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These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are the most delicious gooey bars you’ll ever make. They’re easy cookie bars start with the best chocolate chip cookie recipe and are filled with gooey chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. They’re a gooey bar from heaven!

stacked gooey bars with chocolate chips baked into the center.


Treats like this one are some of my families favorite recipes. We all love chocolate chip cookies and gooey bars – which makes this recipe perfect because it the best combination of the two. These bars taste like a gooey chocolate chip cookie and I cannot think of anything better.

These bars have sweetened condensed milk and milk chocolate chips in the center to make them SO gooey and rich. They have layers of chocolate chip cookie, chocolate, and gooey-ness! I know you’re going to absolutely love these cookie bars.

ingredients in cookie bars laid out on a white counter.

Ingredients Needed

  • Flour: I always use all-purpose flour in my recipes.
  • Sugar: This recipe calls for both brown sugar and regular granulated sugar.
  • Sweetened Condensed Milk – you can use regular or low/non-fat but be sure not to buy evaporated! They’re in the same spot on the shelf so read the can.
  • Butter: I use unsalted typically. If you only have salted butter – omit the salt from the recipe.
  • Chocolate Chips: Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are my favorite kind of chocolate chips to use in recipes like this one!

Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

Variations

You can use either Hershey Bars or chocolate chips for the center.

I love to make brown butter chocolate chip cookies for this but you can skip browning – just melt the butter.

process shot of cookie bars being made.
process shot of cookie bars being made.
process shot of cookie bars being made.
process shot of cookie bars being made.
  • Make the cookie dough – this one starts with brown butter! Simply brown the butter and stir all the cookie ingredients together.
  • Add your chocolate chips – any kind!
  • Press some of the dough in the bottom of the pan, then top with sweetened condensed milk and some Hershey candy bars – or more chocolate chips.
  • Press the rest of the dough on top and bake until golden brown.
stacked gooey bars with chocolate chips baked into the center.

Expert Tips

  • If you want to add some variation in the chocolate you use, feel free to try white chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or dark chocolate chips.
  • I always love adding some flaky sea salt to chocolate recipes like this one! Also, a scoop of vanilla ice cream goes great with pretty much any recipe, but especially this one!
  • If you want to mix anything else in like walnuts, or pecans, that’s great! Just add a half a cup of whatever else you’d like!

Storage

  • Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature.
  • Bars are freezable – place in an airtight container between layers of wax paper so they don’t stick.
stacked gooey bars with chocolate chips baked into the center.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe

4.27 from 164 votes
My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe made into a gooey bar. This bar cookie is off the hook amazing – gooey, chocolatey, and perfect!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Yield 36 bars
Serving Size 1 bar
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter , melted
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 cups (372g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups (255g) chocolate chips (or mini chocolate chips)
  • 1 (14 ounce can) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 4.4 ounce large Hershey bar (or smaller bars to make that same size) (or more chocolate chips)
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Instructions

  • Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, about 6 minutes, until it becomes brown in color. It will foam, reduce, then foam again. Once it’s done cooking the foam is a light brown and it will dissipate after you remove it from the heat. Once it starts to brown, keep stirring so it doesn’t burn. Let sit for about 5 minutes to cool.
  • Pour into an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. While still hot, add both sugars and mix on low until combined. Let sit to cool for a few minutes.
  • While butter mixture is cooling, combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.
  • Turn mixer (with butter mixture bowl attached) on low. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing completely.  Mix in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
  • Line a 9×13” baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy removal.
  • Press half the cookie dough in the prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top of the bottom layer (be careful to leave about 1/4” edge around the pan so the milk doesn’t touch the foil), then break up the chocolate bar and drop pieces over the top. Break up the remaining cookie dough and place on top of milk. Press with your hands to flatten. It will mostly cover but not completely cover the bottom layer.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until the tops of the bars start to get golden brown. Cool completely before slicing into bars.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature.
  • Bars are freezable – place in an airtight container between layers of wax paper so they don’t stick.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 30mg | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.8mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.27 from 164 votes (141 ratings without comment)

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146 Comments

  1. I’ve been wanting to make these since you first put them up and finally did it for Thanksgiving.  All healthy eating is out the door today.  These are very good but so rich, everyone could only eat a little bit.  FYI I used the big German chocolate bars in the purple wrappers called Milka and if I make them again I’m adding pecans because I think it needs them.  Mine did not slice as pretty as yours.  Next I’d like to try your brownie bars.  Thanks for all the good recipes.

    Reply

  2. I’m pretty sure you’re the devil. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to make these bars this weekend. And possibly hide them from the kids. 😀

    Reply

  3. Hi Dorothy! I baked a batch of these yesterday to include in a birthday care package for my son in college and, oh man, they are good! I wanted to let you know that the “gooey-ness” makes them perfect for packing and mailing. I’m certain they will be soft, fresh, and delicious when they arrive. I  kept some here for us too 🙂 Thanks so much for the delicious recipe.

    Reply

  4. I’m diabetic, so I can’t eat these, but I sent this to all my friends. I will be adding this to my list of foods I dream about!

    Reply

  5. So very happy I found this recipe the other day . I am PINNING it today.  It was a hit in my household.  Everyone loved it. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply