Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are perfectly chewy and packed with chocolate. Dark brown sugar, a bit of brown butter, and a hint of flaky sea salt make them extra special!
If you love a dense and chewy chocolate chip cookie, these cookie bars are for you!
Table of Contents
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
I am such a sucker for a warm chocolate chip cookie with flaky sea salt. There’s just nothing quite like a warm gooey cookie that hits all those sweet and salty notes. But make it in bar form? Absolute heaven!
Everything you love about a chocolate chip cookie is magnified in these brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars. The brown butter makes them a little nutty and toffee-like and the brown sugar makes them perfectly chewy.
Did I mention that there’s both dark and milk chocolate in these cookie bars? All in all? The perfect chocolate chip cookie bar.
Really leaning into that chocolate chip cookie craving? Try my giant, gooey Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
The best part about these cookie bars is that they’re mixed by hand! No hand or stand mixers needed.
Tools Needed
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter. Browning the butter gives these chocolate chip cookie bars such a wonderful depth of flavor.
- Sugar. You’ll want both brown and white sugar for this recipe.
- Egg and yolk. This recipe calls for a whole egg and an egg yolk for a bit of richness.
- Flour. All purpose flour is the play here.
- Baking powder and soda. You’ll need a bit of both for this recipe! The tiny bit of baking powder makes sure these have a little lift.
- Malted milk powder. This is an optional ingredient but adds such a unique flavor to your cookies.
- Chocolate. For this recipe I love the combination of dark chocolate and milk chocolate. I love chocolate chunks, but chips work just fine.
- Flaky sea salt. A must for finishing these chocolate chip cookie bars! The combination of salty and sweet is just the best.
The Process
- Brown the butter. Add the butter to a small saucepan. Cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until golden brown with a nutty aroma. Pour the brown butter into a heat-safe mixing bowl and cool for 10 minutes.
- Mix in sugar and eggs. Whisk both sugars into the butter until very smooth, about 2 minutes of whisking. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, malted milk powder, and kosher salt.
- Fold in the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients and chopped chocolate into the wet until mixed and no streaks of flour remain.
- Bake. Press the cookie dough into the prepared pan and use a small offset spatula to spread the cookie dough into a smooth, even layer. Bake for 22-27 minutes, until the edges are slightly puffed and the center is just barely set (a little gooey is good!). Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let the cookie cool for 45 minutes before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Use room temperature ingredients. Most baking recipes call for this and for good reason! Room temperature ingredients mix more easily and emulsify to create a better texture. Don’t skip this step!
Use quality chocolate. Instead of using chocolate chips, I really love using high quality chocolate bars or feves and chopping them up. My favorite brands of chocolate chips are Trader Joe’s and Guittard. I also love buying the Pound Plus giant bars at Trader Joe’s and chopping them up.
Weigh your flour. The biggest factor in cookies not turning out well is either too much or too little flour. I’ve provided weight measurements for exactly this reason. If you don’t have a scale, make sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off. Do not use the measuring cup to scoop the flour.
Don’t overmix. Only mix the dry ingredients in until they start to clump together, then switch to a rubber spatula to finish mixing. This ensures that your chocolate chip cookie bars are tender and not overly dense and tough.
Bake in a metal baking pan. Metal distributes the heat more evenly when baking. I do not recommend using a glass baking dish for this recipe. My favorite pans are USA Brand.
Don’t over bake. This is a truly important tip! The tops of the cookie bars should still be pale and the edges only barely starting to look golden brown and the center should still be a bit soft and underbaked. The bars will set as they cool and that’s how you get a perfect chewy texture.
How to Brown Butter
Making brown butter is so easy and it’s the perfect way to level up your baking.
- Melt the butter. Start with a shallow saucepan and melt your butter over low heat.
- Bubbling. After the butter is melted, it’ll start to bubble a bit. You’ll notice the color will change and the butter will get much clearer.
- Foaming. Next, your butter will start to get foamy. I like to swirl the pan every minute or so while this is happening. The butter will start to brown and you’ll smell the change.
- Browning. Keep a close eye at this stage because it’s easy to burn! You want the butter to just be golden brown at this point.
Once the butter is golden brown, remove it from the heat immediately. Transfer it to a heat-proof bowl and let it cool to room temperature. From here, it’s ready to use in a variety of baked goods! Don’t leave the little browned bits behind, that’s where all the flavor is.
Storage Instructions
If you find that you have leftover brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars, it’s so easy to store and freeze!
Storage: Store any leftover cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Freezing: Wrap any leftover chocolate chip cookie bars tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrapping the cookie in plastic wrap before storing in a ziplock bag helps prevent freezer burn. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
Reheating: Microwave the cookie bars in 30 second increments in the microwave until warm, if desired.
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are truly the ultimate treat and what every chocolate chip cookie aspires to be! This is the perfect easy dessert recipe for a dinner party or Father’s Day! If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Bar Recipes to Try
Apple Cheesecake Bars
Pecan Pie Bars
Sugar Cookie Bars
Marbled Cheesecake Brownies
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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 oz/170 g) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup (130 g) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (70 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) malted milk powder, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 oz milk chocolate,* chopped
- 6 oz dark chocolate,* chopped
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a metal 8×8 baking pan and line with a piece of parchment that slightly hangs over the side. Set aside.
- Brown the butter. Add the butter to a small saucepan. Cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until golden brown with a nutty aroma. Pour the brown butter into a heat-safe mixing bowl and cool for 10 minutes.
- Mix in sugar and eggs. Whisk both sugars into the butter until very smooth, about 2 minutes of whisking. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, malted milk powder, and kosher salt.
- Fold in the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients and chopped chocolate into the wet until mixed and no streaks of flour remain.
- Bake. Press the cookie dough into the prepared pan and use a small offset spatula to spread the cookie dough into a smooth, even layer. Bake for 22-27 minutes, until the edges are slightly puffed and the center is just barely set (a little gooey is good!). Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let the cookie cool for 45 minutes before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.
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