Cookie Bars
Rich and sweet 5-ingredient cookie bars! Made with only pantry ingredients and 1 pan. No bowl required!
Servings: 24
Calories: 274kcal
Equipment
- 9x13 inch pan
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter (113 grams; 1 stick)
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (250 grams)
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (397 grams; 1 can)
- 12 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (340 grams; 1 bag)
- 12 ounces flavored chips or other chocolate chips (340 grams; 1 bag) (butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, or whatever else you'd like)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. Place butter in 9x13 inch metal or glass baking pan; do not use non-stick bakeware.
- Melt butter in the preheating oven. This only takes about 5 or so minutes. Don't overheat it, or it will pop and spatter.
- Remove pan from oven. Carefully spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Stir the graham cracker crumbs into the melted butter; be sure all crumbs are moistened. Gently pat the crumbs evenly across the bottom of the pan.
- Drizzle sweetened condensed milk on top of the crust, getting it up to the edge. Try not to pour it all in one spot.
- Layer with both bags of chocolate chips, spreading them out evenly.
- Bake 25-30 minutes, until edges are slightly browned. You can bake until all the sweetened condensed milk is browned if you'd like, but the edges will be chewier, and it will make the pan harder to clean.
- Cool bars for 60 minutes before cutting, and cut bars while slightly warm. They'll be too hard if they cool completely. Cookie bars are rich, so I like cutting them rather thin and small.
- Try not to eat them all in one sitting. Once the cookie bars are cool, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll stay good for several days, if you have any left!
Notes
Use a glass or natural aluminum (not non-stick) pan with flat, not sloped, sides. This makes for the best crust and easiest clean-up.
You can substitute a small amount of lightly sweetened oat or rice cereal for some of the graham cracker crumbs, if it's very finely crushed. Uniced animal crackers or chocolate animal crackers would likely also be fine.
Be sure you get sweetened condensed milk, which is thick since it has sugar cooked into it. It is NOT the same as evaporated milk, which is unsweetened. They are not interchangeable.
Be careful handling a hot pan!
If you're nervous about making a crust in a hot pan, melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove, stir in graham cracker crumbs, and pan evenly into a room temperature pan. Proceed with layering the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips; bake normally.
I got this recipe off of an index card, but it's likely adapted from the layered magic cookie bars that are out there.
Originally written in 2011 and 2018. Revised in April 2025.
Calorie count calculated in MyNetDiary and is an estimate only.
Nutrition
Calories: 274kcal
