I may be a dessert person, and I’m always on the lookout for the best bar cookie recipes. They’re often faster than traditional cookies, and the ability to have layers means even more flavors to love.
Why do I love bar cookies so much? Partly it’s because I put them in one pan and they bake. I don’t have to pull pan after pan from the oven, reload the cookie sheets, and keep putting them in over and over.
So really… it’s because I’m lazy?
But you can also do so much more with bar cookies than you can with traditional cookies. You can layer on the flavor and include more textures, which makes them even more delicious.
That isn’t to say I don’t make my share of cookies, but bar cookies? I’m all about them.
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While you can use a hand mixer to whip up your recipes, it’s so much easier and faster when you invest in a solid stand mixer. This one is my favorite.
The best recipes are made in a 9×13 pan. You want one that will cook evenly and not warp. Me? I own 4 of them because once the holidays roll around, I need them all!
You need a spatula to get your batter or dough from the mixing bowl into a pan. It has to be strong enough to last and flexible enough to scrape out the bowl properly. This set is a winner.
This one is my go-to tool for just about anything I bake. I hate using a knife on my pans because it scratches them up. Instead, I use my bench scraper to make clean-cut lines without scratching anything for my bar cookies.
When you have really thick dough, it works best to add it to the pan in bits and pieces then flatten and squish it together. I use my biggest scoop for this, and it makes it so easy.
Many bar cookies are longer and narrower than what a traditional spatula can pick up. An offset spatula can more easily get into your baking pan to remove those bar cookies without breaking them up.
Ideally, you’ll have some leftovers to enjoy another day. The best way to keep them fresh is to store them on your counter (unless otherwise directed) in an airtight container. These are hands down my favorites.
When you store them, you don’t want your bar cookies to stick to each other. Layer wax paper to ensure they stay whole and just the way you want them when you enjoy those leftovers.
50+ of the Best Bar Cookies
Traditional Bar Cookies
Some bar cookies we grew up eating, and they'll always hold a special place in our hearts. Brownies fall into this category, as do Rice Krispie Treats, right? But there are so many more, too.
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Classic Brownies
Classic brownies are a classic for a reason. These delicious, fudgy brownies are moist and perfect with just a dusting of powdered sugar.
These Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars are everyone’s favorite snickerdoodle cookie in bar form. Chewy, buttery, and cinnamon-y. Good luck only eating one!
Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe, the only cookie bar recipe you need! These bars are soft, chewy and topped with a rich buttercream frosting. This recipe yields a small batch of cookie bars.
This one is a childhood favorite. Dense & crumbly shortbread base spread with raspberry jam, then topped with a crumb combining the base mixture and peanuts for crunch.
A British classic, this incredibly delicious treat is seriously hard to say no to. No one really knows exactly where it originated from but I can tell you this with certainty – EVERYONE loves it!
Try this classic cookie that goes great with coffee or hot chocolate. This basic version can be adjusted to add different add-ins from nuts to dried fruit for a little variety.
A twist on a classic pecan pie, these pecan bars are way easier and SO addictive! Sticky, chewy pecans combine with a soft buttery shortbread for a holiday treat that can't. be beat!
Throwing traditional recipes out the window or adding fun twists to classics sometimes makes for the best bar cookies. These are perfect examples.
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Candy Stuffed Cookies
So technically these aren't bar cookies, but you do make them in one batch, so…. enjoy these cute muffin size cookies with a secret treasure inside. So soft and chewy and absolutely delicious. It's a great way to use "extra" Halloween candy.
Anytime you add fruit to a bar cookie, you're winning. Cherries? Ohhhhh sign me up!. This delicious fruit dessert is perfect for potlucks or BBQs or just a fun family dinner.
Take Rice Krispie treats and twist them with s'mores. I could eat these all day. Use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips to give it another depth of flavor.
Brownies are good. Pumpkin swirl brownies are even better. This recipe swirls together two delicious batters and bakes them together (in a cream cheese free recipe).
Tender layers of sandy shortbread surround a schmear of your favorite jam or preserves to create an irresistible sweet-citrusy treat. It’s the dessert you make when you want to effortlessly impress a crowd with a unique, but deliciously familiar, cookie bar recipe.
These Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars are the ultimate dessert! A layer of sugar cookies followed by a cheesecake filling, all on top of an irresistible Golden Oreo crust. You will LOVE these.
