These extra soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie bars are incredibly easy to make. No mixer, dough chilling, or rolling into balls required! Sprinkle with flaky sea salt for a little something extra.
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, helpful success tips, and additional flavors.
Taste testers have always given these chocolate chip cookie bars a stamp of approval—and I’m so glad because this dough makes my favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies, too. We’re talking the softest, chewiest, thickest chocolate chip cookies to ever come out of my oven.
And if you can believe it, baking chocolate chip dough as cookie bars transforms them into something even better. Plus, we don’t have to chill the cookie dough and we don’t need to roll the dough into individual cookies. So, they’re homemade soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies, only easier to prepare. A lazy (I call it “tired”) gal’s cookie if you will. 😉
One reader, Kerri, commented: “I discovered this recipe when I wanted chocolate chip cookies but didn’t feel like waiting for my butter to come to room temperature and then also waiting for the dough to chill. It is now one of my go-to cookie recipes for those same reasons and because these bars are so delicious!! The texture is great and I love that they stay soft and fresh for a couple days. My son loves the addition of coarse sea salt sprinkled on top, too. ★★★★★”
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Dense and buttery
- Extra chewy and extra soft
- Just like chocolate chip cookies, but they don’t spread
- 100x easier than making cookies—no individual cookie dough rolling
- No electric mixer needed
- A quick no-chill cookie recipe
- Topped with sea salt for a little something extra
- Still soft and chewy on days 2 and 3 (if they last that long!)
Key Ingredients & Why You Need Each:
If you’ve tried my beloved chewy chocolate chip cookies, you’re already familiar with the ease of this recipe. We’re using practically the same cookie recipe, but baking them as bars. Here’s what you need:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this recipe.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps these bars rise as they bake. Remember the crucial difference between baking powder and baking soda?
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch gives the cookie bars that ultra soft consistency we all know and love. Plus, it helps keep them wonderfully thick.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor.
- Butter: Use melted butter in this recipe for the chewiest cookie bars. Because we use melted butter, there’s no need to get out your mixer.
- Sugar: I like to use a mix of brown sugar and white granulated sugar this recipe. More brown sugar than white granulated sugar promises an extra soft and chewy cookie bar because there’s more moisture in brown sugar. I slightly reduced the sugar in the bars; it made no difference between the version tested with 1/2 cup sugar (100g).
- Egg & Egg Yolk: 1 egg binds everything together and 1 extra egg yolk adds richness and chewiness. You’ll lose a lot of moisture by skipping that extra egg yolk.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor. If you have any homemade vanilla extract, use that!
- Chocolate Chips: 1 cup of chocolate chips ensures tons of melty chocolate in each bite. Instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips, try using dark, milk, or even white chocolate chips. Or swap half of the chocolate chips for M&Ms like we do in these soft M&M cookie bars.
Flaky sea salt (I use and love this brand) is a lovely touch that offsets the sweetness, but it’s totally optional.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
The dough is incredibly simple. Whisk the dry ingredients together, then the wet, and then combine. It’s a thick, slick cookie dough:
After you prepare the cookie dough, press it into a baking pan. There’s no risk of cookie spreading with this recipe because the edges of the pan completely contain the cookies from overspreading. I love that.
- By the way, if you’re ever having spreading issues with your regular cookies, here are my top 10 tips for how to prevent cookies from spreading.
One batch of these chocolate chip cookie bars fits perfectly into a 9-inch square pan. (A versatile pan that you can use for homemade brownies, too!) I love using this size of pan because it yields a nice, manageable batch—about 16 thick bars. If you want a larger batch in a 9×13-inch pan, use my M&M Cookie Bars recipe and swap the M&Ms for chocolate chips. The recipe below is perfect for a single batch, but requires a few adjustments instead of simply doubling. That’s why I recommend my super similar, scaled up M&M cookie bar recipe instead.
Success Tip: I like to line my pans with parchment paper. This way, you can lift the entire cookie bar mass out and then easily cut into squares. Also makes for quick cleanup! I do the same when making rice krispie treats, too.
Do NOT over-bake these bars. Err on the side of under-baking because otherwise the cookie bars will taste dry and cakey.
Can I Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
Yes! If you want to amp up the depth of flavor by using browned butter, you absolutely can! My team and I have tested it, and you need to start with an extra 2 Tablespoons of butter to make up for the moisture loss that occurs during browning. Otherwise, the bars will taste dry.
How to Freeze Cookie Bars
Homemade chocolate chip cookie bars freeze beautifully so they’re a great make-ahead dessert option. Follow these instructions and no one will know they aren’t freshly baked the day you serve them:
- Bake and cool the cookie bars completely.
