A rich and flavorful bourbon chocolate chip cookie bar. Soft, chewy and everything you love about chocolate chip cookies in an easy bar form. No mixer required.
These Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars may just be the best thing I’ve made all year.
My favorite dessert is a chocolate chip cookie. I love the sweet and salty, the crisp and gooey parts, not to mention the chocolate.
Technically speaking, I call these cookie bars, but some might call them blondies. I’m not sure of the exact difference, but whatever you want to call them, they are delicious.
This recipe was discovered when I was making my favorite chocolate chip cookie bars from A Farmgirl's Dabble and realized I was out of vanilla extract. My husband is a bourbon collector, so I asked for a swap and used Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon to flavor the bars.
The result was more flavorful than just using vanilla. It doesn’t have an alcohol taste at all, just a rich, almost caramel taste. I think bourbon lovers will really enjoy these.
Why I love this recipe:
- Ready in about 45 minutes from start to finish
- Bakes in a 9 X 13 cake pan
- Has everything in it you love about chocolate chip cookies
- No electric mixer required
I recently brought these to a crawfish boil and there wasn’t one left. Everyone (kids and adults) loved the gooey cookie bars with a hint of salt. I’ll probably be bringing these cookie bars to every get together for the foreseeable future.
Ingredients
Basic ingredients you likely have on hand plus a little bourbon for flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour – I prefer to use unbleached flour. I have substituted white whole-wheat flour with good results.
- Salt – Table salt for the recipe. I like to sprinkle Maldon Sea Salt Flakes on top.
- Baking Soda
- Butter – Unsalted butter, melted and then slightly cooled. For the amount of butter the recipe uses, I find its easiest to do this in a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Light Brown Sugar – Lightly packed. Measuring properly is key to ensuring the right level of sweetness is achieved.
- Granulated Sugar – I don’t recommend reducing, this is just the right amount of sweetness.
- Egg – This uses one whole egg plus an additional egg yolk. If you use more egg than this, it results in a more cake like bar.
- Bourbon – Recipe tested with Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon.
- Chocolate Chips – I like to use Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Chips. Great chocolate flavor and they melt perfectly.
How to Make
- Whisk together dry ingredients. Add sugars to melted butter. Mix in egg, egg yolk and bourbon.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix in chocolate chips.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan. Press to spread evenly.
- Bake in preheated oven at 325F for 25-30 minutes.
Baking Tips
- Line your 9 x 13 cake pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil to easily remove bars from pan.
- The bars should be light golden brown on top.
- To test for doneness, you can insert a toothpick in the center and while it may have melted chocolate on it, it should not have a wet batter.
Tips & Variations
- Sprinkle top with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes or other flaky salt.
- Reserve some extra chocolate chips to place on top.
- Don’t have bourbon? Simply substitute 2 tsp. vanilla extract.
- For even more flavor, try browning the butter.
- Replace ½ c. of the chocolate chips with chopped pecans or walnuts.
Serving and Storage
Serve bars at room temperature. These Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars make a great dessert to enjoy year-round!
Store extra bars in an airtight container at room temperature. Best if eaten within 3 days. Extras may be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to six months.
📖 Recipe
Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 c. + 2 Tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted
- 1 c. light brown sugar lightly packed
- ½ c. sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 Tbsp. bourbon
- 2 c. chocolate chips
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Mix in egg, egg yolk and bourbon.
- Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix until batter starts to form. Add chocolate chips and mix until flour is incorporated.
- Transfer cookie dough to a lightly greased 9 X 13 cake pan. Press batter down and spread evenly across pan. Top with maldon sea salt flakes if desired. Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.
Notes
Recipe adapted from A Farmgirl's Dabbles.
If I make Christmas cookie boxes, these are definitely going in there. I hope you enjoy these bourbon chocolate chip cookies bars!!
Cheers -
More recipes you may enjoy:
TV
My family loved these!
Alaine
Yay, So glad to hear! This is my favorite treat right now.