Soft, decadent and so easy! These Cake Mix Cookie Bars only take a few ingredients and a couple minutes to prep time. Loaded with chocolate chips, they are perfect for any occasion!
Need a fun, delicious dessert but your feeling a little lazy in the kitchen? Or, need to provide a tasty treat to guests but your low on ingredients or time? This Cake Mix Cookie Bars Recipe will be your lifesaver!
We love using Cake Mix as the ultimate shortcut for tons of delicious desserts. From Snickerdoodle Cake Mix Cookies to Cake Mix Banana Bread, there are so many things you can do with that little box of magic other than just making a “boring” old cake! We ALWAYS have a couple boxes of cake mix laying around just in case we need a quick treat. Often, you can find them on sale at the store. When they are, scoop a whole bunch of them up to keep in your cupboard.
I am a sucker for anything that has chocolate chips as an ingredient, so I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this recipe for Cake Mix Cookie Bars!
What Are Cake Mix Cookie Bars?
So, how can I explain exactly what these are…? They fall somewhere between a cookie, a brownie and a sheet cake. That’s the best way I can describe it. You bake them in a sheet pan and cut them out into squares. This recipe makes 36, so they are perfect for sharing, entertaining, bake sales, pitch ins or just to keep for yourself. But, I gotta tell you, it’s pretty dangerous to have these sitting on your kitchen counter all to yourself!
These chocolate chip cookie bars are such an easy recipe, that it’s great to let the kids get involved! And it’s all prepped in one large bowl for an easy cleanup!
How To Make Cake Mix Cookie Bars?
You only need 6 ingredients for this recipe. Some other recipes out there only use 4 ingredients, and skip out on the vanilla extract and the milk. But, I’m willing to bet you have those two ingredients in your home already, and the taste of these Chocolate Chip Bars is totally worth the extra 30 seconds to mix them in!
Here is a helpful list of the ingredients, for the step-by-step instructions, check out the recipe card below.
- YELLOW CAKE MIX – This recipe is traditionally made with Yellow Cake Mix. But you can really use just about any cake mix that you like. Chocolate Cake Mix, Lemon Cake mix, Strawberry Cake Mix, White Cake Mix, Birthday Cake Mix, Confetti, Red Velvet… The sky is the limit!
- MILK – We use 2% milk. But you can use whatever milk you’d like. The milk adds a little more fat and helps the recipe be even more moist.
- VEGETABLE OIL – Cake Mix Recipes often need oil because that is also the best way to get moist results.
- EGG – 1 regular egg. Provides binding and structure to the recipe.
- VANILLA – We put a teaspoon of vanilla in this recipe to give the taste just a little more depth. To be honest, we put a little vanilla in just about everything we bake!
- CHOCOLATE CHIPS – We used mini chocolate chips for this recipe. But again, you use whatever sounds good. Regular sized chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, etc… It’s fun to change the type of chocolate chips with the cake mix (e.g., chocolate cake mix with peanut butter chips). You could also put candy in this recipe such as M&Ms or other pieces of candy bars.
Storage and Freezing
Leftovers should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature. We like to bake the in this baking dish, which has it’s own fitted lid to keep leftover in. Or you can keep them in a large ziplock baggie.
These cookie bars freeze very well! Just let them fully cool and cut them into squares. I’d put wax or parchment paper in between the bars and wrap them in freezer wrap or a freezer bag (or both). They will be good in your freezer 3-4 months. Just let thaw at room temperature or stick them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Notes, Tips and Variations
- SUB APPLESAUCE – If you are looking to shave a few calories, you can certainly substitute applesauce for the vegetable oil. The ratio for substituting applesauce for vegetable oil is 1:1. So you would need 1/3 cup of applesauce.
- TOOTHPICK TEST – They should start to turn golden brown when they are ready. To know for sure then this recipe is ready to come out of the oven, stick a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it’s ready to come out. You can also use a cake tester.
- ADJUST THICKNESS OF THE BARS – When baked in a 9X13 dish, these bars come out pretty thin (thinner than brownies). If you would like thicker bars, you can bake them in a smaller dish. Just note that you may need to adjust baking times.
- COOL COMPLETELY – These bars can be a little hard to cleanly cut into. Make sure that they are fully cooled before you cut into them. And use a serrated knife to help.
- ADD NUTS – Feel free to add walnuts, pecans or peanuts into this recipe.
- THICK BATTER – Your batter mixture will have a pretty thick texture. This is totally normal but it can be tough to work with. We recommend using a Stand Mixer for sure. It can also be difficult to get laid flat in your baking dish. Using a rubber spatula that has been sprayed with cooking spray can help. Or just grease your hands. You can also try using some parchment paper or even the bag that the cake mix came in!
- SERVE WARM – Yeah… serve this warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. Did we even need to say this? Or, at least drink a cold glass of milk with it!
We hope you enjoy this recipe for Cake Mix Cookie Bars. Please let us know how they turn out in the comments!
LOOKING FOR MORE CAKE MIX RECIPES:
- OOEY GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
- PEACH COBBLER WITH CAKE MIX
- PIG PICKIN’ CAKE
- PINEAPPLE SUNSHINE CAKE
- RED VELVET CAKE MIX COOKIES
- SNICKERDOODLE CAKE MIX COOKIES
- STRAWBERRY CAKE MIX COOKIES
- STRAWBERRY POKE CAKE
- BANANA PUDDING POKE CAKE
Cake Mix Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 box 15.25 oz, yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
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In a mixing bowl, combine and stir cake mix, milk, oil, egg and vanilla and mix well.
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Dough will be stiff and sticky.
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Fold in chocolate chips.
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Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
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Bake for 23-26 minutes or until browned and edges are set.
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Cool completely before cutting into bars.
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