Chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect easy treat when you’re craving your favorite chocolate chip cookies but don’t want to wait for dough to chill or to scoop out cookies!

Chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect easy treat when you're craving your favorite chocolate chip cookies but don't want to wait for dough to chill or to scoop out cookies!

I’ve been craving my favorite chocolate chip cookies for at least a month now. The fact that I haven’t made them yet is a tragedy. I have such a soft spot for those cookies – I made a huge batch for the freezer a few weeks before Joseph was born last year. I packed a handful in my hospital bag and boy were those a welcome treat during all those days in the hospital. After he was born, the evening routine in our house consisted of me nursing Joseph, him falling asleep on the boppy pillow in my lap, and my husband and I binge watching 24… and I always ate a cookie from the freezer while we watched :)

So, I’ve wanted those cookies badly but I didn’t really want to wait for the dough chill or go through scooping and shaping cookies (pregnancy laziness?), so I did the next best thing – I made chocolate chip cookie bars!

Chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect easy treat when you're craving your favorite chocolate chip cookies but don't want to wait for dough to chill or to scoop out cookies!

Want to know the best part?

While I’ve found that this cookie recipe definitely benefits from chilling in the refrigerator prior to baking, these chocolate chip cookie bars were just fine without chilling the dough. Wonderfully soft, chewy and sturdy enough to grab and eat standing up.

Hello, summer camping and picnic food!

Chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect easy treat when you're craving your favorite chocolate chip cookies but don't want to wait for dough to chill or to scoop out cookies!

It was the perfect recipe to whip up quickly on a Friday night after Joseph went to bed and before I hit the couch for the continuation of our 24 marathon (we took quite a few months off, but we’re now on season six!).

If you need an easy sweet snack for your favorite TV watching, these chocolate chip cookie bars are IT.

Chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect easy treat when you're craving your favorite chocolate chip cookies but don't want to wait for dough to chill or to scoop out cookies!

Three years ago: Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Four years ago: Homemade Rum Cake
Five years ago: Best Ever Potato Salad

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect easy treat when you're craving your favorite chocolate chip cookies but don't want to wait for dough to chill or to scoop out cookies!
4.17 (18 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 8½ ounces (240.97 g) cake flour, (2 cups minus 2 tablespoons )
  • 8½ ounces (240.97 g) bread flour, (1â…” cups)
  • 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking powder
  • 1¼ teaspoons (1.25 teaspoons) baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) kosher salt
  • 10 ounces (283.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, (1¼ cups )
  • 10 ounces (283.5 g) light brown sugar, (1¼ cups )
  • 8 ounces (226.8 g) granulated sugar, (1 cup + 2 tablespoons )
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups (450 g) semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
  • Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
  • Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
  • Turn the dough out into the prepared baking pan and press into an even layer. Bake until the edges cookies are light brown and set, but the center still look pale, about 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. Leftover cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

Note: A number of readers have noted that their cookie bars are raw in the middle when cooking for 20 minutes. Mine were slightly underbaked (which is how I bake all of my cookie, bar or brownie recipes), but certainly not raw. Just note that you may need to add some baking time to the recipe depending on your oven or how well done you like your cookie bars.
Nutritional values are based on one serving
Calories: 353kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 214mg, Potassium: 175mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 27g, Vitamin A: 325IU, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 1.5mg

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!