Learn how to make your own Cookie Bars from cake mix and 4 pantry ingredients! These cake mix cookie bars are ultra-moist with a soft, tender crumb that just melts-in-your-mouth! If you love those famous giant cookie cakes at the mall, you will fall in love with this easy cookie bar recipe!
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Grease an 9x13x2-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. (Note: Line the greased pan with parchment paper if you want to be able to lift the cookie bars out of the pan as one whole cookie cake!)
Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl with a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, combine the water, oil, eggs, and extract. Beat on medium until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients: Add the cake mix and pudding mix to the bowl. Beat on LOW until almost combined. (Tip: Don't over-beat the cookie dough, the batter should be thick!)
Add mix-ins: Add ½ cup of semi chocolate and ¾ cup of the dark chocolate. Gently fold until just combined. (Tip: Simply swap out the chocolate for your favorite flavor of baking morsels, chopped candy, etc. to create your own custom dessert bars!)
Add cookie dough batter to pan: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread and smooth the batter. Add remaining chips: Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the batter. (Tip: If using, sprinkles or sanding sugar, generously dust the top of the cookie cake now, before baking!)
Bake: Bake for 24-28 minutes, or until edges are golden. (SEE NOTES)
Cool: Remove the baking pan from the oven and place on a wire rack. Let the cookie bars cool for at least 30 minutes (for ultra-soft cookie bars) or for 1+ hours to room temperature (for regular soft and chewy cookie bars).
Chill (optional): If you want to slice your cookie cake into clean bars, I recommend chilling the cookie cake! After the cookie cake has cooled on the counter for 1 hour, transfer the pan to the refrigerator and continue to chill for 2 hours before slicing.
Serve: If you used parchment paper to line your baking pan, use your hands to grab on the side of the paper and gently lift the cookie cake up and out of the pan. Serve whole as a large cookie cake decorated with icing. Or slice and serve as bars! For 48 cookie bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Enjoy!
Notes
Make Your Own! You can easily customize this recipe by using your favorite flavor of boxed cake mix along with your favorite extract, pudding mix and cookie mix-ins, such as flavored baking morsels, sprinkles, M&Ms, caramels, crushed Oreo's and more! If you are looking for inspiration, I've included a bunch of cookie bar flavor ideas in the post above! (Make sure you use INSTANT pudding mix!)
Extracts: If using a different stronger flavor extract, such as lemon or peppermint, you may want to reduce the amount to ¾-1 teaspoon.
Baking Time: For ultra-soft and moist cookie bars (ooey-gooey in texture), bake for 24-26 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, depending how soft you want them!
Nutritional information is an approximation based upon 48 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.