These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars have all the buttery, chewy, chocolate-packed goodness of classic chocolate chip cookies without the hassle of scooping individual cookies. Browning the butter adds rich caramel and toffee notes, while one-pan baking keeps things simple. They're an easy dessert for parties, bake sales, lunchboxes, or anytime a cookie craving strikes!
[August, 2022: I've reworked the recipe and updated this post with all new pictures. Enjoy!]
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Quick Recipe Summary ✨
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars: All the flavor of classic chocolate chip cookies in a soft, chewy bar that's baked in one pan and loaded with rich brown butter flavor.
No mixer, no chilling required: Melted browned butter makes the dough quick to mix while adding irresistible caramel and nutty notes.
Perfect for sharing: Easy to slice, transport, and freeze, making these bars ideal for parties, bake sales, lunchboxes, and everyday chocolate cravings.
Active Time: About 20 minutes • Bake Time: About 35 minutes • Total Time: About 55 minutes
Difficulty Level: ⭐ Easy. Simple pantry ingredients and straightforward mixing with one extra step for browning the butter.
Yield: 16 bars • Freezer-friendly: Up to 3 months • Make-ahead: Bake 1 to 2 days ahead for best flavor and easy serving.
👉 Follow the detailed instructions, baking tips, and troubleshooting guide below to make thick, chewy chocolate chip cookie bars with rich brown butter flavor and plenty of melty chocolate in every bite!
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Why this recipe works
- Browned butter brings deep caramel and toffee-like flavor
- Cornstarch keeps the bars soft and chewy
- One pan means no scooping or multiple batches
- Plenty of chocolate chips ensure melty chocolate in every bite
- Easy to make ahead, freeze, and share
Do you ever have the need to bring cookies to a crowd? Feeding cookies to a lot of people usually requires a lot of portioning-out time in the kitchen. And if those cookies are everyone's favorite, chocolate chip, then you have to chill the cookie dough before you can even begin portioning.
Sometimes, I don't have the time or patience to spare. Luckily, there's a solution: make cookie bars instead! After all, if we can turn pie into bars, why not cookies, too? So chocolate chip cookies transform into chocolate chip cookie bars - they're easy bar cookies for a crowd!
You just mix up the dough, pat it into a baking pan, bake it, and…yummmmm…
These chewy chocolate chip cookie bars are buttery and gloriously chocolatey, with a rich caramelly flavor. Truly the best of what a chocolate chip cookie has to offer. And you don't have to portion out dough (even though cookies are portioned-controlled bits of food hugs).
It's too bad there isn't a "smell-o-blog" setting here because my kitchen smelled incredible while the bars were in the oven. Think sweet brown sugar and hazelnuts (or maybe, a good Speyside scotch!).
When I took some to my older daughter, she immediately agreed that the brown butter added more wonderfulness to an already wonderful recipe (I think her exact words were, "These are the best chocolate chip bars ever!").
So if you're feeding a crowd (or just feeling lazy), these cookie bars will be a big hit without too much effort. That's a big win in my book!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I will be trying this soon. What a great easy recipe.
- Sharon
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this chocolate chip cookie bar recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Since this is a modified chocolate chip cookie recipe, you need the standard ingredients: flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips.
This cookie bar recipe differs from classic chocolate chip cookies in how we treat the butter, and the addition of cornstarch.
Butter: This chocolate chip cookie bars recipe use melted butter, so there's no need to break out the mixer to cream butter and sugar together. And since we want that butter to stay melted, there's no chilling required either.
Also, since we're going to the trouble of melted the butter, this cookie bar recipe ups the flavor by browning the butter (cooking the butter past melting until it turns a dark brown color and smells nutty). Why? Brown butter toasts the milk solids in the butter, giving it a wonderfully rich nutty flavor that really amps up the flavor of the caramel notes present in the brown sugar.
Chocolate chips: While using semi-sweet chocolate chips are common, you can also use your favorite type with success. Milk chocolate will make the bars sweeter, while dark chocolate adds a deeper cocoa flavor. Chocolate chunks create larger pockets of melted chocolate throughout the bars.
Cornstarch: Used to soften the dough, making the bars fluffier and much easier to cut.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with brown butter
Step 1: Brown the butter
In a saucepan with a heavy bottom, melt the butter on medium-high heat (photo 1).
Continue cooking the butter until it turns amber and smells nutty, about 8 minutes (photo 2).
How to tell when the butter is browned
You have to be focused when making brown butter - as it cooks, butter can go from brown to burnt in a few seconds. It needs to be watched carefully and taken off the heat as soon as the color turns amber (black butter is not what we're after!).
In addition to monitoring the butter's color, you'll notice that the boiling butter won't be as noisy (the water will have evaporated), but it still will be foamy. Keep checking the color with a spoon towards the end.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a bowl to stop the cooking process (photo 3).
Chill the butter for about 10 minutes - it doesn't need to solidify, just cool down a bit.
Using browned butter
See the brown solids at the bottom of the bowl in photo 3 above? That's flavor! Make sure it gets into your cookie dough along with the liquid butterfat.
Step 2: Make the cookie dough
Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside (photo 4).
In a medium bowl, mix the melted brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain (photo 5).
Stir in the eggs and vanilla extract (photo 6).
Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and mix together until combined (and there are no dry spots). Fold in the chocolate chips (photo 7).
Chocolate chip cookie bar texture
Unlike regular chocolate chip cookie dough, this dough will be very soft, yet thick. The chocolate chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them. You can even use your hands to knead them in.
Step 3: Bake the cookie bars
Transfer the dough to a 9- x 13-inch baking pan that's been sprayed with baking spray and lined with parchment paper (leave an overhang on the long side of the pan). Press the dough into an even layer, then press a few more chocolate chips on top of the dough before baking (this is optional as it's just for looks).
