These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are the BEST and my family would NOT stop raving about these! These chocolate chip cookie bars are gooey on the inside, crispy on the outside, and one of the easiest cookie bars to make.
These cookie bars are adapted from King Arthur Baking’s recipe (link)
My favorite ingredient in this recipe is the espresso powder. I tend to use a little extra helping of it.
VIDEO: I made these cookie bars for my family.
How Do You Brown Butter?
I believe browning butter is a very important step to give any cookie an impressive flavor. It doesn’t take too much time, just a little attention, and boosts the quality of the cookie so much its makes it more than worth it.
To brown butter, just heat butter over medium heat. Once the butter melts, stir slowly and increase stirring speed as it begins to heat up. The moment you see brown on the bottom of the pan, you can remove from heat and transfer to a separate container.
One great thing about brown butter is you don’t need to let it solidify before using it immediately.
But, if you do make a large batch, you can refrigerate the brown butter and use it later.
Step-by-step photos
Making these cookie bars are super easy. With a few extra special ingredients, you can be sure to impress your family and friends.
Full list of ingredients and detailed steps are at the end of this page.
First, brown the butter
Then mix the butter with the brown sugar. Add the rest of the wet ingredients plus espresso powder.
Add the dry ingredients (flour, etc.) to make a dough. Then mix in the chocolate chips.
Pour out the dough into a 9×13 baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake and then top with salt.
Recipe
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- (optional but recommended) Make brown butter by melting unsalted butter over medium heat. Stir slowly once melted and increase speed as the butter heats up and boils. Once you see brown bits at the bottom, remove from heat and transfer to a heat-safe container (could be the mixing bowl you use for the next step).
- (optional) If you need to create your own dark brown sugar, combine 2 cups (400g) of granulated white sugar and 4 tablespoons of molasses.
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter (browned or otherwise) and dark brown sugar. Mix using the paddle attachment until well combined. The mixture should be a bit wet after mixing.
- Add espresso powder, vanilla extract, and eggs. Mix until well combined.
- Add the all-purpose flour and mix until a dough is made. Then add the milk chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips. Also add the walnuts (or your alternative of choice)
- Tip out the dough onto a 9×13 baking pan lined with parchment paper. Spread with a spatula.
- Bake in the oven preheated to 350℉ for 30 to 32 minutes or until the top is shiny and golden. A cake test will not come out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool. These can be cooled overnight if needed.