This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with PB Frosting turn your favorite chocolate chip cookies into bars topped with an incredibly fluffy peanut butter frosting! Easily made gluten-free, these bars are sure to be a hit with the whole family.
Delicious Details at a Glance
Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Gluten-free
Skill Level: Easy
Think chocolate chip cookies meets sugar cookies, but in bar shape! I love taking chocolate chip cookie bars to school events or parties because this recipe makes 6-7 dozen bars (yes, you read that right!), which means that everyone can have seconds. Here’s why you’ll love this recipe:
- Easily made gluten-free. If you wish, you can easily make this recipe using a gluten-free 1:1 flour blend. All of the other ingredients you need are already gluten-free.
- Make them with or without frosting. I love topping these chocolate chip cookie bars with peanut butter frosting! However, if you’re short on time or just want to keep things simple, you can omit the frosting. The cookie bars will still taste amazing.
- Adaptable. You can make this recipe as written if you like the taste of traditional chocolate chip cookies, or you can try some of my variation suggestions below.
- Sturdy and packable. Cookie bars are perfect for packing into lunchboxes or taking to the park for an outdoor sweet treat.
What You’ll Need
Here’s a rundown of the ingredients in these chocolate chip cookie bars. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
For the Cookies
- All-Purpose or Gluten Free Flour: You can make these gluten-free or not, depending on your needs. I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour when I bake these cookies.
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter in my baking recipes.
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Peanut Butter Frosting: Or you can make your own choice of frosting. I include the instructions here, but you can check out my peanut butter frosting recipe for all the details.
- Topping: Sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or chopped peanut butter cups, for decorating.
For the Frosting
- Butter
- Peanut Butter: For the smoothest frosting I use creamy peanut butter.
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
Here is an overview of how to make these irresistible chocolate chip cookie bars. For detailed instructions, be sure to scroll down to the recipe card.
- Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven and have a baking sheet ready.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Sift or whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugars. Combine the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs.
- Add the flour and chocolate chips. On low, beat in the flour mixture to the wet mixture, then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the dough. Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake. Bake the bars until lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool. Cool bars completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting. Beat together the butter and peanut butter, then add the powdered sugar and as much milk as you need until it’s light and fluffy.
- Frost and enjoy. Frost the cookie bars and enjoy!
Tips For the Best Chocolate Chip Bars
I love this recipe exactly as it’s written, but it’s also fun to change it up a bit.
- Try different chocolate. You can make chocolate chip cookie bars with milk chocolate or white chocolate, or a combination with semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Top with other frosting. I love peanut butter frosting on these cookie bars, but homemade chocolate frosting would also be lovely! Or go simple and use vanilla frosting.
- Skip the frosting and add salt! If you want a sweet-salty combination, skip the peanut butter frosting and top the cookie bars with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt (like Maldon sea salt).
- Add other candy. If you wish, add in mini M&Ms or Reeses pieces along with the chocolate chips!
- Stir in toasted nuts. Toasted, chopped walnuts would add a wonderful bit of crunch to these chocolate chip cookie bars.
- Brown the butter. If you like, you can brown the butter to add a deeper, more nutty flavor undertone. Place the butter in a pan set over medium heat and cook it until it crackles and starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Cool the butter, then place it in the bowl with the sugar and proceed with the recipe. Note that the butter and sugar won’t become “light and fluffy” because the butter will be liquid when you beat it.
Here’s what to do with any leftover chocolate chip cookie bars:
- Fridge – Store these cookie bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezer – Place the cookie bars in an airtight, freezer-safe container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 months. You can freeze the bars with or without the frosting. Thaw the bars completely in the fridge before eating.
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 5 cups all-purpose or gluten free 1:1 flour , (660 grams) I recommend Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Peanut Butter Frosting, see below, or your choice of frosting
- Optional sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or copped peanut butter cups, for decorating
For the Frosting
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease or line a 13×18 inch baking pan with parchment paper to make them easier to remove.
- Sift or whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
- Combine the butter and sugars in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer and cream with stand mixer or hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan, using a small offset spatula or a rubbed spatula sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake for 12-18 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean (it won't look done, so use the toothpick test).
- Cool completely, then frost and decorate as desired. Cut into small squares.
For the Frosting
- Beat together the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar.
- Increase mixer speed, and add milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time, to achieve desired consistency. Beat until light and fluffy.
I love baking plain Gingerbread Cookies in all sorts of Christmas shapes; then I frost them for my son, nieces, and nephews ????????
Ahh, these cookie bars look awesome! I approve of both chocolate chips AND chocolate jimmies. Totally the way to go.
Pinning!
Thanks Abbie!
Great recipe! These would make an excellent Christmas dessert! 😉
I love to make chocolate krinkles and anything with gingerbread or molasses flavors.
I love decorated sugar cookies and peanut butter blossoms. Wouldn’t be Christmas without them 🙂
My mom makes peanut butter blossoms every year.
