I am just returning from a sudden out-of-town trip and my house and children are overloaded with needs I must attend to.
So in that vein, let me simply state that if you need a midweek pick-me-up, these quick and delicious treats are for you. I love the ease of bars versus cookies and this chocolate chip variation manages to be chewy, buttery, studded with the perfect amount of chocolate…and utterly fantastic. These have definitely become my go-to chocolate chip blondie bar and I hope you love them as much as we do.
Now wish me luck in getting my life in order.
Ingredients
- 2 1/8 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup (7 ounces) light brown sugar
- 1/2 (3 1/2 ounces) cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips (use your preference of semisweet, bittersweet, milk, white, peanut butter…the options are endless!)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, letting the excess hang over the edges of the pan by about 1 inch so you can grab those edges and pull the brownies from the pan after they have baked. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.
- Bake until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan, 24-28 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.
Printed from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com)
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Illustrated
I made these this week…they are THE BEST BAR cookies…EVER!!
[...] adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, originally from Cook’s [...]
[...] made these yummy chocolate chip bars today. I found the recipe here. How did I make this recipe a little more nutritious? I used pastured chicken eggs from our [...]
Can you use olive oil instead of butter?
Chelsey – I’ve never tried that so I don’t know. Sorry!
Hi Mel! I assume these keep well? I want to make these tonight (Tuesday) for Thursday night, but I am attempted to freeze them. I love fresh desserts. The recipe seems like it would freeze well, but I never know. Any one have any thoughts? I guess I can always get up early Thursday….
Stephanie – I’ve never frozen these so I can’t attest to how well they keep but I’d definitely either freeze them tonight or make them fresh on Thursday morning…they will be a bit too dry if they stay at room temperature for a couple of days. Good luck!
This is TRULY my FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie bar recipe. The one issue I always have with my chocolate chip cookies and bars is them staying moist. I read somewhere to use bread, any thoughts or other tips?
Amy – I never really keep these on hand longer than a day so I haven’t had to store them any special way but the bread tip may be worth a try. Good luck!
Made these yesterday and they were absolutely delicious!!!
Yum! I love chocolate chip bars!
OMG! I have type II diabetes and thought my downfall was carbs with fat and salt until I met these babies! Oh, and my hubbie and adult son love them too!
I just made these and the batter seemed too thick so I cooked them as cookies, should the batter be too thick to pour. They are delicious as cookies though
Debbie – yes, the batter is pretty thick.
Bought my 4 year old son a skeleton/skull spatula at the William Sonoma Outlet today. We picked this recipe to use it with. Perfect, especially the part where you “fold with a spatula”.
The bars are super delicious too! Thanks for sharing all of your amazing recipes. I’ve loved every single one that I’ve made.
[...] adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, originally from Cook’s [...]
After a week of cruise ship food, I really needed something homemade. I made these tonight and they were SO good! Just as you say, they are thick, soft, and delicious. Totally filled my homemade dessert craving! Another great recipe, as usual.
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Just made these are they absolutely DELICIOUS!!! The BEST I’ve ever had! This recipe is now bookmarked!
Thank you Mels Kitchen!
Mel, I have been meaning to comment on these for months. This is my favorite simple dessert recipe. I have made them for my family dozens of times and I appreciate the simplicity. 4 months ago, as I whipped up a batch, I went into labor with my second daughter. By the time they came out of the oven, my midwife was over for our planned home birth. Long story short, about 2 hours later, I had the baby and then we all ate these cookie bars. Now, I love them even more for the sentimentality… My labor story always starts with.. “Well, I was in the kitchen, 2 weeks overdue, making cookie bars…” Just wanted to share that with you. Thanks for this and all of your wonderful recipes! You truly have one of the best food blogs around!!
[...] Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe [...]
[...] and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars From Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (adapted slightly from Cook’s [...]
This is a “print and keep” recipe. Excellent and I’d never used the tinfoil trick before. So enlightening! Thanks for a delicious recipe that I’ll keep making for years to come.
I doubled these today and used a bag of chocolate chips and a bag of Valentine’s M&M’s! They are really good, and very cute too! I love the texture! Good thing I made them to share or else I would be in big trouble!
[...] I was looking on the Internet last week trying to find ways to use up some of my leftover M&Ms from Christmas baking and came across this recipe. I decided to give it a try and I am so glad I did. It’s a delicious, chewy blondie-type recipe with M&Ms spread over the top. As recipes go, this one is pretty easy and it looks lovely too! If you’re an M&M lover you will love digging your teeth into one of these amazing cookie bars. I am grateful to Christine at Fantastic Family Favorites for posting this exceptional recipe. Her source was Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. [...]
[...] I was looking on the Internet last week trying to find ways to use up some of my leftover M&Ms from Christmas baking and came across this recipe. I decided to give it a try and I am so glad I did. It’s a delicious, chewy blondie-type recipe with M&Ms spread over the top. As recipes go, this one is pretty easy and it looks lovely too! If you’re an M&M lover you will love digging your teeth into one of these amazing cookie bars. I am grateful to Christine at Fantastic Family Favorites for posting this exceptional recipe. Her source was Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. [...]
These look divine. I need to make a 12×18 pan full of these for my son’s musical rehearsal buffet. If I double the recipe do you know how long I should bake them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Kathy – I’ve doubled these before and you should probably cut about 5 minutes off the baking time. Check them early because these definitely shouldn’t be overbaked.
Thank you – I will keep a close eye on these….there will be very hungry actors and actresses and I would hate to disappoint
I can’t stop making these! They are so easy and so good! We’ve tried M&M’s and semi sweet chips (for valentines day!) and white chocolate chips plus butterscotch chips, and I’m thinking that I need a new variation today. Thanks for a great, easy recipe. You’re always my go-to food blog!
Just tried these last night. They are delicious! I added M & M’s for some extra fun and cut them in big squares and served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!
I only had a stick and a half of butter and needed a dessert for a family potluck today that would go a long way, be awesome, and use only things I had on hand. These were outstanding! They were just right at 28 minutes. Super good and awesomely easy! I’m so happy/sad I know how to make them…these are gonna spell trouble for me in moments of weakness!
These are so wonderful. This is probably the fourth time I’ve made these. This time, I’ve chopped up the chocolate Easter bunnies in lieu of chips
I made these a while ago and liked them, but recently I have been loving them. I think I’ve made them 5 times in the last month. Anytime we are asked to bring a treat to something, I can whip these up in way less time than it takes to make most cookie recipes. I often double the recipe and bake it in one big jelly-roll style pan lined with parchment; they are perfect after 26 minutes and with just a little less than 4 cups of milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips. ~50 squares of deliciousness ready in a little over a half hour? Does it get any better?