Lazy Cookie Bars are a delicious and effortless treat for anyone who loves cookies but doesn't have the time or energy to create them from scratch. Using cake mix, these tasty desserts whip up in a matter of minutes and are the perfect addition to any busy schedule or last-minute gatherings.
One great feature of Lazy Cookie Bars is their versatility. By using a simple base of a boxed cake mix, they can be easily customized with different flavors and additional ingredients to suit your taste buds.
That means whether you're craving chocolate chip, peanut butter, or something else entirely, Lazy Cookie Bars has got you covered. The result is a soft and chewy bar cookie that you can whip up in no time.
If you love dessert bars you're going to gobble up these sugar cookie bars, carrot cake bars, Magic Cookie Bars and these chunky monkey bars! They're all great to pair with any of these Mother's Day Cookie recipes.
Why You Will Love Cake Mix Cookie Bars
- Everyone Loves Cookie Bars. These cake mix cookie bars are a super easy crowd-pleasing treat for any kind of event, from casual get-togethers to holiday celebrations.
- Great Flavor. These cookie bars are soft, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips. They're the perfect blend of cake-like texture and classic cookie chewiness.
- Easy Bar Dessert Recipe. With just a few simple steps and basic ingredients, you can quickly whip up a batch of these delicious cookie bars in no time.
- Versatile Recipe. You can experiment with different cake mix flavors or add your favorite mix-ins, like nuts, candies, or dried fruits, to create your own one-of-a-kind Lazy Cookie Bar recipe. The possibilities are truly endless.
Ingredients
Lazy Cookie Bars are an easy-to-make treat that requires just a handful of ingredients. They are perfect for those days when you want to whip up something sweet and delicious without investing too much time and effort.
- Yellow Cake Mix: This serves as the base for your cookie bars. Any brand will work just fine! It's basically replacing all the ingredients you need to make cookie dough from scratch. Which means it also saves you time.
- Large Eggs: Helps bind the mixture together while also adding some moisture.
- Butter: Use salted butter to enhance the overall flavor. You'll need to melt the butter before combining it with the other ingredients.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is a universal crowd-pleaser, but feel free to add your desired extract flavor to your cake mixture like almond, coconut, peppermint, lemon, banana, maple, orange, or rum extract instead.
- Chocolate Chips: We love semi-sweet but you can also use other candies such as chopped peanut butter cups, M&M's, peanut butter chips, chocolate chunks, caramel chips, or your favorite.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
Substitutions and Variations
Don't have the correct ingredients on hand? Or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change these lazy cookie bars.
- Add Nuts: Add your favorite chopped nuts like peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, or walnuts to give your cookie bars an added crunch. Toasting the nuts beforehand can deepen their flavor and contribute to a tastier treat.
- Switch Your Cake Mix: Change the cake mix for more variety! Experiment with chocolate cake mix or red velvet cake mix for a richer flavor Or, for a fun treat try birthday cake mix which has colorful sprinkles added into the mix.
How to Make Cake Mix Cookie Bars
With just a handful of ingredients and a few straightforward steps, you can whip up these delightful treats in no time.
- Combine the yellow cake mix, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Mix them together until well combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer it to a prepared baking pan and press down evenly into the pan using a spatula or your hands.
- Bake in preheated oven until golden brown around the edges.
- Cool and then remove from the pan and cut into squares.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy our peanut butter cookie dough bars, Cake Mix Cookie Bars Or, if you're looking for another lazy recipe, try out our Lazy Lasagna dish!
Storage
Leftovers: These lazy cookie bars will be fresh for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Ideally, in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and heat.
If you'd like to keep them longer, consider wrapping them individually and freezing them for up to three months. Just remember to defrost them at room temperature before enjoying them!
Warm Before Serving: If you want to enjoy them warm, place individual bars on a microwave-safe plate and heat for about 15-20 seconds just until warm.
What to Serve with Cookie Bars
Below are tasty options to serve with your Lazy Cookie Bars which can be enjoyed solo, with a beverage, or with other desserts. They're also perfect for parties and potlucks!
- Hot or cold beverage: Consider a glass of cold milk, a caramel milkshake, Oreo Frappuccino, or a warm cup of tea or coffee.
- Serve with Cream: Serve with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cup ice cream, or your favorite ice cream flavor on the side of a warmed cookie with a drizzle of chocolate, strawberry, or caramel sauce.
- Other Desserts: You might also enjoy it with an assortment of desserts such as this old fashioned fruit salad, banana pudding brownies, chocolate peanut butter trifle with brownies, chocolate peanut butter poke cake, or S'mores blondies recipe.
Tips
Here are some tips to help you master the art of making Lazy Cookie Bars:
- Ensure your butter is completely melted to avoid lumps in your batter. We usually use our microwave and melt in 25-second intervals, stirring in between each until melted. Then allow it to cool before adding it to your cake mixture.
- Stir your ingredients gently until just combined. Over-mixing can lead to tough, dense bars. It's fine if your batter has a few lumps in it.
- Make sure to properly grease your pan with cooking spray or butter to prevent sticking.
- Spray your spatula or hands with cooking spray when pressing dough into the pan if it's sticking too much.
- Don't over-bake. Your cookie bars are done when they are slightly golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan. I usually give them about 15 minutes in the pan then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cool completely before cutting. Cutting the bars while they are still warm may cause them to crumble. Use a sharp knife and be sure to clean the blade between cuts for no sticking and clean edges.
FAQ
Do you have questions about this cake mix cookie bar recipe? Here are some I get often!
It's important to avoid over-baking. Keep a close eye on the baking time and look for a golden-brown color. This will give you that perfect texture. Additionally, using a boxed cake mix as the base ingredient results in a delightful chewiness.
They're properly baked when they have a slight golden-brown color on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Be careful not to over-bake, as this will cause the bars to lose their soft and chewy texture.
They're an easy-to-make dessert that combines the delicious taste of cookies with the simplicity of baking them in a bar form. They utilize a boxed cake mix and a few other ingredients and minimal effort to make. This makes them perfect for satisfying a sweet craving.
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More Dessert Bar Recipes
Do you like dessert bars? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Cake Mix Cookie Bars
Equipment
- microwave safe bowl or saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 box (15.25 oz) Yellow Cake Mix
- 2 large Eggs
- ½ Cup Butter Melted
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Cups Chocolate Chips Or other candy of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray am 8 x 8 inch baking dish with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl stir together the yellow cake mix, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop batter into prepared pan (batter will be very thick) and press down evenly into the pan using a spatula, or your hands.
- Bake in preheated oven for between 25-28 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Allow these bars to cool completely before cutting.
Video
Notes
- Ensure your butter is completely melted to avoid lumps in your batter. We usually use our microwave and melt in 25 second intervals, stirring in between each until melted. Then allow to cool before adding it to your cake mixture.
- Stir your ingredients gently until just combined. Over mixing can lead to tough, dense bars. It's fine if your batter has a few lumps in it.
- Make sure to properly grease your pan with cooking spray or butter to prevent sticking.
- Spray your spatula or your hands with cooking spray when pressing dough into the pan if it's sticking too much.
- Don't over-bake. Your cookie bars are done when they are slightly golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan. I usually give them about 15 minutes in the pan then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cool completely before cutting. Cutting the bars while they are still warm may cause them to crumble. Use a sharp knife and be sure to clean the blade between cuts for no sticking and clean edges.
Nutrition
This post was originally published August 2016. It has been updated with new images and content.
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