Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Sea Salt

In all the years I have been baking cookies, I had never really baked them as a bar. I don't know why, but I sure do know that I was missing out all of those years.

Maybe it was partial laziness that I baked these in bar form (I didn't have to form cookies and bake one
baking sheet at a time in my oven), but sometimes the easy way is a wonderfully delicious way. They were crisp and chewy and soft and wonderful.



I mean, just look at that cookie dough. Don't you just want to stick your face in there and eat it straight out of the bowl?

Speaking of the lazy way, I'm definitely guilty of that. Especially with this post. These bars were delicious and I typed up the recipe weeks ago, but taking the time to sit down and write some sort of post about them seemed to take me forever. I don't know why. Maybe it's the constant working every night, running around during the day for auditions and trying to unpack and settled into my room/new apartment all at the same time. 

I guess sometimes being lazy isn't a bad thing. Especially if it means there are cookie bars involved. There is, however, a need "need" for patience with this recipe. You want the bars to cool all the way before cutting them so you don't make a mess. But now, as I'm rereading that sentence, I'm not sure if I'll wait next time.. Maybe I'll take the lazy way and eat deliciously warm, messy, and not-pretty-looking-but-totally-worth-'ruining'-the-pan cookies bars. You know what? Challenge accepted.

Speaking of other lazy things? Procrastinating doing laundry since I have to walk down the street to the laundromat, not uploading pictures from the past 2-3 weeks because then I have to edit and upload to Facebook, and not going to the gym today so I can clean up my room aka sit and watch TV on my computer. 

It's all about priorities. And truthfully, the laziness I had yesterday was a nice change of pace. I generally am running around from one things to the next, and sometimes it's nice to take a deep breath, not do much of anything for awhile, and then go do laundry, cook dinner, talk to United, and go to work. And these cookie bars? They should be a priority.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Sea Salt

makes one 9x13 pan

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (regular salt would work as well)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temp

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg + 1 yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

Additional sea salt for sprinkling 

Preheat over to 325 degrees F. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together until combined. Add the egg, the egg yolk, and the vanilla and mix until smooth and well combined. 

Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing on low, until the mixture is just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Take a 9x13 inch baking pan and spray it with a nonstick cooking spray. Pour the cookie dough into the pan, and spread it until evenly distributed. Smooth it down with your hands so it's as uniform as possible in thickness.

Sprinkle lightly with sea salt (amount is up to preference. I used a very small pinch for these). Bake the cookie bars for about 25 minutes, or until the top of the bars are a light golden brown color. The edges will look like they've started to 'pull away' from the pan. 

Let bars cool for 5-10 minutes on the counter before placing the pan on a wire rack. Let cool to room temperature, then cut into squares and serve. 

[source: barely adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod]