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  1. Midwest Living
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  4. Our Best Bar Cookies

Our Best Bar Cookies

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com Updated May 26, 2021
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Brown Butter Apricot Bars
Credit: Brie Passano

These bar cookie recipes will tempt dessert lovers with an array of flavors, from chocolatey layer bars to tangy, lemon-filled bars dusted with sugar.

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Brown Butter Apricot Bars

Brown Butter Apricot Bars
Credit: Brie Passano
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

These deceptively delicious bars deliver the perfect, rich balance of sweet-tart fruit and buttery pastry.

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Gooey Pecan Pie Bars

Gooey Pecan Pie Bars
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

These sweet, nutty and oh-so-buttery bars are a guaranteed showstopper on any cookie tray.

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Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars
Credit: Carson Downing
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Sure, you've seen this combo before. But not done this well. This recipe doesn't use a whole can of pumpkin, so add leftovers to a smoothie, a pot of chili, hot oatmeal or even hummus.

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S'Mores Squares

S’Mores Squares
Credit: Jason Donnelly
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

These bars are a grown-up spin on a campfire classic: buttery graham cracker crust, chocolate mousse, toasty meringue.

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Salted Caramel, Chocolate and Peanut Cracker-Stack Bars

Salted Caramel, Chocolate and Peanut Cracker-Stack Bars
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

These fantastic potluck bars come from Patrice Hurd of Bemidji, Minnesota. She won the grand prize in a Best of the Midwest® Recipe Contest. Patrice says they're a twist on her grandmother's cracker bars. They cut beautifully and brim with salty-sweet-nutty-chocolately flavor.

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Mojito Bars

Mojito Bars
Credit: Carson Downing
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Jacob Van Patten pours a refreshing summer cocktail into his creative take on lemon bars, which took the overall blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair.

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Sweet-and-Salty Scotcheroos

Sweet-and-Salty Scotcheroos
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You would think there's no way to improve on a scotcheroo (that peanut-buttery, chocolate-y cousin to Rice Krispies treats). But then we added Fritos.

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Maple-Walnut Banana Bars

Maple-Walnut Banana Bars
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The math on these homey bars couldn't be simpler: one pan, one ripe banana and less than one hour from start to finish.

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Coconut Chocolate Squares

Coconut Chocolate Squares
Credit: Carson Downing
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This super easy dessert uses caramel candies and chocolate cake mix. Make it for a work party or as a sweet snack for the kids.

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Caramel Heavenlies

Caramel Heavenlies
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Graham crackers form the base for this bar cookie with layers of marshmallows, brown sugar, almonds and coconut. "I've made these cookies since 1984," says Georgine Simmonds of Genesee, Michigan. "They're one of my family's favorites."

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Scrumptious Seven-Layer Cookies

Scrumptious Seven-Layer Cookies
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These rich bar cookies star among the sweets at Stafford's Bay View Inn in Petoskey, Michigan. Mix and match among your favorite treats for some of the layers to create a dessert that's just right for your family.

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Gooey Butter Bars

Gooey Butter Bars
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Traditionalists may grumble, but we think topping St. Louis-style gooey butter bars with fresh berries is a stroke of midsummer genius.

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Scandinavian Almond Bars

Scandinavian Almond Bars
Credit: Carson Downing
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Perennial Iowa State Fair ribbon-winner Robin Tarbell-Thomas' buttery best-in-class bars are loaded with almond flavor.

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Apricot-Rosemary Streusel Bars

Apricot-Rosemary Streusel Bars
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A rich, fruity filling bakes in a rosemary-infused crust, then gets drizzled with a powdered sugar icing.

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Peanut Butter Chip and Jelly Bars

Peanut Butter Chip and Jelly Bars
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The flavor of these bars from Connie Siegel of Wisconsin will take you right back to your school lunchroom! If you don't like grape jelly, strawberry would work well, too.

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Cranberry Candy-Bar Cookies

Cranberry Candy-Bar Cookies
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These gooey bar cookies start with a German chocolate cake mix. Melted caramels and cranberry sauce form a moist middle layer.

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Caramel and Chocolate Kettle-Corn Crispie Bars

Recipe contest winner: Caramel and Chocolate Kettle-Corn Crispie Bars
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These bars, from Judy Reynolds of Bloomington, Indiana, won the grand prize of $10,000 in Midwest Living's first Best of the Midwest cook-off. Judy started with a Hoosier staple—popcorn—and stirred together these sweet-salty snack bars. Homemade caramel sauce helps makes them a standout.

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Maple Nutty Candy

Maple Nutty Candy
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These bar cookies combine four winning flavors: peanut butter, maple, butterscotch and chocolate. The easy recipe, from a Wabash, Indiana, reader, makes about 6 pounds of bar candy. We suggest freezing the bars and thawing them out as needed.

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Harvest Apple Bars

Harvest Apple Bars
Credit: Carson Downing
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Tammy Post's Iowa State Fair blue-ribbon recipe doesn't skimp on apples, which results in incredibly moist and indulgent bars.

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Luscious Lemon Bars

Luscious Lemon Bars
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Sweet and tart, these moist, powdered sugar-topped classics will disappear fast at a potluck.

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Triple Peanut Butter Streusel Bars

Triple Peanut Butter Streusel Bars
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Dry-roasted peanuts, peanut butter-flavored pieces and peanut butter bring triple flavor to this make-ahead bar cookie.

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Cherry Crumble Pie Bars

Cherry Crumble Pie Bars
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Zesty lemon peel adds zing to this fruit bar cookie; almond extract and brown sugar give it extra sweetness.

