Skip the scooping and make your chocolate chip cookies in a pan instead! These buttery, soft and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars require no mixer, no chilling, and no fuss. Recipe includes a how to video.
Chocolate Chip Cookies, the Lazy Way
These chocolate chip cookie bars are the dessert you’re looking for when you’re having a lazy day and are in need of a cookie fix. When you’re craving all the goodness of a warm, chewy chocolate chip cookie, but can’t muster the energy to whip out the electric mixer, let alone the patience to scoop and rotate baking sheets.
With no mixer, no chilling, and no scooping, these chocolate chip cookie bars are your perfect lazy-day dessert. They’re just as soft, chewy, buttery, and delicious as their cookie counterparts, but they take a fraction of the time to prepare.
Whether you’re in need a quick sugar fix, a last-minute party or potluck dish, or you just don’t have the energy to scoop a single cookie, I’ve got you covered. Let’s get right to it.
What You Need
As we’ve already established, making perfectly chewy cookie bars isn’t as simple as dropping a regular cookie dough recipe in a pan. Instead, you want a dough that’s designed to be enjoyed in bar form. Here’s how to make it:
- Melted butter. Melted butter (rather than softened) coats every molecule of the cookie dough for the best, buttery taste. Just remember to let it cool for a few minutes before adding it!
- Light brown sugar + granulated sugar. We’ll use more brown sugar than white for more moisture (softer cookie bars!) and better flavor.
- Eggs + an extra yolk. I added an extra egg yolk for chewier, more tender cookie bars.
- Flour. Use your average all-purpose flour here.
- Cornstarch. This is my secret ingredient for soft baked goods! Cornstarch also prevents the cookie bars from being too cakey–after all, they are cookie bars, not cake bars.
- Baking powder. This recipe uses less leaveners than your average chocolate chip cookie since the cookie bars are contained in a pan.
- Vanilla + salt. Because you can’t have flavorful chocolate chip cookies without these two!
- Chocolate chips. My preference is to use semisweet chips, but if want to use another kind, feel free.
If you’re like me, you might also want to grab some vanilla ice cream to serve alongside these bars while they’re warm. Or, you can let them cool and eat them cookie-style too!
SAM’S TIP: I like to reserve a handful of chocolate chips for sprinkling on top of the bars just before baking. This ensures that the tops of the bars will have a perfectly studded surface!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Combine the cooled butter and sugars. Add your eggs and vanilla and stir until everything is combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Then, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the dough into a parchment lined baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F. Let the bars cool slightly before cutting and serving.
SAM’S TIP: This recipe can be made in a 9×13 or 9×9 pan. I prefer using a 9×9 because it results in thicker, chewier bars. If you make yours in a 9×13, the bars will need to bake about 5-10 minutes less.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This dough will keep in the refrigerator for several days. Just make sure to cover it tightly.
This cookie dough is designed to be baked in a baking pan and is not ideal for making actual cookies. If you tried to scoop and bake this dough, you would end up with cookie pancakes that spread all over your cookie sheet! Try my popular chocolate chip cookies instead! 😊
Yes! Just add them in when you add the chocolate chips. Use approximately 1-1 ½ cups of coarsely chopped nuts. Pecans or walnuts are great options!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and then cooled for at least 5 minutes
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (285 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare a 9×9" (23x23cm) pan (see note) by lining with parchment paper (or lightly grease and flour).
- Combine melted (cooled) butter and sugars in a large bowl, stir well.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.2 ¼ cups (285 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips.2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake on 350F (175C) for 35 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
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. These cookie bars may also be frozen.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Annie
Can I double the recipe and bake in a 13 x18 sheet pan?
Sam
Hi, Annie. I think doubling it would leave you with a little too much batter, but 1.5 times won’t be quite enough so it’s probably safer to just double it and toss the extra. 🙂
Shirley
Yum- just made these and they turned out really well. Because I was doing cut-out cookies I didn’t feel like doing individual chocolate chips but now I know I will make these bar ones again and again. Also I didn’t have soften butter and that’s why I tried them because of the melting technique you had. Now however I saw your sugar cookie recipe which I should have tried also but it’s too late. I’m definitely going to check out some of your other recipes but wondered if you have a really yummy banana bread. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Sam
Hi, Shirley! I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies. I do have a Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. You can just leave out the chocolate chips if you want. Enjoy! 🙂
CC
If I only have 1/2 cup of brown sugar can I finish the other 1/2 cup with white sugar????
Sam
Yes, they won’t be 100% as soft/ flavorful but the difference will be very subtle, they’ll still be good. Enjoy! 🙂
Corey
Been following your insta for 1 year and your blog for awhile.. Bottom line is that your desserts are bomb and that you’re my spirit animal. Thanks. Keep it up.
