My Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are the best especially for large crowds or a big event. They are easy to make taking only 5 minutes to whip up and 20 minutes to bake in a large 16×12 pan. They are soft, buttery, chewy, and are loaded with chocolate and sprinkled with the best sea salt flakes. Cut them into squares or into little cookie rectangles that are perfect for dipping in a glass of milk. Either way I promise they will be a hit at any party.
This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission on your purchase. Thank you for shopping through my links.
Why you will love these cookie bars
- Can make them in less than 30 minutes.
- You do not need a mixer (just a mixing bowl and rubber spatula.)
- All the dough is baked on one 16×12 inch sheet pan.
- The cookies serve a large crowd.
- They are soft, buttery and chewy like a perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Ingredient notes
- Make sure to use high quality ingredients. That is how these cookie bars will stand out and quickly become everyones favorite recipe. You really can taste the difference from a good flour and a not so good flour. Hersheys chocolate from Guittard chocolate. Kosher salt from sea salt. Ingredients used can turn a basic recipe into an amazing one. Below I have listed all of my favorite brands to bake with.
Flour: I always bake with all purpose unbleached flour (either organic or a brand that is very strict on their production processing.) My go to brands are Wheat Montana All Purpose Unbleached White Flour and King Arthur Organic All Purpose Unbleached Flour. Both flours are higher in protein, which yield a more chewy cookie.
Butter: When it comes to butter use unsalted butter so you can control what salt you use. I use Kirkland unsalted butter sticks from Costco or Kerrygold grass fed unsalted butter.
Salt: Do not reach for the kosher salt. Use Redmond Real Salt instead. It’s unrefined and mined from an ancient sea bed in Utah, away from modern pollutants and contains over 60+ trace minerals. It’s the only salt I use in my baking and cooking. Remember salt enhances the other ingredients making your cookies more flavorful and less bland. Then don’t forget to top the cookie bars with Maldon sea salt flakes.
Vanilla Extract: Do not use imitation vanilla or vanilla flavoring. Use real vanilla extract (vanilla bean extractives in alcohol.) I buy Kirkland vanilla extract or Watkins pure vanilla extract from the grocery store.
Chocolate: For a chocolate chip cookie, the type of chocolate you use is so important in getting that true chocolate chip bite. I only use Enjoy Life baking chips or Guittard Baking chips. Both brands are made with only real ingredients and are free from artificial flavorings and preservatives. Thats how you know you are buying real chocolate.
Sugar: I always use organic brown sugar and organic cane sugar because they are less processed and don’t contain any additives. Just real, raw sugar from the sugar canes.
Recipe variations
- Try replacing half or all of the chocolate chips with Unreal Chocolate Gems. A dye free alternative to M&M’s.
- If you don’t like milk or dark chocolate replace the chocolate chips with Enjoy Life mini white chocolate chips.
- Try replacing half of the baking chips with your favorite nut of choice. I really like chopped walnuts or chopped macadamia nuts in these cookie bars.
- You can also replace 3/4 cup of the butter with peanut butter for peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars or replace 3/4 cup of flour with cocoa powder for double chocolate cookie bars. Have fun and make the recipe your own.
How to make the chocolate chip cookie bars
- Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then add the butter to a microwave safe bowl and warm for about 15 seconds to 30 seconds until partially melted.
- To a large mixing bowl add the butter along with the organic brown sugar and organic cane sugar and mix until combined.
- Crack in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again until incorporated.
- To another bowl add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, arrowroot powder, sea salt and chocolate chips) and mix lightly with a fork.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold them together with a rubber spatula until a nice dough forms and the flour disappears.
- Dump the dough onto a 16×12 cookie sheet and press the dough down evenly.
- Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden and center is mostly set.
- Top the warm sheet pan cookie with sea salt flakes, cool, cut and serve.
- For leftover: cover the pan with plastic wrap or a sheet pan lid. Store in a cool place for up to 3 days on the counter for freshness.
Easy Soft and Chewy Cookie Bars with Sea Salt Flakes
Equipment
- or scale If you prefer measuring by weight and not in cups
- Cookie Scoop This item is optional. Use if making chocolate chip cookies instead of bars. Refer to the notes section for directions.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup partially melted butter if using unsalted butter use an extra teaspoon of salt in the recipe
- 1 cup organic brown sugar
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Redmond sea salt
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon Arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- 4 cups all purpose unbleached organic flour
- 10 oz bag of chocolate chips or 10 ounces of chopped chocolate
- Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Start making the cookie dough by adding the partially melted butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and whip the ingredients together with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Then crack in two eggs and 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract and mix till incorporated.
- Next add the flour, salt, baking soda, arrowroot powder and chocolate chips to another bowl and mix the dry ingredients together with a fork.
- Now using a rubber spatula pour and fold the flour into the wet ingredients and stop mixing the moment the last bit of flour disappears.
- Begin to dumb the dough onto a standard 18×13 baking sheet.
- Press the dough into the pan, spreading it to the edges as evenly as can be done and place into the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- My sheet pan cookies were done right at 20 minutes. You might have to bake them a little less or a little longer. The baking time really depends on your individual oven temperature.
- Don’t worry about the cookie being a little underdone because the large cookie pan will continue to bake as it chills in the hot pan.
- Once the cookie pan has cooled completely, slice the sheet pan cookie into squares or into little cookie rectangles that are perfect for dipping into milk.
- Enjoy and wrap any leftovers with plastic wrap.
- The bars will stay fresh for up to three days on the counter.
- If you are looking to make regular cookies and not bars refer to my notes for directions on how to make chocolate chip cookies using this recipe.
So yummy!!!
I am so happy that you loved them. Thank you for the comment and hope you enjoy all the other recipes too.