Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
These super soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie bars are easy (one bowl!) and so delicious! The perfect fix for that chocolate chip cookie craving.
This is one of those recipes where I think it would be best for me to probably zip my lips and let the pictures, simple recipe, and prior reputation do the talking.
But…since I have an inability to stay quiet when there are important things (ok, anything) to say, you won’t get off quite that easy.
Apparently I consider decadent, chewy, chocolate chip cookie bars to be firmly in the “important” category, because I can’t stop talking about these perfect little blondies.
And if you’ve made them, I think you’ll probably agree with me.
This recipe has lived on my site for a long time (since 2010!), and they continue to be a staple treat recipe for us. The only change I’ve made over the years is to streamline the recipe a bit to make them one-bowl and even easier.
I’m not going to sit here and say that there’s no place in the world for good, old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies. I’d be turning my back on some pretty fabulous recipes if I did so:
Super Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
But there’s definitely a time and a reason to go for the quick and easy bar cookie.
And with chocolate chip cookie bars this delicious, you may find that you’re making them way more often than even your most favorite go-to cookie recipe (no scooping! no multiple baking sheets! no risk of eating all the cookie dough before the last batch of cookies bakes!).
In the interest of full disclosure, my kids whip up these easy chocolate chip cookie bars more often than I do. Even my 9-year old can get them in the oven quickly and relatively painlessly (it’s the cleaning up that inspires lots of juvenile angst).
And bonus: a recipe this classic and this easy is open to some flavor swaps with the chocolate chips. And M&M’s on top? A really, really good decision.
Brian waxes poetic when I live on the edge and throw in some butterscotch chips. But if anyone dares swap out my beloved dark chocolate chips for milk chocolate chips or (gasp!) white chocolate chips, I tend to lose all sense of right and wrong and say things I’ll regret later.
I’ll let you make your own decisions about which chocolate chip feels eternally right, and I even promise to try and be an adult about it just as long as your white chocolate doesn’t get too close to my cookie bars. 🙂
Also, if you’re looking for a delicious oatmeal cookie bar variation, here are two I love:
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Bars
One Year Ago: Instant Pot Indian Vegetable Rice
Two Years Ago: Doubletree Hotel Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three Years Ago: Sweet Molasses Bread {Restaurant Knock-off}
Four Years Ago: Baked Shrimp and Orzo with Feta Cheese
Five Years Ago: Italian Lasagna Rolls
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (170 g) salted butter, 1 1/2 sticks, melted and cooled slightly
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (212 g) light brown sugar
- ½ (106 g) cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (298 g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (340 g) chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, semisweet, bittersweet, milk, white, peanut butter…the options are endless!
Instructions
- 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.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, salt and baking soda together until well combined. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until evenly combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon start folding the flour into the wet ingredients. After a few stirs (with streaks of flour remaining), add the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks and mix until combined. Don’t overmix, just stir until no dry streaks remain (sometimes I use my hands as the dough gets thick).
- Press the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake until the bars are light golden brown on the edges, 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 squares and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Illustrated
Mel, I’m sorry I can’t find where to leave a comment about favorite podcasts. Just thought I’d mention a couple. Decorating Tips and Tricks and James MacDonald from Harvest Bible Chapel in the Chicago area.
I appreciate your recipes so much! Thanks for making simple and delicious food!
~Melinda
Thanks so much, Melinda!
This is my new go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars. So good! I undercooked them a little bit, but they were still delicious. And so easy. I’ll be making these over and over again! Thanks!
Thanks, Nicole!
Made these this evening with Salted carmel chips. OH SO GOOD!!!! Thanks! I’ll be keeping this recipe!
On another note, I dreamed about you last night. In it, I got to meet you. You were HUGELY pregnant. Like abnormally so, your belly hung down halfway to your knees. lol My Mom was with me when we met you and was completely starstruck. It was one of those dreams that you just want to keep going. 🙂
Hahahahaha. Oh my gosh, Jessica, I don’t quite know what to say about this! I’m not pregnant, so ease your mind about that. 🙂
These are one of my favorites! The first time I made them (a few years ago), I made them three times in three days! I seem to follow the same pattern ever since. Absolutely perfect! Thanks again for another delicious favorite!
