13 Delicious Bar Cookie Recipes that Can Serve a Crowd (2025)

FAQs

What pan is best for bar cookies? ›

9-by-13-inch baking pans: To make bar cookies, you obviously need a pan to bake them in. I prefer metal, straight-sided pans that truly measure 9 by 13. Many pans have rounded corners, dramatically-sloped sides or are slightly smaller in dimension than their labeling might suggest.

Bar cookies should be cooled in their baking pan on a cooling rack. Use a sharp knife to cut the bars in the pan into rectangles, squares, diamonds or other shapes. The following guidelines for the number and size of the bars a recipe will make are approximate. Using a thin, narrow metal spatula, remove bars from pan.

A potluck staple, bar cookies (or bars) are made from a batter or stiff dough that is poured or pressed into a baking pan or baking dish, then baked, cooled and cut into bars, squares or diamonds. Bars can be single-layered (like brownies) or multi-layered – with cake-like or chewy textures.

Which oven rack position should you use when baking cookies? Cookies should be baked on the center oven rack for even heating and air circulation. As a best practice, is it recommended to rotate the cookie sheet or sheets roughly halfway, or shortly thereafter, through the baking time, if needed.

For a 13×9 Pan:

On the long side of the pan, make a mark and cut down every 2 1/10-inches, so you have 6 columns. Turn the pan to its shorter side and make one cut down the middle, 4 ½-inches from the edge. You'll end up with 12 2 1/10×4 ½-inch rectangles.

Another way to soften cookies is by placing the cookies in an airtight container with a damp paper towel. The paper towel will release moisture and help to soften the cookies without making them too soft or mushy. Another way is to place the cookies in a plastic bag with a slice of apple or a damp tea towel.

Make sure cookies are completely cool in order to get best results when cutting them, regardless of whether or not you line the baking pan with foil or simply grease the pan. You can go one step further to get clean cuts by freezing bars or brownies in the pan for two hours or overnight before cutting.

You can never go wrong with layering your cookies on a simple plate or board! Most of the time, especially when I just bake up one batch of cookies, I will display the cookies on a serving plate, raised stand, or a domed serving plate. One of the new trends floating around on social media is a cookie board!

What kind of pan should cookies be baked on? ›

For home cooking, a so-called half-sheet pan (measuring 18 inches x 13 inches, on average) will generally do the trick: made of aluminum or stainless steel, surrounded with a rim to prevent spills, and purchased either with or without a nonstick coating.

You can use baking pans to bake individual cookies, too, but the pan will hold fewer cookies than a baking sheet. The most common pan for cookies is a 13” x 9” x 2” size, sometimes referred to as a “quarter sheet.” Jelly roll pans measuring 15½” x10½” x 1” are also regularly used for baking cookies.

When preparing bar cookies, use the pan size specified in the recipe. The most common type of cookie is the drop cookie. Drop cookies are made from a firm dough or batter that holds its shape on a sheet pan.

– but metal does an overall better job than glass of baking almost everything except for acidic desserts. It bakes evenly because it heats up so quickly. It also browns beautifully and crisps to perfection.