Cookies & Cream Bars
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Made with cream cheese, these squares are packed full of Oreo cookie pieces and mini chocolate chips for chewy cookies & cream bars. They’re made with cream cheese, fans of my Oreo cheesecake or easy brownies from scratch will love these!
Leia ruined some of my things yesterday while I was at work. She chewed up the corners of one new book and helped herself to the savory insides of another, shredding it into literary confetti. I tried to salvage it with a roll of scotch tape, but the pages (or rather the remnants of pages) were beyond hope.
She also ate a box of mints, the last no-bake cookie I’d left on the counter, destroyed my favorite inky pen and spilled its indelible guts all over our one-and-only piece of carpet in the house, and, worse, got into my notebook where I had the first quarter of a handwritten (as in, no copies to be found on the computer, in my Google docs, or anywhere else in the universe) novel that I’d begun. By some miracle, even though I’d left my notebook open to the last page that I’d written, she’d only chewed out completely blank pages and all of my words were still intact, but I still had a heart attack initially.
She’s usually a very well-behaved dog, so this level of destructiveness was not typical. She’s just over a year old and I’ve heard that German Shepherds stay puppy-minded until they’re about 3 years old, so things could be a lot worse. Honestly it’s most likely my fault because the day before I’d been guiltily neglectful of her walk (it’s so cold outside, and we worked on her tricks indoors!), but that didn’t make me any less angry about my ruined books. And pen. And the close encounter with America’s next best seller (kidding!).
Instead of taking (all of) my anger out on the dog, I directed it a more productive way. I took my nice, heavy rolling-pin to some innocent Oreos and smashed them to pieces. It helped, but not as much as the satisfaction of eating one of these cookie-crammed squares hot out of the oven did.
Honestly, they’re pretty dang remarkable. I’m talking tasty-enough-to-make-you-forget-your-dog-ruined-some-of-your-favorite-things good.
They’re made with butter and cream cheese, soft and chewy, chock-full-of mini chocolate chips and so many (obliterated) Oreo pieces. A hybrid of my cookie bars, blondies, and cookies and cream cookies. The cream cheese gives these squares an excellent and unmatched flavor and keeps them from being too sweet (and helps make them super soft).
If you’ve got some rage you need re-directed, take it out on a pack of Oreos. Trust me. Make these.
And if anyone knows how to get a puddle of pen ink out of carpet, I’d love to hear it.
More Recipes to Try:
Cookies & Cream Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs + 1 yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
- 18 crushed Oreo cookies + 6 crushed Oreo cookies, (divided don't completely pulverize them to crumbs, you want to have cookie pieces in these bars)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 13x9 pan.
- In KitchenAid mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese.½ cup butter, 8 oz cream cheese
- Scrape down sides of bowl with a metal spatula and beat in sugar until light and fluffy.1 ¾ cups sugar
- Add eggs and then vanilla.2 large eggs + 1 yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt
- Gradually stir the flour mixture into your cream cheese mixture until completely combined (be sure to pause occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl).
- Stir in mini chocolate chips and 18 crushed Oreos.¾ cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips, 18 crushed Oreo cookies + 6 crushed Oreo cookies
- Spread into prepared pan and sprinkle the additional 2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips and 6 crushed Oreo cookies overtop.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes (edges will begin to turn golden brown) and allow to cool before cutting and serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
These were delicious and everyone loved them! They weren’t nearly as sweet as I thought they would be, but the cream cheese seems to cut some of the sweetness, which is great! How long will these keep covered in the fridge?
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Danielle! You can store these in the refrigerator for 3-4 days covered tightly. 🙂
Can I double the recipe in the same size pan?
You would likely overflow your pan so I don’t recommend it.
do these have to be refridgerated?
Hi Georgeanne! Since these are made with cream cheese, I would recommend refrigeration. 🙂
I sure was glad to read you took your heavy rolling pin to your oreo cookies and not Leia! LOL. These cookies & cream bars are awesome. I increased the recipe by half and baked them in a half sheet pan. Not a crumb left! Yet another terrific recipe! Thank you Sam.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Maria! 🙂
Hello! Just wondering if these are supposed to have the consistency of an undercooked cookie – or did I do something wrong?
Hi Suzanne! They should be soft and chewy, but I don’t know that I would describe it as undercooked. They may have just needed an extra minute or two in the oven. 🙂
Thanks for the response!! Might sound silly but can I re-bake them after I’ve cut them?
Unfortunately that’s not going to really work. 🙁
These turned out so yummy, thank you for this recipe! I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to make them a bit more moist?
Hi Ava! I’m so glad you enjoyed! If they were a bit dry is it possible the flour might have been accidentally over-measured or could they have been baked a bit too long? Those are usually the most likely culprits.
These are like muffin / cake like? Can’t describe it but sadly no one in the house enjoyed them at all 😕
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Christina! That’s quite the odd texture to experience here. Is it possible the batter was over-mixed or over-baked?
Hi Sam! I just made these last night and they’re SO good! My boyfriend is always talking about these Oreo cream bars that they used to sell at Starbucks but discontinued, so I looked for a similar recipe to recreate them and he loved it! Since they have cream cheese, should they be stored in the fridge? Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you everyone enjoyed them, Stephanie! Yes I would store these in the refrigerator. 🙂
Wow these look amazing! I’m a little confused… not sure why, but does 18 oreos mean 18 oreo sandwhiches or 18 single cookies (without the filling?) Thanks!
Hi Brandy! You will need 18 whole cookies with filling. Enjoy!
Going to try the recipe it looks delicious can I use regular chocolate chips and is it ok to use margarine
Hi Marlene! You could use regular chocolate chips and the margarine should work as well. 🙂
Thanks for the reply I just made them looks delicious Can I freeze them
You should be able to freeze them without any issue. 🙂