Gooey Chocolate Stuffed Cookie Bars

My mom makes amazing chocolate chip cookies, but no matter how hard I try I can't recreate them. There's something about the way she measures her ingredients that just makes her cookies better. So instead of trying to recreate her cookies, I decided to do my own thing. I made her dough, but pressed half of it into a casserole dish, placed chocolate bars onto the top of the dough, and then covered it with the rest of the dough. Helloooo, gooey chocolate stuffed cookie bars.

These bars are soft in the middle, firm on the outside, and so so chocolate-y. Perfect for Christmas cookie exchanges, Thanksgiving dessert, and sweet snacking of any kind. They'd be great frosted and served as a cookie cake, too! Don't forget a glass of cold milk on the side.

Here's what you need.

• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Cornstarch
• Salt
• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• White chocolate chips. You can use regular chocolate chips if you prefer, but the white chocolate pairs nicely with the regular chocolate in the middle.
• Chocolate bars. I use the Pound Plus dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's, but any chocolate bars will work--use what you prefer.

Here's how to make these cookie bars.

First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix until smooth. Then add an egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

In a separate large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Hand whisk until all of the ingredients are combined. Then gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing as you go. Once combined, mix in the chocolate chips.

Next, line a 6"x10" casserole dish (if you don't have a 6"x10" dish, use an 8"x8" dish or whatever you have that's closest in size) with parchment paper, and add half of the dough to the bottom, using your hands to press it evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. Place chocolate bars on top of the bottom layer of dough, then cover the chocolate bars completely with the second half of the cookie dough. Press the cookie dough down around the edges to seal in the chocolate.

Bake the bars on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean-ish (obviously some chocolate will be on it), about 40 to 45 minutes. Start checking on them after about 35 minutes and don't over-bake--these are best when they're still gooey in the middle, and they set up a bit more after they've cooled.

Allow the bars to cool slightly before cutting them and enjoy! These would be great frosted and served as cookie cake, too!

If you like these, you should also try...

• Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Gluten-Free Confetti Cookie Dough Bites
• Almond Shortbread Washboard Cookies