Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe for Perfect Dessert

Chocolate chip cookie bars are soft, chewy, and simpler than baking individual cookies. No chilling or rolling dough—this easy, mixer-free recipe makes a large, crowd-pleasing batch.

This post was updated November 12, 2024 with new photos & recipe tips

If you prefer cookies that are thick, tender and loaded with chocolate, these chocolate chip cookie bars are perfect. They deliver the texture of a chewy cookie without the fuss of chilling dough or shaping balls. The recipe requires no mixer and bakes in one pan, making it an ideal choice for when you want homemade cookie flavor with minimal effort.

Cookie Bars vs Blondies

Cookie bars and blondies are both baked in a single pan and often include chocolate chips, but they differ in texture and structure:

• Cookie bars are soft and chewy with more structure, while blondies tend to be denser and gooier in the center.

Making Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

This recipe is formulated specifically for a 9×13 inch pan, so it isn’t just a direct transfer of a drop-cookie recipe. Adjustments to ingredients and leavening ensure the right thickness and texture when baked as a slab.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal. You can grease the pan instead, but parchment makes cleanup and release simpler.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth.
   • Melted butter adds to the chewy texture of the bars.
3. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until there are no visible pieces of egg.

4. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Gently whisk until no streaks or lumps of flour remain.
   • Cornstarch helps create an extra-soft crumb.
   • Baking powder lightens the bars, making them less dense and gooey than blondies.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips. Because the batter is thicker than standard cookie dough, you can add plenty of chips for full chocolate flavor.

6. Spread the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan.
7. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for about 32–37 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs or melted chocolate.
   • Bake time will vary by oven and desired gooeyness. Fewer minutes gives gooier bars; longer gives firmer bars. The author’s bake time was 34 minutes for soft, chewy—but not overly gooey—bars.

For more bar-style treats, try other cookie-bar variations like monster cookie bars, snickerdoodle bars, or frosted sugar cookie bars.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Soft, chewy cookie bars baked in a 9×13 inch pan — all the flavor of chocolate chip cookies with less fuss.

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 35 mins

Total: 50 mins

Servings: 15 bars

Equipment

• 9×13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (226 g), melted & cooled
• 1 cup brown sugar (210 g)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (375 g), measured carefully
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (about 360 g)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang, or lightly grease the pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the brown and granulated sugars until smooth.
• Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until no pieces of egg remain.
• Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Gently mix until fully incorporated and there are no streaks of flour.
• Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
• Spoon and spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake 32–37 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Shorter time yields gooier bars; longer time yields firmer bars.
• Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. For clean squares, wait until completely cool, then lift the slab from the pan using the parchment overhang and cut with a sharp knife.

Notes

1. Baking pans: Ceramic or glass pans may require 3–5 extra minutes of bake time.
2. Smaller batch: Halve the recipe for an 8×8 inch (20×20 cm) pan; bake about 25–30 minutes. Replace 3 whole eggs with 1 whole egg plus 1 yolk if halving the original proportions that used extra yolks.
3. Eggs: The recipe uses 3 whole eggs to avoid discarding yolks while maintaining the same texture.
4. Storage: Store cooled bars in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days. They also freeze well.
5. Serving size: Nutrition estimates assume 15 large bars. You can cut the pan into 18–21 smaller pieces if preferred.

Nutrition

Calories: 420 kcal,
Carbohydrates: 57 g,
Protein: 5 g,
Fat: 19 g