Bake at 350˚F for 35 to 38 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides (photo 8).
How to tell when the cookie bars are done
Besides using a cake tester (poked in the center of the pan) to check if it comes out clean, here are a few more cues to use:
- Edges should be golden brown
- Center should look set but still slightly soft
- Internal temperature should be about 190°F to 200°F (you can check using a digital thermometer)
Remember that the bars will continue to set as they cool. Allow the slab to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for at least an hour before lifting them out of the pan.
Once cooled, lift the slab out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang.
Cut the slab into 2- x 2-inch squares or 1- x 2-inch bars (photo 9).
Storage and make-ahead instructions
Storage instructions: Cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Make-ahead instructions: The cookie dough can be made ahead and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Allow the dough to come to room temperature before pressing it into the baking pan.
Baked cookie bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw the bars overnight in the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature before serving.
What is brown butter?
In the US, butter is made up of at least 80 percent butterfat. That leaves about 18 percent as water and 1 to 2 percent milk solids.
Browning butter is just cooking the butter past melting until it turns a dark brown color and smells nutty. What's happening is the milk solids are separating from the butterfat as the water evaporates. When all the water has gone, those milk solids are toasted, turning the butter an amber color.
- Toasted caramel notes
- Butterscotch flavor
- Nutty aroma
- More complexity than melted butter alone
Don't forget, when you go to use the brown butter, make sure to get those toasted bits from the bottom of the pan. That's where the flavor is!
Troubleshooting Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Here are some issues you might encounter when making cookie bars:
- My bars seem underbaked in the center: A slightly soft center is normal. The bars will continue to set as they cool.
- My bars turned out dry: They were likely overbaked. Pull them from the oven when the edges are golden and the center still looks just a little soft.
- The chocolate chips wouldn't mix into the dough: That's common with melted butter doughs. Use a spatula or your hands to gently knead them in.
- My bars are greasy: Be sure to let the browned butter cool for about 10 minutes before mixing the dough
- The bars are difficult to cut cleanly: Let them cool completely before slicing, and use a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts.
- My bars turned out cakey: Too much flour is usually the culprit. For the best chewy texture, measure the flour by weight (using a kitchen scale) or use the spoon-and-level method instead of scooping directly from the bag.
- My cookie bars turned out too dense: Overmixing the dough can develop too much gluten, making the bars heavier. Mix just until the flour disappears, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
Yes, although you'll lose some of the rich caramel and nutty flavor that makes these bars special. Simply melt the butter and proceed with the recipe as written.
Sure! This chocolate chip bars recipe scales well so you can make as many (or few) as needed. If you divide the recipe in half to fit into a 9- x 9-inch baking pan, use 1 egg and 1 egg yolk instead of the 3 eggs. The bars will take less time to bake, about 32 to 35 minutes at 350°F, and you'll get about 32 bars.
Absolutely! Chopped toasted pecans or walnuts pair especially well with the nutty flavor of the browned butter. Stir in about 1 cup along with the chocolate chips.
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I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L'chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More recipes with chocolate chips to try
Recipe
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, melted and browned, slightly cooled
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 12 ounces chocolate chips, (2 cups), see Recipe Notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with baking spray, then line with parchment paper leaving an overhang on the long side. Set aside.
- In a saucepan with a heavy bottom, melt 1½ cups unsalted butter on medium-high heat. Continue cooking the butter until it turns amber and smells nutty, about 8 minutes.Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a bowl to stop the cooking process. Chill the butter for about 10 minutes - it doesn't need to solidify, just cool down a bit.
- Whisk 4½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cooled brown butter, 2 cups brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar until no brown sugar lumps remain. Stir in 3 large eggs and 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
- Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and mix together until combined (and there are no dry spots). The dough will be very soft, yet thick.
- Fold in 12 ounces chocolate chips. The chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter but do your best to combine them. You can even use your hands to knead them in.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press it into an even layer. Press a few more chocolate chips on top of the dough before baking (this is optional as it's just for looks).
- Bake for 35 to 38 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. Use a cake tester in the center of the pan to check if it comes out clean.
- Allow the slab to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for at least an hour. Once cooled, lift the slab out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang. Cut the slab into squares (2- x 2-inches) or bars (1- x 2-inches).
- Storage instructions: Cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- Make-ahead instructions: The cookie dough can be made ahead and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Allow the dough to come to room temperature before pressing it into the baking pan.
- Baked cookie bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw the bars overnight in the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature before serving.
Marilyn Streeting says
These are scrumptious but when I made them the first time they turned out a little dry and crumbly. I followed the recipe to the letter. What did I do wrong and how do I fix this. I'm loving all your recipes, I'm so glad I clicked on your website years ago. And my family are loving it too! 🙂 Thank you!!!
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Marilyn, Thanks for your kind words! I appreciate you as a longtime reader. Regarding the bars, I find that my cookie dough is shinier and a bit, well, greasier than normal cookie dough (browning the butter eliminates it's water content, leaving the butterfat behind). If your dough feel dry, that will produce a crumbly bar. I'm wondering if either the butter wasn't measured correctly, or the eggs were smaller than normal? Both those ingredients would affect the dough's overall moisture. If you make the bars again and find your dough isn't shiny and slightly oily (for lack of a better description), maybe adding a neutral vegetable oil, in 1 teaspoon increments, should help get the dough to the proper texture without dulling the overall flavor. Let me know if this helps. Good luck, and happy baking! 😉
Molly says
Wow! These are soooooooooo good. Thank you for the recipe.
Tammy Spencer says
I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Sharon Grossman says
I will be trying this soon. What a great easy recipe.
Tammy Spencer says
Enjoy! 😉