Soft Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars (Printable Version)

Soft and chewy bars loaded with chocolate chips, perfect for sharing and easy to prepare.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
03 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Wet Ingredients

04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
05 - 1 cup packed light brown sugar
06 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
07 - 2 large eggs, at room temperature
08 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

→ Add-Ins

09 - 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang for easy removal.
02 - Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, and sea salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, whisk melted butter with light brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth and glossy.
04 - Add eggs one at a time to the wet mixture, whisking thoroughly after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.
05 - Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula until just blended; do not overmix.
06 - Gently fold semisweet chocolate chips evenly into the batter.
07 - Spread the batter uniformly into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula.
08 - Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until edges turn golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
09 - Allow to cool completely in the pan placed on a wire rack. Lift out using parchment overhang and cut into 16 bars.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • No scooping or spacing worries—just press dough into a pan and forget about precision.
  • The texture stays chewy for days, unlike individual cookies that harden too quickly.
  • Perfect for potlucks, bake sales, or grabbing one with your morning coffee.
02 -
  • Underbaking by a minute or two is worth it—these bars continue to cook on the cooling pan and will be perfectly set once cold, but still soft inside.
  • Room temperature eggs mix into the butter smoothly and prevent that grainy texture that cold eggs sometimes cause.
  • The parchment overhang is not optional; it's the difference between sliding out a perfect block and scraping out crumbles from the corners.
03 -
  • If your kitchen is warm, chill the dough mixture for 15 minutes before spreading it into the pan—this prevents the chocolate from melting too much during assembly.
  • Use an offset spatula or bench scraper to level the dough; your hands work too, but a tool gives you cleaner edges and less mess.

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