This quick and easy Chocolate Cookie Bars recipe makes the most soft, chewy, and chocolatey treat. Perfect for everything from birthday parties to bake sales, these cookie bars are made with a chocolate sugar cookie base and topped with creamy vanilla buttercream frosting.
In order to make the best chocolate sugar cookies, I recommend using a high quality cocoa powder in the cookie dough. Of course you can feel free to add chocolate chips to these cookie bars, or experiment with adding swirls of peanut butter, caramel, and so much more.
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Chocolate Cookie Bars Recipe
When baking for a crowd, my favorite secret weapon is cookie bars. These Chocolate Cookie Bars are baked in a sheet tray, covered with creamy homemade vanilla buttercream frosting, and cut into bars or squares. No need to individually portion or frost!
To make the cookie dough, I adjusted my usual sugar cookies and added high quality cocoa powder. Feel free to add mix-ins like chocolate chips or nuts to the cookie dough. You could also experiment with different flavors of frosting such as Chocolate Buttercream or Mint Cream Cheese Frosting. For a real treat, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bar Ingredients
- Flour - all-purpose flour works great for these cookie bars.
- Baking Soda - this helps to keep the dough nice and soft and allows the cookies to rise slightly in the oven.
- Cocoa Powder - for the best flavor, use a high quality cocoa powder.
- Salt - salt helps balance all of the flavors. Sea salt works great.
- Butter - your butter should be softened to room temperature before making the dough. If you forget to pull it out ahead of time, microwave gently for about 10 seconds at a time just until soft but not melted butter.
- Sugar - you will need white granulated sugar for these cookie bars. If you want, you could substitute a portion with brown sugar.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract has the best flavor.
- Eggs - it helps to have your eggs at room temperature so that they don't shock the butter when added to the dough. You can run them until warm water if needed.
Buttercream Frosting
- Butter - you can use either salted or unsalted butter, depending on the flavor profile you like. Either way, your butter needs to be soft. You can pull it out at room temperature or warm slowly in the microwave for about 10 seconds at a time just until soft.
- Powdered Sugar - it helps to add this in a few batches rather than all at once.
- Milk - I always prefer whole milk but 2% milk will work just fine.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract has the best flavor.
How to Make Chocolate Cookie Bars
- Make the chocolate sugar cookie dough. Add the butter, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and whisk well, then add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture. Beat on low speed until well incorporated and no streaks of butter remain, but do not overmix.
- Press the dough into a baking pan. Line a 9" x 13" baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Press the cookie dough into the prepared baking pan, covering the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.
- Bake the cookie bars. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until just barely golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Make the buttercream frosting. While the cookie bars bake, make the buttercream frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the milk and powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix again on low until incorporated. Increase speed and beat until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable. Note: you may need to add a bit more powdered sugar to adjust the consistency.
- Frost and serve. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting over the top of the cooled Chocolate Cookie Bars. Garnish the tops with your favorite sprinkles if desired. Cut into 20 square cookie bars. Enjoy!
Chocolate Cookie Bar Recipe Variations
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars: add semi sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips to the cookie dough.
- Mint Chocolate Cookie Bars: Add peppermint extract to the chocolate sugar cookie dough then top with a layer of mint chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes or mint candies.
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cookie Bars: Swirl white chocolate chips into the chocolate sugar cookie dough. Drizzle with a raspberry glaze made from pureed raspberries and powdered sugar.
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars: Mix peanut butter chips or swirl peanut butter into the chocolate sugar cookie dough. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips or chunks for added richness.
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Cookie Bars: Mix crushed pretzels into the chocolate sugar cookie dough for a salty crunch. Drizzle with salted caramel sauce and sprinkle with sea salt.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, I suggest baking in a 9” x 13” baking dish. For thicker cookie bars you could bake them in an 8” or 9” square pan, or for thinner cookies, bake in a 13” x 17” baking sheet.
Because of the buttercream frosting these Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars should be stored in the fridge. If they are unfrosted, the cookie bars can be stored either wrapped well or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Yes! You can absolutely make these a day in advance, storing in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze the cookie bar dough and bake once you are ready to serve them. Press the dough into a sheet tray and wrap well with plastic wrap, then freezer for up to 1 month.
Storing and Freezing
- Refrigerator: store cookie bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: frosted cookie bars can be stored frozen for up to 1 month. Unfrosted cookie bars can be stored for up to 2 months.
Chocolate Cookie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Bars
- 1 cup Butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 large Eggs
Buttercream Frosting
- 8 oz Butter room temperature
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Chocolate Cookie Bars
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add the butter, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and whisk well, then add to the butter and egg mixture.
- Beat on low speed until well incorporated and no streaks of butter remain, but do not overmix.
- Line a 9" x 13" baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Press the cookie dough into the prepared baking pan, covering the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until just barely golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Add the milk and powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix again on low until incorporated. Increase speed and beat until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable. Note: you may need to add a bit more powdered sugar to adjust the consistency.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting over the top of the cooled Chocolate Cookie Bars. Garnish the tops with your favorite sprinkles if desired. Cut into 20 square cookie bars. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Of the Best Cookie Bar Recipes
- Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
- Coconut Cookie Bars
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Coconut Lime Sugar Cookie Bars
- Butterscotch Bars
- Orange Creamsicle Cookie Bars
- Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
- More Dessert Bar Recipes
- More Cookie Recipes
These soft and chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars are covered in homemade vanilla buttercream. They're perfect for serving at birthday parties, bake sales, and all sorts of get togethers.
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