brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are a breeze to whip up, and taste like a million bucks! Made with pantry staple ingredients, brown butter for extra flavor, and plenty of chocolate chips, these bars are sure to be a hit anywhere you take them. 

this recipe

I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a while, but today we can rejoice for I’m finally sharing it! That may sound dramatic, but trust me – it’ll be love at first bite once you make these bars. They couldn’t be easier, either! Let’s dive in.

Start by browning your butter:

This is a simple process that just adds a few extra minutes of work, and tons of extra flavor. To brown butter, just add your butter to a saucepan and let it melt. Once melted, cook it over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until it turns a golden brown shade and develops a nutty aroma. That’s all there is to it! Transfer this to your mixing bowl (or other container) to chill in the fridge, scraping the pan really well to get all those nice brown bits out.

Here’s what the butter will look like once it’s been chilled until it comes back to the consistency of room temperature softened butter. 

Mix up the dough: 

Once your butter has come back to that softened consistency, cream it with an electric mixer, making sure to get all those brown bits up off the bottom and mixed in.

Next add your granulated and brown sugars, and mix until well creamed with the butter. 

Then, add the eggs and real vanilla and mix until they’re just combined into the batter. 

Mix in the dry ingredients last, stopping when the last streaks of flour just disappear into the dough. Add your chocolate chips, and mix to distribute them throughout the dough. 

Press the dough into a parchment paper-lined pan, and add a handful or two of extra chocolate chips on top. Don’t skip this step! It makes the bars not only look super fancy, but helps fill in any bare spots where the chocolate chips didn’t distribute super evenly. 

Bake the bars for 16 minutes – they’ll look a tad underdone, but this is the perfect bake time. They’ll set up as they cool, and if you over bake them, they’ll be dry the next day and we don’t want that. This is the secret to most cookie recipes – they’re done when they look like they might need a minute or two more. 

Now for the hardest part – letting the cookie bars rest before cutting into them. You can let them rest for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before digging in. They’re absolutely INCREDIBLE while they’re still nice and warm and gooey from the oven, but of course, they’ll hold their shapes better once cut if you wait a bit more (1-2 hours). 

These bars are SO incredibly delicious – you’ll be the star of the show anywhere you take them. And, be sure to finish them off with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. It takes these right over the top!

Occasions to make these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars for: 

These bars are good for so many different occasions!

• Valentine’s Day – Make these bars for a fun and easy Valentine’s Day treat – even the kids can help with this one! For a festive flair, cut the baked bars into hearts with a cookie cutter.
• Rainy days – Since these bars are a breeze to make, they’re a great rainy day or just-because baking project.
• A homemade gift – Make these and divide them into containers to give away to anyone in your life you want to celebrate or thank!
• 4th of July – Add some red, white, and blue sprinkles or m&ms to make these as a festive treat for the 4th!
• Halloween – Make these for Halloween and add some chopped candy bars of your choice as a fun way to theme them for the holiday.
• Christmas cookie plates – Add these to your holiday cookie plates – they’re a fun twist on a classic recipe that everyone will love. 

More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes: 

Giant Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie – This cookie has a peanut butter cookie base, and is loaded up with plenty of chocolate chips and tons of peanut butter cups! 

Best Soft One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies – My ultimate soft chocolate chip cookies are made in one bowl, with simple ingredients, and with little to no fuss at all. 

Chocolate Stuffed S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookies – Stuffed with chocolate bar pieces, topped with homemade marshmallow cream, and covered with chocolate ganache & a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups – These little desserts are ready to be devoured in 30 minutes, and can be filled with anything you like! 

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag @bluebowlrecipes with your photo – I’d love to see what you make! And, be sure to leave a comment + rating below if you make this recipe.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are a breeze to whip up, and taste like a million bucks! Made with pantry staple ingredients, brown butter for extra flavor, and plenty of chocolate chips, these bars are sure to be a hit anywhere you take them. 

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert, Dessert Bars

Cuisine: Dessert

Keyword: Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, Easy Desserts

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Butter Cooling: 1 hour

Servings: 16 bars

Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp salted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus a generous handful for topping
• flaky sea salt, for topping

Instructions

• Make the Brown Butter: Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter, stirring occasionally. Once it's melted, turn the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking the butter, stirring constantly. The butter will get foamy and bubbly, and then turn a deep golden shade with a nutty, caramely aroma. (This will take about 5-6 minutes once the butter has melted.) Once the butter reaches this stage, remove it from the heat. Pour the butter into the mixing bowl you plan to use, and let it chill in the fridge for about 1-2 hours, until it reaches the consistency of room temperature softened butter.
• Prep: Preheat your oven to 350° F and line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
• Make the cookie dough: Once the butter is at the correct consistency, cream it in the mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, making sure to get all the brown bits from the bottom of the bowl mixed in. Add the sugars and mix on high until well creamed with the butter, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until just combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until a dough forms – it may be a bit crumbly at first, but just keep mixing until it comes together. Add the chocolate chips and mix to distribute them throughout the dough.
• Bake: Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan, and add the extra handful of chocolate chips on top, in spots where it needs a bit more chocolate. Bake for 14-16 minutes. The bars will look a tad underdone, and you may be tempted to leave them in longer, but 16 minutes is the perfect amount of time. The edges will appear a bit more set than the center, and a toothpick inserted into the center should have some moist crumbs, but not wet batter.
• Serve + Store: Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. The longer you let them sit, the neater of slices you'll get, but these really are best while they're still nice and warm from the oven, with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

  Store leftovers (ha!) in an airtight container at room temp for 4-6 days, or longer in the fridge. I highly recommend gently warming leftover bars in the microwave for that ooey gooey factor.

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