownies to treat her friends. The brownies are quick and easy to make, an old family recipe, and always disappear FAST.
So my sharing this new cookie bar recipe does serve another purpose. It’s another easy and especially wonderful recipe that I’m sure Hatti will find herself making for her friends, for many years to come.
This recipe is a great way to quickly cure any CCC craving.
How to get perfect cuts
To achieve clean cuts to bars, brownies, and cakes, I’m a big fan of lining the pan with foil or parchment paper. I prefer to use heavy duty foil for this recipe, and to let the foil overhang on the long sides of the pan.
Then, after cutting around the perimeter of the pan, simply grab the foil overhangs and lift the bars out of the pan. Place the bars on a cutting board and cut into individual pieces.
Like so!
If you have a rigid pastry cutter, it does double-duty as a great bar-cutting tool.
How to double a 9×13 recipe
Sometimes a 9×13 pan of bars just isn’t enough. Especially when they’re THIS GOOD!
When you’re looking to feed a crowd, just double the recipe. Simply grab a 13×18 pan with 1″ sides. Then double the ingredients and follow the recipe instructions.
The dough is quite thick anyway. And when doubling the recipe, the mixing is a bit of a workout. But I know you can do it!
Spread the dough out evenly in the pan.
Then bake the bars at the same 325 degrees Fahrenheit, but increase the baking time to 29 to 30 minutes, taking care to not over bake. Now you’ll have TWICE AS MANY of the same soft, chewy, and delicious cookie bars!
Happy Birthday, Hatti and Dad! We love you!
(See? All you need are some candles. Instant birthday party!)
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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon 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 teaspooons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips plus a bit more for sprinkling over the top of the dough – we like Guittard semisweet chocolate chips
- sea salt flakes optional
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. Or, if you want really clean cuts, line the pan with heavy duty foil, letting the excess hang over the edges on the long sides of the pan. Then lightly spray the foil-lined pan with non-stick spray. This will allow you to pull up on the foil and lift the bars out of the pan.
- 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 mixture. 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 very thick. Press evenly into pan using a spatula and/or your fingertips. (Tip: Dough mixture can be sticky. Use the buttery side of the butter wrapper to press the dough into the pan – or simply rub your finger tips with a little butter, and then press the dough into the pan.) 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 might even recommend to slightly under bake! Remove pan to wire rack. If desired, sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the top right after the pan comes out of the oven – YUM! Cool to room temperature and then cut into pieces. If using a foil lining, first cut around the perimeter of the pan to loosen, and then lift bars from pan using the foil overhangs. Transfer to cutting board and cut into squares with a knife or rigid pastry cutter.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
These turned out awesome! Thank you- this will be my new go-to recipe for take along treats.Â
SO delicious! I loved your comments in the recipe, cheering me on to stir up a double batch.
These were chewy and delicious and chocolatey! YUUUUMMM!
I made them in a glass pan with no problems, you have to preheat the pan first. I also used parchment paper because I don’t like Cooking with aluminum foil it’s bad for you.
Chewy and crunch on top. I did add a teaspoon of honey for the chew factor but they really are the best pan cookies I’ve made!
I made these for my extremely fussy son. He said they are the best things he has ever eaten, which is a real compliment coming from him as he rarely comments on my cooking! Really quick and easy to make too, I will definitely be making them again!
I’ve made these several times in the last month they are delicious! Thank you!!Â
I usually order a cookie cake from Sam’s for my kids 1st and last day of school. But…quarantine…so I can’t take my kids to Sam’s. Their last day is Monday, so I’m going to try to sneak bake and decorate these Sunday night. Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! A wonderful way to celebrate!!
These are the easiest and best tasting cookie bars I’ve ever tried. Thank you for sharing your recipe!Â
I’m happy that we agree!! :) Thanks for coming back to let me know, Roni!
Amazing recipe!! We really enjoyed :-) thank you!!
These were amazing! Quick and easy and just what I needed to brighten the quarantine mood…..This will definitely become my go-to recipe, especially because my teens loved them and ate half the batch right away!
Have been making these to take to the work break room . Having to go back to work amid COVID 19 has been a bit stressful, so it’s nice to have something delicious and happy to look forward to on break :). Your recipe is a huge hit!!
I love to hear this. We definitely need some treats to look forward to during this time!
What is the flour amount 3 cups and 2T?Â
I thought they were absolutely delicious and easy to prepare. Â I did use 2 whole eggs-hate to waste egg white and added a cup of chopped walnuts. Â Lifted beautifully out of pan. Â I have made these three times now, and they always turn out great.
These are pretty good. Nice easy recipe, but I agree with one of the earlier comments about needing more sugar/sweetness. The cookie itself is not very sweet at all – just the chocolate chips are. So if you get a bite with not that many choc chips it’s  kind of bland. I will make these again and add more sugarÂ
Hi Haley – hmmmmm, I’ve never felt that, with 1-1/2 cups of sugar. But feel free to tweak as you wish!
I feel the same way. I am pretty sensitive to sugar but still feel that these are not sweet enough. I’ll try make them again with more sugar.Â
Hello Haley – This comment does surprise me, with 1-1/2 cups of sugar in the recipe. But everyone has different preferences – and I always believe in tweaking recipes to fit your own tastes! I hope you get it just right!
You put 12 T butter. Â Was that a typo? Â Please advice ASAP
12 tablespoons is correct!
5 star recipe!
During this quarantine, I have been researching CCC bars everywhere and THIS recipe seemed simple enough for a first timer like me. I followed recipe to a T except for the following:
I used 1 cup m&ms and 1 cup milk chocolate chips, used salted butter and added cinnamon. I cooked it in a 9×9 pan because i wanted thicker bars. Cooked it at 325 for 23 minutes as suggested, then added 5 min then another 2 min, for a total time of 30 min.
These taste AMAZING! Only question i have is what would happen if i cooked it at a higher temp, like 350? Would the middle be less gooey and more cookie like since i used a smaller pan?
Just made these bars. Can’t wait to taste them!
I am so glad I chose this recipe. This was awesome! I will absolutely make again.
These look amazing! Planning on making them for my backyard wedding reception :)Â
Do you have any tips for making and freezing these ahead of time?Â
I LOVE that you’re making these for your wedding reception!!!!! These will freeze great. If you’re looking for nicer looking, clean-cut bars, definitely refer to my post where it talks about “How to get Perfect Cuts” and read through the recipe card about this, too. Let the bars cool completely (make sure the chocolate chips are solid, not melty), then cut. Place in containers with tight fitting lids, separating layers of bars with pieces of parchment paper, wax paper, or foil. Enjoy! And congrats on your marriage!
Thank you so much! :)))
These were super easy to make . I think I would add more sugar or brown sugar . They could’ve been sweeter I think . JmoÂ
Yummy