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Cookie Dough Bars
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If you’re looking for a recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth, then this is the perfect one! Full of M&M’s, chocolate, and egg-free cookie dough, these bars combine all the best sweet treats into one delicious dessert!
More Recipes: No Bake Monster Cookies | Candy Bar Brownies | Reese's Cookies
Most people love to snack on cookie dough while baking cookies, so these edible cookie dough bars are the best dessert to make! You won’t have to worry about eating raw cookie dough any more because with this recipe, the flour is baked and there are no eggs so you can eat as much as you want!
Serve it up with a glass of milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. However you choose to eat it, they’re sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Ingredients for Cookie Dough Bars
There are so many recipes out there for edible cookie dough, but this one definitely takes the cake. Cut up these bars into smaller cookie dough squares and wrap them up as gifts for friends or family. You can even set out these no bake cookie dough bars at a party or get together for everyone to gobble up.
What you'll need to make these Cookie Dough Bars:
BARS
- Salted Butter: 10 tablespoons
- Brown Sugar: ¾ cup
- Vanilla Extract: ½ tsp
- All-Purpose Flour: 2 cups (baked on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 5 mins)
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: 14 ounces
- Miniature Chocolate Chips: 1 cup
- Miniature M&M’s: 1 cup
- Cooking Spray
TOPPING
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips: 1 cup
- Salted Butter: 2 tablespoons
- Miniature M&M's: ¾ cup
Cookie Dough Bar Variations
You can customize these chocolate chip cookie dough bars just like you do with regular cookies! Here are some suggestions to try!
- Add-ins: Instead of chocolate chips, you can use other treats like heath bar pieces, mini m&m's, or Reese's Pieces. You could even add a dollop of Peanut Butter to the batter, yum!
- Use Oats: If you love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, use them in these bars! Mix in half a cup of flour and 2 cups of quick oats instead of just 2 cups of flour. It's tasty!
- Salted Top: Add some coarse sea salt to the melted chocolate before it dries. It gives a nice salty touch to the sweet cookie dough flavor.
- Holidays: Turn this recipe into a holiday treat by adding green and red M&M’s for Christmas. If you can find red, white, and blue M&M’s, serve this up for 4th of July. Even pastel M&M’s would be a perfect Easter treat!
- For a fun twist: Make individual cookie dough bars and let guests add their favorite ingredients. Keep them in cupcake trays in the fridge. This way, everyone gets a dessert they like, and you don't stress about pleasing everyone!
How to make Cookie Dough Bars
FIRST STEP: Line an 8x8 baking dish (with straight sides) with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
SECOND STEP: Cookie Dough: In a large mixing bowl add the butter and brown sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and continue to beat for an additional minute.
THIRD STEP: Add flour and sweetened condensed milk, alternating between the two while mixing on the low speed setting. Beat together until combined and a soft dough forms.
FOURTH STEP: Using a spatula fold in the chocolate chips and M&M's into the dough.
FIFTH STEP: Spread the dough out in an even layer in the 8x8 prepared baking dish.
SIXTH STEP: Put the bars in the freezer for 30 minutes while making the chocolate topping.
SEVENTH STEP: Topping: In a small mixing bowl add the butter and chocolate chips. Place the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Place back in the microwave and repeat steps until chocolate is melted and smooth.
EIGHTH STEP: Remove the bars from the freezer and pour the melted chocolate evenly over the top of the cookie dough. Sprinkle additional M&M’s over the top of the chocolate and gently press them down into the melted chocolate.
NINTH STEP: Place the cookie dough bars in the refrigerator and chill for 2-3 hours, or until ready to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to heat treat the flour?
Flour can carry harmful bacteria, so it's a good idea to heat treat it, especially if kids will be eating these treats. It only takes 5 minutes in the oven to kill anything harmful.
My cookie dough is too crumbly!
No worries! If your dough is too crumbly, simply add ½ tablespoon of milk at a time until it feels right.
