Thick, rich, decadent cookie bars made with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, creamy sweetened condensed milk, and crunchy toffee bits! A FAST and EASY no mixer, one bowl recipe that is sure to impress friends and family! The bars also keep fresh for a long time and are a great make-ahead dessert or great for gifting.Note that there are quite a few divided ingredients, reserved items, and divided baking times and I highlighted in bold those situations so you can be more easily aware and not miss them.
¾cupunsalted butter1 1/2 sticks, very well softened to room temp
2 ⅓cupall-purpose flour
⅔cuplight brown sugarpacked
½teaspoonsalt
1large egg
½teaspoonvanilla extract
2cupssemi-sweet chocolate chipsdivided
1cuppeanut butter chipsdivided
14-ouncecan sweetened condensed milk
1 ¼cupstoffee bitsdivided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9x13-inch pan very well with cooking spray (optionally use nonstick foil, sprayed with cooking spray for easier cleanup); set aside.
To a large bowl, add the butter, flour, brown sugar, salt, and with a fork, cut the butter* (See Notes) into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles sandy crumbs with a few larger crumbs; the mixture will seem very dry at this point which is normal.
Add the egg, vanilla, and continue cutting and mixing them in with your fork**.
Add 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter chips, and cut them in with your fork.
Set aside and reserve 1 1/2 cups of this chip-and-dough mixture.
Transfer the remaining amount of the chip-and-dough mixture to your prepared baking pan, and pack it into a smooth, even, flat layer to form the crust.
Bake for 10 minutes; rotating once midway through is recommended.
Remove pan from the oven, and to the warm crust, immediately and evenly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top.
Evenly sprinkle the reserved 1 1/2 cups of the chip-and-dough mixture over the top.
Evenly sprinkle 1 cup of the toffee bits over the top.
Evenly sprinkle the remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup peanut butter chips over the top.***
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top looks set in the center and a few large bubbles are boiling up intermittently to the surface, randomly spaced over the top; rotating your pan midway through is advised. The bars do set up dramatically as they cool so don't be alarmed if they seem very loose upon pulling them from the oven, they will firm up.
After pulling the bars from the oven, evenly sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup toffee bits.
Allow the bars to cool, in the pan, at room temp, for at least 90 minutes before slicing and serving. However, if you have more time, allow them to set up for additional time. I usually give them 2-3 hours before slicing and serving; and cooling overnight is just fine; cover them if you're going to let them set overnight. Bars will keep airtight at room temp for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 4 months. They are great make-ahead dessert or dessert to gift because they stay fresh for a long time.
Notes
*Make sure your butter is very well softened to room temp, at least 60 minutes, or this will be much more difficult and not advised.**You are cutting in, not stirring in (which is why you're not using a spoon) nor beating the mixture (which is why you're not using a mixer); just cut the mixture with your fork, turn the crumbs over with the fork until the mixture is "combined" although it will still be dry.***It does look like a lot of chips, but they do sink and melt down during baking so don't be alarmed that there appears to be almost too much at this point.