15 brownie and bar recipes for sweet, simple baking

If you're looking for a simple bake that delivers a big bang for your buck, turn to bars. They are typically straightforward in execution and low on ingredients—often they call for just one dish and limited prep time. To help you find the bar of your dreams – or simply your next best bake – we've pulled together some of our favorite brownie and bar recipes. We've got gooey s'more bars, buttery blondies, cocktail-inspired mashups, and more. Let's go!

Frosted bars with sprinkles cut into pieces on a cutting board. — A retro recipe For any kind of gathering.

1) Oatmeal Cream Pie Bars

Like the classic sandwich cookies that inspired this dessert, these soft and chewy cinnamon-spiced oatmeal bars are topped with swooshes of fluffy, marshmallow-y icing. They are the perfect candidate for bake sales and birthday parties; Just add sprinkles.

Get the recipe: Oatmeal Cream Pie Bars

Buy this recipe: Vietnamese cinnamon And Ginger

2) Quick and Easy Fudge Brownies

These one-bowl brownies are one of the most popular recipes on our site. Why? They deliver reliably thick, fudgy brownies and only require a handful of ingredients and one bowl. You'll have warm brownies straight out of the oven in just about half an hour, start to finish.

Get the recipe: Quick and easy fudge brownies

Buy this recipe: Triple cocoa blending And Espresso powder

3) Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Rather than scooping individual chocolate chip cookies one by one, press the dough directly into a pan for dense, chewy bars that straddle the line between cookie and blondie. The bars get their shiny, crackly top from a favorite trick of ours: combining sugar with hot melted butter until it partially dissolves, giving a thin, shattering surface when baked.

Get the recipe: Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Buy this recipe: Callebaut Semisweet Chocolate Chips

4) S'more Granola Bars

One of the easiest recipes on our site (find the other 17 easiest recipes Here!), these melty, gooey granola bars use the same oat-based mixture for both their bottom crust and crumbly topping. Finished off with a layer of melted chocolate and broiled marshmallows, these treats are peak campfire nostalgia.

Get the recipe: More granola bars

Buy this recipe: Rolled oats

Stack of three magic bars on a white plate. — The maximalist bars are a texture-lover's dream.

5) Chocolate Magic Cookie Bars

Magic Cookie Bars get a chocolate makeover! Also known as Seven-Layer Bars, Dream Bars, or Hello Dolly Bars, this updated version of the classic gets a touch of cocoa powder and chocolate chips, all sandwiched between a graham cracker crust and a crunchy coconut topping.

Get the recipe:Chocolate Magic Cookie Bars

Buy this recipe:Triple cocoa blending And Guitar Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

6) Easy Pecan Pie Bars

This recipe takes everything you love about pecan pie—the gooey filling, toasted nuts, and buttery crust—and packs it into a sweet, sliceable bar. It's also much more approachable than a full pie: there's no rolling, chilling, or prebaking pie crust. A total win!

Get the recipe: Easy Pecan Pie Bars

Buy this recipe: 9″ x 13″ pan

Crazy blonde brownies — When a simple blondie isn't enough, This loaded version is here for you.

7) Loaded Chocolate Chip Blondies

Think of the blondies as a blank slate for any mix-ins you want to add, from chocolate chips (white, milk, bittersweet, all three?!) to chopped nuts to bits of crunchy toffee. Because they're baked in a 9″ x 13″ pan, these bars are also great for feeding a crowd.

Get the recipe: Loaded Chocolate Chip Blondies

Buy this recipe: Golden wheat flour

8) Peanut Butter Brownies

Made with just a handful of ingredients, these nutty brownies come together in under an hour. The result is a whimsical peanut butter-packed brownie that comes in three forms: it's mixed into the batter; It is swirled on top; And it's present in the form of chips, which studs every bite.

Get the recipe: Peanut Butter Brownies

Buy this recipe: Triple cocoa blending

9) Bourbon barrel-aged blondies

Adding a splash of bourbon barrel-aged beer to the buttery blondies provides an oaky, malty layer of flavor to undercut their inherent sweetness. Like most bars and blondies, they're simple and straightforward to make, relying on melted butter for a thick, chewy texture.

Get the recipe: Bourbon barrel-aged blondies

Buy this recipe: 8″ square pan

10) Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

These moist, decadent cheesecake brownies are for chocolate and cheesecake lovers alike. Each bite provides an intensely rich combination of sweetened cream cheese and deep-dark chocolate – the perfect treat for anyone who can't choose just one dessert.

Get the recipe: Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Buy this recipe: Triple cocoa blending And Guitar Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Tahini chocolate bars cut into slices with sesame seeds sprinkled on top — For all tahini fiends out there, This no-bake recipe Must be a go-to.

11) Tahini Chocolate Bars

With their rich tahini and chocolate ganache layers, these bite-sized, no-bake bars pack a flavorful punch. Graham cracker crumbs add crunch, while honey nicely complements the bars' buttery sesame flavor.

Get the recipe: Tahini Chocolate Bars

Buy this recipe: Guitard Semisweet Chocolate Wafers

12) Dark and Stormy Ginger Bars

The frosted bar cookies are flavored with ginger, lime and rum, evoking the cocktail from which they get their name. Spicy ginger appears in four ways – fresh, ground, candied, and in the form of syrup (buy ginger syrup or make it yourself) – while the cream cheese frosting brings the lime and the rum.

Get the recipe:Dark and Stormy Ginger Bars

Buy this recipe:Ginger People Organic Ginger Syrup 

13) Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars

Good things come in threes – just look at this recipe. The combination of silky chocolate ganache, creamy caramel and buttery shortbread results in a bar even better than the sum of its (very delicious) parts. The slight bitterness of the dark chocolate cuts the cloying sweetness of the caramel, while the cookie base provides welcome crunch to the soft and creamy layers above.

Get the recipe: Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars

Buy this recipe: Guitar Bittersweet Onyx Chocolate Wafers

Gooey Butter Vanilla Cake Bars — St. Louie Guy Butter Cake has turned into Handheld bars.

14) Gooey Vanilla Butter Cake Bars

Some of our favorite bars on this list are inspired by other desserts, and this recipe fits that theme: it takes a favorite regional staple, St. These are meant for anyone who always skips the corner piece in favor of the soft, gooey center.

Get the recipe: Gooey Vanilla Butter Cake Bars

Buy this recipe: Nielsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste And Snow White non-melting topping sugar

15) Super Fudge Sourdough Brownies

You don't need flour to make these gooey, gooey brownies. Instead, a 1/2 cup of sourdough discard provides body, plus that delightful texture. Helpfully, these brownies are as easy as they are decadent, with the batter coming together in one pan.

Get the recipe: Super Fudge Sourdough Brownies