Double Chocolate Cookie Bars

Tell Me The Tale Of The Double Chocolate Cookie Bars

I am a giant fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and ever since I began baking in 2015 I always try to create and share a new NBC dessert. This year is no different. What IS new this year is that the NBC design is sitting on top of a delicious double chocolate cookie bar! Make this recipe and then head over to the Nightmare Before Christmas dessert tutorial to recreate this design!

Why will you love this recipe? If you love chocolate than you will love this cookie. It is perfect to make for a Halloween party, share with coworkers or friends, or just hoard to yourself for all those October nights you watch scary movies.

Pre-Bake Tips

Room Temperature Ingredients. This is probably the most important for this recipe because your cake will not come out as intended if you are using cold ingredients. For this recipe it is only critical with the eggs.

Weigh Your Ingredients. You will have a better chance of success with this recipe if you weigh your ingredients. A kitchen scale is a low cost investment - as low as $10 if you purchase a simple one on Amazon. Volume measurements are provided for your convenience as well.

Use An Oven Thermometer. I just purchased a new oven thermometer for $6 from Amazon. Our ovens can run hot or colder than what is shown, so I highly recommend an oven thermometer so you can ensure the recipe you are baking is not under or over baked.

Ingredients

Please read through the ingredients list so you can familiarize yourself with each ingredient, along with suggestions or recommendations during the preparation or baking process.

Black Cocoa and Dutch Cocoa. Black Cocoa powder is important because this is what helps to get your cookies naturally very dark without having to resort to food coloring. I use King Arthur Black Cocoa Powder, but you can find other brands on Amazon. Adding dutch cocoa powder helps to balance the intensity the black cocoa brings to the cookie bar.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels. The addition of semi-sweet chocolate morsels helps balance the unsweetened black cocoa to give the cookie a touch of sweetness.

Sugars. The light brown sugar and granulated sugar are balanced in this cookie, and each helps boost flavor and texture in its own way. Light brown sugar helps keep the cookie soft while also adding a bit of sweetness, and granulated sugar helps sweeten the cookie but also give it a bit of crispy edges. You can substitute dark brown sugar in place of the light brown sugar 1:1.

Butter. I use unsalted butter in all recipes so I can control the salt content. You can substitute with salted butter but just omit the fine sea salt.

Let's Make Double Chocolate Cookie Bars

This recipe uses baking tools and ingredients that can be found in most homes. Please see recipe card for full list of equipment and ingredients.

Step 1: Combine all purpose flour, black cocoa, baking powder, corn starch and fine sea salt into bowl. Sift and set aside.

Step 2: Melt butter in heat safe bowl, and allow to cool.

Step 3: Whisk butter, sugars and vanilla in large bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

Step 4: Add eggs and whisk for about 1 minute.

Step 5: Add dry ingredients to bowl. Whisk until almost combined but some flour streaks remain.

Step 6: Add semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and fold in using a silicone spatula.

Step 7: Spray 9x13 rectangular baking pan with non stick spray, or butter and flour generously.

Step 8: Place dough into baking pan and spread evenly. Use silicone spatula to smooth and evenly distribute.

Step 9: Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 16 - 18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with only a few wet crumbs.

Step 10: Remove from oven and cool. Allow to cool completely before decorating (optional decorating).

Decorating Ideas

I do love a good cookie recipe because they are delicious but also because you can really dress them up to look and taste even better. This cookie bar has a wide and blank canvas that you can use to create anything your spooky heart desires!

Buttercream. As I shared in the intro to this recipe, I do love me some Nightmare Before Christmas desserts! I created a tutorial so you could recreate this Nightmare Before Christmas design, but you can also use buttercream to create your own fun Halloween designs! And it will taste delicious!

Chocolate Candy. Save this recipe for AFTER Halloween when you have a ton of leftover chocolate candy and you aren't sure what to do with it. Problem solved! Create this recipe as instructed, and then just throw some chocolate candy on top and bake into the cookie bars.

Storage

The cookie bars are at their peak in flavor within 3 days after baking. You can store in a ziplock bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze in a freezer safe ziplock bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature without opening bag before enjoying or decorating.

More Recipes To Enjoy

Apple Pie Cookies

Apple Cider, Maple and Pecan Sugar Cookies

Mexican Cinnamon Cookies