Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
All the flavour of chocolate chip cookies pressed into one pan, with soft centres and golden edges.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- No scooping, no chilling, no baking in batches. One pan and one bake.
- The extra egg yolk is what keeps the middle soft instead of drying into a biscuit.
- Melted butter means no mixer and no waiting for butter to soften.
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Chocolate chip cookie dough baked as one easy pan of bars.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1. Heat the oven to 175 C / 350 F. Line a 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
- Step 2. Whisk the melted butter with both sugars until smooth and slightly glossy.
- Step 3. Whisk in the whole egg, the extra yolk and the vanilla.
- Step 4. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt until almost combined, with a few dry streaks still showing.
- Step 5. Fold in the chocolate chips, holding back a small handful for the top. The last of the flour will disappear as you fold.
- Step 6. Press the dough evenly into the pan with damp fingertips or the back of a spoon, then scatter the reserved chips over the surface.
- Step 7. Bake for 22 to 27 minutes, until golden at the edges and set but still soft in the centre.
- Step 8. Cool completely in the pan before lifting out and cutting into 16 bars.
Notes
- Press the dough in evenly. Thin corners bake faster than a thick middle, and unevenness is the main reason one batch has both crisp and doughy bars.
- Scattering chips on top is cosmetic but worth it. Chips folded through the dough sink slightly, and a bar with no visible chocolate looks like a plain blondie.
- Take them out while the centre still looks a little soft. They continue setting in the hot pan, and a fully firm centre in the oven bakes dry.
- Damp fingertips stop the dough sticking to your hands while you press it in. A sheet of parchment laid on top works too.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-cookie-bars/
Ingredient Notes
- Melted butter
- Melted rather than creamed butter gives a denser, chewier bar. It also means no mixer. Let it cool for a couple of minutes so it does not cook the egg.
- Extra egg yolk
- The yolk adds fat and emulsifiers without adding more water, which is what keeps the centre soft. Dropping it gives a noticeably drier, more cake-like bar.
- Brown sugar
- More brown than white sugar here. The molasses holds moisture and gives the caramel note people associate with a good chocolate chip cookie.
- Baking soda
- Only half a teaspoon. This is a dense bar rather than a risen one, and more soda would give it a soapy edge and an over-browned base.
Equipment
- 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Spatula
Substitutions
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Chopped chocolate from a bar melts into pools rather than holding its shape, which some people prefer. Milk or dark both work at the same weight.
- All-purpose flour
- A cup-for-cup gluten-free blend containing xanthan gum works. Rest the pressed dough 10 minutes before baking.
- Unsalted butter
- Salted butter is fine — reduce the added salt to a pinch.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Freeze cut bars, separated by parchment, for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, or warm briefly for a just-baked texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my cookie bars dry?
Usually overbaking, or too much flour. Pull them while the centre still looks slightly soft, and measure flour by spooning it into the cup rather than scooping the cup through the bag.
Can I use a 9 x 13 pan?
Double the recipe for a 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13 inch pan and bake around 25 to 30 minutes. A single batch spread into that pan bakes thin and hard.
Do I need to chill the dough?
No. Chilling matters for scooped cookies that would otherwise spread. Pressed into a pan, the dough has nowhere to spread to.
Why is the middle still doughy?
Either it needed a few more minutes, or the dough was pressed in unevenly with a thick centre. Check with a skewer in the middle — a few moist crumbs is right, wet batter is not.
Can I use just one whole egg instead of the extra yolk?
Yes, but the bars come out drier and more cake-like. The spare white can go into scrambled eggs or a meringue.
How is this different from your chocolate chip cookies?
Same flavour, different texture. The bars are thicker, softer and chewier through the middle, and they take one bake instead of three or four trays.
Did you make this?
Let other people know how it went. One tap, nothing to fill in.
Thanks — that helps.