Christmas sugar cookies.
I have to bake Snickerdoodles every year for Christmas! I will be baking them tomorrow for a pot luck dessert!
I bake Snickerdoodles for my dad and sister every year!
My favorite cookie to make for the holidays or anytime is Sugar Cookies! I love that you can use cookie cutters and decorate accordingly for any holiday with Sugar Cookies!
So true!
Favorite cookie to make is mint dark chocolate chip cookies
Press cookies with candied cherries and red sugar!
I love making new cookie recipes. My
family really enjoys them too.
Everyone loves Snickerdoodles. I make them for swaps, to share at work, for meetings and parties!
My dad and sister’s favorite!
they look yummy!
Thanks! They are!
I like to bake molasses spice cookies, although these look like something the kids might enjoy more!
Molasses spice is good, but I think the kiddies usually prefer chocolate chips 🙂
These look amazing!
Thanks!
Cookie bars are such a good idea. I need to make some
It’s a great way to make a ton of cookies at once!
favorite christmas cookie is russian teacakes…..they are easy to make and so easy!
Those are good!
My favorite cookie to make for Christmas is krumkake. That’s a scandinavian cookie you make with a special pan on the stove top. The cookies come out flat and you roll them around a dowel, so they’re cone shaped. I feel connected to my Grandma when I make them!
What a nice memory.
My oven can be a little bit like that sometimes too, Brianne, so I try to remember to rotate the pan part the way through. “Try” being the operative word. 🙂 Your little helper is so cute! This summer I baked with my little six-year-old nieces and I think more sprinkles went in mouths than on cupcakes or sugar cookies. 🙂
I love your cookies bars with that peanut butter frosting! Bars are so much quicker to bake too.
Yeah, the little ones do like to “sample” a lot 🙂
I love chocolate chip cookies and I love cookie bars because who has time to scoop all that dough 😀
Exactly!!!
My favorite cookie to back with the kids is the candy cane sugar cookies with red and white dough twisted in the shape of a cane. The kids love to help!
Those are fun!
I love baking fudge and cookie dough brownies!
Mmmmmm!
Gingersnaps – I never make them any other time of year
My hubby’s favorite for Christmas!
Those are some precious photos and story, Brianne <3 Makes me miss my great-nephew who is currently in Qatar. Through the changing decades of life and growing up of many nieces and nephews, sprinkles, chocolate and PB do seem to be a constant favorite!
I think I have many years of sprinkles and peanut butter to come 🙂
haha! I love the kids eyeing the cookies! What a fun way to start out cookie week!
I definitely have a little cookie monster!
I love the ease of sugar cookie bars. Your peanut butter frosting and chocolate chip additions sound fantastic!
They do make it easy to make a ton at once.
I like to bake chocolate ginger bread men/women – the kids like them and I found a really easy and yummy recipe for them.
Fun!! The additional of chocolate sounds awesome!
I’ll have the gooey one on the very top!! Thanks….and a glasss of milk! 🙂
these cookies do call out for milk!
mmmm these bars look so good! I have never thought about adding chocolate chips to sugar cookies and this peanut butter frosting looks divine! I’m so glad to participate in cookie week with you!
My little guy wants to add chocolate chips to EVERYTHING!
I love to make date skillet cookies. My grandma used to make them and no one ever brings them so here are no duplicates.
That sounds like a unique recipe. My little guy is really into dates lately.
Here you go! No idea where she got the recipe but this is how I find it on my computer 🙂
Enjoy!
Jeanne Bruffy Gerber’s Date Skillet Cookies
1 C butter or margarine
1 C. brown sugar
1 ½ C. pitted, chopped dates
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 egg, well beaten and at room temp
3 C. crispy rice cereal
About 3 C. shredded coconut
Cook butter, sugar, salt, and dates over low heat until pasty, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool or you will cook the egg. then add vanilla, egg. Mix well. Return to low heat and cook for 2 minutes. Cool a little, then add cereal. After mixture has cooled so you can handle it with your hands, form into 1 inch balls and roll in coconut. Store in
air-tight container.
Oh thanks! Hmmm, I have an idea for these!
My favorite cookies to make are multichip cookies using semisweet, white and peanut butter chips
Awesome combo!!
These look so good! I’m so excited to be a part of #cookieweek with you! I could go for a dollop of peanut butter frosting right now 🙂
Oh the frosting was pretty incredible!
Mmmmm these look delicious–and I love that they’re a bit underdone!
Thanks Kayle! My oven apparently wants to please everyone. Half fully done, half underdone!
I love cookie bars, too! And I can see why your sweet Bug is enamored with these!
My Bug loves his treats!
Peanut butter blossoms
One of our family faves!
I’d have that big grin on my face too if I was staring at that big pan of cookie bars like the bug! Wow these just look insanely good. I’ll take a dozen. 🙂
You can have a dozen. That big pan makes about 7 dozen!!
I like to bake sugar cookies.