Sam
Thank you very much, Corey! I am so glad you enjoy them. 😊
Tanisha
This is a great recipe. I used m&m’s instead. Ran out of chocolate chips. I’m wondering would the measurements here work if I were to use a 9 or 10” round pan? That way I could make slices instead of bars?
Sam
I think it would be fine to cook in a 10″ circular pan. The baking time may vary a bit.
CJ
These look great and will certainly satisfy the Chocolate Chip Cookie cravings for the kiddos without Momma having to do much work😉.
Unfortunately, I came across this recipe after returning from the store and realized we are plum out of cornstarch 😥.
My daughter also loves to bake but sometimes forgets to put items she finishes off on the shopping list so I was unaware we were without cornstarch. We need these baked for this evening and returning to the store is not an option. Any suggestions on how to substitute or how will not having the cornstarch impact the recipe?
Thanks in advance.
Sam
The cornstarch makes these cookie bars nice and soft and chewy. You can substitute flour but they won’t be as soft and chewy like intended. ☺️
Kim
I made a pan of these and took them to a fundraiser for homeless pets recently. They were a huge hit. Thanks very much!
Sam
I’m so glad they were a hit! Thank you for commenting, Kim!
Mallory
I made these tonight and I’m currently deceased from their deliciousness. Seriously so good! I love how thick they are and when they’re warm, they are amazing. I’m sure they’re delicious after they cool down more, but I literally got mine out of the oven 30 mins ago and they’re so warm and soft in the middle. I’m LOVING your site and your consistency is amazing. Thanks so much for the delicious recipe!
Kelli
Hi! I came across your website just today looking for a buttercream recipe and found these cookie bars. They look amazing….who are we kidding, all your stuff looks amazing. 🙂 I had one question about these, my daughter wants cat shaped cookies for her birthday, instead of cutting these into bars, would I be able to use a cookie cutter to cut out different shapes, in this case, cats? Thanks so much, I have printed probably two dozen of your recipes today, I can’t wait to start trying them! Have a great day!
Sam
Hi Kelli! Sorry I’m just seeing your comment now, but yes you could absolutely cut these into shapes, just be sure to let them cool completely before cutting. I really hope that you love the recipes!!
Katie-Scarlet
Oh my goodness, that looks like just the right texture I’ve been looking for. I can’t wait to try it. I’ve tried at least a dozen of your recipes and every one of them came out just as promised.
Sam
I love hearing that, I put so much time into the recipes I really appreciate hearing that they work well for people! thank you for commenting, and I really hope you love the cookie bars!! <3
Kelly
Sam, made these last weekend. I love chocolate chip cookies and so I wanted to try these out. When I think about cookie bars I think crunchy and kind of hard. These were excellent and I love how “cakey” they are. You never disappoint, Thank you!
Sam
Hi Kelly! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed these so much, they are my favorite too! I hope you have a wonderful day!
Sandra ltb
I had the same question … as a young friend told my your Congo Squares are ‘over the moon’ … where do you rate this compared to the Congo Squares?
Sam
They’re basically the same recipe except in a larger pan so you can’t go wrong either way! I like the thickness of the Congo squares but you get more when you make them this way because of the size of the pan 😉
Sharon
Hi Sam, I am a huge fan!! . I have tried about a dozen of your recipes!!! favorites and go to’s are Mini choc chips. best ever brownies, and my ultimate fav Congo Squares!! So my question is how do these differ from them? I will be trying them of course, just curiousity😊.
Sam
They actually don’t differ much at all! I had a lot of people e-mailing me and asking me for chocolate chip cookies in a pan and completely missing my Congo squares because they don’t come up when people search for chocolate chip cookie bars. So, I made this recipe which is essentially the same but in a larger pan, so if you’ve made my Congo squares you’ve basically already had these. I should probably put a disclaimer about that in here somewhere since someone else asked the same, I honestly didn’t think many people even knew about my Congo squares because they’re not one of my more popular recipes so I hoped to get that recipe out to more people this way.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Sharon!
Mikaru86
The ” 1 /2 teaspoon baking powder” has as space after the 1 but not after the slash. This looks like it might have been a “1 1/2” at some point (or was intended to be) instead of “1/2”. Which is the correct measurement?
Sam
Hey! It is actually just 1/2 but good catch and I fixed it so that it’s not confusing to anyone else either. Thank you!
Valerie L.
Hi Sam, These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars look delicious, as well as a cinch to prepare since you don’t have to use any kind of a mixer to make them. However, we also like walnuts in our chocolate chip cookies in our house, so would it be okay to add about 1/2 cup of walnuts to the batter before baking them. Thanks!
Carrie
I had the same question. I’m going to add them.
Also would love to know if we can halve this recipe and bake in 8×8 pan.
Sam
Yup you can definitely add them 🙂 And you can halve and bake in an 8×8 but the bake time will likely vary
Sam
Yes you could definitely add the walnuts to the batter, I’d just add them the same time you add the chocolate chips. Sounds delicious!