These chocolate chip Nutella bars are quick and easy to make, requiring just a few minutes of active time. They're perfect for when you want dessert in a hurry!
Move over plain ole’ Oatmeal Fudge Bars, there is a new recipe in town and they are about to rock your world. Monster Cookie Oatmeal Fudge Bars have all of the traditional elements with extra special ingredients everyone will go crazy for.
I’ve been enjoying these Chocolate Mint Brownies since I was a kid. Rich and fudgy and decadent, and so pretty in their layers, they’re the perfect after-meal sweet treat!
Peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate were meant to be paired! This will be your new favorite dessert, and they are no-bake, making them easy to prepare!
Looking for a chewy, gooey cookie bar recipe? This is IT! The combination of brown butter, creamy milk chocolate and crunchy toasted walnuts can’t be beat. These lasted less than a day in our house!
This is such a tasty way to use up your leftover Halloween candy – or to make any time of year with chocolate chips. You'll salivate over this cross between cookies and brownies!
If you are looking for stellar magic cookie bars, you have found them. This peanut butter, chocolate and coconut combination is the cookie bars recipe you've been waiting for!
Chocolate Toffee Bars are rich and delicious. A really simple dessert for holidays and family get togethers. A cookie crust topped with a gooey toffee layer and lots of chocolate!
Cranberry Pomegranate Walnut Bars are the perfect wintery recipe to add to your Christmas Baking list.A crumb crust is layered with sweet and tart cranberries and topped with a crunchy and crumbly walnut topping.
Oatmeal Fruit Bars are chewy, brown sugar bars filled to overflowing with chopped fruit! They make a great grab and go breakfast or a filling snack for lunch boxes and care packages. Dip the bars in chocolate for an especially luscious treat!
Full of pumpkin and fall spices, these chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars are an easy one bowl, mix-by-hand treat perfect for bakers of all ages.
This special flavor is reminiscent of “cereal milk." You know how the milk at the bottom of a bowl of cereal has a sweet, slightly salty, grain flavor? Well, if you love cereal milk, you’ll really love this new malted milk recipe for bar cookies.
Root Beer Float Bars are chewy, sweet, and fragrant with spices. The same spices that make an icy root beer float so refreshing, make these bars warm and welcoming.
So many bar cookies are naturally gluten free or dairy free, which makes them perfect for sharing at parties or pot lucks. These are some of my favorites.
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Double Chocolate Cherry Cereal Bars
Choose the right cereal to make this gluten free, and fall in love. This unique Rice Krispie recipe takes it up a notch. You'll love the flavor combination of this no bake dessert.
Fall in love with these gluten free 7 layer bars. They're filled with amazing flavor and are quick and easy to make. A great twist on your classic magic bars, dream bars, seven layer cookies – or whatever you call them at home!
Enjoy this easy recipe that is a dairy free twist on a traditional favorite. You'll never make them from a box again. The coconut oil elevates the bars to an amazing flavor profile, even for those who aren't avoiding dairy.
Perfect for bake sales, after school treats, and potlucks, these gluten-free chocolate chip cookie bars will be a hit with all the chocolate lovers! They’re easier and quicker to make than cookies.
Chocolate and vanilla are marbled into delicious cashew cookie bars.Feel good about saving room for dessert with this grain, gluten and dairy free recipe made with nutrient rich ingredients.
Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookie Bars. These flour-less Chocolate Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookie Bars are a delicious vegan and gluten free treat with crispy edges and a doughy center.
Monster Cookie Bars turn a fully-loaded family-favorite cookie recipe into a dessert that you can make with less than 15 minutes of work and in only one bowl. They are filled with peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and M&M candies, but they have no flour, so they are naturally gluten free!
These bars are the stuff dreams are made of so I decided to call them gluten-free Peanut Butter Christmas Dream Bars. I love these gluten-free Christmas treats and think you and your loved ones will, too!
These are a creamy, cold, slightly sweet treat that is packed with rich peanut butter flavor and can be whipped up in less than 5 minutes! They're naturally dairy and gluten free, and vegan, to boot.
Classic toffee bars reinvented with no butter, no oil, no eggs, and no refined sugar. These are delightfully dense and chewy bars that have that classic toffee flavor thanks to the pecan butter and coconut sugar.
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