Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars:I make these the most at my house. Yeah, I’m kinda famous for them! I’ve sold hundreds of ’em at bake sales! Making cookies in bar form is just such a quick and easy way to enjoy that soft, chewy homemade goodness-squared off. Plus, baking them all in one pan means every piece has that chewy dough center. They’re incredibly quick to get ready; you can probably measure everything, mix it, and it’s into the oven inside of about 5 minutes!

Ingredient Notes

• Butter: Use good old salted butter. I haven’t tried anything else, so feel free to substitute it in if you have certain dietary restrictions.
• Chocolate Chips : NO RULES HERE. There are no rules on what type of chocolate or flavored chips you will want to use. When I initially released this recipe, I used half semisweet and half white chocolate chips. Lately, I have used semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips exclusively.
• Toffee Bits : Leave this one completely to personal preference (and I didn’t include them in the pictures for this batch either). Available next to the chocolate chips in most grocery stores, in the baking aisle, they’re getting tough to find plain anymore without chocolate covering. I don’t mix them into the dough-they tend to melt and make a mess of the texture of the cookie-so I like sprinkling them over on top right before baking.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda; set aside.

2.In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars until well mixed.

3.Add the eggs and vanilla extract.

4.Whisk everything together until thoroughly combined.

5.Add wet ingredients and mix just till combined.

6.Fun time! I’m using chocolate chips, but go ahead and add toasted nuts, sweetened coconut, or dried fruits if you like.

7.Mix everything together very well.

8.Scoop the dough into your prepared baking dish, smoothing it out toward the edges. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until the edges are set and golden and the center is a little soft. If you poke a skewer into the center, it will be clean. If you’re at high altitude, you may need to bake a bit longer.

Pro Tips for this recipe:

Measure that flour! The biggest rookie mistake is putting too much flour in a recipe. Measuring by scale is the easiest method for measuring flour. If you don’t have a scale, scoop your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it lightly into the measuring cup, and level it off with a knife.

You must, must, must grease your baking dish. And by grease, I mean grease. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can use foil, but do not even consider serving this dish to anyone naked and greased in the pan. That’s just beastly.

To make a 9×13, just double the recipe.

And voilà sprinkle some flaked sea salt on top fresh out of the oven for that perfect flavour kick.

Will you love the gooey brownie texture? Then, try under-baking it a little for the enchantment!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you know when they are done?
The bottom edges of the cookie will be lightly browned, and you should see a good rise along with a golden color. The center will not have been completely set, but if you test them with a skewer or toothpick, it should come out clean.

What is an example of a bar cookie?
Of course, chocolate chip cookie bars are a classic, but based on where you live, some count brownies as an alternate sort of cookie bars, too. Then there is the lemon cookie bar and the caramel cookie bar.

How long do they keep?
If in an airtight container, these cookie bars will stay fresh for almost 3 days at room temperature. Or, you can wrap the baked and uncut bars and freeze for up to 3 months.

How to keep moist?
Don’t let them dry out. Place in an airtight container once cooled and let it sit at room temperature.

Can I add mix-ins to cookie bars?
Absolutely! Feel free to add your favorite mix-ins–like nuts, dried fruit, or extra chocolate chips-for the flavor you prefer.

If they break too readily, what can be done?
If your cookie bars turn out a little bit crumbly, it could be because of over-adding flour or insufficient moisture. Try adding a splash of milk or some melted butter in the dough the next time to get it to bind better.