- Slice the bars into squares. If you lined your baking pan with parchment paper, simply lift the slab of bars out of the pan, place onto a cutting board, and cut into squares.
- Layer the bars between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. The parchment paper ensures that the bars don’t stick to each other and that the tops of the cookie bars stay intact.
- Label the container with a “best by” date 3 months out. Cookie bars taste best if they’re frozen for just 3 months or less.
- Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator and then bring to room temperature before serving.
More Cookie Bar Flavors
- Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
- S’mores Cookie Bars
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Magic Cookie Bars
- M&M Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cookie and Brownie Bars
And don’t miss my recipe for chocolate chip cookie bark!
Print
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
No mixer required and there’s no waiting for cookie dough to chill with these soft & chewy chocolate chip cookie bars! Do not over-bake these bars. Err on the side of under-baking because otherwise the cookie bars will taste dry and cakey.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- optional: sprinkle of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper around the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Add the egg, extra egg yolk, and vanilla extract. The mixture will be thick. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until combined. The dough will be soft and slick, yet thick. Fold in the chocolate chips. The chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
- Transfer dough to the prepared baking pan and press into an even layer. Lightly sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt, if desired. Also, I like to press a few more chocolate chips on top of the dough before baking; this is just for looks.
- Bake for 30-34 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. Err on the side of under-baking and do NOT over-bake, or the cookie bars will taste a little dry and cakey. Use a toothpick to test for doneness; if it comes out mostly clean from the center of the pan, the bars are done.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for at least an hour. Once relatively cool, lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment and cut into squares.
- Cover and store leftover bars at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 4. Baked cookie bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt
- Larger Batch in a 9×13-inch Pan: If you want a larger batch in a 9×13-inch pan, use my M&M Cookie Bars recipe and swap the M&Ms for chocolate chips. Today’s recipe is perfect for a single batch, but requires a few adjustments instead of simply doubling. That’s why I recommend my super similar, scaled up M&M cookie bar recipe instead.
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars: If you want to use browned butter for this recipe, start with an extra 2 Tablespoons of butter before browning it, to make up for moisture evaporation.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I adore this recipe and have made it several times. It was one of our go-tos during lockdown and it brought us joy during that time but now it’s fun to make them as a special treat. One question: would it absolutely ruin things if I tried making these with whole wheat flour? I’m trying to lean away from white flour where I can and my son (who also LOVES these) hasn’t even noticed when I use it in his favorite banana bread. Thoughts? Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Hi Amanda! So glad to hear these are a favorite for your family. While you could try using whole wheat flour, the bars will definitely lose some of their soft and chewy texture. They may even taste a bit dry. You could first try swapping half of the flour with whole wheat flour, see how it goes, and then adjust for future batches. Hope this helps!
These are delicious and were so easy to make. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!
This was so easy and I enjoyed making these with my toddler. I used parchment for lining and ended up having to bake for about 37 minutes in a 9″ square pan. They were perfectly chewy with crispier edges from the pan (much like the edge pieces of a good brownie) and were a great addition to our neighbor’s cookie plates for Christmas. This recipe is a keeper!
Made these with M&Ms instead of chocolate chips and they came out delicious! Pretty easy recipe, the hardest part is waiting for it to cool 😀 thanks for the recipe!
I made these and they looked great, really good texture but very little flavor and really hard to fold chips into dough.
Thank you so much for the recipe. I have tried several of your recipes and am never disappointed. I love to bake and you always have such a wonderful selection of things to try. Always fun and Always Delicious. My family always loves it.
The bars were so good. They were the perfect softness! We added walnuts in half too!
I discovered this recipe when I wanted chocolate chip cookies but didn’t feel like waiting for my butter to come to room temperature, and then also waiting for the dough to chill. It is now one of my go-to cookie recipes for those same reasons, and because these bars are so delicious!! The texture is great and I love that they stay soft and fresh for a couple of days. My son loves the addition of course sea salt sprinkled on top, too.
I only have a 7″ square pan. Can I use that to bake these?
Hi Hope! A 7″ square pan will be too small for this amount of dough. You could use the extra dough in a smaller baking dish (or muffin tin) for some single serve cookie cups/ramekins. Let us know if you give it a try!
Ok thànkyou. How much of the dough would i use in the 7″ square tin, before using the left overs?
Or how far up the tin would I fill with the dough?
You can fill the pan about half way.
I baked the normal amounts in a 1/4 sheet pan, approximately the same size as a 9×13 but with shorter sides. It was the perfect amount, just resulted in shorter cookie bars. Took about 22 minutes to bake. This is a great last minute recipe; melted butter, no chill time, and no shaping or dropping dough.
