I love chocolate crinkle cookies, but all that refrigerating, shaping and rolling in powdered sugar makes a messy, time-consuming choice. Enter cookie bars–which save time by not having to shape each cookie or roll them in sugar and not needing to refrigerate the dough to make them easier to handle in the first place. I make a big batch and freeze them to be thawed and enjoyed as I want. If this recipe is too big for your baking pan, it can readily be halved. You will want to shorten the baking time a bit, too. If you go this route, do let me know the baking time that worked, and I’ll update this recipe!
one. Preheat oven to 325oF. Line a 12×17 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
two. In a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, cream together:
1 cup room temperature butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
three. Add, one at a time until fully incorporated:
2 whole, room temperature eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
four. In a separate bowl, whisk together:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour(1)
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
five. Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in:
2 cups chocolate chips
six. Using wet fingers, crumble the dough into the prepared baking pan. It will be about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick. Don’t make it even, as this is how we get those satisfying crinkle texture without making individual cookies. It’s ok if some baking pan is showing in a few places, as the dough will spread some while baking.
seven. Sift about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar over the top.
eight. Bake until firm around the edges and starting to set towards the middle but not dry, 30-33 minutes.(2)
Nine. Let it cool 10 minutes in the pan then transfer to a cutting board by picking up the parchment paper. Cut into bars. The way I do it results in about 100 rectangular cookies of about 1-1 1/2 inches on a side. Place the cookies on a rack to allow to cool completely before freezing or storing in an airtight container.
(1) Or you can use entirely all-purpose flour. I will often combine whole wheat flour with white flour in my baking to increase the fiber a bit and to help make my baked goods more satisfying and less likely to spark unwanted overeating. As a rule of thumb, I find 25-50% whole wheat flour usually has no deleterious effect on the texture of the final outcome but still seems to help me enjoy my baked goods in smaller quantities.
(2) It can be tricky to tell when chocolate baked goods are done baking, since you can’t tell from color. For these bars, I’m looking for it to feel a bit dry on top but still have some give underneath, and there should be a strong, chocolate fragrance. Underbaking a bit will result in a fudgier result, overbaking a bit will result in a crunchier one.
Progressive Strength 