These easy Toll House chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect combination of chewy and gooey, with pockets of rich, melted chocolate in every bite.
And they’re so good, I suggest you make a double batch because these bad boys will not last!
From bake sales and BBQs to birthdays and potlucks, you can’t beat a tray of chocolate chip pan cookie bars.
They’re chewy, sweet, and borderline addictive.
Plus, they’re so much easier to make than regular cookies.
There’s no need to portion dough here! Instead, just press it into a cake pan and bake.
Easy and delicious? These Toll House chocolate chip cookie bars might just be too good to be true.
Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Pan Cookie Bars
There is much to love about these Toll House chocolate chip cookie bars.
First of all, the recipe is as simple as simple can be. Just mix everything together, spread it in a pan, and bake.
When they come out, they’ll be soft and melt-in-your-mouth chewy with the perfect amount of crunch from the nuts.
Not to mention the decadent, gooey chocolate.
Don’t take my word for it, though. Check out the recipe below, and make them for yourself.
Ingredients
You’ll notice the ingredients for cookie bars are pretty similar to regular cookies. In fact, they’re identical.
With that in mind, feel free to use your go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.
But if you don’t have a favorite, this is a terrific option:
- Flour, baking soda, salt, butter, and eggs: These are standard cookie-baking ingredients, and you’ve probably got all of them in your kitchen right now. Use any brand you like, but use all-purpose flour, as it’s much easier to work with.
- Granulated sugar, packed brown sugar, and vanilla extract: Almost every decent chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for brown and white sugar. This blend brings moisture, flavor, and crispness to the edges. It’s how you get that signature chewy finish and caramel taste too.
- NESTLÉ® Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels: You can’t have Toll House cookie bars without these yummy chocolate morsels. Of course, you could substitute another brand of chocolate chips, and they’ll still taste great. Just be sure to get something of good quality. They’re the star of the show, and cheap chocolate will ruin the taste and texture.
- Chopped nuts: The nuts are technically optional, so leave them out if you want. But I love the added crunch! Use walnuts, pecans, almonds, or pistachios – whatever you prefer.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Here are a few tips to make your chocolate chip cookie bars extra scrumptious.
- Add a bit of coarse sea salt to the bars. Don’t go overboard, of course, but a sprinkle over the top before baking will make a world of difference.
- Only mix the dough until just combined. That means you need to mix until you no longer see streaks of flour, then stop right away. In fact, it’s okay to have a few little streaks because you’ll work the dough further when you press it into the cake pan.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Get the ingredients out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before you start, and they’ll mix together much easier.
- Can’t choose between walnuts and pecans? Use both! You aren’t limited to using a single type of nut. Make these cookie bars however you like, with as many nuts as you want.
- Line the baking tin with parchment, and leave a slight overhang around the edges. This’ll ensure nothing sticks and make it easier to remove once they’re cooked and cooled.
How To Make Cookie Bars Soft
Getting soft cookie bars isn’t that hard. But I have three tips to help ensure you get the softest, most melt-in-your-mouth cookie bars ever!
- Don’t overmix the batter. I know I already said it, but it’s crucial that you don’t overmix the cookie dough. Instead, you need to add the flour slowly and mix it by hand, stopping when everything is barely blended.
- Don’t forget the brown sugar. Brown sugar gives the cookie bars more than a delicious flavor; it also helps soften them. Of course, that’s all thanks to the molasses – aka, the added moisture.
- Don’t overbake the cookie bars! I can’t stress this enough: if you want them light and soft, you cannot overbake them. So be sure to take them out of the oven when they’re just about golden brown. They may even look undercooked in the middle – but will keep cooking on the counter.
How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
To keep your cookie bars soft after baking them, store them in an airtight container.
Ziploc bags work fine, but try to remove as much air from the bag as possible.
Keep them on the counter at room temperature if you plan to eat them within a week or so.
You can also put them in the fridge, though that dries them out faster.
If you won’t eat them within two weeks, freezing may be the better option. You can store them in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
You can freeze the raw batter, as well. Transfer it to an airtight container and freeze it for up to 2 months.
More Dessert Bars You’ll Love
Chewy Butterscotch Brownies
Chocolate Chip Blondies
Gooey Butter Bars
Hello Dolly Bars
Congo Squares
Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
48
servings10
minutes20
minutesThese easy Toll House chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect combination of chewy and gooey, with pockets of rich, melted chocolate in every bite. Yum!
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190°C).
- Grease a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with butter, shortening, or coconut oil and line it with parchment paper.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Beat with a hand mixer or paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Add the first egg, and mix well. Then, add the second egg, and mix well.
- Pour the flour mixture into the bowl, and mix with a spatula until almost fully incorporated. Then, add the chocolate chips and nuts and stir just until you no longer see streaks of flour.
- Spread the mixture into the jelly-roll pan and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the cookies are golden brown. (Approximately 20 to 25 minutes.)
- Remove the pan from the oven, and place it on a wire rack to cool. When cold, cut it into bars and serve!
Hi beautyeval. I appreciate the recipes. Our mother used to collect COOKBOOKS from where ever she traveled with our dad. Too many to count!! I do cherish the ones I kept.
Hi Sally!
What a fun idea! I wish I would’ve thought about that – I’d have a library!
I made them using one cup chocolate chips and half cup of butter. Came out great. I did have to bake extra five minutes as center was beyond gooey. I will make this again.
Been making this Toll House recipe for years! I often do half choc chip and half butterscotch morsels. Big hit
I’ll have to try that – it sounds delish 🙂
Made these bars today for the first time…..kinda flat,.. are they supposed to be?
Hi, Kathy!
So, the bars aren’t SUPER THICK, but they shouldn’t be flat, either. As you can see from the picture, they aren’t thick and fudgy like fat brownies, but they also aren’t as flat as cookies. As per the directions, you’ll make them in a jelly roll pan, so they aren’t supposed to be terribly thick. (Otherwise, they’d overflow the pan. Haha.)
Still, if your bars weren’t about the same size as the picture, there could be a few reasons:
1. The butter could have been too warm. It should be softened but not melted. In other words, soft but still coolish to the touch. If it was too warm, it could have caused the bars to flatten somewhat. The same is true of the dough. If it was too warm when it went into the oven, that could be the culprit.
2. If your oven is running hot (or set too high), that could also lead to flat bars. (Namely because it melts the butter too quickly, and see above.)
3. If the ingredient ratio was off, that could cause issues, as well. Specifically, using too little flour or too much sugar.
I hope that gave you a bit of insight. And I hope the bars still tasted really good, even if they weren’t as thick as you would have liked. 🙂