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You are here: Home / Desserts / Cookies / Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (with Video)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (with Video)

June 13, 2018 By Sam 200 Comments

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Stack of chewy chocolate chip cookie bars

Skip the scooping and make your chocolate chip cookies in a pan instead! These soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie bars are an easy-to-make treat loaded with melty semisweet chocolate chips inside a buttery soft cookie bar! No chilling or scooping required! 

Recipe includes a brief instructional video on how to make chocolate chip cookie bars!

Stack of chewy chocolate chip cookie bars

I should’ve named these chocolate chip cookie bars “Lazy Bars” because growing up, that’s exactly what they were to me.

I know I mentioned before that I grew up baking as much as I possibly could, but to be honest my love of baking didn’t start so much as a love of the actual process as it did as a love of stealing unsupervised spoonful after spoonful of raw cookie dough or frosting (or whatever was on my radar for that day).

Chocolate Chip Cookies were always my favorite, but when it came to actually baking the cookies I always either tried to bribe my sister into doing the work of scooping and baking them or I would just pour the batter into a pan and bake the cookies that way. Easy and done.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar

And while you can generally just take any chocolate chip cookie recipe and bake it into a pan and call it a day, I found that this technique usually yielded less than totally desirable results. The bars were usually too tough, too crumbly, too unsatisfying after being baked.

I wanted soft, chewy, and buttery chocolate chip cookie bars, and that method left a lot to be desired.

So, I went to work and started tweaking things:

  • Melted butter (rather than softened) that coats every molecule of the cookie dough for the best, butteriest taste.
  • More brown sugar than white for more moisture and better flavor.
  • An added egg yolk for softer, chewier, more tender cookie bars
  • A spoonful of cornstarch, which is basically my secret ingredient for soft baked goods
  • A reduction of the leaveners (less baking powder and no baking soda) because the cookie bars are contained in a pan so there was no need to worry about containing any spreading

Chewy chocolate chip cookie bars on marble board

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The result was the best chocolate chip cookie bars I’d ever made. Just as soft, chewy, buttery, and delicious as their cookie counterparts, but no scooping (and no chilling!) required.

Please note that because of the changes that were made, this cookie dough can’t be used to make actual cookies and only works when baked in a pan, trying to scoop and bake them would leave you with cookie pancakes that spread all over your cookie sheet!

Enjoy!

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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Chocolate chip cookie bars

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie bars
4.88 from 57 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: cookie
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate chip cookie bar, chocolate chip cookies, cookie bar
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 24 bars
Calories: 250kcal
Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter melted and then cooled for at least 5 minutes (226g)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar tightly packed (200g)
  • 3/4 cup sugar (150g)
  • 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (285g) (please note that in the video I accidentally said 2 1/2 cups flour, that is incorrect and you only need 2 1/4 cups as written here)
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (340g)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare a 9x13 pan by lining with parchment paper (or lightly grease and flour).
  • Combine melted (cooled) butter and sugars in a large bowl, stir well.
  • Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.
  • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
  • Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
  • Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake on 350F (175C) for 25-30 minutes or until edges just begin to turn golden brown.
  • Allow to cool before cutting and serving (don't cool too long, though -- these are amazing when served still slightly warm!)

Notes

This recipe can also be baked in a 9x9 pan but will need to bake about 5-10 minutes longer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 250kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

Filed Under: Cookies

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Comments

  1. Mary says

    November 24, 2020 at 9:05 am

    5 stars
    My family LOVES these!!

    Reply
    • Sam says

      November 24, 2020 at 9:41 am

      I’m so glad everyone loved them so much! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Jill says

    November 17, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    5 stars
    Hey Sam. These chocolate chip cookie bars are delicious. Thanks for another easy and delicious recipe.

    Reply
    • Sam says

      November 17, 2020 at 9:24 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jill! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Amy says

    November 15, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    5 stars
    These cookie bars are phenomenal. I haven’t had a lot of time to bake recently, so I’ve been relying on quicker options, and these cookie bars are my go-to treat. Friends and family all rave about them. 🙂

    I was wondering, would you be able to advise about how to alter this recipe to make Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookie bars by adding cocoa powder? Wasn’t sure if subtracting some flour and adding the cocoa powder would do it…? I’m a fairly novice baker, and all of your recipes have been no-fail for me, so I thought I’d ask!
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sam says

      November 15, 2020 at 8:49 pm

      Hi Amy! If you were to make this with cocoa powder you would need to reduce some of the flour or they would turn out too dry, but without having tried it I can’t be sure exactly how to alter it. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Susan says

    November 2, 2020 at 10:59 am

    5 stars
    So good! This is one of the first cookie bars I’ve made that wasn’t dry!

    Reply
    • Sam says

      November 2, 2020 at 8:47 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Susan! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Yana says

    November 1, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    5 stars
    I made these last night and they’re so good! I didn’t have enough semisweet chocolate chips so I used 1/2 cup semi sweet, 1 cup mini kisses, and 1/2 cup m&m’s (those are all I could manage to find in my pantry!). Turned out really well. Will definitely make these again when craving for cookies but too lazy to roll and chill the dough.

    Reply
    • Sam says

      November 1, 2020 at 8:14 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Yana! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Ellen says

    October 20, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    5 stars
    These are amazingly good. Like so much better than regular congo cookie bars. Something about the texture is just divine. I cook mine about 22-23 min and they are perfect! And if you can believe it, I use fewer chips (270g).
    My go to for bake sales, etc.

    Reply
    • Sam says

      October 21, 2020 at 10:34 am

      I am so glad you enjoy them so much, Ellen! 🙂

      Reply
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The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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