Next time life calls for a sweet treat, get smart and bake a pan of cookie bars.
Simpler than cake, faster than cookies, and less stressful than pie, cookie bars are always a hit.
Need proof? Check the facts (below).
Almost every butter-sugar-flour cookie you can think of can be adapted for cookie bars: Peanut butter cookie dough, oatmeal cookie dough, Toll House — they all make excellent bars.
For most bars, your recipe is as easy as this: Press your favorite cookie dough into a foil-lined pan and bake 20-30 minutes. Done.
We tested several cookie bar recipes in Denver, from the simple to the sublime.
Across the board, we found them less fussy and less time-consuming to make than cookies — not to mention much more portable. And we found that no one says “No” to a cookie bar.
Three things to know about cookie bars:
1. It’s all about the butter:
Just like a good sandwich depends on good bread, good cookie bars depend on good butter. That chewy center, those crispy corners—they’re both thanks to butter. So don’t skimp. Buy good-quality, fresh unsalted butter. No substitutions.
2. Load, don’t overload:
Cookie bars are meant to be big, but don’t go overboard with fixins or they won’t cook evenly. A basic cookie bar ratio should be no weaker than 2 1/2-1; in other words, 2 1/2 cups of dough to 1 cup of chocolate chips.
3. Freeze freely:
Unlike with smaller, more delicate cookies, the freezer is very forgiving to cookie bars. Once they cool, wrap your bars tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Most will freeze for up to two months. Wrap individually so you can stick a frozen bar in your lunch pail; by noontime, it’ll be thawed and ready. Bonus: That cold cookie bar helps keep your lunch chilled.
