Chewy Cookie Bars

A Quick and Delicious Alternative to Drop Cookies

Jan 7, 2008 Mary Hudlemeyer

Cookie bars are wonderful because of their flexible nature, chewy texture, rich flavor and quick production time.

Chewy Cookie Bars

These cookies are quick and easy to make. Use the basic dough recipe and then choose what to add in for flavorings. In less than half an hour, you can have warm, chewy cookies ready to serve to a crowd.

Ingredients

1 C butter
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 C all purpose flour
3/4 C quick cooking oats
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

Add-Ins

1 1/2 C baking pieces such as:chocolate chips,peanut butter chips,white chocolate chips,butterscotch chips,chopped chocolate
1/2 C nuts such as:walnuts,pecans,peanuts
1 C fruit pieces such as:dried cranberries,raisins,golden raisins,chopped fresh cranberries,dried cherries
3/4 C creamy fillings such as:peanut butter,pudding

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugars. Make sure they are well blended. Leaving unmixed pieces of butter or brown sugar will create an uneven consistency in the finished cookie bars.
Add eggs, one at a time. Completely mix in the first egg before adding the second.
Stir in the vanilla.
Add all dry ingredients. Do not mix until all dry ingredients have been added to the dough.
Mix well.
Incorporate additions as desired, mixing until combined. Note: if adding a creamy filling, do not mix thoroughly, but leave a marbled effect in the dough.
Press cookie dough into an ungreased 9X13" cake pan. You may wish to use wet hands or spatula to keep the dough from sticking.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Allow to cool slightly before cutting.

These cookie bars are easy to make and very fast to finish. Create your own flavor combinations to flavor the cookies, or try some of the following suggestions:

Chocolate peanut butter bars can be made with chocolate and peanut butter baking pieces, or by stirring peanut butter swirls into a chocolate chip dough.
Dried cranberries and white chocolate combine in these cookies for a nice balance of sweet and tart.
Dried cherries should be combined with dark chocolate chunks.
Make a richly sweet cookie by using butterscotch chips and vanilla pudding in this versatile dough.

For even more flavor options, add extracts (such as orange or almond) to the wet ingredients, or spices (such as cinnamon or ginger) to the dry ingredients.

The copyright of the article Chewy Cookie Bars in Baking & Desserts is owned by Mary Hudlemeyer. Permission to republish Chewy Cookie Bars in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Chewy Cookie Bars