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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (aka Pan Chewies) are our family’s go-to Sunday Night Dessert! It’s your favorite cookie in bar-form, served hot. They’re perfect with ice cream!

If you love Chocolate Chip Cookies, then you’ll love these chewy chocolate chip cookie bars. They’re right up there with our Sugar Cookie Bars and Cake Mix Cookie Bars.

Chocolate chip cookie bars on a sheet of parchment paper.
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Over the years, we’ve come to find some go-to desserts for family gatherings. It may be a long list now, but today’s recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars aka “Pan Chewies” is one of those deserts.

We’ve decided you really can’t beat Chocolate Chip Cookies in Bar form (go here for even more Cookie Bar Recipes).

We love these because:

  • SO easy. These are so simple and classic, we make them all the time.
  • Delicious. If you love cookies, then you will love these in bar form.
  • Great for gatherings. We love to make these for parties, holidays like Easter and Christmas and family outings.

We often serve them with Vanilla Ice Cream, and I can safely say EVERYONE in the family loves them.

Stirring dough for cookie bars with a rubber spatula in a bowl.

Ingredients

Just a few ingredients and steps are needed to make this chocolate chip cookie bars. Here are the ingredients needed to make the cookie dough:

  • butter
  • brown sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla
  • flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips
  1. PREP. Begin by greasing a 9-x-13-inch glass baking dish and setting it aside.
  2. WET INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix well with a wooden spoon or a mixer on the lowest setting.
  3. DRY INGREDIENTS. Gradually add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir until well combined and pour into the prepared baking dish.
  4. BAKE. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake for 24โ€“28 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before cutting.
  5. SERVE. Serve warm and eat by themselves or with ice cream.
A pan of baked chocolate chip cookie bars.

Recipe Tips

Getting perfectly baked cookie bars:

  • Make sure your oven is preheated to 350 degrees before you put your bars in to avoid underbaking.
  • When you remove them from the oven youโ€™ll be able to tell that they are done if they have a slightly dull surface that when you lightly touch it a slight imprint remains. The edges of the crust should also begin to harden and slightly pull away from the surface of the baking dish.
  • If your bars are undercooked, return them to bake in the oven immediately and check them for doneness at 5 minute intervals.

Variations

  • White Chocolate Chips + Butterscotch Chips
  • M&Ms – and we change these up with different M&Ms for the holidays
  • Chocolate Chips + Toffee Bits
  • Chocolate Chips + Chopped Nuts (Peanuts or Walnuts)
Cookie bar recipe cut up in a white baking dish.

Storage Tips

  • To STORE, just cover tightly with foil or saran wrap and store on the counter for up to 3 days.
  • To reheat, just place in microwave for a few minutes to make them gooey and warm.
    • Once cooked and cooled, you can FREEZE these cookie bars by placing a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and freezing for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight and reheat in the microwave.
Cut up cookie bars on a sheet of parchment paper.

For more Bar Recipes

4.93 from 90 votes

Cookie Bars Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (aka Pan Chewies) are our family's go-to Sunday Night Dessert! It's your favorite cookie in bar-form, served hot. They're perfect with ice cream!
Servings: 15
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • ยพ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ยผ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1ยฝ cups chocolate chips semisweet or milk

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-x-13-inch glass baking dish and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
  • Gradually add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir until well combined and pour into the prepared baking dish.
  • Sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake for 24โ€“28 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before cutting.

Video

Notes

Make Ahead: Covered tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, these will keep on the counter for up to 3 days. To reheat, just place in the microwave for 15 seconds to make them gooey and warm.
Variations: You can swap out the chocolate chips for a variety of other toppings to change up these bars. Here are some of our favorite combinations:
o White chocolate chips + butterscotch chips
o M&Mโ€™s (we love to use colored M&Mโ€™s for the different holidays!)
o Chocolate chips + toffee bits or peanut butter chips

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 354kcal, Carbohydrates: 54g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 204mg, Potassium: 95mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 40g, Vitamin A: 356IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 65mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and Iโ€™m the mom of SIX stinkinโ€™ cute kids and the wife to my smokinโ€™ hot hubby, Lo. My momโ€™s maiden name is Luna, and Iโ€™m one of the many crafty โ€œLilโ€™ Lunasโ€ in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

So Easy & So Yummy

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4.93 from 90 votes (39 ratings without comment)

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252 Comments

  1. Stacy Myers says:

    Ohmygoodness. These were AH-mazing!!!! Going straight into my Favorites file. And so much easier than making cookies!!!!!!

  2. Jessi says:

    These are delicious!! A super quick alternative to chocolate chip cookies. Yum! I was unknowingly out of chocolate chips so I used chocolate chunks and mixed them right in. I have some more in the oven right now!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      I just love hearing that they were a hit!! We LOVE these pan chewies and make them TOOOO often because they are so easy and just so delicious!

  3. Brittany says:

    I am making these right now for the second time, so good!!! We added a scoop of peanut butter, and it adds that hint of peanut butter and makes them even more delicious!! Tonight I used self rising flour because I didn’t realize we had run out of regular flour… Don’t know what it will do but I’m sure they will still be yummy!

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      Curious how these turned out… I’ll also have to try these with peanut butter – sounds like a great addition!!

      1. Brittany says:

        They came out a little different than the first time because of the flour, but still really yummy!

  4. Rebekah says:

    Just a note for people like me. I transcribed the recipe with two words mixed. I put sifted flour, instead of flour sifted. HUGE DIFFERENCE. I looked at it and thought, “Wow, that is just enough flour.” But, I wasn’t smart enough to go with my own instincts. I’m a huge proponent of following a recipe exactly the way it was written the first time. So my own mistake bit me in the butt!

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      So sorry about that!! If I ever used flour that is sifted for any recipe I always measure it first and THEN sift. Hopefully you can try it out again. ๐Ÿ™‚

    2. Debi says:

      How long should i cook if doubling recipe?

      1. Kristyn Merkley says:

        Depending on the oven, but I usually cook them close to 30 min when I double it.

  5. Sheena says:

    Must we preheat the oven ?

    1. Lil' Luna says:

      Yes… it needs to be 350 before you can put it in. ๐Ÿ™‚