Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (with PB Cups!) — Looking for things to do with store-bought cookie dough? Look no further! These are the ultimate lazy chocolate chip cookie bars and everyone LOVES them!
My Go-To Lazy Cookie Bars
There are only two ingredients in these bars. And they’re gluten-free. How’s that for keeping it easy. They’re so easy and it feels like there should be a catch, but there isn’t.
I used the new Pillsbury Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, pressed it into a pan, topped it with peanut butter cups, and baked.
Many gluten-free flours and blends taste like dirt, or leave items with a gritty, sandy texture. Other times gluten-free items are dry, or they’re crumbly and fall apart from the lack of gluten and its binding properties.
These choc chip cookie bars have none of those issues. There’s no grittiness, sandiness, and they certainly don’t taste like dirt. I kind of wish they did and maybe we wouldn’t have eaten the whole pan in less than a day.
They’re incredibly moist and are melt-in-your mouth soft and tender.
The dough is buttery with plenty of chocolate chips. Many refrigerated doughs, gluten-free or not, are very skimpy on the amount chocolate chips, whereas I am not. I was pleasantly surprised at the quantity of mini chocolate chips.
And then after being doctored up with peanut butter cups, there’s definitely no shortage of chocolate. Or peanut butter. Everything is better with peanut butter, of course.
If you know someone who’s gluten-free and want to make something that’ll be incredibly good — not just ‘good for gluten-free’ but good regardless — these easy chocolate chip cookie bars are the answer.
I want all desserts that I eat or serve, gluten-free or otherwise, to be excellent otherwise I’d rather just not have it. Don’t waste calories on something that’s mediocre. This dough holds its own and I’m very picky. My family had no idea it was store-bought dough or that it was gluten-free dough at that.
Two ingredients, ready from start to finish in 20 minutes, and you’d never guess they were gluten-free.
Doesn’t get any better. Or easier.
What’s in These Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
If you’re looking for things to do with store-bought cookie dough, look no further! To make these “lazy” chocolate chip cookie bars, as I like to call them, all you’ll need is store-bought cookie dough and full-size peanut butter cups.
I used gluten-free cookie dough, but you’re welcome to use your favorite kind.
How to Make These Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Normally I’m a scratch baker and have recipes for similar bars, including Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars and Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars. Keep those recipes gluten-free by replacing the all-purpose flour with your favorite gluten-free flour blend.
And there’s homemade vegan Peanut Butter Cups in case you’d like to do it all from scratch.
Or you can just crack open a tub of gluten-free refrigerated cookie dough and within 5 minutes, these two-ingredient wonders are ready to bake. Easy cookie bar recipes with few ingredients are my favorite!
The most time consuming part of the recipe is unwrapping 9 peanut butter cups.
The dough on top of the lid is the reserved dough used for crumbling over the peanut butter cups.
Don’t overbake to ensure your bars stay ooey-gooey-soft-and-chewy. I baked for just over 13 minutes for super soft bars.
I’m extremely impressed with this dough, which isn’t the norm when it comes to gluten-free products.
Can I Double This Recipe?
I don’t see why not! Use two packages of cookie dough and 18 peanut butter cups. Bake the bars in a 9×13-inch pan instead of an 8×8.
Can I Use Another Kind of Cookie Dough?
Of course! Whether you want to use regular chocolate chip cookie dough rather than gluten-free, or you want to experiment with another kind altogether be my guest.
Tips for Making the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
If you’re concerned with making this recipe completely gluten-free, double check the label of your peanut butter cups to make sure they’re certified gluten-free. Not all are!
If you’d rather make the cookie dough from scratch, you’re welcome to. I have lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes on my site!
These bars will keep up to 1 week at room temperature … if they last that long at your house!
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Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (with PB Cups!)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- Press three-quarters of the dough into the base of the pan to create a smooth, flat, even base layer. Reserve the remainder.
- Evenly place peanut butter cups on top of dough in 3 rows of 3 cups each.
- Haphazardly crumble the reserved dough over the top in marble-sized pieces.
- Bake for 13 to 14 minutes, or until edges have set and top is just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 14 minutes for soft bars because they firm up as they cool.
- Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Cookie Bar Recipes:
Gooey Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Bars — A buttery shortbread crust topped with a creamy, buttery topping that’s almost like custard!! The bars live up to their gooey, buttery name!!
M&M’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — Soft buttery bars loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips are a guaranteed hit!! Fast, easy, foolproof, no mixer recipe that’s so much simpler than making cookies!!
Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Butter Bars — Loaded with peanut butter, peanut butter cups and chocolate!! Soft, gooey and totally irresistible! Everything’s better with peanut butter cups!!
Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores Bars — Between layers of super soft chocolate chip cookie dough there’s chocolate, marshmallows, and graham cracker crumbs for the most DECADENT smores ever!! So EASY and just 4 main ingredients!!
Fudgy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — Chewy oatmeal cookie bars with a thick layer of fudge in the middle! Whoa, hello chocolate overload!!
Loaded M&M’s Oreo Cookie Bars — Stuffed to the max with M&M’s and Oreos! These Oreo cookie bars are an easy, no-mixer recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes. Always a hit at parties!
Tagalong Cookie Bars — Say hello to year-round Girl Scout cookie season with these delish bars! All the flavors of the classic cookies in easy bar form!!
Thanks to Pillsbury® for sponsoring today’s post.
I’m drooling over here with this recipe!!!! yummy!!
Averie—don’t listen any of the negative reviews! I too usually bake from scratch, but a lot of times I don’t have time to do so. The amount of mess and dishes baking from scratch makes is too much. And for the person said cookie dough is many ingredients–obviously. Her point was that you only had to buy two items, without having to buy 15 ingredients to make the dough yourself. I loved the idea with the reeses and thats something I haven’t thought of. Anyway, I made these bars and they tasted delicious! Keep posting these simple recipes please, for people like me who are trying to find faster ways to cook!
Thank you for your lovely comment and support, Brittany! And glad you loved the recipe! Yes, faster ways to still bake something at home is the name of the game for busy people who are working FT day jobs, have kids, school, etc….full lives. We are all so busy that for those of us who need a few shortcuts here and there, I am happy to create some recipes like this! Have a great weekend :)
What? Only 2 ingredients? You are genius! Thanks for sharing your recipe, I am excited to give these a try.
Thanks, Katie!
One question…
I’m making these today, but I was wondering if I could used a different sized pan and they would still turn out ok?
I don’t have an 8 in, only a 9 x 13 rectangular pan and others that seem about that size…
Please let me know if you think that would mess it up! Thanks so much:)
If you’re doubling the pan size & going from an 8×8 to a 9×13, then you’d want to double all other aspects of the recipe, too.
I had to laugh at the commenters that are “outraged” over a cookie recipe. Their lives must be so carefree to get that bent out of shape over something like that. I was a classically trained pastry chef before becoming a stay at home (to my very own Avery!) and guess what?? I’ve used pre packaged “crap”!
Oh the horrors! Anyway, keep on keeping on! I love your blog.
Whenever I see a comment come in on this post I always have a bit of a heart attack b/c there were so many ‘outraged’ over a tube of dough. And the irony is this is the ONLY recipe in all of 2013 I used a tube of dough (or a box of cake/brownie mix, etc…none of that…just this recipe uses a convenience food). As a mom, you can relate, I’m sure! Thanks for the supportive comment & a trained pastry chef who uses ‘crap’ – amen :)
Hi Averie! I was shocked at all the insensitive and ridiculous comments that were posted here. This is YOUR site and you are entitled to put whatever you want on it. I have been bullied on a site or two in my time just for expressing my opinion about the subject of the post. I thought something was inappropriate for a family/business page (like Angies list for the town I lived in) A person was asking about a good place to go to get a VERY private area of your body waxed. People said if you don’t like it then don’t read it.Well, When reading a comment about that I only made my post because the vulgarity of jokes had gotten way out of hand and disgusting. I was seriously verbally beat up about it even though I had said in my original post that even though it was just my opinion and I did not want it to be taken down and I would just remove myself from the site. I hung out incognito for a couple of weeks to do some observing and found through observation it was the very same 3 people harassing everyone and one administrator who was on their side. If you pay attention to almost ANY public site you will see this happening where it’s the same few main characters doing the bullying and each of them get 10 or twenty followers to bully right along with them. It’s ridiculous and there is really nothing we can do because every time you try to defend your actions they come back and rip you again and again, it’s a hopeless cause! I applaud you for having such ADULT and MATURE responses to them all.(I would not have been as graceful) when they start attacking my character, family, the way was raised,the way I raised my children, etc., when they know absolutely NOTHING about me I get pretty upset and pray I have the good sense to remove myself from the situation before I react badly! I personally am very happy I found this recipe version for a cookie bar. I have been cooking and baking since I was 10, most all from scratch except for cakes,I started working in a bakery in 2007 as a cake decorator apprentice until 2009. In 2006 I started dating a guy who had a huge sweet tooth and told him over and over I AM NOT A BAKER ! I just wasn’t into desserts. One day he showed up for our weekly date with 2 pie crusts and 2 bags of rhubarb and said, I think you need to make me a pie! LOL! (If I’d known what he was really like I would have slammed the door in his face and never looked back! LOL )So, I ended up getting a sweet tooth and started doing a lot of baking, from scratch. I now have some physical disabilities which prevent me from being able to stand for long periods and this looks like something both my grown kids and I would like.I would be fast and easy and I love that. I have your assurance they are tasty and can’t imagine them not being tasty. You were absolutely right when you basically alluded that you can’t please everyone and there are people out there with all kinds of tastes, financial situations,disabilities and time constraints. I was wondering if I wanted to bouble this to make more bars and have them be raised up a little higher than a flat cookie if 2 tubs would be enough for a 9X13 pan? Any guesses to that? Thanks a lot for posting this. I miss baking and have 4 huge boxes of supplies and such that will soon have to be thrown out since I am single again and don’t have someones family freeloading off my kindness anymore! Have a great day and don’t let them get you down!