I’m loving that pattern! 🙂 They are so easy, there really isn’t a reason NOT to make them three times in three days!
325 for 24 minutes? Won’t it be raw in the middle? Even when I bake regular cookie dough in a 9×13 pan at 350 for 30 min it’s still slightly gooey in the middle. And my oven temp is fine.
Or should it be a larger jelly roll pan so it’s thinner?
This is the timing that works best in my oven, but you can definitely adjust as needed.
Thx Mel!
Quick question – I only have a glass 9×13 pan. Will that be ok? Appreciate all the good recipes!
Hey Heather – for a glass pan, I’d suggest decreasing the temp by 25 degrees.
Great recipe, this was just what I was looking for. My hubby has a bunch of extra co-workers in town this week (usually it’s just him & one other) & he asked if I would make a treat to share. I needed something easy to send with him & this popped up. Quick, easy & oh so yummy! I prefer these to chocolate chip cookies I think, love the corners. Sadly tho, he took them all to work with him so I only got one. Guess I will have to break down & make another batch 🙂 Thanks again for all your work sharing such goodness!
Thanks, Kathy!
Just wondering if you tested this recipe with either 1 or 2 eggs? I’m not a huge fan of just using a yolk and having to think of something to use the white for (I usually stash them in the freezer but never get around to using them). Thanks!
I have used a full two eggs and they aren’t quite as chewy – more cakey. But you can experiment and see if you like them that way!
These were the perfect mid-week pick me up for my girls who are in the middle of state standardized testing. So quick and easy and amazing! This will be my new go-to recipe for chocolate chip bar cookies for sure. And in case anyone is wondering: 1/2 cup butterscotch chips with 1 and 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips was delicious! Since that’s all I had left of butterscotch chips. :o) Perfect recipe for little helpers in the kitchen too.
Yum, yum! Thanks for the report back, Emily!
This is my all time favorite quick cookie bar recipe! It is also a great recipe to hand off to the kids so they can make dessert for company 😉
Super easy to mix up and super easy to eat! I added some chopped walnuts, just because I love nuts in my cookies. Definitely a keeper!
Love that these are so adaptable – thanks for the review, Ellen!
I first saw this recipe at noon today. By 3:00 they were made, cooled and devoured. All the 14 year old boys I had to take to track practice gave them 2 thumbs up. Thanks for another great recipe!
Lucky teenagers! 🙂
I, too, make these all the time, I sometimes add in about 2 ounces of cocoa powder and remove the same amount of the flour for a chocolate variation. Thank you, for another fabulous recipe!
That sounds amazing!
I’m thinking you ought to give it a whirl, Mel
I made these last night. Not only are they easy (I had a 16-month old clinging to my legs for most of the process), they are fabulous!
For a variation, I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients because I love chocolate and cinnamon together…they were mind-blowing good. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us!
Oooh, fabulous idea with the cinnamon, Summer!
These have been a family tradition to make on Christmas Eve with Christmas colored M&M’s. I love how quick and easy they are to make, plus how delicious they taste.
How festive!
These are my absolute favorite–they have the perfect chew and sweet/salt balance. A favorite memory is that I made these 6 years ago when I was in labor with my second daughter (a home birth), and after I delivered, the midwife and our family sat around and ate them (the chocolate chips were still gooey–clearly it was a quick delivery). Now, I make them every year for my daughter’s birthday to commemorate the grand event.
These have been a family favorite since you posted them all those years ago. Thanks, Mel. You da best.
