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These festive Fireworks Cookie Bars are a breeze to whip up! They’re soft and gooey, and loaded with m&ms, white chocolate chips, and macadamia nuts. You’ll make these over and over all summer long!
These cookie bars are such a dream to make! They’re crazy simple. I believe anyone can make cookie bars, no matter how novice of a baker you are. We’re mixing all our ingredients together in one bowl, adding our mix-ins last.
Let’s Talk Mix-Ins
You can opt for all three – m&ms, white chocolate chips, and chopped salted macadamia nuts, or any combination of those. You could also swap in a different type of nut for the macadamias, or leave out the nuts altogether. Milk or semi sweet chocolate chips would work well here, too!
Line your 9×9 pan with parchment paper and evenly press the cookie dough mixture in. My easiest tip to make these look really attractive? Press a few handfuls of extra toppings on top of the dough!
Bake until justtt done – they’ll seem a smidge underdone, but they’ll set up as they cool. We don’t want to overbake these – they’ll get dry instead of being nice and gooey if we do. Once they’ve cooled for about 2 hours, you can dig in!
Serve these with a cold glass of milk, a scoop of ice cream, or just dig right in while they’re still warm! These are the perfect treat to make for your 4th of July celebrations, or to take to any picnics, parties, or cookouts all summer long.
And, if you want more than 9-12 bars, like this batch makes, you can certainly double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13 pan!
Fireworks Cookie Bars with M&Ms
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter, (1 stick, 8 tbsp, or 113 grams)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup m&ms
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped salted macadamia nuts, Can omit nuts if needed
Instructions
- Prep: Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the Bars: Melt the butter in a medium mixing bowl. Add sugars and whisk until well combined with the butter. Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until just combined. Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing until the dry streaks just disappear into the dough. Stir in the nuts, white chocolate chips, and m&ms.
- Bake: Add the dough to your prepared pan and evenly press it in. Top with an extra handful of each of the mix-ins. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. The bars will look a bit underdone, and a toothpick inserted into the center will pull out some moist doughy crumbs. The bars will set up more as they cool.
- Serve + Store: Let bars cool at least 1 and 1/2 hours before slicing. Enjoy warm! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temp for 3-4 days, or 4-6 days in the fridge.
