Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

These gluten-free chocolate chip cookie bars are thick, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips and chunks. The dough comes together quickly with melted butter, brown sugar, and a touch of cinnamon, then gets pressed into a 9×13 pan and baked until the edges are golden and the centers are still soft.

The whole thing comes together in one bowl with melted butter, so there’s no mixer needed and no waiting around for dough to chill. Just press it into a pan and bake. These are my go-to when I need to bring something to a potluck, pack treats for a bake sale, or just want cookies without standing at the oven baking sheet after sheet. They’re great on their own, but a warm square with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is hard to walk away from.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• One bowl, no mixer. The dough uses melted butter, so everything gets stirred together by hand. No creaming, no waiting for butter to soften, no electric mixer to clean.
• Feeds a crowd from one pan. One 9×13 pan gives you 12 thick bars. They’re easy to cut, easy to stack, and easy to transport if you’re bringing them somewhere.
• A hint of cinnamon. A teaspoon of cinnamon sets these apart from a standard chocolate chip cookie bar. It’s subtle, but it rounds out the brown sugar and makes the chocolate taste richer.

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I’ve tested this recipe with both Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (blue bag) and King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour. Both contain xanthan gum.
• Unsalted Butter – Use unsalted butter, melted. This isn’t a creamed dough, so the butter doesn’t need to be at room temperature. Melted butter gives the bars a denser, chewier texture.
• Sugar – Brown sugar does most of the heavy lifting here and gives the bars their chew and moisture. Granulated sugar adds a little crispness to the top.
• Cinnamon – Just one teaspoon, but it makes a difference. It rounds out the brown sugar and deepens the chocolate flavor without tasting like a snickerdoodle.
• Chocolate – I use a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. The chips hold their shape and the chunks melt into gooey pockets. You can use all chips if that’s what you have.
• Cooking Spray – Check the label before you spray your pan. Some baking sprays like Pam Baking contain flour, which is not gluten-free. Use a regular cooking spray or grease the pan with butter instead.

Don’t Overbake These Bars

Cookie bars firm up a lot as they cool, so pull them when the top is golden and the edges are just starting to pull away from the pan. The center should still look slightly underdone. If they look fully baked in the oven, they’ll be dry and crumbly once they cool. Start checking at 24 minutes.

Expert Tips

• Melt the butter in short bursts. If using the microwave, cover the bowl with a paper towel and go in 10-second increments so it doesn’t splatter. You can also melt it in a small saucepan over low heat on the stovetop, which is always my preference.
• Use a metal pan over glass. Metal conducts heat more evenly and cools down faster once out of the oven. Glass works in a pinch, but the edges and bottom tend to brown faster while the center stays underdone.
• Line the pan with parchment for easy removal. Let the parchment hang over two sides so you can lift the whole slab out once cooled and cut clean bars on a cutting board.
• Let them cool completely before slicing. They’ll be soft and fragile straight out of the oven. Give them at least 20 to 30 minutes on the counter before cutting, or they’ll fall apart.

Recipe FAQs

I’ve tested this recipe with both Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (blue bag) and King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour. Both contain xanthan gum, so no need to add extra. If your blend doesn’t include xanthan gum, add 1/2 teaspoon. I can’t guarantee results with other blends since gluten-free flours vary a lot.

You don’t have to, but it makes removing the bars and slicing them much easier. If you skip the parchment, make sure you grease the pan well with butter or a gluten-free cooking spray.

I haven’t tested it as scooped cookies, so I can’t guarantee the bake time or texture. This dough is designed to be pressed into a 9×13 pan. If you want individual chocolate chip cookies, try my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies instead.

Storage Instructions

Room Temperature : Store cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They’ll stay chewy for the first 2 to 3 days. After that, 10 seconds in the microwave warms them back up.

Freezer: Cool the bars completely, then wrap individual bars tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature or warm in a 200°F oven for 3 to 4 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

These are great on their own, but a warm bar with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is probably my favorite way to eat them. My chocolate peanut butter ice cream or coffee chocolate chip ice cream both work really well here too. If you’re putting together a dessert spread for a party or game day, cut them into smaller squares and set them out alongside my gluten-free brownies , gluten-free s’mores bars , or gluten-free blondies . You can also top them with my peanut butter frosting or brown butter cream cheese frosting if you want something a little more dressed up.