Lazy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Lazy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars has only 4 ingredients and can be whipped up in minutes! The recipe starts with a boxed cake mix which makes these so soft, so easy and so yummy!
A SUPER SIMPLE COOKIE BAR RECIPE
Enter the Lazy Cookie Bar. Made with my favorite pantry item – the boxed cake mix. So versatile, so easy and so yummy. Only 4 ingredients and you probably have them all at home already. It’s not a really thick bar. It’s more like a sheet pan cookie. It’s gooey and I love the edges – those are my favorite!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)
The great thing about this recipe is all the variations you can make. I’ve made these with red velvet cake mix, chocolate cake mix, birthday cake mix and they’ve all been delicious! Also, feel free to use different types of chips or add in nuts. I really love when the holiday baking chips come out. You can really have fun with this recipe and no one will know just how easy it was to make but you!
Cake mixes seem to keep reducing in size over the years. They used to be 18.25 ounces and now some of them are down to 13.25 ounces so baking times will vary depending on the type of cake mix you purchase and how much is in the box. So please understand this before baking. You will need to keep an eye on it. Start with about 15-18 minutes and go from there. Duncan Hines is at 15.25 ounces as of the writing of this post. Betty Crocker has gone down to 13.25 ounces. I believe Dolly Parton’s cake mixes are 18 ounces (although you will pay about a dollar and a half more for hers).
These cookie bars are fantastic just as they are, but they’re even more delectable with a scoop of ice cream, maybe some chocolate sauce, or whipped topping. Try adding some sprinkles, or even other sauces like caramel sauce or strawberry sauce. Other fun ideas are more baking chips or Magic Shell.
I’ve only tested this recipe in a 9×13-inch baking dish. However, we did have a reader who made these in a 9×9-inch baking dish and said they turned out nice and thick.
We also had a reader who doubled the recipe and put it in a high rimmed baking sheet.
Whatever you choose to do, if it’s not the 9×13-inch dish I used, you’ll need to experiment a bit and start with a lower bake time. Increase baking time as needed and adjust as necessary.
These cookie bars should be stored in an airtight container and can be kept at room temperature for up to 4-5 days.
You can freeze them for up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- yellow cake mix– you can make your own Yellow Cake mix too using my homemade yellow cake recipe. See my FAQ’s above where I go into more detail about cake mix sizes.
- eggs – if you have time, allow the eggs to come to room temperature. This allows them to mix in easier into the batter.
- butter- I used salted butter, but if you use unsalted, just add a pinch of salt.
- salted buttersemi-sweet chocolate chips– you could use mini chocolate chips or swap these out for other flavored baking chips.
HOW TO MAKE LAZY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. I love to use the kind that has flour in it (Baker’s Joy). Combine dry cake mix with melted butter and beaten eggs. This is easier if you have an electric or stand mixer because batter will be very thick. Stir in bag of chocolate chips.
Spread batter into greased baking dish. What I like to do is spray my hand with some nonstick cooking spray and then spread the batter around using my hand since the batter is very thick. Once it is evenly spread out, put in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
It will puff up as it is cooking and be golden brown around the edges when it is done. And like any good chocolate chip cookie, I like to eat these warm so you can usually find me sneaking some bites from this pan before it’s cool! This makes a great base for some ice cream too.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Homemade Twix Bars
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- Peaches and Cream Bars
- Strawberries and Cream Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cooke Dough Dip
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Bars
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
- Oreo Brookie Bars
- Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Originally posted: March 2012
Photos updated and republished: April 2024
Lazy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines – see notes below)
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. I love to use the kind that has flour in it.
- In a bowl, combine 1 box yellow cake mix with 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted and 2 large eggs, beaten. This is easier if you have an electric or stand mixer because batter will be very thick.
- Stir in 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Spread thick batter into greased baking dish. What I like to do is spray my hand with some nonstick cooking spray and then spread the batter around using my hand since the batter is very thick.
- Once it is evenly spread out, put in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes. See my note below.
- It will puff up as it is cooking and be golden brown around the edges when it is done. Allow to cool.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This was so easy and so yummy! I definitely recommend this!
Mercy these are yum! So glad I came across this recipe!
