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!
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.
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
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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
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 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (285g)
- 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!)
Laura says
These were very greasy – WAY too much butter. Sadly, I threw them away.
Sam says
Hi Laura! This recipe only calls for 1 cup or 2 sticks of butter. If they were very greasy it is possible that the butter was too hot when the sugars were added.
Abbey says
Hi! Could I chill this dough before baking? I am heading to my parent’s later tonight and would love for them to come fresh out of the oven for everyone! I just finished making the dough 🙂
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Abbey! Yes, you can chill the dough before baking. I hope that you enjoy! 🙂
adela Uribe says
they are great 5 stars can i put them on pan and refrigerate the dough in pan for baking next day
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookie bars, Adela! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Lisa says
Hey Sam, do you think these will work just the same spread onto a cookie sheet?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Lisa! Yes, I think it will work just fine. I would just keep an eye on the bake time. I hope that you enjoy the cookie bars. 🙂
Becky says
Today is my son’s 17th birthday ,he’s a special needs child and his favorite cookie is chocolate chip , I usually get him a Giant cookie but thought I would try this , sounds like it’s a hit with everyone else so wish me luck , I will let you know how it turned out and how he liked it
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Becky! Happiest of Birthdays to your son! I hope that he enjoys the chocolate chip cookie bars! Let me know how they turn out. Good Luck! 🙂
Sharon Day says
My son wants chocolate chip cookies for his birthday. Have you ever baked in two round pans to stack for a cake look? I was thinking of using melted chips to hold the two layers together
Joyce says
Do you think these could be baked a little longer and used to replace the gingerbread in a gingerbread house?
Shirley says
I make these 1-2 times a week to bring to work. Several of my co-workers say this is their absolute favorite! Thank you 🙂
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so happy that the cookie bars have been such a hit at your office, Shirley! Thank you for making my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Kristi says
I’ve made a lot of chocolate chip bars in my years and this is by far the best! My kids love them.
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Kristi! I am so glad that your kids enjoyed the cookie bars! 🙂
Doris says
This is the best bar recipe ever! My go to for that special treat. Perfect.
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Doris! I am so glad that you enjoyed the chocolate chip cookie bar recipe. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Donna says
Best bars I’ve ever made !!
Sam says
So glad you enjoyed, Donna! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Patti Berent says
Made these bar cookies today and they were a big hit. I used mini morsel chocolate chips instead of regular morsels as that’s what I had. Also sprinkled 1/2 cup of chopped pecans on the top just before baking for a bit of added crunch. Left out the cornstarch as I didn’t have any. I didn’t notice anything negative with not using the cornstarch. But since I live at a higher elevation (5.000 ft) I was careful to watch the bars after 30 min of baking. The top was just starting to turn golden. So I let them go 4 more min then took them out, covered with a clean towel and cool till able to slice neatly into squares. No crumbles, no toughness, they were perfect. Thank you…great recipe. Will make this again.
Don’t be afraid to try it, just don’t overbake!
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Patti! I am so glad that you enjoyed the chocolate chip cookie bars. 🙂