I was wondering if I could make these in my jelly roll pan and how long it would take so thanks for leaving this review, it answers my question!
I have made this recipe twice and I am really struggling with the baking time! Usually, your bake times are spot on for my oven (with a thermometer so I know it is accurate), but this specific recipe always results in over done and hard bars! I have tried less time, but then they alway seem raw when I insert a toothpick. Is it okay to have it be slightly underdone–will it set as it cools? Anyone else have this problem? Thank you!
Hi Vera, the middle will continue to bake a bit once removed from the oven. It’s completely normal for the middle to be a bit chewier and sink more than the outside edges — that’s just the nature of cookie bars. For next time, you can try taking them out of the oven a minute or two sooner to prevent them from over baking. You could also tent the edges of the pan with foil to help prevent the edges from browning while allowing the middle to bake through. Hope this helps!
This is my favourite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe by far. I at least double the chocolate and that’s my only change. But that’s just because of my personal ‘more chocolate is always better’ preference
Hello! How long are these good for when heat sealed? Thanks so much!
Hi Jenn, we haven’t tried saving the cookies that way so we’re unsure. Let us know if you try it!
These are really good.
I added 1 tsp baking powder
Used Lorann butter/vanilla emulsion 1 Tablespoon
I Used coconut oil + good pinch of salt since I have a dairy allergy
Left out choco chips
I loved this recipe so much! I didn’t make it as thick, so I put it in for about 20 minutes, and they came out delicious! It took me longer to make the cookie dough because I had these HUGE circle dark chocolate chips, so I had to chop them up, when I thought I had enough, I stopped and started actually making the cookie dough, but then I realized I needed more, so I chopped up some more, then realized I needed even MORE. Needless to say, it took me longer than normal. The cookie dough itself is super good! I took your advice and put some chocolate chips on top at the end, they look and taste great!
Hi! Can I chill this to enhance the flavor and bring to room temp before baking? Or would you not recommend this?
Can’t see why not!
Made 4 double batches today for a big party. Very easy and convenient. I baked them @350 for 37 minutes each 9×13… came out perfect!
Great recipe! My family loved it. I love cookies but they are time-consuming! Thanks for a quick-and -easy DELICIOUS cookie recipe.
Love this recipe and have made these several times now. Everyone always loves them. I don’t own a 9×9 pan and my attempt at making them in an 8×8 resulted in raw cookies (totally my own fault!) Since then, I have been doubling the recipe and using a 9×13 pan and they come out perfectly. They are so soft and – the best part – they STAY SOFT for days!! So much easier than scooping out individual cookies. This recipe has become my go-to!
Will this recipe work in a muffin tray instead?
Hi Peck we haven’t tested that but don’t see why not!
I love this recipe so much! Sally, if I wanted to try these with brown butter what would you recommend? i have frozen Trader Joe’s brown butter and am looking for recipe ideas!
Hi Patrice! You can use the same amount of brown butter in these cookie bars. Enjoy!
perfect
Hi, Sally: I love these bars, could I substitute Easter M&M’s for chocolate chips? If so, would it be the same amount? Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Hi Teresa, Yep! Same amount of M&Ms can replace the chocolate chips.
very good i love cookies
Hi there! I have only made this doubled in a 9×13 and want to make in an 8inch square dish (since I don’t have a 9inch). Is there anything I should change, or just keep an eye on it? Thanks!
Hi Felicia, the bars will be thicker and require longer to bake – enjoy!
These are delicious! I love Sally’s cookie version of this recipe, but I was really craving cookies and didn’t want to wait for cookies to chill. The taste and texture is wonderful. Honestly surprised at the less than great reviews. I did bake for 25 mins as suggested by others, but followed everything else. This just might have to be my new go-to. Sally’s recipes are ALWAYS reliable imo. You just can’t make a substitution where one isn’t allowed
This is so awesome! I made it for National Blondie day, and it was a huge hit! The dough was a bit dry though.
I’ve made this recipe twice in one week! My family LOVES them. I love that it’s super simple and quick. I added in some dark and white chocolate chips. They were delicious!
Just made these! So good and so much easier than doing sheets of cookies that take up so much time.
Thank you for this recipe!
Dorian
very good soft and chewy
Hi there!
Do I have to line the pan with parchment paper or foil? Can’t I just spray it with Pam? I’m serving this as a birthday cake so I will need to leave it in the pan to decorate and such. I don’t want paper or foil hanging out on the sides.
Hi Shelia, you can spray the pan instead of using foil or parchment.
So good! I made these for my hubby’s birthday to take to work. They were gone in 10 minutes! So good and easy! Thanks for the recipe!