I made mine w/ Devil’s Food cake mix, mini chocolate chips, crushed candy canes (leftover from Christmas) mixed in. Topped the cookie bars with a simple homemade white icing and sprinkled more mini chocolate chips & candy cane pieces on the icing. Yummy! Thanks for the base recipe to play around with!
Love the recipe. I tried macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. There will awesome. Question, would the recipe work with gluten free cake mix?
Hi I have a white cake mix and the mini M&M will that work 4 like a M&M bar.
Hi Beth – it should. Keep in mind, unless they are the M&M’s made for baking, they will probably melt quite a bit while baking in the cake. 🙂
Used chocolate cake mix with white chips…yummy
Love it – great combo! Thank you Karla!
I just found this recipe and definitely have everything I need to make it. I was wondering if I can do it in a 8×8 or 9×9 pan. The picture shows them as being pretty thin. I’d like them to be thicker. How much longer would I need to bake them?
Hi Gail, I don’t see why not. I haven’t tested the recipe in a smaller pan so I couldn’t tell you for sure about the time. You’ll have to play it by ear and just add on a few minutes at a time. Let me know if you try it!
Love easy desserts like this. Next time I might double the recipe to make them super thick – thank you!
Easy dessert recipe I’ve ever made. So delicious (so far only had the batter bowl!) and can’t wait to eat them.
Yay! So happy to hear this!
Easy comfort food, so yummy! I used a sugar free cake mix and sugar free chocolate chips. I added less than half the chocolate chips and some walnuts. I am going to try it with applesauce or greek yogurt instead of the butter.
Hi Kat! I really love when people tell me they made successful substitutions! I also think it really helps others who want to try to make some changes. Thank you for the feedback!!
Great recipe for vacation, when you want cookies but don’t want to buy all the ingredients. I’ve made them several times, adding dark chocolate chips and toffee bits. Mmmmm!
All I have on hand is a white cake mix. Can I use that instead of a yellow cake mix?
YOU SURE CAN.
Just made amazing!
USE THIS Dough Spreading HACK!
Save from using hands To spread Dough in pan.
Use a Silcon Spatula and it Spreads dough pefectly….so no hands in dough!!
If it’s a Silicon spatula you Don’t even need to use nonstick spray!
wowza……….. added salted caramel chips and pecans instead. best pecan praline cookies ever!
Came out great! I’m glad you provided a warning about how thick the batter was going to be, you were right. Thank you for the recipe.
Great recipe! I added crushed Graham crackers on top before baking. When they were done I topped them with marshmallows, put it under the broiler for a minute(watch closely) then drizzled chocolate syrup on top for a smores cookie treat! My whole family loved it! Thank you!
So excited to try this recipe! It look so delicious and simple. Have you ever made the dough a day ahead of time and left in the fridge? I was wondering if that would be okay? Thanks!
Made this last night – came out great! So easy, too. Personally, I think the bars were a little heavy on the chocolate chip front so next time I will probably do 1/2 cup choco chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts…yumm 😛
Love love love! Used pecans and Hershey Special chocolate chips. So nice to get the same taste and texture as Toll House cookies in half the time and half the work. This is going to be a regular in my household.
Looks yummy
Sadly we don’t have the yellow cakemix in Denmark.
Kind regards Vivian
Vivian,
You can use a chocolate cake mix with peanut butter chips or mint chips as an alternative. I have also used chocolate button candies with both chocolate and white cake mixes.
This recipe is great!!! It was so simple to make and tasted delicious. Would definitely recommend!
Looking for recipes using yellow cakemix and your recipe got my attention. These look very much Sunshine Golden Fruit Cookies. They were made with raisins instead of chocolate chips. They ‘disappeared’ from supermarkets some time back in the late ’80’s or early ’90’s.. I plan to make a batch with chocolate chips and try a batch with chopped raisins. Can’t wait! Thanks for sharing! .
My family LOVES these! I make them with funfetti cake mix and top with Rainbow Chip icing (the best icing ever!). I get requests to make them at every holiday!
Made them tonight! WOW! I used white cake mix, white chocolate chips, and coconut. Seriously to die for!
Just made this. Super easy and sooooo good