381 cookie bar recipes

Dutch apple crumb bars stack a shortbread crust, apple-date filling, and cinnamon oat crumble into sliceable bars. Classic streusel topping over tender baked apples with a chewy date kick.

Turtle bars with shortbread crust, pecan halves, brown sugar caramel, and a smooth chocolate top. The classic candy-store flavor in a 24-bar pan.

No-sugar raisin bars sweetened only with raisins and unsweetened apple juice, made with whole wheat flour and warm spices. Low calorie and naturally sweet.

Old-fashioned date bars with a buttery oat crumb crust, orange-scented date filling with chopped nuts, and a crumbly oat topping baked until golden.

Chewy peanut butter chip bars with deep cocoa brownie batter and pockets of peanut butter chips. A jelly-roll pan recipe that yields four dozen fudgy chocolate bars.

Three-layer pumpkin bars built on a yellow cake mix base with spiced pumpkin custard center and a buttery cake-mix streusel top. Makes 24 bars in a 9x13 pan.

Apricot almond bars with a buttery shortbread crust, spiced almond meringue topping, apricot glaze, and chocolate drizzle. Four layers of European-style pastry in every square.

These gooey cream cheese bars start with a yellow cake mix crust and get topped with a rich layer of powdered sugar, coconut, and nuts. They vanish from the pan faster than you can say "save me one."

Cognac Nanaimo bars are a Canadian no-bake classic with a chocolate-coconut-pecan base, cognac-orange buttercream middle, and a glossy chocolate top. A boozy adult twist on the original.

These cookies with a candy bar center, from Bev Bosveld of Waupun, are packed with coconut.

Banana monkey bars: a one-bowl banana bread baked thin into chewy bars, studded with walnuts and finished with a chocolate sugar drizzle. Lunchbox sweet, ready in under an hour.

Rocky road fudge bars with three layers: chocolate brownie base, cream cheese filling with chocolate chips, marshmallow topping, and a swirled chocolate-cream cheese frosting.

Mississippi mud bars layer fudgy pecan-studded brownies under a glossy chocolate frosting and another shower of toasted pecans. Cut into small bars, they yield over four dozen from one 9x13 pan. Southern bake-sale royalty.

Sticky pecan bars with a buttery shortbread crust and gooey brown sugar-corn syrup filling loaded with pecan halves. Like pecan pie in bar form, easier to make and easier to share.

Experimentation led Mary Ann Zarczynski of Franklin to create this recipe, which she described as "very rich and delicious."

Quick oatmeal bars with apple butter, coconut, and brown sugar baked into chewy squares ready in 30 minutes for easy lunch box treats or snacks.