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  5. Our Most Decadent Bar Cookie Recipes To Make Whenever You Need a Sweet Treat 

Our Most Decadent Bar Cookie Recipes To Make Whenever You Need a Sweet Treat 

Kaitlyn Yarborough, Assistant Editor and Writer for Southern Living
By Kaitlyn Yarborough
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Coconut Cheesecake Squares
Credit: Southern Living

Bar cookies are a special category of dessert. Like if a cookie and sheet cake came together in perfect harmony, these hand-held treats are made to grab and go—or bake and take. Come the holiday season in the South, bar cookies filled with butterscotch, chocolate, and caramel are delivered in batches upon batches of food gift tins; and in summertime, jammy fruit bar cookies fill every family cookout table when a layer cake just won't do. 

So if you're as crazy about bar cookies as we are, look to these ultra-decadent bar cookies to see you through every month of the year, whether starting with buttery pineapple-studded bars, old-fashioned Hello Dolly bars, or super chocolatey peanut butter bars. These are 22 of our most beloved bar cookie recipes ever. 

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Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

Peanut butter and chocolate together is a tale as old as time, and these bars give you the perfect amount of each. 

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Buttery Pineapple Crumble Bars

Buttery Pineapple Crumble Bars
Credit: Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Buttery Pineapple Crumble Bars

The name says it all. Think all the sweet pineapple flavor of upside-down cake, but in buttery hand-held form. 

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Magic Cookie Bars

magic cookie bars
Credit: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis

Recipe: Magic Cookie Bars

You might recognize these from your grandmother's kitchen. They're basically a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate-coconut dream.

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Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars

Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars
Credit: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars

Your favorite Southern cobbler got a makeover that features all the fresh fruity goodness in bite-sized pieces.

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No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars

No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars
Credit: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars

Don't even bother turning on the oven. Ooey, gooey, caramelly layered bars, coming right up. 

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Coconut Cheesecake Squares

Coconut Cheesecake Squares
Credit: Southern Living

Recipe: Coconut Cheesecake Squares

Flaky coconut meets tangy cheesecake for a sweet treat everyone will request again and again. 

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Cappuccino Swirl Bars

Cappuccino Swirl Bars
Credit: Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Cappuccino Swirl Bars

Say hello to the tastiest caffeine jolt to make your afternoon snack. Store-bought wafer cookies are the secret to the chocolatey crust.

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Cherry Pie Bars

Cherry Pie Bars
Credit: Greg DuPree

Recipe: Cherry Pie Bars

We took all-American cherry pie and turned it into a soft, cakey bar. 

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Pecan Pie Bars

Pecan Pie Bars
Credit: Helen Norman

Recipe: Pecan Pie Bars

Everyone knows that the gooey center of a pecan pie is the best part—and these bars know it. 

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Raspberry-Rhubarb Bars

Raspberry-Rhubarb Bars
Credit: Cedric Angeles; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Raspberry-Rhubarb Bars

These sweet, buttery bar cookies feature the classic flavor combination of strawberries and rhubarbs. Cut into fun triangles to serve.

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Coconut Dream Bar

Coconut Dream Bar
Credit: Micah Leal

Recipe: Coconut Dream Bar

And trust us, you'll be dreaming of these coconut goodies well after they're gone. To revamp the classic recipe, we included a flavorful shortbread crust made with browned butter and pecans.

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bugle Bars

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bugle Bars image
Credit: Photo: Daniel Agee; Food Styling: Ivy Odom; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson

Recipe: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bugle Bars

These bars somehow bridge the gap between creamy, crunchy, rich, salty, and sweet—all at the same time. And who doesn't love some old-school Bugles?

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Lemon-Coconut Chess Bars

Lemon-Coconut Chess Bars
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Lemon-Coconut Chess Bars

The secret to these classic chess bars: coconut milk. It adds the perfect tropical touch to zippy lemony bars. 

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German Chocolate-Pecan Pie Bars

German Chocolate-Pecan Pie Bars
Credit: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: German Chocolate-Pecan Pie Bars

You won't meet a more crowd-pleasing bar cookie than this chocolatey, pecan-studded recipe. Watch them disappear.

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Hello Dolly Bars

Hello Dolly Bars
Credit: Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Hello Dolly Bars

These delicious bars start with a can of condensed milk, then get major flavor from pecans, chocolate morsels, and coconut. 

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Seven-Layer Cookies

Seven-Layer Cookies
Credit: Southern Living

Recipe: Seven-Layer Cookies

These old-fashioned bar cookies were the first to ever be featured in Southern Living magazine. You get all the good things: graham cracker crumbs, flaked coconut, milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, sweetened condensed milk, and chopped pecans.

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Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars

Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars
Credit: Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars

Tangy, sweet cheesecake gets even more company-worthy with patriotic berry swirls and an easily portable bar shape. 

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Brown Butter-Caramel Blondies

Brown Butter-Caramel Blondies
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Brown Butter-Caramel Blondies

Ooey, gooey butter cake has met its match in this more indulgent version using chocolate and caramel. 

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Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Credit: Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

These lemony bars have a thick and chewy bottom crust that makes up almost half of the bar with fluffy, gooey layers on top. Talk about decadent.

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Red Velvet Brownies

Red Velvet Brownies
Credit: Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Prop Styling: Audrey Davis, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners

Recipe: Red Velvet Brownies

This recipe made us second-guess why red velvet cake wasn't always made in brownie form. Grab-and-go never tasted so good. 

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Blueberry-Lemon Crunch Bars

Blueberry-Lemon Crunch Bars
Credit: Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones

Recipe: Blueberry-Lemon Crunch Bars

Just look at that jammy center. It's enough to make us drool before even a bite. Blueberries and lemon make a delicious duo.

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Lemon Bar Cake

Lemon Bar Cake
Credit: Jennifer Davick; Food Styling: Vanessa Rocchio; Prop Styling: Missie Crawford

Recipe: Lemon Bar Cake

Similar to a chocolate lava or molten cake, this slow-cooker dessert is full of to-die-for lemon flavor. 

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By Kaitlyn Yarborough

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    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 22 Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars
    2 of 22 Buttery Pineapple Crumble Bars
    3 of 22 Magic Cookie Bars
    4 of 22 Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars
    5 of 22 No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars
    6 of 22 Coconut Cheesecake Squares
    7 of 22 Cappuccino Swirl Bars
    8 of 22 Cherry Pie Bars
    9 of 22 Pecan Pie Bars
    10 of 22 Raspberry-Rhubarb Bars
    11 of 22 Coconut Dream Bar
    12 of 22 Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bugle Bars
    13 of 22 Lemon-Coconut Chess Bars
    14 of 22 German Chocolate-Pecan Pie Bars
    15 of 22 Hello Dolly Bars
    16 of 22 Seven-Layer Cookies
    17 of 22 Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars
    18 of 22 Brown Butter-Caramel Blondies
    19 of 22 Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
    20 of 22 Red Velvet Brownies
    21 of 22 Blueberry-Lemon Crunch Bars
    22 of 22 Lemon Bar Cake

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    Our Most Decadent Bar Cookie Recipes To Make Whenever You Need a Sweet Treat 
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