This foolproof recipe has everything you love about your favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies, but baked in a 9×13 pan and no mixer or chilling of the dough needed! An extra egg yolk and brown sugar leads to their soft and chewy texture, and each bite is full of rich butter flavor and loaded with chocolate chips. Whenever I show up with this treat at a potluck or family gathering, these bars are the first thing to disappear!
My Family’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dream-Come-True. In One pan!
There’s nothing like a warm-from-the-oven, soft and chewy homemade chocolate chip cookie. For me, just the thought of it brings a flood of memories — of baking cookies with Mom and my sisters on the farm, and sharing them with family and friends. Mom was never without some CCC’s stashed away in the big chest freezer. And my friends were well aware of that fact, with regular requests for “Barb’s chocolate chip cookies”.
Well, fast-forward a few decades and having a family of my own. Life got real full, real fast.
So my goal became this: a bars recipe that is quicker, easier, and 1000% reliable, with rich butter flavor and soft, chewy texture. Isn’t that just so “Midwest” of me? I adore bars recipes!
The secret to this recipe’s craveworthy success is in the combination of melted butter, an extra egg yolk, and more brown sugar than white sugar (I will never, ever make a chocolate chip cookie that does not include the moistness and deeper molasses flavor of brown sugar!).
Each one of these ingredients unlocks its own individual moist qualities, and when combined with the classic ingredients of a truly great chocolate chip cookie — to include really good chocolate (Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips are my favorite) — this recipe is a soft and chewy force to be reckoned with.
These bars have now become my own family’s go-to. Our oldest daughter Hatti even requested this to be her “birthday cake” one year instead of my mom’s ultimate fudgy brownies, her other favorite. She’s awesome like that, not concerned about following the any birthday cake rules, only asking for what she wants!
“I’ve made these several times now and they are excellent, just excellent! They are a hit with everyone! Easy and over-the-top good!”
—Melody
baking soda is key to the chewy texture
Yes, this is a common baking ingredient, but I love what it does to these bars! You see, when baking soda mixes with brown sugar (which has acid from the molasses), it releases little bursts of carbon dioxide gas (our youngest daughter Tessa would appreciate this little bit of nerdy science as she’s currently in year 2 of her bio-chem degree). This causes the pan of bars to puff up slightly while it’s baking, then sink a bit as it cools. Which is GOOD – this helps to give you that incredible dense, chewy center.
OH, AND ONE LAST THING: DO NOT OVER-BAKE!
Yes, that’s my yelling voice! If your goal is to have the softest, chewiest chocolate chip cookie bars on the planet, it’s VERY IMPORTANT to not over-bake. I’d even go so far as to say, for the ultimate soft bars, slightly under-bake them!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (no mixer!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, gently melted and then cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus a bit more for sprinkling over the top of the dough (I recommend Guittard semisweet chocolate chips)
- sea salt flakes, optional for sprinkling over the top (I recommend Maldon Sea Salt Flakes)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly spray a 9" x 13" metal baking pan with non-stick spray. For super clean cuts, see Notes below.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and sugar until combined. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.
- With a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. When about half-way combined, add chocolate chips and continue to fold until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Transfer dough to prepared pan. Dough will be thick and sticky. Press evenly into pan using a spatula and/or your fingertips. See Notes below for more pressing tips.
- If desired, sprinkle a few more chocolate chips over the top, pressing them in a bit. It's also fun to sprinkle M&M's over the top – the mini M&M's are our first choice!
- Bake for about 23 minutes or so, or until top is light golden brown and slightly firm to the touch. For the chewiest bars, do not over-bake. I even recommend to slightly under-bake!
- Remove pan to wire cooling rack. Optional: Sprinkle some sea salt flakes over the top IMMEDIATELY (so they stick) after the pan comes out of the oven.
- Let cool to room temperature and then cut into individual bars.
Notes
- Other chocolate. Try milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate chips — or a combination. Or chop up your favorite dark chocolate bar for a more indulgent adultified treat.
- Candies. Our daughters like to sprinkle mini M&M’s over the top.
- Nuts. Throw in some chopped walnuts or pecans for some nutty crunch. I recommend using roasted, salted nuts for the best flavor and texture.
- Counter – To preserve the soft texture, leave the cooled bars in the pan, covered tightly, and store them on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Fridge – Store the bars in the pan, covered tightly, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer – Place bars in an airtight, freezer-safe container, then store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the bars in the fridge before serving.