Can I make this in a 9x13 pan?
Yes! Just double the quantities of all the ingredients.
Can I use store bought cookie dough?
If you'd rather use store-bought refrigerated cookie dough, ensure it's labeled "Safe to Eat Raw." For instance, Pillsbury offers raw-eatable cookie dough because its flour is heat-treated and eggs are pasteurized. If using dry cookie dough mixes, cook the flour for at least 5 minutes before adding wet ingredients. Remember to remove chocolate chips to prevent them from melting during the flour's heat treatment.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Perfectly Safe to Eat Raw: Who else can't resist eating cookie dough when making cookies? I always do! Cookie dough is simply irresistible. With this recipe, you can enjoy that rich cookie dough flavor in bar form. The best part? They taste just like cookie dough, but they're egg-free, so they're safe to eat!
Easy Secret Ingredient: Instead of eggs, I use a special ingredient in these cookie dough bars: sweetened condensed milk. It's the magic touch that gives them an amazing taste and creamy feel. It elevates the classic cookie dough flavor. And since these are "cookie dough" bars, no baking is needed! It's a simple and tasty recipe.
No Fuss Recipe: This recipe is really easy. Just remember to give the bars time to cool and firm up! Trust me, the wait is worth it – these bars are delicious!
Cooking tips for the bars
Want a tasty cookie dough bar recipe that's easy to make? Here's your guide! Every bite promises creamy goodness with M&M's and chocolate. Follow these tips to make it perfect:
- Bake the Flour: It’s very important to cook the flour before mixing it into the recipe. Flour should not be eaten raw, so spread it out on a large baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 5 minutes to kill any bacteria.
- Parchment Paper: Make sure to line your pan with parchment paper! The unbaked dough can fall apart or stick to the pan when you try to remove it. Having extra parchment over the edges helps you lift the bars out easily.
- In a Rush: Let the bars chill for 90 minutes to set, but leaving them in the fridge for 2-3 hours is ideal.
- Serving: These treats have a thick layer of cookie dough, making them quite rich. I recommend cutting them into small squares.
Storing this Recipe
IN THE FRIDGE: Store the cookie dough bars in the fridge since they soften at room temperature. You can eat them straight from the fridge, but for a softer bite, let them sit out for 5-10 minutes before enjoying. They'll stay good in the fridge for about a week.
IN THE FREEZER: Just store the extra bars in a sealed container, mark the date, and they'll be good in the freezer for 2-3 months. When you crave some, just thaw them in the fridge before eating.
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Cookie Dough Bars
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Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 10 tablespoons salted butter ( softened)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cup all-purpose flour (baked at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes (please see notes about baking the flour before using it in the recipe))
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup minature chocolate chips
- 1 cup minature M&M's
- cooking spray
Topping
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- ¾ cup minature M&M's
DIRECTIONS
- Line an 8 x 8 baking dish, with straight sides, with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add the butter and brown sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and continue to beat for an additional minute.
- Add flour and sweetened condensed milk, alternating between the two while mixing, on the low speed setting. Beat together until combined and a soft dough forms.
- Using a spatula fold in the chocolate chips and M&M's into the dough.
- Spread the dough out in an even layer in the 8 x 8 prepared baking dish.
- Put the bars in the freeze for 30 minutes while making the chocolate topping.
- In a small mixing bowl add the butter and chocolate chips. Place the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Place back in the microwave and repeat steps until chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Remove the bars from the freezer and pour the melted chocolate evenly over the top of the cookie dough. Sprinkle additional M&M’s over the top of the chocolate and gently press them down into the melted chocolate.
- Place the cookie dough bars in the refrigerator and chill for 2 to 3 hours, or until ready to serve.
Comments
Lucy Benton says
I have not done this, but it is ok to use almond or coconut flour in the recipe?
Layne Henderson says
Hi, Lucy - we haven't tested that so I'm not sure how it would turn out. I know that almond and coconut flour both have a different texture so it might not turn out the same.