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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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Heavenly Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in a bar! Oh yes please! Slightly crisp on the outside with a chewy interior, these bars are utterly addictive! Even better, prepared in just one pan, they are extremely quick to make!

They are made using the same recipe as I use for Chocolate Chip Cookies – Core Recipe with just 2 differences:

  1. I melt the butter and then add the remaining ingredients, rather than beating the butter and sugar first before adding the remaining ingredients. This makes the cookie dough a bit softer and easier to spread out into the tin. (NB You can actually make normal cookies like this too but you will need to chill the dough for 30 minutes to an hour before you can shape and cook.)
  2. I cook them in a tin, so no time wasted making cookie dough balls!

Any of the recipes based on my Chocolate Chip Cookie – Core Recipe can be prepared and cooked in this way. For this recipe I chose to stick to classic Chocolate Chip Cookies but used brown butter to add a slightly different twist and another layer of flavour. I also happen to absolutely love brown butter in cookies and cakes.

How to make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Collect all your ingredients together and line the baking tin:

  1. In order to guarantee soft and chewy cookie bars, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger the depth of your cookie dough will be less and the cake will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and cook more slowly.
  2. Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
  3. Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
  4. Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Ingredients:

  • unsalted butter
  • soft brown sugar 
  • caster sugar
  • salt
  • egg 
  • vanilla extract
  • milk
  • plain/all-purpose flour 
  • baking powder 
  • your favourite milk chocolate chunks
  • extra chunks to use as a topping

Make and Bake the Cookie Bars:

  1. The ingredients for these cookie bars are exactly the same as for Chocolate Chip Cookies.
  2. The only change is the addition of some milk. This is because I chose to brown the butter. When you brown butter some of the liquid in the butter evaporates. The milk is merely replacing this liquid. If you are not browning the butter, you do not need to add this milk.
  3. Cut the butter into cubes and place into a cold pan. Heat over a moderate heat until it turns brown. For more information about browning butter, see here.
  4. Add the soft brown and caster sugars and salt.
  5. Beat well and add the vanilla extract.
  6. Add the milk and mix thoroughly.
  7. Add the egg and beat well.
  8. Now add the flour and baking powder and beat until thoroughly mixed.
  9. Fold in the chocolate chunks until thoroughly mixed.
  10. Transfer to a lined baking tin, level the surface and bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven.

When cooked:

  1. Remove from the oven and, if desired, scatter over some extra chocolate chunks whilst the cookie bars are still hot. When they start to melt, press down a little to ensure they adhere to the cookie bars. Leave in the tin for around 30 minutes to cool.
  2. Lift out of the tin using the baking parchment and transfer to a cooling rack, in the parchment.
  3. When cold, slice into bars or squares.

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodilkitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Heavenly Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in a bar! Oh yes please! Slightly crisp on the outside with a chewy interior, these bars are utterly addictive! Even better they are extremely quick to make! Makes 9, 12 or 16!

Course afternoon tea, Morning Coffee, Snack, treat
Cuisine American
Keyword Brown butter, Chewy on the inside, chocolate chips, cookie bars, Cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Author Susan

Ingredients

  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 100g soft brown sugar 
  • 75g caster sugar
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract/paste
  • 4 teaspoons milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 200g plain/all-purpose flour 
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder 
  • 200g milk chocolate chunks

Topping:

  • 50g milk chocolate chunks (optional)

Instructions

  1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

  2. Preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4 

  3. Cut the butter into cubes and place into a cold pan. Heat over a moderate heat until it turns brown. For more information about browning butter, see here.

  4. Add the soft brown and caster sugars and salt and beat well.

  5. Now add the vanilla extract and the milk and mix thoroughly.

  6. Add the egg and beat well.

  7. Now add the flour and baking powder and beat until thoroughly mixed.

  8. Fold in the chocolate chunks until thoroughly mixed.

  9. Transfer to a lined baking tin, level the surface and bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.

  10. Remove from the oven and, if desired, scatter over some extra chocolate chunks whilst the cookie bars are still hot. When they start to melt, press down a little to ensure they adhere to the cookie bars. Leave in the tin for around 30 minutes to cool.

  11. Lift out of the tin using the baking parchment and transfer to a cooling rack, in the parchment.

  12. When cold, slice into bars or squares.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

  • Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
  • Saucepan and wooden spoon
  • Chopping board and knife
  • 20cm/8inch square baking tin lined with baking parchment

Brown Butter:

If you would like to replace the brown butter with normal unsalted butter, you should omit the milk. For more information on Brown Butter, please see my post.

Weighing the ingredients:

You can either weigh your ingredients and then add them to the saucepan or you can weigh your ingredients directly into your saucepan. Simply put the pan on the scales and zero the scales. Make sure you remember to zero them in between adding each new ingredient.

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