Buttery crisp and super chocolatey, this chocolate chip cookie bark is bound to be your new favorite way to eat chocolate chip cookies. It’s quick and easy to make, and you don’t even need a mixer. It’s a fun salty and sweet addition to a holiday cookie tray, and makes a thoughtful homemade gift to any cookie lover. (If you even want to share it!)
Recipe Inspiration
My kitchen assistant, Beth, came up with today’s recipe idea. She was inspired by a package of Tate’s holiday cookie bark, and brought me the idea for a chocolate chip cookie bark. We tested a couple versions, tweaking the dough from my crispy chocolate chip cookies recipe. Today’s recipe the best of the bunch. We then had the rest of the crew taste test, and ended up giving it to our families over Thanksgiving. Everyone raved (how can you not), and we knew we had to share the recipe with you ASAP!
This toffee-tasting chocolate chip cookie bark is absolutely perfect for adding to a holiday cookie variety tray: it’s a cookie-candy hybrid and you will not be able to stop eating it…!!
Cookie Bark Recipe Snapshot
- Texture: Crispety, crunchety, with a soft-set chocolate topping, it’s like biting into a crispy chocolate chip cookie… if that crispy cookie were dunked in melted chocolate!
- Flavor: Brown sugar and melted butter give this cookie bark a toffee-like flavor. And, of course, there’s plenty of chocolate in every delectable bite.
- Ease: This is a very simple recipe and you don’t even need a mixer. The hardest part is waiting for the chocolate to set before you can dive in!
- Time: No dough chilling required! The dough comes together quickly and bakes in about 20 minutes; then there’s a bit of cooling/chilling time. From start to snap-apart-and-eat, you’re looking at about 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why:
- Flour: The base of the cookie layer.
- Baking Soda: To help the dough expand while baking, and turn that lovely deep golden brown color.
- Salt: To balance the sweet.
- Melted Butter: Creaming room-temperature butter and sugar together aerates the cookie dough, creating a softer, fluffier cookie. Since we want a flat, crispy cookie texture here, we’re using melted butter… and a good bit of it!
- Sugars: You need both white and brown sugar for this recipe. Brown sugar for flavor, and white sugar to get the cookie crispy and caramelized in the oven.
- Egg Yolk: Just the yolk here, for richness and structure. Egg whites fluff up when beaten or whisked. We want to avoid the fluff in this crispy cookie bark.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: Since the dough is pressed so thin, it’s best to use mini chocolate chips. If you only have regular-size chocolate chips, give them a rough chop so the pieces are smaller. Or feel free to omit them and make the cookie layer without chocolate chips. You’ll still have chocolate in every bite from the top layer.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: For the topping, you need 2 standard (4-ounce/113g) bars of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, such as Ghirardelli or Baker’s brand.
In Photos: How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark
To mix up the cookie dough, you need 1 bowl for the wet ingredients and 1 bowl for the dry ingredients. Mix both separately, and then combine. It’s a slightly greasy dough:
Line a large baking sheet (12×17/13×18 inches, aka half sheet pan) with parchment paper. Press the cookie dough into an even layer, pressing it to cover the entire parchment paper-lined baking sheet. It may take you a couple minutes, but I promise that eventually you will get it pressed thin enough to cover the entire pan!
I like to use my hands to press it down at first, and then I switch to an offset spatula to really get the dough to all edges of the pan.
Bake at 375ºF for up to 20 minutes. Note that we’re baking at a higher temperature than most of my chocolate chip cookie recipes. While it bakes, chop up your chocolate for the topping. Because we want the chocolate to melt into a smooth layer, avoid using chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers that prevent them from fully melting.
Sprinkle the chopped chocolate all over the hot cookie layer, and return it to the oven for 1-2 minutes to melt the chocolate.
Remove the cookie bark from the oven, and use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer to cover the cookie nearly to the edges. If you want to add a little extra something on top, before the chocolate has a chance to set, sprinkle it with flaky sea salt or your favorite sprinkles. (This would also taste fantastic with chopped toffee bits, like we use to top these peanut butter fudge puddles.)
Let the cookie bark cool on the baking sheet, then transfer the whole thing to the refrigerator to set the chocolate (takes about 30 minutes).
Once the chocolate sets, take it out of the fridge and cut or break it into pieces. Just wait until you hear that CRISP!
Does This Cookie Bark Stay Crispy?
For a few days, yes! Cookie bark tastes best on the day and day after it’s made, but the texture is still good for a couple days after that. We noticed it starts to taste a bit stale around day 4 or 5. But really, is it even possible to have any of this chocolate chip cookie bark left for that long? I doubt it!
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
Cookie Bark Recipe
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (includes cooling)
Yield: serves 20
Category: Cookies
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American
Description
Buttery crisp and super chocolatey, this chocolate chip cookie bark is bound to be your new favorite way to eat chocolate chip cookies. It’s quick and easy to make, and you don’t even need a mixer. It’s a fun salty and sweet addition to a holiday cookie tray, and makes a thoughtful homemade gift to any cookie lover. (If you even want to share it!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Line a 12×17-inch baking sheet (half sheet pan) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour into dry ingredients and, using a silicone spatula, mix everything together until completely combined. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Dough will be very soft and look greasy.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan, to an even thickness—covering the entire parchment paper-lined baking sheet. I like to use my hands to press it down at first, and then I switch to an offset spatula to really get the dough to all edges of the pan. It will take a few minutes, but I promise eventually you will get it pressed thin enough to cover the entire pan.
- Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a deep golden brown on top. Keep an eye on it after 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chopped chocolate all over the surface of the cookie. Return to the oven and bake for another 1–2 minutes, to melt the chocolate.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack, and with an offset spatula (or the back of a spoon), spread the chocolate in an even layer over the cookie layer. Top with flaky sea salt or sprinkles, if using. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, then transfer the pan, still on the cooling rack, to the refrigerator, and chill for at least 30 minutes, until the chocolate is set.
- Break or cut the cookie bark into bite-size pieces and enjoy!
- Store leftover cookie bark at room temperature in an airtight container (with parchment paper between layers) for up to 5 days. We noticed it starts to taste a bit stale around day 4 or 5. But really, is it even possible to have any of this chocolate chip cookie bark left for that long? I doubt it!
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Bark can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Texture won’t be quite as crispy after freezing and thawing.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Offset Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Baking Pan: It is best to use a 12×17-inch or 13×18-inch baking pan. Instead, you can try using 2 9×13-inch pans and stretching the dough as thin as possible between them. I am unsure of the best bake time, but it will be shorter. Same oven temperature.
- Use Mini Chocolate Chips: Since the dough is pressed so thin, it’s best to use mini chocolate chips. If you only have regular-size chocolate chips, give them a rough chop so the pieces are smaller and use 1/2 cup chopped chocolate chips. Or feel free to omit the chocolate chips and make the cookie layer without them. You’ll still have chocolate in every bite from the top layer.
- Chocolate: You need 2 standard bars (4 oz./113g each) of semi-sweet or bittersweet baking chocolate. (Or feel free to use half chocolate and half white chocolate and swirl them together!) I like Ghirardelli, Baker’s, and Guittard brands, which I find in the baking aisle of my grocery store, near the chocolate chips. Because we’re melting the chocolate, avoid using chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers that prevent them from fully melting.
