These easy but delicious Brown Butter Cookie Bars with plenty of chocolate chips inside are a great quick recipe to make when the craving hits!
Brown butter is such an incredible addition to many different recipes. The simple process of cooking butter until the milk solids brown into golden-brown specks of flavorful goodness never ceases to amaze me!
From Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies to Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting, or in a savory application like this Brown Butter Sauce with Butternut Squash Ravioli, brown butter always shines like the diva it is! You need to try my Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Scones or Blueberry Brown Butter Scones as well.
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Flavor - Nutty salted brown butter is a great upgrade to the classic buttery, brown sugar flavors of cookie bars.
- Texture - Soft and chewy in the middle and slightly crispier around the edges of the pan, which piece are you choosing?
- Method - Cookie bars, like my Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are so much easier to make than individual cookies!
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these simple brown butter cookie bars with chocolate chips.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter - Follow my easy instructions for browning butter to nutty caramelized perfection!
- Brown Sugar - I love the extra flavor and chewiness that brown sugar brings to these bars.
- Chocolate Chips - The recipe calls of semisweet chocolate chips but you could use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate instead!
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Begin cooking the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until it melts completely. The butter will foam up and the milk solids will separate and brown at the bottom of the pot into a deep chestnut brown color. Let cool for 10 minutes before incorporating into the recipe.
Step 2: Stir together the slightly cooled brown butter and brown sugar until combined.
Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully incorporated.
Step 4: Lastly, stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips until no streaks of flour remain.
Step 5: Press the mixture into the bottom of a baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper or greased.
Step 6: Bake in a preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until golden around the edges yet soft in the middle.
Let the bars cool down for at least 15 minutes before lifting out of the pan using the parchment paper as handles. Slice and top with a sprinkle of flakey sea salt before serving, if desired.
💡 Top Tip
These cookie bars would be so yummy served hot out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Don't wait to slice the bars, simply scoop out with a spoon and serve in a bowl with a spoon to scoop up all the melty ice cream.
🍫 More Brownie & Bar Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these Chocolate Chip Brown Butter Cookie Bars or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Brown Butter Cookie Bars
Equipment
- heavy saucepan
- 9x9-inch baking pan
- parchment paper
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- rubber spatula
- measuring cups
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter *
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ¼ teaspoon flakey salt to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Melt the salted butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently until the butter is chestnut brown in color and has a nutty aroma. It is completely normal for the butter to sputter, bubble, and foam during the process. Pour into a heat-safe bowl or container and let cool for 10 minutes.½ cup salted butter
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 9x9-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving the edges to hang over the sides.
- Whisk together the slightly cooled brown butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in the chocolate chips.¾ cup brown sugar, 1 whole egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spread into the corners, and level with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-25 minutes or until golden around the edges. Sprinkle with flakey salt and then let cool for at least 10 minutes before lifting out of the pan using the parchment paper as handles. Slice into 16 bars once cooled. Enjoy!¼ teaspoon flakey salt to sprinkle on top
Notes
- Add an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt to the recipe if using unsalted butter.
Casey W.
These bar cookies are so wonderfully easy! I will be making these again when I have real butter and dark brown sugar, but they were tasty even with the margarine and light brown sugar I had to substitute this time.
Naomi
Thank you for sharing those substitutions, I'm happy to hear the recipe worked out so well for you!
Naomi
Liz - Home with the Hummingbirds
Ooh, wow, these look amazing!! 😍🍪
Naomi
Thanks, Liz!! ♡
Naomi