Salted Caramel chocolate chip cookie bars are buttery, sweet, crunchy and chewy. They are the perfect treat any time of day!
What Are Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
My kids finally returned to school. Their summer break was only a couple of weeks longer than some of their peers, but those couple of weeks seem to last for an eternity. I was a little too excited about their first day. Meaning, I was excited to have the house to myself again. I felt quite guilty about my glee so I baked up some chocolate chip cookie bars for the kids to have as a treat!
What are chocolate chip cookie bars? Simply put, they are basic chocolate chip cookie dough baked into a 9 x 13-inch pan. They are buttery and chewy just like your favorite cookie but they are served up in big squares that beg to be served with a tall glass of milk. They are a fantastic treat for ay school lunch or after school.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Caramel
Chocolate chip cookie bars can handle almost any “extra’s” and ingredients swaps you’d like to throw at them. I often change out the chips and use butterscotch or white chocolate chips instead of the chocolate chips. Candies like M & M’s, chopped Snickers or Reese Cups would be wonderful as well! You can certainly keep them pure and only use chocolate chips! I chose to chop caramel candies and a little sea salt for these bars I am sharing today.
WHERE IS THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BAR RECIPE?
If you’d rather skip cooking tips, suggestions, handy substitutions, related recipe ideas – and get straight to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Recipe– simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
How To Make Chocolate Chip Co0kie Bars
This recipe is a take on turtle candies. I added caramel candies, pecans to my batter and sprinkled a bit of sea salt over the top before baking to have that perfect salty/sweet combo. Some other possible combos are:
- White Chocolate Chips- Dried Cranberries
- Butterscotch Chips-Chopped Pretzels
- Peanut Butter Chips- Salted Peanuts-Peanut Butter Cups
- Chocolate Chips-Toffee Bits-Chopped Peeled Apples
Regardless of what you put into these bars, the batter will be very thick. Spread the batter into the greased pan as best you can, it will spread and fill the entire pan as it bakes.
Can You Freeze Chocolate Chip Bars?
Yes, you can! Be sure to cool the cookie bars completely. Keep the bar’s whole (do not cut into servings). Wrap the bars with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They will keep up to 3 months. When you are ready, thaw the cookie bars completely then cut into individual servings.
If you like these bars then you will love these Chocolate Caramel Brookie Bars, Coconut Pecan Pie Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Caramel Bars!
Turtle Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Salted Caramel chocolate chip cookie bars are buttery, sweet, crunchy and chewy. They are the perfect treat any time of day!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 12 oz package semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped caramels
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and beat until combined, add egg yolk and beat until yolk is no longer visible. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips, caramels, and pecans. Spread batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake bars for 20 minutes or until golden. Allow bars to cool slightly before cutting.
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 0Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 0mgFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 0g
Farmersdaughter says
Serves 16? LOL, fat chance……some vanilla ice cream and POSSIBLY I might share with one…..these look amazing, and I will be making them to take to the rodeo on Sunday…..yes, I’ll share!
Tanya Schroeder says
Well you know, the serving size is just a suggestion 🙂