Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Thick and chewy, full of chocolate chunks and toasty brown butter flavor.

I’m going away to a food blogger retreat this week, which I’m so excited about! So, I prepped baking and snacks for the family today for while I am away. These cookie bars are an easy sweet treat that stores well and is quick to make. They’re made from no-chill dough, pressed into a square pan, and sliced into bars.

Brown butter cookies really trump those made with regular butter regarding flavor. It’s an easy process; melt the butter and then cook it a step further so that the milk solids in the butter caramelize.

Brown Butter Cookie Bars

Ingredients

• 170g (¾ cup) unsalted butter

• 150g (¾ cup, packed) soft brown sugar

• 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla paste or extract

• 218g (1 ¾ cups*) all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 170g (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping

*The cup sizes provided are US-sized cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cups. For best results, use grams.

Method

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, cook it for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until the milk solids have caramelized and the butter smells nutty. Pour the browned butter into a large bowl and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 8x8-inch (20x20cm) baking pan with parchment paper.

• Once the butter has cooled, mix in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla.

• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

• Add this to the wet ingredients and stir until mainly combined but with a few streaks of flour remaining. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

• Tip the cookie dough into the prepared baking dish.

• Press the dough down into the dish and smooth it out.

• Bake the cookie bars for around 25 minutes or until the edges are browned and the top is set and golden brown but still slightly soft in the middle. This may take less or more time, depending on your oven.

• Let the cookie bar cool in the tin for 20 minutes before removing and letting it cool completely on a wire rack. The cookies will be pretty soft while still warm, but they will firm up as they cool to room temperature.

• To serve, slice the cookies into individual cookies with a sharp knife.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!