This is the best comment, Tristin! Seriously! Still melty chocolate chips? Good thing that was a home birth. 🙂
We LOVE these bars! They are a staple in our house. Also, the super soft cookie. Everyone know that recipe as “jessica’s Chocolate chip cookies”. I promise I always send them to your site when someone asks me for the recipe. 🙂 I haven’t made the other two cookie recipes (at least not recently). Pretty sure I may need to make all of them and we can have a taste test on which we love the most. 🙂
Funny you mention that because I’m going to have a chocolate chip cookie tasting party (and root beer tasting party) with some adult couple friends in the next couple weeks. I’m going to make several different kinds of chocolate chip cookies and have a blind taste test for everyone to vote on their favorites (root beer, too!). And then we’ll all go run a mile or two. 🙂
These are my go to when I am in the mood for cookies and don’t want to wait around for butter to soften.
Did you use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe?
I always use salted butter
I have been making this recipe for years and it is definitely one of my favorite treats to make. They are so yummy and easy to make.
We have a play date planned at our house this afternoon and last night I thought it would be fun to make a treat for the boys. My son couldn’t decide between cookies or bars. I thought I’d search your recipe index for bar cookies. LOL Thanks for putting the right recipe front and center!!!
Haha, great timing!! 🙂
These are some of our favorites for feeding a crowd! I double the recipe and press it in a cookie sheet! It’s quick, easy and delicious!
Bake time for half sheet pan?
Right about the same…
Hi Mel! Do you think it would work to sub m&ms in for the chocolate chips?
I think so! M&Ms tend to crack a little when baking, but if that’s not a big deal, they should sub just fine!
I just made your bars and they are delicious soft chewy, and I will make them again. I used milk chocolate and white Nestle morsels, pecan and chopped walnuts, and I baked it for 40 minutes at 325 in a deep 12 inch long 7 1/2 wise and 2 inch deep pan. Other than that I didn’t change the recipe at all. I wanted the bars to be thick. It made 12 bars total. Perfect. Thank you so much.
This is my go to recipe every time! So delicious!!
This is my new go to cookie recipe! I have made many variations, all delicious (add chopped peanut butter cups and peanuts, caramels and sea salt, etc.!!!)
Amazing recipe! One of my go tos for hosting last minute company
I love this recipe, thanks. I also use U.S.A bake pans and you do not have to grease or flour their bake pans, everything comes out without any problem.
Gordonna Bush
Wow!! These turned out perfectly. I subbed one cup of chocolate chips with crushed up Butterfinger and they were amazing. I froze them in advance of a cookie swap and then Bates them at 275 for 10 minutes and let them cool for about an hour before I put them in their bags and they tasted freshly baked
I have found my go-to, perfect cookie bar recipe! I make these at least once a week. I love to customize the chips. Favorites include dark chocolate/peanut butter chips, white chocolate/macadamia nut, semi sweet/butter scotch chips, and of course the tried and trued original good ole chocolate chips. I find that I need to keep them in a good half hour, but feel that it is due to the ridiculously high humidity. Just want to thank you, Mel…I also swear by your beef broccoli and sweet and sour chicken recipe.
Oh man- I made these three times in the last three days! My boys kept eating them all. Amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Love love LOVE these cookie bars! So good fresh out of the oven! And instead of chocolate chips you can always put in crushed up candy bars, peanut butter cups, or white chocolate chips & macadamia nuts! Yum!
Just made this. It was great! Thanks!
Just finished making this recipe, so yummy and easy to make. I’ve been looking for a bar recipe like this one for some time and so glad I found yours. I’m sure I’ll make this over and over again. Turned out perfect! Thanks for sharing.
These were amazing and so easy to whip up! I have so much faith in you that I ordered your favorite Calphalon 9 x 13 pan without even thinking twice. Made these bar cookies as soon as it arrived and they turned out great. The top was slightly browned and the texture was spot on and very easy to slice into squares. I have tried SO many of your recipes and have never been disappointed! Sometimes I feel a little guilty for taking credit for such yummy dishes. Everyone thinks that I’m such a good cook but it’s really your recipes that make me look so good in the kitchen. Thanks for all you do and we appreciate you more than you’ll ever know!
Thank you so much, Diane!
