Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Name: Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 16 bars
Cuisine: Baking
Ingredients: ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, melted; 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar, packed; ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar; 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour; 1½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips; 1 large egg; 1 large egg yolk; 2 tsp vanilla extract; ¾ tsp baking soda; ¾ tsp fine salt; flaky sea salt, to finish

All the cookie, none of the scooping, chilling or batches.

Prep15 min

Cook25 min

Total40 min

Yield16 bars

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Before you start

Cookie bars exist because scooping thirty cookies and baking them in three batches is a lot of work for a Tuesday. One tin, one bake, no chilling. The ratio is shifted towards brown sugar and an extra yolk, which is what keeps the middle chewy rather than cakey when it's baked thick like this.

Method

7 steps

Heat the oven to 175°C / 350°F. Line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang on two sides so you can lift the slab out later.
2
Whisk the melted butter with both sugars for a full minute, until it looks glossy and slightly thickened. This is what gives the bars their shiny crackled top.
For this step
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
3
Whisk in the whole egg, then the extra yolk, then the vanilla. Keep whisking for another minute.
For this step
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
4
Add the flour, baking soda and fine salt. Switch to a spatula and fold just until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chocolate chips, keeping a handful back.
For this step
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- flaky sea salt
5
Scrape into the tin and press it level with damp fingers. It's a thick dough, so it will not spread on its own. Press the reserved chips into the top.
For this step
- 1½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips
6
Bake for 22 to 26 minutes. The edges should be set and golden and the middle should still look slightly underdone and pale. Sprinkle with flaky salt.
For this step
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- flaky sea salt
Cool completely in the tin, at least 2 hours. This matters: cut them warm and the middle collapses into a puddle. Lift out by the paper and cut into 16.

Baker's tips

Pull them looking underbaked. The residual heat in the tin finishes the middle, and a fully set centre in the oven means dry bars once cool.
The extra yolk is doing real work. It's fat and emulsifier with no extra water, which is exactly what makes a bar chewy instead of cakey.

Make it your own

Press 12 sandwich cookies into the middle of the dough for a stuffed version.
Swap half the chips for chopped walnuts or pecans, about 75 g.

Storing & freezing

Airtight at room temperature for 5 days. They stay chewy longer than cookies do. Freeze cut bars for 3 months and thaw at room temperature.

Frequently asked

Why are my cookie bars cakey instead of chewy?

Too much flour, or creaming air into softened butter. This recipe uses melted butter and an extra yolk on purpose, and the flour should be weighed at 250 g.

How do I know when cookie bars are done?

When the edges are golden and pulling from the tin but the centre still looks pale and soft. They set as they cool, so a fully baked-looking middle is already overdone.

Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.

A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.

Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.