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!
Absolutely wonderful moist bars! Only baked 24 min in my large toaster oven. Used Bailey’s Irish crepe chocolate chips. Yummy! Definitely a keeper recipe. Will save in my favorites! A big 5 stars!
I made these bars with a mix of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. I baked for 20 minutes and it was the perfect time. These bars are so YUMMY . The perfect chewiness. These are a keeper!
These were delicious, I baked them for 25 minutes in a glass pan. I would buy a metal pan for next time, they were still a little under baked but so good! Perfect recipe proportions!
My boys (teens) loved these! “You should make these more often,” and “I like these better than regular cookies,” along with, “How many can I have?” is probably the highest praise they can give. For me, they’re really easy and foolproof, so this will be my go-to for chocolate chip cookies from now on. Thanks!
I did not read carefully, apparently, because anytime I see 9×13 pan I pull out my glass Pyrex. I did line it in foil since I loved the idea of taking out the whole bar and cutting it on a big cutting board. I timed them 23 mins and noticed the middle was not firm at all. I increased the time in two minute increments and did about 8-9 minutes over. I was surprised at how thick these ended up being so perhaps next time I’ll use a metal sheet pan and it’ll take less time to cook.
This recipe is easy and only made two bowls dirty. I loved that I didn’t have to bake individual cookies. To make them look fancy, I cut into big squares and then cut on the diagonal to make triangles.
Amazing and easy!
Hi, I was wondering if it’s possible to reduce the amount of butter at all, and if so, by how much? We’re trying to watch cholesterol in our house, but this recipe looks good!
Just got a compliment from my husband that these are the best bar cookies I have ever made. They are really good!
Made this tonight with a metal pan and they were very doughy in the middle. Had to put them back in but very yummy!
Perfection! These were so easy but more importantly delicious. The timing was perfect in a metal pan lined with foil. Crispy little edges but soft in the middle. Well done!!!
Wonderful! I did not use a glass pan and did have to increase my time by 5 minutes. I think it’s more about you oven calibration than the pan you use.
Probably one of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. I did mine with dark and white chocolate chips and it’s so deliciously scrumptious. Goes great with cold milk or hot coffee!
Hey,
Do you have a conversion of the ingredients for UK? We use grams mostly, and I’m not confident in measuring out flour with cups. Really want to try this recipe!!
Thanks :)
These are fantastic!!! Made these for work with Heath bar bits and Bailey’s chocolate chips :) I used a glass 9×13 and added an extra 7 minutes. Turned out perfectly chewy and soft! Thank you for sharing!
Just wanted to say that the note says not to use a glass pan. But I use a thick glass 9×13 and wipe it down with vegetable oil and it works perfectly for this recipe! This is my go to for cookies now! Love it.
Where is the lower middle rack located? Is it just the middle rack?
Hi Gabrielle – Lower middle rack is just below the center. :)
These were delicious! Followed the recipe exactly. They were a big hit! Super easy. They were even better the next day. Going to try the next batch with M&Ms.
The bars are insanely delicious! Super easy to make. It’s all you will ever need!
I made these to take to work and they were a huge hit! Bonus points for being super easy! Thanks so much for the recipe!
These are soooo good! I have a kiddo that is allergic to dairy so I just swapped out the butter and chocolate chips with dairy free! They turned out amazing! THANK YOU!!! My 3 boys are begging me for more as I type this review!