These additional gentle and chewy chocolate chip cookie bars are extremely simple to make. No mixer, dough chilling, or rolling into balls required! Sprinkle with flaky sea salt for a bit one thing additional.
I initially revealed this recipe in 2016 and have since added new pictures, a video tutorial, useful success ideas, and extra flavors.
Style testers have at all times given these chocolate chip cookie bars a stamp of approval—and I’m so glad as a result of this dough makes my favourite chewy chocolate chip cookies, too. We’re speaking the softest, chewiest, thickest chocolate chip cookies to ever come out of my oven.
And when you can imagine it, baking chocolate chip dough as cookie bars transforms them into one thing even higher. Plus, we don’t have to sit back the cookie dough and we don’t must roll the dough into particular person cookies. So, they’re do-it-yourself gentle and chewy chocolate chip cookies, solely simpler to arrange. A lazy (I name it “drained”) gal’s cookie if you’ll. 😉
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Dense and buttery
- Additional chewy and further gentle
- Similar to chocolate chip cookies, however they don’t unfold
- 100x simpler than making cookies—no particular person cookie dough rolling
- No electrical mixer wanted
- A fast no-chill cookie recipe
- Can simply be doubled for a bigger pan
- Topped with sea salt for a bit one thing additional
- Nonetheless gentle and chewy on days 2 and three (in the event that they final that lengthy!)
Key Substances & Why You Want Every:
If you happen to’ve tried my beloved chewy chocolate chip cookies, you’re already conversant in the convenience of this recipe. We’re utilizing virtually the identical cookie recipe, however baking them as bars. Right here’s what you want:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the bottom of this recipe.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps these bars rise as they bake. Keep in mind the essential distinction between baking powder and baking soda?
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch provides the cookie bars that extremely gentle consistency everyone knows and love. Plus, it helps maintain them splendidly thick.
- Salt: Salt provides taste.
- Butter: Use melted butter on this recipe for the chewiest cookie bars. As a result of we use melted butter, there’s no must get out your mixer.
- Sugar: I like to make use of a mixture of brown sugar and white granulated sugar this recipe. Extra brown sugar than white granulated sugar guarantees an additional gentle and chewy cookie bar as a result of there’s extra moisture in brown sugar. I barely lowered the sugar within the bars; it made no distinction between the model examined with 1/2 cup sugar (100g).
- Egg & Egg Yolk: 1 egg binds all the pieces collectively and 1 additional egg yolk provides richness and chewiness. You’ll lose a variety of moisture by skipping that additional egg yolk.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract provides taste. When you’ve got any do-it-yourself vanilla extract, use that!
- Chocolate Chips: 1 cup of chocolate chips ensures tons of melty chocolate in every chunk. As an alternative of semi-sweet chocolate chips, strive utilizing darkish, milk, and even white chocolate chips. Or swap half of the chocolate chips for M&Ms like we do in these gentle M&M cookie bars.
Flaky sea salt (I take advantage of and love this model) is a stunning contact that offsets the sweetness, nevertheless it’s completely non-compulsory.
Easy methods to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
The dough is extremely easy. Whisk the dry elements collectively, then the moist, after which mix. It’s a thick, slick cookie dough:
After you put together the cookie dough, press it right into a baking pan. There’s no danger of cookie spreading with this recipe as a result of the perimeters of the pan utterly include the cookies from overspreading. I really like that.
One batch of those chocolate chip cookie bars matches completely right into a 9-inch sq. pan. I really like utilizing this dimension of pan as a result of it yields a pleasant, manageable batch—about 16 thick bars. In order for you a bigger batch, double the recipe and bake the bars in a 9×13-inch pan. (See recipe Observe.)
Success Tip: I prefer to line my pans with parchment paper. This fashion, you possibly can raise all the cookie bar mass out after which simply minimize into squares. Additionally makes for fast cleanup! I do the identical when making rice krispie treats, too.
Do NOT over-bake these bars. Err on the facet of under-baking as a result of in any other case the cookie bars will style dry and cakey.
Can I Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
Sure! If you wish to amp up the depth of taste through the use of browned butter, you completely can! My group and I’ve examined it, and it’s essential to begin with an additional 2 Tablespoons of butter to make up for the moisture loss that happens throughout browning. In any other case, the bars will style dry.
Easy methods to Freeze Cookie Bars
Selfmade chocolate chip cookie bars freeze superbly so that they’re an important make-ahead dessert choice. Comply with these directions and nobody will know they aren’t freshly baked the day you serve them:
- Bake and funky the cookie bars utterly.
- Slice the bars into squares. If you happen to lined your baking pan with parchment paper, merely raise the slab of bars out of the pan, place onto a reducing board, and minimize into squares.
- Layer the bars between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. The parchment paper ensures that the bars don’t stick to one another and that the tops of the cookie bars keep intact.
- Label the container with a “finest by” date 3 months out. Cookie bars style finest in the event that they’re frozen for simply 3 months or much less.
- Thaw bars in a single day within the fridge after which deliver to room temperature earlier than serving.
Extra Cookie Bar Flavors
And don’t miss my recipe for chocolate chip cookie bark!
Description
No mixer required and there’s no ready for cookie dough to sit back with these gentle & chewy chocolate chip cookie bars! Don’t over-bake these bars. Err on the facet of under-baking as a result of in any other case the cookie bars will style dry and cakey.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9-inch sq. baking pan with parchment paper, leaving sufficient paper across the sides to simply raise the bars out of the pan. Put aside.
- In a big bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt collectively. Put aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar collectively till no brown sugar lumps stay. Add the egg, additional egg yolk, and vanilla extract. The combination shall be thick. Pour the moist elements into the dry elements and blend collectively till mixed. The dough shall be gentle and slick, but thick. Fold within the chocolate chips. The chips could not persist with the dough due to the melted butter, however do your finest to mix them.
- Switch dough to the ready baking pan and press into a good layer. Frivolously sprinkle the highest with flaky sea salt, if desired. Additionally, I prefer to press just a few extra chocolate chips on prime of the dough earlier than baking; that is only for seems to be.
- Bake for 30-34 minutes or till evenly browned on the edges. Err on the facet of under-baking and do NOT over-bake, or the cookie bars will style a bit dry and cakey. Use a toothpick to check for doneness; if it comes out principally clear from the middle of the pan, the bars are performed.
- Enable the bars to chill within the pan set on a wire rack for at the very least an hour. As soon as comparatively cool, raise the bars out of the pan utilizing the parchment and minimize into squares.
- Cowl and retailer leftover bars at room temperature for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward & Freezing Directions: You can also make the cookie dough and chill it within the fridge for as much as 3 days or freeze for as much as 3 months. Enable to return to room temperature and proceed with step 4. Baked cookie bars freeze properly for as much as 3 months. Thaw bars in a single day within the fridge and convey to room temperature earlier than serving.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): 9-inch Sq. Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt
- Double in a 9×13-inch Pan: You may double this recipe to suit right into a 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake for about 35 minutes at 350°F (177°C). Use a toothpick to check for doneness.
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars: If you wish to use browned butter for this recipe, begin with an additional 2 Tablespoons of butter earlier than browning it, to make up for moisture evaporation.
