Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and butterscotch chips fill these cookie bars with pure love. Topped with a drizzle of salted caramel and some additional dark chocolate these bars are a decadent “dressed up” version of the beloved chocolate chip cookie. Easier than making individual cookies, these bars are a quick way to throw together a tasty treat that everyone will love.
A couple of weeks ago my partner and I hosted a fund-raiser in our home, my task was to put together the appetizers and drinks for the group. I wanted to serve things that were going to be relatively simple to prepare, and also easy to eat. Numerous times I have attended mixers where beautiful food was served but it was rather difficult to enjoy. Often hosts choose foods that either involve silverware or are too sticky or saucy to eat with just your fingers. When mingling in a room, balancing a drink in one hand and a small plate in the other, you really need items that are bite-sized and easy to manage.
Since this party was for a fund-raiser I wanted to serve foods that were not from a deli case and would hopefully seem special. I decided upon some mini-muffin sized puff pastry quiche, and a charcuterie board with an assortment of grilled sausages and various cheeses (which I cut and sliced in to easy to grab bites), but the dessert had me stumped. My partner suggested that I do something easy like cookies, but to me that seemed too informal. Over night I started warming to the idea of cookies because I knew they would be a snap. As the other preparations were well underway I started dreading the idea of making rounds of cookies, I know that sounds lazy but after messing with everything else I was running out of energy and time. Then it occurred to me to simply bake one big cookie I could cut up and serve.
I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe but added a few more chips. Usually I like to add nuts to my cookies but anymore when playing to a larger audience I tend to skip them. I lined my 9″x 12″ pan with aluminum foil that I spritzed with some non-stick spray. I find it helpful in baking bars to line the pan with foil or parchment paper which makes for easy removal. Using my mixing spoon I dropped large dollops of the dough across the pan and then used an offset knife to spread the dough evenly. This was probably the most difficult part of the project. As I attempted to spread the dough the foil wanted to slide, but I was able to hold it in place with one hand as I spread the dough with the other. It really was quite easy one I figured out my method.
The bars take a bit longer to bake than a pan of cookies, about 30 minutes instead of the usual 12 – 15. When the bars were golden brown I pulled the pan from the oven and placed it on a wire rack to cool. I attempted to lift the bars out of the pan after about 15 minutes but found that they were still too warm and I was concerned I would damage the big cookie. Around 30 minutes of cooling time, the bars were stable enough to remove from the pan so I lifted them out foil and all and placed them on the rack to cool completely before removing the liner. I trimmed the edges or crusts off, then used my trusty wooden ruler that I keep around just for baking projects to cut squares. I ended up with 40 bars to serve plus some nice edge pieces that we could munch on. While the bars looked good enough to serve as is, I decided that for this event I would dress them up with a little drizzle, so I tempered in the microwave a small amount of dark chocolate and also some salted caramel for the tops. I have a roll of small plastic piping bags that I picked up that work great for this type of thing, and use a water-glass or tumbler to stand the bags in for easy filling.
In the end I was pleased since the entire project including melting the chocolate for the topping took less time than making 40 drop cookies. The finished product actually looked quite elegant and was a total hit. I got many compliments on the bars, and several people even asked what this delicious treat was. It made me chuckle inside a little bit to reply “just chocolate chip cookies”.
A favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe baked in a pan and served as bars. Quick way to make a favorite treat that is easy to dress up for a formal occasion.
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour add 2 Tbs for high elevation
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softenend
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate melting chips decoration
- 1/4 cup salted caramel melting chips decoration
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Position rack in the center of oven and heat to 350 F.
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Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
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Cream together butter with both sugars until smooth. Add eggs one at a time mixing well. Add extracts and mix.
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Add the flour 1/3 at a time stirring to combine. Do not over mix.
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Fold chocolate chips and nuts into the batter mixing only enough to combine.
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Line a 9 x 12 pan with foil and lightly butter or grease. Drop the dough in spoonfuls into the pan. Pat flat with your had or an offset spatula.
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Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
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Place pan on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes before lifting foil liner out. Place foil liner of cookies on a rack and allow to completely cool before removing the foil to prevent breaking the bars.
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Trim off the edges and cut the bars into 1 1/4" squares.
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Place wire racks over wax paper. Place bars on the rack a few inches apart and drizzle with melted chocolates. Allow decoration to completely cool before transferring.
This size pan yields 40 - 1 1/4" bars. For a thicker bar use a smaller pan and increase baking time.
Any cookie recipe will work for this method however you may need to adjust baking time.