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.
Hi, can I bake them in a 9×9 inch pan? Do I need to change anything?
I’m trying them in an 8×8 ,I will let you know.
These cookie bars were amazing! They took no time to make, and used ingredients
I already had in the house. I under baked them a bit. They were very easy to cut and serve.
Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe!
Hi Naomi – I’m so glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for coming back to let me know! :)
This recipe was spot on for this cookie bar.  The only exception was the baking time. At  23 minutes, the bars were  not at all golden on top. I set the timer for another 4 minutes and they came out just like your photo.  My oven is consistent and exact in temperature.  I especially like adding more chips on top as well as the sea salt!  This recipe is a keeper.
Delicious gooey consistency, like a brownie but not overwhelmingÂ
This was such an easy recipe. We loved it.Â
I cooked them as the recipe called for. Love this cookie. Will make again.
really rich, really nummy. Had to bake longer.
Excellent and easy recipe!
5 Stars!
Yay!! :)
Followed the recipe exactly, except I used a glass 9×13 pan and used about 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips on top. Baked 23 minutes.  Sprinkled with flake sea salt. Don’t skip this, it makes the bars. So good and chewy! Thanks, I’ll be making these a lot!
Do these freeze well?
Hi Joyce – these bars do freeze well. But just like most fresh baked treats, they’re best on the day they’re baked!
Made these today. Â Super easy. Halfway through mixing I realized I only had about a cup of chocolate chips so I threw in a handful of butterscotch chips. Â These turned out amazing! Â And, surprisingly, not hurt-your-teeth sweet! Â Will make again and again!
I’ve searched for years for a good cookie bar recipe. They NEVER turn out until now. I did it exactly how the recipe goes and they are wonderful! Perfect texture and consistency and cooked evenly! Thank you!
Excellent and easy to make!
I made these with my gluten free flour blend and Margarine. These bars were AMAZING and gone in no time! So glad I found this recipe! This will be made over and over and over again!!
That’s wonderful to know, thank you for coming back to comment!
I made the squares exactly as the recipe said. Â Turned out perfect. Baked 3 minutes less than recipe said..
So glad you liked. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment, Carol. :)
Absolutely fabulous. I made it exactly as the recipe suggested and it’ took 28 minutes to bake. I didn’t take a picture because mine looks exactly like the picture in the recipe. Couldn’t ask for easier or more delicious recipes. Thank you so much
1
I made these and used the baking Crisco instead of butter. I do not recommend doing this. Way too buttery and dense.
I was looking for a good CCC bar recipe and these turned out great! I added a bit of chopped walnuts to the batter for variety and will try the other suggestions for making them “fancy” as well. Cut into small squares, they were a hit for the holidays!
easy and taste heavenly