No scooping or chilling required. These simple, easy cookie bars are loaded with dark chocolate chips, shredded coconut and pecans. Once mixed, just spread the dough into a pan and bake for a batch of the best buttery soft chocolate chip cookie bars you’ll ever eat.
I don’t think cookie bars get enough love. Don’t get me wrong, I love cookies of all shapes, flavors and sizes but there’s something to be said about how easy and simple cookie bars are to make. They’re one of my go-to baked goods when I get the itch to bake at 8 o’clock at night because once mixed, the baking part is so fuss-free. So today I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes for chocolate chip cookie bars.
What makes this recipe special is the addition of chopped pecans and lots of shredded sweetened coconut. These two additions add a lot of flavor and texture to these bars once baked so, in my mind, they’re essential.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Making cookie bars is just like making regular cookies but lazier! The best part about cookie bars is the dough doesn’t require any chilling prior to baking. Plus, you also get to skip forming individual balls of dough. Instead, once the dough is mixed, you just spread it in an even layer into a 9×13 pan and bake until golden. It’s that easy!
Other Benefits of Cookie Bars
The other thing that I love about cookie bars is that they tend to stay soft longer than regular cookies. I’ve mentioned before that my husband and I love sweets but have a tough time making it through a full batch of cookies before they go stale and dry. For this reason, I often turn to cookies like these Mocha Hazelnut Latte Biscotti or cookie bars when I bake a treat that’s just for us. It’s a way to ensure we don’t have to *gasp* throw away any dried out cookies.
Ideas for Other Cookie Bar Mix-ins
If you don’t like coconut or pecans or have an allergy, don’t worry. You can omit them and make classic chocolate chip cookie bars instead. You can also get creative and add your own mix-ins to this versatile dough. Just do an even 1:1 swap for anything you add to the dough.
- Chopped walnuts
- Slivered Almonds
- Pistachios
- Dried Cherries
- Raisins
- M&Ms
- Chopped Candy Bars
- Crushed Oreos
- Soft Caramels Candies
If you try out these Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, please give the recipe a rating and leave a comment down below. You can also snap a photo and tag me on social media—it’s @frydaeblog and #frydaeblog absolutely everywhere! Seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchens is one of my very favorite things!
Looking for more chocolate chip goodness? Try my recipe for The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies next.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Coconut and Pecans
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×13 inch baking pan. Be sure to leave a bit of parchment paper hanging over the edges so you can easily remove the bars for cutting after baking.Next, in the bowl of a stand mixer mix together the melted butter and sugar until smooth. Then beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, baking powder and salt. Mix on low and then begin to gradually add in the flour. Mix until the flour is completely mixed into the dough and then fold in the chocolate chips, coconut and pecans.When the dough is fully mixed, transfer it to the prepared 9×13 inch baking pan. Spread the dough evenly into the pan and then place the pan into the oven on the center baking rack.Bake for 30-35 minutes. The cookie bars are ready to be removed when golden around the edges and a toothpick comes out nearly clean when poked into the center of the bars.Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. When cool, carefully lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve.Leftover cookie bars can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
If you’re not serving these to a crowd, I recommend leaving the bars uncut in the pan and just cutting a square out as you’re ready to eat them. This will help keep the cookie bars soft longer.
12 comments
These look SUPER easy to make, and just so delicious! I need to make these asap, everyone would love them!
So so so easy! They’re the best! I hope you enjoy, Jordin.
Love the addition of coconut and pecans! Gives it a fun flavor twist.
Thanks, Jen!
All the fillings sound so yummy together, making this ASAP!
Thanks, Cate—I hope you enjoy!
I love coconut and pecan together. These sound amazing.
Thanks, Dannii!
These are perfect treats!! I love the combination of flavors!
Thanks, Toni! One of my favorite flavor combos too!
We made this last night….just delicious! Thank you.
So glad these were a hit for you, Wendy! Thank you so much for visiting and for the kind review! ☺️