Rich and chewy cookies and cream bars are an extra-easy cookie bar to bake with kids.
Do your kids love to bake? My girls are especially fond of baking cookie bars of all kinds, so we're always on the lookout for new flavors and ideas.
This summer, we were obsessed with cookies and cream ice cream. If that isn't the most perfect idea for a cookie bar, I don't know what is!
You could put OREOs into brownies, but I think a vanilla cookie base provides a lot more flavor contrast. To up the cookies and cream flavor, the bars use both semi-sweet AND white chocolate chips along with the broken OREOs.
These totally addictive blondies are perfect for any time of year and make a generous 9 x 13 pan, so you'll have plenty to share.
How to make Cookies and Cream Blondie Bars:
Step 1: Have your kids help break up the OREO cookies
I love seeing which parts of the baking process my kids think is the most fun. They practically fought over who got to be the "cookie crusher" for this recipe.
You want nice big chunks of cookie in your bars. Instead of completely crushing the OREOs, we recommend breaking each cookie into fourths instead. Less mess and it goes faster, too!
Step 2: Mix up the one-bowl batter
One of my favorite parts about baking cookie bars is that the recipes usually get mixed together all in one bowl. These cookies and cream bars are no different.
We did everything right in the bowl of our stand mixer. It is a very, very thick dough that will be a little tricky to do just by hand. Get out your sturdiest spoon if you don't have a mixer and get ready to flex those muscles!
Step 3: Pat the dough into a 9 x 13 baking pan and bake
Since the dough is so super-chunky and thick, it won't just pour into your baking pan. We spooned it by big dollops into the pan and then used our hands to pat it into a smooth even layer.
As you're patting the dough into place, be sure to leave some of the OREO cookies at the surface so you can get little visual hints of them when the bars are done.
Can these cookie bars be made ahead of time?
Absolutely. We baked the bars and enjoyed them for an entire week. Just store in an air-tight container to keep them fresh.
We never have them around long enough, but I'm certain they would freeze wonderfully, too.
Cookies and Cream Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 16 Oreo Double Stuff cookies broken into quarters
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the butter, brown sugar, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together on medium-high speed until the butter is light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and stir into the butter until just blended.
- Add the dry pudding mix and mix in until there are no more dry pockets of pudding mix.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a separate mixing bowl and whisk them together. Add the mixture to the main mixing bowl and blend together until there are no more dry pockets.
- Add the chocolate chips and white chocolate chips to the mixer and stir to combine evenly. Add the broken Oreo cookies and stir to combine. The batter will be very thick at this point.
- Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with a light spritz of cooking spray. Scoop the batter into the dish and spread it evenly using a spatula or patting it with your hands.
- Bake for 20 - 22 minutes. Cook until the center is just set, do not overbake.
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