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars
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Peanut butter and chocolate meet for a sweet treat in this recipe from a Cedarburg, Wisconsin, reader who likes to make these bar cookies for potluck gatherings.

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Butterscotch Pretzel Bars

Butterscotch Pretzel Bars
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This sweet-salty dessert goes together quickly with a no-bake bottom and a topping of butterscotch pieces and whipping cream heated on the stove.

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Date-Orange Bars

Date-Orange Bars
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Date-nut desserts can be cloyingly sweet, but orange juice brightens these simple bars.

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Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
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Layers of cheesecake, raspberry filling, almonds and coconut form dessert bars perfect for summer picnics and potlucks.

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Danish Pastry Apple Bars

Danish Pastry Apple Bars
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This recipe for Danish Pastry Apple Bars comes from an Indiana teacher who discovered these treats in a student's lunch box years ago. The student's family was happy to share the recipe; the results taste almost like apple pie.

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Salted Oatmeal Bars with Roasted White Chocolate Frosting

Salted Oatmeal Bars with Roasted White Chocolate Frosting
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Roasting white chocolate gives it a nutty flavor and caramel color; show both off in these utterly delicious salty-sweet bars.

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Butter-Pecan Bars

Butter-Pecan Bars
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These candy-like bar cookies have a brown sugar crust and a filling of brown sugar, butter and chopped pecans. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces immediately after baking.

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Salted Peanut Bars

Salted Peanut Bars
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Luscious caramel tops a sweet-salty treat of peanuts, pretzels, marshmallow crème and peanut butter.

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Brownie Bombs

Brownie Bombs
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These sinful brownies feature a cheesecake layer sandwiched between two ultra-rich chocolate layers.

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Easy Cherry Crumb Bars

Easy Cherry Crumb Bars
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Oatmeal cookie mix speeds prep time for these tart cherry bar cookies.

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Blueberry-Almond Bars

Blueberry-Almond Bars
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Fruit fillings complement the sweetness of other bar cookie ingredients. Blueberry-Almond Bars was a grand champion award recipe at the Marshall County Fair's annual Blueberry Bake-A-Rama in Plymouth, Indiana. Lori Van Der Weele combined blueberries, butter, white baking pieces and almonds for this winner.

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Toffee Bars

Toffee Bars
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These moist, easy brownies get a little extra crunch from a topping of toffee pieces.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Bars

Strawberry-Rhubarb Bars
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Strawberries and rhubarb flavored with ginger make an appealing combo in this dessert. Drizzle just before serving with Ginger Icing, if you like.

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Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars

Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars
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Love sweet and salty combos? You'll fall for these bars with sweet toffee, toasted pecans and a spiced Ginger Crumb Crust.

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Hallelujah Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Hallelujah Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars
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Chocolate and peanut butter naturally complement each other in bar cookie recipes. The Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort near Galena, Illinois, combines the flavors to make the candylike Hallelujah bars.

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Rhubarb Bars

Rhubarb Bars
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Cooks in the Midwest's Red River Valley learned early to take advantage of rhubarb. The tangy, celerylike ingredient grows well in a region where strawberries seldom thrive. This recipe comes from RBJ's Restaurant in Crookston, Minnesota.

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Candy Bar Cookies

Candy Bar Cookies
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These gooey bite-size treats feature a creamy mixture of chocolate pieces, butterscotch pieces and peanut butter over a cooked oatmeal-brown sugar layer. The recipe is from a Madison, Wisconsin, reader, who likes to take the bar cookies to potluck gatherings.

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Sour Cream Pumpkin Bars

Sour Cream Pumpkin Bars recipe
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These are especially good in fall, but canned pumpkin makes them an any-time treat.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com

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    1 of 40 Brown Butter Apricot Bars
    2 of 40 Gooey Pecan Pie Bars
    3 of 40 Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars
    4 of 40 S'Mores Squares
    5 of 40 Salted Caramel, Chocolate and Peanut Cracker-Stack Bars
    6 of 40 Mojito Bars
    7 of 40 Sweet-and-Salty Scotcheroos
    8 of 40 Maple-Walnut Banana Bars
    9 of 40 Coconut Chocolate Squares
    10 of 40 Caramel Heavenlies
    11 of 40 Scrumptious Seven-Layer Cookies
    12 of 40 Gooey Butter Bars
    13 of 40 Scandinavian Almond Bars
    14 of 40 Apricot-Rosemary Streusel Bars
    15 of 40 Peanut Butter Chip and Jelly Bars
    16 of 40 Cranberry Candy-Bar Cookies
    17 of 40 Caramel and Chocolate Kettle-Corn Crispie Bars
    18 of 40 Maple Nutty Candy
    19 of 40 Harvest Apple Bars
    20 of 40 Luscious Lemon Bars
    21 of 40 Triple Peanut Butter Streusel Bars
    22 of 40 Cherry Crumble Pie Bars
    23 of 40 Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars
    24 of 40 Butterscotch Pretzel Bars
    25 of 40 Date-Orange Bars
    26 of 40 Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
    27 of 40 Danish Pastry Apple Bars
    28 of 40 Salted Oatmeal Bars with Roasted White Chocolate Frosting
    29 of 40 Butter-Pecan Bars
    30 of 40 Salted Peanut Bars
    31 of 40 Brownie Bombs
    32 of 40 Easy Cherry Crumb Bars
    33 of 40 Blueberry-Almond Bars
    34 of 40 Toffee Bars
    35 of 40 Strawberry-Rhubarb Bars
    36 of 40 Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars
    37 of 40 Hallelujah Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
    38 of 40 Rhubarb Bars
    39 of 40 Candy Bar Cookies
    40 of 40 Sour Cream Pumpkin Bars

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