Here’s what happens when you combine the delicious forces of soft chocolate chip cookies, fudgy brownies, and peanut butter cups in one pan! These chocolate chip cookie brownie bars are over-the-top in the best way. Definitely bring your sweet tooth to the table.
Some days I like to share healthier recipes with you.
Today is not one of those days. If chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and peanut butter cups are your dream desserts, start preheating your oven now.
My husband dreamed up this cookie bar. 6 years ago, after one of his bike races, he said “you should make a chocolate chip cookie layered with peanut butter cups and brownies on top.” Clearly the man was craving chocolate and it didn’t take much convincing for me to bake them. Let’s take a brief moment to reflect on what these insane dessert bars actually are:
Yes to all of the above. These chocolate chip cookie brownie bars are the ultimate dessert trifecta: chocolate chips cookies + peanut butter cups + brownies. I made the chocolate chip cookie layer and brownie layer from scratch and I highly recommend you do the same!
The bottom layer is chocolate chip cookie dough. Now I have many chocolate chip cookie recipes including chewy chocolate chip cookies and crispy chocolate chip cookies (and even giant chocolate chip cookies!), but I chose my soft chocolate chip cookies for the base of these brownie cookie bars. They yield a lovely soft and thick cookie “crust”, which is favorable for a thick dessert bar. We wouldn’t really want to sink our teeth into a fudgy brownie, then a hard-as-rock cookie… right? These cookie brownie bars take a long time to bake, so a recipe for SOFT chocolate chip cookies is extra insurance that the entire bar remains on the softer side. Make sense?
Best part of all: no cookie dough chilling!
Once you make the chocolate chip cookie dough, spread it into a lined 9×13-inch baking pan. It will be a very thin layer of cookie dough, so do your best to spread it to the edges. The cookie dough is sticky, but a rubber spatula sprayed with non-stick spray makes this step easier.
The peanut butter cups are next! If there’s a peanut allergy in the house, feel free to leave these out completely. I use the miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups, but the extra mini size or even the regular size would be fine. Feel free to chop the peanut butter cups first, but that’s not really necessary. You’ll be cutting the brownie cookie bars into squares anyway! You need about 48 miniature peanut butter cups. My peanut butter cup crunch brownies also pair Reese’s peanut butter cups with brownies—I encourage you to try those next!
And finally, a brownie batter blanket. ♥
I used a homemade brownie recipe for the top layer, but if you’re short on time or don’t have all the ingredients, a box brownie mix is totally fine. However, hopefully I can convince you that homemade brownies are worth it! This layer is a combination of my chewy fudgy frosted brownies and homemade brownies recipes. You need eggs, sugar, flour, and butter—basically all the same ingredients you use for the chocolate chip cookie layer. The chocolate flavor comes from pure chocolate. Pick up two 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate baking bars from the baking aisle—I like Ghirardelli or Bakers brand.
The brownie layer features perfect crackly brownie tops and the tastes like pure fudge. Paired with chocolate chip cookies and a peanut butter cup and you have total chocolate monstrosity. Crumble them over a big bowl of chocolate ice cream, then laugh when someone asks you “how much chocolate is too much chocolate?”
This is what every weekend should look like.
Here's what happens when you combine the delicious forces of soft chocolate chip cookies, fudgy brownies, and peanut butter cups in one pan! Feel free to use the homemade brownie batter below or prepare your favorite boxed brownie batter.
