Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Printable)

Soft, chewy bars loaded with chocolate chips, perfect for a sweet treat that's easy to share.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
03 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Wet Ingredients

04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
05 - 1 cup packed light brown sugar
06 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
07 - 2 large eggs, at room temperature
08 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

→ Add-Ins

09 - 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing an overhang for easy removal.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Set mixture aside.
03 - Whisk melted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl until smooth and glossy.
04 - Add eggs one at a time to the wet mixture, whisking after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.
05 - Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula until just combined.
06 - Gently fold in semisweet chocolate chips to ensure even distribution.
07 - Evenly spread the dough into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
08 - Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
09 - Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Use the parchment overhang to lift the bars and cut into 16 pieces.

# Cooking Tips:

01 -
  • They're impossible to mess up, which means you can make them on a weeknight without stress.
  • One pan, one cooling time, and you've got 16 pieces of dessert ready to share or keep hidden for yourself.
  • The texture hits that sweet spot between chewy and cake-like that feels almost luxurious compared to regular cookies.
02 -
  • Overbaking is the enemy here—those few moist crumbs are what make them chewy, and they'll continue to set as they cool, so trust the process even when they look slightly underdone.
  • The pan's residual heat keeps cooking the bars after you pull them out, so pulling them out at the right moment means the difference between chewy and dry.
03 -
  • Store these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days, and they'll actually stay chewy rather than drying out—the butter content helps with that.
  • If you want to make them ahead, the dough can be mixed and pressed into the pan, then covered and refrigerated overnight before baking, which can deepen the flavor slightly.

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