if I wanted to bouble this to make more bars and have them be raised up a little higher than a flat cookie if 2 tubs would be enough for a 9X13 pan? = I think yes 2 tubs would be fine if you want to make a 9×13 pan. Not sure if it will still be much ‘higher’ because this dough didn’t rise a ton but you could always do 2.5 tubs if you wanted or just play around with things.
Thanks for your support! :)
I saw the gluten free cookie dough a couple of weeks ago and wondered how it would be. Thanks, Averie, I think I will give it a try. The ones I tried to make from scratch tasted more like biscuits and my guys weren’t too impressed. Adding peanut butter cups will take it to an all new level. :)
You will LOVE this dough. It’s easy to work with, does not taste GF at all – and I am insanely picky (most GF dough is really gritty or tastes off in some way) and this dough will not let you down. When it comes to GF cookies and getting them to turn out, this dough is my answer :)
IMO this dough isn’t very good cooked. The Betty Crocker boxed gluten free mix is way better tasting. Try it too.
“Cookie dough” is not an ingredient. It’s like fifteen ingredients. Waste of my time to read this.
It seems you ‘wasted’ it even more then by leaving this comment.
Have an AWESOME DAY! Sounds like you need some cheering up!
i agree! statements like this are outrageous. two ingredients???
Sorry to outrage you. I generally don’t get outraged over cookies :)
Puppy chow is my favorite easy recipe!
Um, how badass and easy are these?! I saw that dough in the grocery store a few weeks ago and am so excited to use it!
Normally my go-to bars are your peanut butter chocolate chunk cookie bars. They’re absolutely perfect! But when I’m pressed for time, this recipe seems unbeatable. And I’m glad to hear that they’re not dry, crumbly or dirt-like ;) Usually you run into that problem when you’re doing gluten-free baking. Thanks Averie!
You had me at 2-ingredient, and peanut butter, and chocolate chip cookie dough =)
If you know anyone who’s GF, this is the best GF baking product I’ve EVER used – and I’m sure picky!
Love that these bars are so simple!
Call me crazy but I dont think that slapping together two prepackaged uber-processed foods equals “two ingredient” cooking.
They do look ridiculously delicious though.
Have a wonderful day, Christie!
You are absolutely correct christie
I’m glad you like the recipe :)
I have to agree with this. Yes keep it simple but it takes like 10mins to mix your own gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough. If you want peanut butter cups in it, ok that takes on a whole new level but I can’t get why people have to go to using premade, highly processed foods to make ‘recipes’. There are so many good things in life that people are missing out on by not making their own stuff not to mention the tastes of FRESH made is so much better.
Not everyone is a scratch baker and for some people who have to be GF and who aren’t comfortable in the kitchen or are pressed for time or just want simplicity, this is a resource and an option for them. Not everyone has the same needs/desires and I try to respect that. 95%++ of my recipes are 100% from-scratch. This is a rare situation in that I used a pre-made item but realize that much of America uses products like this, in abundance. We all need to be more tolerant of other’s choices and step off our pedestals and stop trying to change people; they will change if they want to.
Want!!
Note to self: do not peruse averiecooks.com before bedtime… hunger pangs make sleeping very difficult lol :P
Lol :)
Best. Recipe. EVERRRRR!