Nutrition Information:
For the memory book: This photo was taken while staying with my sister’s family in Florida in 2019, when we celebrated our daughter Hatti’s and my dad’s shared birthday with – yes, you guessed it – these chewy chocolate chip cookie bars!
These turned out awesome! Thank you- this will be my new go-to recipe for take along treats.
SO delicious! I loved your comments in the recipe, cheering me on to stir up a double batch.
These were chewy and delicious and chocolatey! YUUUUMMM!
I made them in a glass pan with no problems, you have to preheat the pan first. I also used parchment paper because I don’t like Cooking with aluminum foil it’s bad for you.
Chewy and crunch on top. I did add a teaspoon of honey for the chew factor but they really are the best pan cookies I’ve made!
I made these for my extremely fussy son. He said they are the best things he has ever eaten, which is a real compliment coming from him as he rarely comments on my cooking! Really quick and easy to make too, I will definitely be making them again!
I’ve made these several times in the last month they are delicious! Thank you!!
I usually order a cookie cake from Sam’s for my kids 1st and last day of school. But…quarantine…so I can’t take my kids to Sam’s. Their last day is Monday, so I’m going to try to sneak bake and decorate these Sunday night. Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! A wonderful way to celebrate!!
These are the easiest and best tasting cookie bars I’ve ever tried. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I’m happy that we agree!! :) Thanks for coming back to let me know, Roni!
Amazing recipe!! We really enjoyed :-) thank you!!
These were amazing! Quick and easy and just what I needed to brighten the quarantine mood…..This will definitely become my go-to recipe, especially because my teens loved them and ate half the batch right away!
Have been making these to take to the work break room . Having to go back to work amid COVID 19 has been a bit stressful, so it’s nice to have something delicious and happy to look forward to on break :). Your recipe is a huge hit!!
I love to hear this. We definitely need some treats to look forward to during this time!
What is the flour amount 3 cups and 2T?
I thought they were absolutely delicious and easy to prepare. I did use 2 whole eggs-hate to waste egg white and added a cup of chopped walnuts. Lifted beautifully out of pan. I have made these three times now, and they always turn out great.
These are pretty good. Nice easy recipe, but I agree with one of the earlier comments about needing more sugar/sweetness. The cookie itself is not very sweet at all – just the chocolate chips are. So if you get a bite with not that many choc chips it’s kind of bland. I will make these again and add more sugar
Hi Haley – hmmmmm, I’ve never felt that, with 1-1/2 cups of sugar. But feel free to tweak as you wish!
I feel the same way. I am pretty sensitive to sugar but still feel that these are not sweet enough. I’ll try make them again with more sugar.
Hello Haley – This comment does surprise me, with 1-1/2 cups of sugar in the recipe. But everyone has different preferences – and I always believe in tweaking recipes to fit your own tastes! I hope you get it just right!
You put 12 T butter. Was that a typo? Please advice ASAP
12 tablespoons is correct!
5 star recipe!
During this quarantine, I have been researching CCC bars everywhere and THIS recipe seemed simple enough for a first timer like me. I followed recipe to a T except for the following:
I used 1 cup m&ms and 1 cup milk chocolate chips, used salted butter and added cinnamon. I cooked it in a 9×9 pan because i wanted thicker bars. Cooked it at 325 for 23 minutes as suggested, then added 5 min then another 2 min, for a total time of 30 min.
These taste AMAZING! Only question i have is what would happen if i cooked it at a higher temp, like 350? Would the middle be less gooey and more cookie like since i used a smaller pan?
Just made these bars. Can’t wait to taste them!
I am so glad I chose this recipe. This was awesome! I will absolutely make again.
These look amazing! Planning on making them for my backyard wedding reception :)
Do you have any tips for making and freezing these ahead of time?
I LOVE that you’re making these for your wedding reception!!!!! These will freeze great. If you’re looking for nicer looking, clean-cut bars, definitely refer to my post where it talks about “How to get Perfect Cuts” and read through the recipe card about this, too. Let the bars cool completely (make sure the chocolate chips are solid, not melty), then cut. Place in containers with tight fitting lids, separating layers of bars with pieces of parchment paper, wax paper, or foil. Enjoy! And congrats on your marriage!
Thank you so much! :)))
These were super easy to make . I think I would add more sugar or brown sugar . They could’ve been sweeter I think . Jmo
Yummy