Our New Favorite Cookie Bars

We love chocolate chip cookies, but sometimes the prospect of scooping each cookie out individually, baking pan after pan of them, and then shifting them around during and after cooling seems like a lot of effort.  Cookie bars are a quick and easy way to get chocolate chip cookies without a lot of fuss.  My mom has a cookie bar recipe that uses a cake mix as the base, and it is very good and easy.  However, I recently found a really good scratch-made cookie bar recipe that we love!  I've made these cookie bars for several events when I was asked to bring a dessert, and people have really liked them.

Here's how I make them:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2 1/8 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.  In the mixer bowl, mix melted butter and sugars until combined.  Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until smooth.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
Transfer cookie dough to the prepared dish, smoothing the top with the spatula.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan.  Cool bars on a wire rack to room temperature.  Cut bars into squares and serve.