Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Brown butter-free and bakery-simple, these thick, chewy bars have crisp edges, a soft golden center, and pockets of melted semisweet chocolate. Everything mixes in one bowl and bakes in a 9×13-inch pan, with no scooping or chilling.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 28 min
- Wait
- 1 hr 30 min
- Total
- 2 hr 18 min
- Makes
- 24 bars (one 9×13-inch pan)
Steps
Before you start
- Melt and cool the butter first: it should be warm to the touch but not hot, about 100°F (38°C), so it doesn't scramble the eggs.
- Let the eggs come to room temperature (about 30 minutes out of the fridge, or 5 minutes in a bowl of warm water).
- Position an oven rack in the center and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
- Allow 90 minutes of cooling before slicing, or the bars will smear and fall apart.
Prep the panOven 350°F / 175°C
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
- Line a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) metal pan with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two long sides to use as handles later.
- Press it into the corners.
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Ready when: Oven reaches 350°F (175°C) and the pan is fully lined
Tip: Use a light-colored metal pan; dark or glass pans brown the edges before the center sets.
Melt the butter
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second bursts, stirring between each.
- Pour into a large bowl and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
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Ready when: Butter is fully liquid and warm, not hot, to the touch (about 100°F/38°C)
Tip: If the butter is still hot when you add the eggs, the batter can turn greasy and the bars can bake up dry.
Whisk dry ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt for 20 seconds until evenly combined with no clumps of baking soda.
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Ready when: Mixture looks uniform in color
Mix the sugars
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the cooled butter.
- Whisk vigorously for 1 minute until the mixture looks like wet sand and no dry streaks remain.
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Ready when: No dry sugar visible; mixture is thick and glossy
Add eggs and vanilla
- Whisk in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract for about 1 minute, until the batter is smooth, thick, and glossy and has lightened slightly in color.
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Ready when: Batter is smooth and glossy with no streaks of egg
Tip: The extra yolk adds richness and chew.
Fold in flour and chips
- Switch to a rubber spatula.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold gently until just a few streaks of flour remain.
- Add 1¾ cups (298 g) of the chocolate chips and fold until the flour disappears and the chips are evenly distributed.
- The dough will be thick and sticky.
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Ready when: No visible flour streaks; dough is thick and soft
Tip: Stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears. Overmixing makes bars tough and cakey.
Fill the pan
- Scrape the dough into the lined pan.
- With damp fingers or the spatula, press it into an even layer all the way to the corners.
- Scatter the remaining ¼ cup (42 g) chips over the top and press them in lightly.
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Ready when: Surface is level with chips visible on top
Tip: Damp hands keep the sticky dough from pulling up.
Bake the barsOven 350°F / 175°C
- Bake at 350°F (175°C) on the center rack for 24 to 28 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes.
- Bars are done when the edges are deep golden and set, the top is light golden and no longer shiny, and the center still looks slightly soft.
- A toothpick in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
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Ready when: Edges golden and set; center slightly soft with moist crumbs on a toothpick
Tip: Pull them out when the center looks slightly underdone. They keep cooking in the hot pan and stay chewy.
Finish and cool
- Sprinkle the top lightly with flaky sea salt, if using.
- Set the pan on a wire rack and cool completely, about 90 minutes, so the center sets and the chocolate firms up.
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Ready when: Pan is room temperature and the center feels firm when gently pressed
Tip: Sprinkle the salt while the top is still warm so it sticks.
Slice and serve
- Lift the bars out using the parchment overhang and set on a cutting board.
- Cut with a large sharp knife into 4 strips by 6 strips to make 24 bars, wiping the blade clean between cuts.
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Ready when: Bars cut cleanly with defined edges
Tip: For neater squares, chill the slab for 15 minutes before cutting.
Good to know
Tips
- Spoon and level the flour, or weigh it (313 g). Packed flour makes dry, cakey bars.
- Underbake slightly: the center should look just set when removed, as carryover heat finishes it.
- Use a metal pan; glass cooks more slowly and can leave the center raw when the edges are done.
- Wipe the knife between cuts for clean, neat edges.
Make ahead
"The dough can be pressed into the lined pan, covered tightly, and refrigerated up to 24 hours; bake straight from the fridge, adding 3 to 5 minutes. Fully baked bars can be made a day ahead."
Storage & reheating
"Room temperature: airtight container up to 4 days. Refrigerator: up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving. Freezer: wrap individually and freeze up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature for 1 hour, or warm a bar for 10 seconds in the microwave."
Substitutions
- semisweet chocolate chips → chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate bar. Gives larger melty pools; use the same weight.
- light brown sugar → dark brown sugar. Adds a deeper molasses flavor and slightly more chew.
- unsalted butter → salted butter. Reduce the fine sea salt to ¾ teaspoon (4 g).
- semisweet chocolate chips → 1½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips plus ½ cup (60 g) chopped toasted walnuts. Adds crunch; toast nuts first for the best flavor.
