Birdie’s Bar Cookies
Every year, many people make cookies for Santa. One year, after making some box-sugar cookies and decorating them with gobs of icing and sprinkles, it occurred to me that I did not like that kind of cookie nearly as much as our family-favorite bar cookies. Today I’m going to share our family recipe as well as give you time to practice making them before the holiday to decide if they will be a favorite to share with Santa as well.
These cookies are a family favorite and crowd pleaser. I was first introduced to these cookies when my mother-in-law made them for a family get together. I had never tasted anything quite as delightful as this version of chocolate chip cookies in a bar form. Today, I’ll share with you this family-favorite recipe as well as the tips I learned along the way to make sure you get the best result for them. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Please report back in the comments on what you think of them.
PS- you may be able to substitute for gluten free, but I’m not versed in that, so please report back on your findings!
Enjoy!
BG Barnstormer
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Birdie’s Bar Cookies (Family Favorite Recipe!)
The full recipe instructions, and pictures are included below.
At the end, I include the full recipe without pictures.
This Recipe is for 2 cookie sheet pans: 9” by 13” (with short a lip on the side)
(Two-Pan Recipe: one pan to take to a gathering and one to leave at home. Recipe can easily be cut in half for only one pan of bar cookies)
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COOKIE BASE
- 1 Cup Butter (*ROOM TEMP*)
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar (also use more b. sugar for topping-see below)
- 4 Egg Yolks (Save the whites!)
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 4 Cups Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
TOPPING
- 2 bags (12 oz) Chocolate chips
- 4 egg whites
- 2 C. Brown sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Separate eggs, placing whites in one bowl and yolks in another bowl.
3. In mixing bowl, place the following ingredients:
- 1 Cup Butter (*ROOM TEMP*)
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 4 Cups Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
Note: Make sure the butter is room temp. If not, then soften it slightly in the microwave.
Dump all the cookie base ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine.
(NO NEED to pre-combine the butter, eggs, and sugar as you do in other recipes.) I use a kitchen aide to mix everything thoroughly.
The mixture will look like wet sand when everything is combined. See picture below:
4. Divide mixture evenly between 2 cookie sheet pans. (size: 9” by 13”)
5. Press the crumbly sand-like mixture firmly down so it is flat. See picture:
6. Use one 12-oz bag of the chocolate chips per pan, dispersing the chocolate chips across the pan as evenly as you can. (See picture below.)
7. PRESS the chocolate chips into the base layer.
This step is important so the chocolate chips aren’t loose when the topping is added.
8. Time to make the topping. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff.
I start on low for a minute, then progressively increase the speed to high for a few minutes until peaks form and it looks like whipped cream. It is critical that the egg whites are whipped and have lots of air in them so there will be enough in the mixture to “frost” both pans. See picture below:
9. Gently stir or fold in the 2 cups of brown sugar until combined. Try not to over mix. You want the egg whites as light and fluffy as possible to add as a topping on the base mixture.
10. Pour half the topping mixture onto the middle of one pan and half onto the middle of the other pan. See picture below.
11. Using a scraper spatula, gently pull the egg-white mixture to the outer edge of the pan, scraping the spatula clean with the pan edge after each pull.
This will create a frosting-like look on top of the chocolate chips. Rotate the pan, repeating the method of pulling the egg white mixture to the outer edge, scrape the spatula clean with the edge of the pan, and repeat until all the mixture coats the entire pan and the chocolate chips are covered. (The idea is that all the chocolate chips will be covered under the layer of the topping. As the topping is baked, the chocolate chips will melt and be slightly goo-ey.) See picture below.
12. Once both pans have been “iced” with the topping, this is how my pan of cookies look before they are baked:
13. Place pans in oven at 325°F. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes until top layer is a golden brown.
14. Remove from oven and let cool. This is how they looked once baked:
15. Our family enjoys these best after they are slightly cooled, but still a little warm, with a cup of cold milk. (also, a great breakfast or snack item the day after they are baked!)
These bar cookies never last long and are a family favorite. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do. They make a great cookie cake as well as cookies for Santa.
Signing off,
BG Barnstormer
Full Recipe (No Pictures)
Birdie’s Bar Cookies
COOKIE BASE
- 1 Cup Butter (*ROOM TEMP*)
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar (also use more b. sugar for topping-see below)
- 4 Egg Yolks (Save the whites!)
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 4 Cups Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
TOPPING
- 2 bags (12 oz) Chocolate chips
- 4 egg whites
- 2 C. Brown sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325F°.
- Separate eggs, placing whites in one bowl and yolks in another bowl.
- In mixing bowl, place the following ingredients:
1 Cup Butter (*ROOM TEMP*)
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar (also use more b. sugar for topping-see below)
4 Egg Yolks (Save the whites!)
2 Tablespoons water
4 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
Note: Make sure the butter is room temp. If not, then soften it slightly in the microwave.
Dump all the cookie base ingredients in the bowl and combine.
(NO NEED to pre-combine the butter, eggs, and sugar as you do in other recipes. I use a kitchen aide to mix everything thoroughly.
The mixture will look like wet sand when everything is combined.
4. Divide mixture evenly between 2 cookie sheet pans. (size 9” by 13”)
5. Press the crumbly sand-like mixture firmly down so it is flat.
6. Use one 12-oz bag of the chocolate chips per pan.
7. PRESS the chocolate chips into the base layer.
This step is important so the chocolate chips aren’t loose when the topping is added.
8. Time to make the topping. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff.
I start on low for a minute, then progressively increase the speed to high for a few minutes until peaks form and it looks like whipped cream. It is critical that the egg whites are whipped and have lots of air in them so there will be enough in the mixture to “frost” both pans.
9. Gently stir or fold in the 2 cups of brown sugar until combined. Try not to over mix. You want the egg whites as light and fluffy as possible to add as a topping on the base mixture.
10. Pour half the topping mixture onto the middle of one pan and half onto the middle of the other pan.
11. Using a scraper spatula, gently pull the egg-white mixture to the outer edge of the pan, scraping the spatula clean with the pan edge after each pull.
This will create a frosting-like look on top of the chocolate chips. Rotate the pan, repeating the method of pulling the egg white mixture to the outer edge, scrape the spatula clean with the edge of the pan, and repeat until all the mixture coats the entire pan and the chocolate chips are covered. (The idea is that all the chocolate chips will be covered under the layer of the topping. As the topping is baked, the chocolate chips will melt and be slightly goo-ey.)
12. Once both pans have been “iced” with the topping, place pans in oven at 325°.
13. Place pans in oven at 325°F. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes until top layer is a golden brown.
14. Remove from oven and let cool.
15. Our family enjoys these best after they are slightly cooled, but still a little warm, with a cup of cold milk. (also, a great breakfast or snack item the day after they are baked!)