Name: Chocolate Chip Bars
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup 2 sticks butter, softened; 1 cup light brown sugar; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 egg; 2 cups sifted all purpose flour (sifted first, then spooned and leveled); ½ tsp salt; 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

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Chocolate Chip Bars are chewy, delicious, super easy to make, and not overly sweet. Perfect for a quick, chocolatey snack!

A chocolate chip bar with a bite taken out, resting on a piece of parchment paper.

The recipe for these Chocolate Chip Bars came from an old cookbook I stumbled on in a used book store. It was called District E Delectable Edibles, and was a community cookbook put together by the Emergency Nurses Association of Ontario in 1979.

As soon as I found the book, I knew I could not wait to try out the old recipes and right away, this one is a winner (and so are these Strawberry Bars I got from the book!).

I picked this recipe as my first one to try because who doesn’t love a good chocolate chip cookie? From Mama Kelce’s Chocolate Chip cookies to Potato Chip Cookies, or even Double Chocolate Chip Cookies–you can’t go wrong. While these bars have all the classic flavor of a chocolate chip cookie, they are a bit unique as well.

You see, while your typical easy chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate chip cookie bars, have a leavening agent like baking powder, these bars do not. At first I was nervous about how the bars would turn out without a leavening agent, but I shouldn’t have been. The result is a thinner, more dense and chocolatey bar.

If you love chocolate chip cookies and are in need of a quick dessert, these chocolate chip bars are sure to be a hit!

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Why Make This Recipe

A pile of chocolate chip bars with chocolate chips on the side.

Chocolate Chip Flavor: Butter, sugar, and chocolate chips–what more could you ask for? The highlighted flavor on these bars is definitely the chocolate from the chocolate chips!
No Scooping: These bars require no scooping and portioning like cookies do. Just pour all the dough into a pan and bake.
Simple Ingredients: Just six ingredients are needed for these chocolate chip bars and you may have them all in your pantry.

Ingredients to Make Chocolate Chip Bars

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Ingredient shot of ingredients to make chocolate chip bar.

Butter: I used unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit).
Light brown sugar: I used light brown sugar because it has the right amount of molasses to make a soft and chewy texture. If you want your bars to have a more caramel-like flavor, you can use dark brown sugar instead. Dark brown sugar will make the bars more intense in flavor, and light brown sugar allows the chocolate chips to shine through.
Vanilla: Although the amount of vanilla in this recipe is small, it truly rounds out the flavor of the bars. Not only can you taste the delicious vanilla, but it also enhances the flavor of the brown sugar and chocolate. Use pure vanilla if you can, but imitation vanilla will work in a pinch.
Egg: This is the only leavening agent in the cookies, giving the bars a slight lightness while helping bind everything together.
All purpose flour: Be sure to sift your flour first to add air into it. Then use the spoon and level method to measure it properly.
Semi sweet chocolate chips: These bars are not too sweet. Most of the sweetness comes from the chocolate chips, so feel free to adjust to your preference. If you like sweeter, use milk chocolate. If you prefer less sweet, use dark chocolate.

Tools

Stand Mixer: Use the paddle attachment whenever making cookie dough as it more easily incorporates the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, which is key for good texture in these denser bars.
9×13 Baking Pan: I used a glass pan. This recipe was not tested in a nonstick pan, but typically non-stick pans usually cook a bit faster, so I would put it in for 5 less minutes to start.

How to Make this Recipe

Butter, brown sugar, and vanilla were mixed together in a stand mixer.

Step One: Combine the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until light and creamy.

The egg was added to the mixture of butter, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Step Two: Add the egg and mix to combine. Then add the all purpose flour and mix to combine again.

Chocolate chips were added to a large bowl with the mixture in it.

Step Three: Add the chocolate chips into the mixture and mix by hand until evenly distributed.

A 9x13 glass baking dish filled with unbaked chocolate chip dough.

Step Four: Press the dough into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 glass pan.

A freshly baked pan of chocolate chip bars in a 9x13 glass baking dish.

Step Five: Bake for 25 minutes until the top has browned and is no longer glossy. The bars will continue to bake in the pan.

A tray of chocolate chip bars cut into squares.

Step 6: Allow the bars to rest in the pan at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cut into bars, and continue to cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack. Serve and enjoy!

Expert Tips

A plate with chocolate chip cookie bars, one has a bite taken out.

Serve these bars a la mode (warm with a scoop of ice cream) for an extra yummy treat!
Give the Chocolate Chip Bars at least ten minutes to cool when they come out of the oven to help them set up a little better. If you try to cut into them too soon, you may end up with a mess.
Feel free to play with the add-ins for these bars. You could dress them up with dried fruit, nuts or any different chips, like white chocolate or peanut butter chips!

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