Sick of sweets yet? I’m most definitely not, as evidenced by these brown butter chocolate chunk cookie bars, which I whipped up two days ago. Despite indulging in candy, sugary snacks and Salt & Straw ice cream all month long (plus a big slice of coffee tres leches cake on Christmas Eve), I craved more confections come Dec. 26.
And so I decided to tackle one last dessert recipe before the new year, and have been enjoying the fruits of my labor ever since.
If you have a surplus of holiday baking supplies, make a batch of brown butter chocolate chunk cookie bars for yourself, family or friends. They’re crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside (thanks to a thin layer of sweetened condensed milk sandwiched between two layers of dough) and utterly irresistible.
Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust.
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup mini white chocolate chips
- ⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2.5 ounces chocolate, roughly chopped (see notes)
- Line an 8" square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2" overhang on all sides; lightly coat the foil with cooking spray.
- In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling pan occasionally, until deep golden brown. Immediately pour butter into a bowl and let cool for 3 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the brown butter and sugars at medium speed until well blended. Let cool for 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat until well blended.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Press about half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Spread the condensed milk in an even layer over the dough, leaving a ¼" border around the edges. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate over the condensed milk. Squeeze off chunks of the remaining dough and sprinkle over the chopped chocolate, pressing gently to adhere.
- Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center position.
- Bake cookie bars until the top is lightly golden, 30-35 minutes.
- Remove pan from the oven and let cool completely. Using the foil overhang, lift bars from pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 2" squares.
