Bar cookies

Cookies baked as one sheet of dough and cut into pieces afterward.

Bar cookies: A baked slab of chocolate chip cookie bars cut into neat even squares, one square slightly pulled aside.
  • Techniques and preparation methods

Also called: traybakes

Bar cookies are made by pressing dough into a sheet pan, baking it, and cutting it into the desired shape. Because the whole batch bakes as one slab, there is no need to portion or shape individual cookies.

University of Illinois Extension shows how simple the method is. Its chocolate chip cookie bar recipe presses the dough into an ungreased 11 by 7 inch baking dish and bakes it at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. The bars are cooled fully before cutting, and the recipe yields 10 bars, each about 2 by 3.5 inches.

Extension educators note that a cookie recipe can be adapted into cookie bars, which can be freezer-friendly. Brownies, blondies and lemon bars are familiar members of the group.

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Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. 1.9: Cookies, Workforce LibreTexts (Introduction to Baking and Pastries)
  2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar, University of Illinois Extension