Made these this morning …turned out great! While mixing these up though I thought about the comments people have made about them being greasy and wonder if they followed the directions exactly specifically re: mixing in the egg and egg yolk with the melted butter and sugars before mixing in with the flour? The egg and egg yolk act as emulsifiers for the fat– so mixing those together well prevents the fat in the butter separating out and making the bars “greasy”. One thing I have learned about Mel’s recipes is that following the instructions exactly is very often the key to the good results they provide. Thank you Mel!
I have made these many, many times. They are so delicious! I got a food scale for Christmas and I just made these weighing the ingredients. Made me giddy! Thank you for including the ounce measurements.
have you ever made a big batch of these in a half-size cookie sheet? would you double the recipe?
Yes, that should work – if you want thinner bars (or the sides of your pan are low), you might 1 1/2 the recipe instead.
Did anyone else find these greasy? They are delicious, but the bottom is extremely greasy, as if they are oozing butter, to the point where they left marks on my cutting board. Would it be possible to cut back on the butter?
You could certainly try cutting back on butter, Nicole, but I wonder if it might be another issue? I’m not sure what…but I’ve made these dozens and dozens of times and they are never greasy to the point you are describing. What brand of butter did you use out of curiosity?
OMG!! I tried this recipe and added Nutella and caramel sauce to the batter. Then I put big chocolate chips, heath chips and mini marshmallows in the batter and baked it for 20 minutes. It was the biggest hit ever!!!!!!
T
hat sounds good. How much of the nutella and heath chips marshmellows etc did you put in
EVERYBODY got the best this or that. I was sure this was going to fall into that same category. Whew, I was wrong. These bars, lawd, these bars are fantastic! I am very picky and it is hard to please me and these bars, they did it. I did not completely melt butter (used half mardrine and half butter) I let it them get very close to melting where it was easy to stir with a spoon. I did everything else as stated. I will make these again and again. Thank you so much for posting.
My son hates cake so every year for his birthday i make him chocolate chip cookies. This year I made this recipe followed it exactly and baked it in my large round spring form pan. He said it was the best birthday cookie ever. Everyone loved it and ate it all. I am now making another one one week later.
Hi ladies, I have made these cookie bars 5 times now and only once have I gotten them to turn out. I follow the recipe and cook time to a t but no luck. When I take them out they aren’t done at all and/or seem like cookies with too much butter (greasy and thin etc). Please help I really want to make these work.
I would try chilling the dough for an hour before you bake them.
That should help.
I made these with two small additions….coconut and sprinkled pecans on top. YUM!!!
My sister and I made these- they are absolutely amazing and so easy to make!
http://www.thebaconharvest.com/best-choc-chip-cookies/
These are definitely a go-to in my house ! I follow the recipe almost to a T – I usually microwave my butter on auto defrost so it’s usually partially melted and partially solid (but slightly warmer than room temperature). They are so quick and easy to make!
I do have one question for Mel – Do you happen to have a version for these bars in which the base is a chocolate cookie? I think my husband might die of happiness if he could have double chocolate cookie bars 🙂
No, not yet but you have my brain working now – I think I might try that this afternoon!
YAY! Please let me know what you come up with!!! I’ve also thought about a chocolate version and maybe putting a few dabs of chocolate and/or caramel in it. (( drool ))
Just made these! Love this. It was a big hit with kids who are picky eaters.
I made these tonight, and they were amazing! Could not find a better recipe than this. But I did have to bake the bars for 16 minutes more, to actually cook it? Is there any reason why that may have happened?
Probably due to differences in oven temperatures and type of oven (electric, convection, gas). Glad they worked out!
Just pulled this recipe up again. Whipped it up just now in less than 20 minutes. I will serve them to my Girls On The Run team during our team party his afternoon. I love this recipe because I typically have all of the ingredients on hand. It’s a true hit with everyone! Thanks so much Mel .
Oh my goodness! Yum, Yum and Yum. No better bar cookies. I’ll cut back on the chips next time – maybe just a cup. My husband will protest but they’re a little too rich for me.