Chewy Mini Egg Cookie Bars

This mini egg cookie bar recipe is so easy and fast to make. It’s a no-chill cookie with a brown butter base. This gives it so much flavor and it has a deliciously chewy texture with chunks of dark chocolate and chopped mini easter eggs.

About these Easter cookie bars

Cookie bars made with brown butter trump those made with regular butter when it comes to flavor.

Brown butter, also known as beurre noisette, is simply butter that has melted and then cooked a step further so that the milk solids in the butter caramelize. This gives a toffee flavor to the butter.

The depth of flavor in the melted butter depends on how much it is left to caramelize. Too little, and the flavor will be too mild. However, in the same regard, if you caramelize it too much, you run the risk of burning the milk solids and cooking off too much liquid, which can affect the dough.

The brown butter gives these chewy cookie bars an amazing texture too, with a soft center and crisp edges.

The buttery cookie dough is full of mini chocolate eggs and dark chocolate, baked in a square baking pan. Once cooled, the cookie slab is sliced into individual cookie pieces. These easy mini egg cookie bars are extra pretty with crushed mini easter eggs on top.

How To Make Easter Mini Egg Cookie Bars

Begin by browning the butter, as it needs a little time to cool.

Let the butter melt in a small metal saucepan. Once melted, let it cook for around 3-4 minutes until the milk solids have caramelized and the butter smells nutty.

Once the butter has cooled, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix it well.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

Tip the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir them into a thick dough.

Chop the chocolate into chunks and crush the mini eggs. Add them to the dough, but hold back a few chunks and pieces of Easter egg to press into the cookie bar later.

How to crush whole mini eggs

Chopping mini eggs is hard; the eggs roll around and can be dicey! The best way to break apart the mini eggs is to bash them with a rolling pin.

Take a sheet of parchment paper on a wooden board. Place a handful of mini eggs on one half of the parchment paper and fold over half of the paper over top.

Use a rolling pin to bash the eggs carefully under this parchment paper until they are broken into pieces. Don’t overdo it, or you’ll crush them too far.

Tip the cookie dough into the lined baking dish.

Press the dough down and smooth it out. Press the remaining chunks of chocolate and mini easter eggs into the dough.

Baking

Bake the cookie bars for around 20-25 minutes until the edges are browned, and the top is set and light golden brown but still a bit soft in the middle. For best results, don’t overbake the cookie bars. The exact time will depend on your oven.

Let the cookie bar cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing the cookie slab from the pan and letting it cool completely on a wire rack.

The cookies will be quite soft while still warm but firm up as they cool.

Once they have cooled, use a sharp knife to slice them into 16 pieces. 

Serving and storing

The cookie bars can be stored, covered at room temperature for up to 4 days or frozen in a freezer bag for up to three months. The unbaked dough can also be frozen for future cookies.

Press it into the pan and freeze until stiff. Remove it from the pan and wrap it in plastic wrap, or place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Place the frozen cookie slab into a lined pan when ready to bake. It can be baked from frozen but may need an extra minute or two of baking time.

More brown butter and easter recipes

If you enjoyed these easter cookie bars, you might like these recipes too!

• Easter Mini Egg Cookies
• Easter Meringue Nests With Mini Eggs
• Mini Egg Brownies
• Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Frosting