Forget Chocolate Chip Cookies! This Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars recipe from The 8×8 Cookbook is an absolute winner and perfect for entertaining!
I recently started eating mostly paleo (more about that here and here), and these chocolate chip cookie bars were the first indulgent treat I had this year. Let’s just say it was totally worth the cheat.
The chocolate chip cookie bars recipe comes straight from a new cookbook that I recently added to my collection, The 8×8 Cookbook by my friend Kathy Strahs. Kathy is a fantastic veteran blogger and cookbook author and was such an inspiration to me when I started my blog. This month being Black History Month, I wanted to give honor to those black women who have recently changed the game with their impressive and creative cookbooks that have motivated me in my kitchen.
To avoid being cliché, I am actually going to continue sharing recipes from what I call #blackgirlmagic cookbooks through April. Last year, an unprecedented amount of African American woman authored cookbooks were released in the marketplace, and it shows how much talent, perspective and creativity the market was missing before they were released. I’m so excited that I could share some of these gifts with you on my site, and I’m truly excited to start with this book because it was such a labor of love for the author. Kathy actually raised funds to self-publish this book through KickStarter. Her entire campaign was so well run and inspiring. Check out and support this book.
I love the idea of this book because everything is created within an 8×8 inch dish. This works perfectly for small families like mine where its just me and the hubby. Going through the book, I saw several recipes that I wanted to share. It also helps when you make this easy and delicious recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars because you won’t a huge pan to entice you with. Even though, you might want to make two pans but I won’t tell.
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 stick
- 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
- Heat the oven to 350° F.
- Line an 8x8-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper.
- Beat the butter and both sugars together for several minutes until they’re light and fluffy, either with an electric mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon in a large bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla until they’re well combined. Separately, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until they’re well combined. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
- Pour the dough into the prepared pan, spreading it to the edges and corners (it doesn’t have to be perfect—the dough will further spread in the oven). Bake until the bars are fully set and lightly browned on top, about 25 minutes. Allow them to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat the remaining chocolate chips in the microwave at 50% power in 30 second increments, stirring after each heating, until they’re fully melted (alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a double-boiler on the stove). Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled cookie bars before cutting and serving.
- BETTER YET: Cutting a pan of chocolate chip cookies into bars takes a whole lot less effort than scooping individual drop cookies!
Excerpted from The 8×8 Cookbook: Square Meals for Weeknight Family Dinners, Desserts and More—In One Perfect 8×8-Inch Dish, by Kathy Strahs (Burnt Cheese Press, 2015). Reprinted with permission.
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I have made several of your pound cakes in the past year and each one has been perfect! As a Southerner, I think that baking pound cakes must be embedded in my DNA. Today was the end of the school year for my young grandchildren so I made these cookie bars for them. I was informed that this was the very best of any chocolate chip bars I’ve made for them. High praise indeed for your recipe. Thanks for posting this and also for highlighting that cookbook. (I’m ordering it.)
Can self rising flour be used in place of the flour,soda and salt?
No I wouldn’t do any substitutions for this.
What are the calories/ nutrient facts on these bars?
Hi Pat, the information may not have been provided in the cookbook. I actually use MyFitnessPal to come up with calories and nutritional facts for my recipes. It does it automatically once you plug in the link to the website.
this recipe is better than any chocolate chip cookie i’ve ever had or made — thank you so much to you and kathy for sharing this recipe!! i’m excited to pick up the 8×8 cookbook!!
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it!
Just made these and they are bomb! Thanks for sharing!
This look amazing! My boys would love these. I also now need to add this cookbook to my never-ending cookbook wishlist. LOL
Yes indeed!
Great recipe! Just ordered Kathy’s book! Thanks for the suggestion!!
Indeed! I hope you enjoy.
I’m so inspired by her and not to mention you’re an inspiration as well! I love how more black food bloggers and cookbook authors are showcasing their talents! I definitely have to check out Kathy’s book. Oh and those bars look crazy good!
Thank you, April!!
The amount of cookbooks from black powerhouses has been astonishing!! I’m so excited you are promoting these talented folks but highlighting them here on the blog (you are an inspiration!!). Kathy’s panini press book is one of my favorites but I can already see this one getting to that level already. Love the concept and of course these cookie bars!!
Thank you so much, Zainab!! 😉
Cookie bars are the best! Love how simple these are!
I love cookie bars too!
Gosh these bars are a stunner!! What a great idea for this cookbook.
Thanks hon! I really loved them.
I love cookie bars! SO much easier than baking regular cookies
YES!
So thick and perfect!
I totally love these!!
my favorite cookie bars are the center ones when they are slightly less cooked than the outer ones. love cookie bars!
Same here!!
I love the concept of this cookbook, and LOVE LOVE the looks of these cookie bars!
They are so delish!
These must happen. And I want that book, such a great concept!
It is such a great concept! Love it!
I had no idea Kathy raised funds to self-publish this book through KickStarter!!! That is amazing! and I love these cookie bars!
Isn’t that crazy amazing?
Considering that my 8-inch square pan is the one that gets the biggest workout at my house, I need to buy this book! I’ve always preferred that size because then you’re not way overdoing it with portions and leftovers everywhere. And these cookie bars are worth more than a single splurge!
Yes you should definitely check out this book!
I have never met a cookie bar I haven’t liked Jocelyn!! These look so easy and so delicious! Perfect size too!
Same here! I love them all.
Thanks so much for sharing my book, Jocelyn!!
My pleasure!!
How much chocolate do you use? I don’t see it in the recipe anywhere.
Hi Linda, thanks for bringing that to my attention. Some of the recipe cut off but it is now updated.
Thank you so much. I heard you on the radio the other day and you were talking about the Salted Caramel Lava Cakes so I decided to make them for my husband for Valentines Day! What a wonderful sweet treat! I’m really looking forward to making these Chocolate Chip cookie Bars next!
This is simple (love the minimal ingredients!) and beautiful! I like that cookie bars are a thing. 🙂 And, thanks for highlighting these cookbooks.
Thank you so much Elsa. The cookie bars are insane!!
I love this concept – both of the book AND of your series! I would love to make these bars, but the recipe got cut off. Can you post the rest? 🙂
Thanks hon! It is totally updated now. Thanks for noticing the cut off haha.
I love the concept of this book! My family of three has never owned anything larger than an 8×8, so 13×9 pan recipes always mean lots of adjusting 🙂 And I love that you’re sharing the much-needed black voices in this industry! These bars look amazing- pinning 🙂
Thank you so much hon!
I’ll take a thick, chewy cookie bar over a cookie any day. These look irresistible!
Same here girlfriend!
that chocolate drizzle totally puts these amazing cookie bars over the top!
Totally!
Are there really only 5 ingredients in these bars? I love chocolate chip cookie bars and could easily eat them as a meal! 🙂
It really does only have a few ingredients total!