Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars

Brown butter, pumpkin and warm spice. No eggs, so the bars stay dense and chewy.

SourceNYT Cooking · Adapted, metricContainsWheat · Milk · SoyLast changeRev 01 · First issue

Equipment23 × 33 cm metal or glass pan · Parchment sling · Light-colored saucepan · 0.1 g scale

Yield · 9 × 13 in pan24 squares

Dough1,329 g

Sugar ÷ flour120%

Bake30–45 min

Oven · 325 °F165 °C

Formula

% · flour = 100

Teaspoon amounts are converted to grams; weigh them on a 0.1 g scale.

Salt by weight: 1 tsp Diamond Crystal ≈ 3 g. Other brands are denser by the spoon.

† Doesn’t scale in a straight line. Past 2×, trial spices and leavening first.

Scale by pan

9 × 13 in× 1 · 24

Half sheet× 1.75 · 42

	Ingredient	%	Grams
A Brown butter
	Unsalted butter · weigh before browning	53.1	170
B Wet
	Light brown sugar · packed	120.3	385
	Pumpkin purée · not pie filling	53.1	170
	Vanilla extract †	2.5	8
C Dry
	All-purpose flour	100.0	320
	Ground cinnamon †	1.6	5
	Baking soda †	1.9	6
	Baking powder †	1.3	4
	Kosher salt · Diamond Crystal	0.9	3
	Ground ginger †	0.6	2
	Ground cloves †	0.2	0.5
	Ground nutmeg †	0.2	0.5
D Chocolate · bittersweet or semisweet chips, check label
	Chips, into the dough	67.5	216
	Chips, on top	12.2	39
	Total dough	415.3	1,329

Continues on pages 2–3: method, cut map, done when, trials, revisions, batch log →

CK-002Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie barsCookie · Bar

Rev 032026-09-282 / 3

Method

Tick each step as done

01
Brown butter. Melt in a light saucepan, stirring, until foamy, light amber and nutty.
3–4 min
after melting
02
Cool. Scrape the butter and browned bits into a large bowl. Cool until warm, not hot.
20 min
Warm
03
Prep. Heat the oven. Grease the pan and lay a parchment sling over the long sides (fig. 1).
—
165 °C 325 °F
04
Wet. Whisk part B into the butter until smooth and glossy.
1 min
05
Dry. Add part C and stir just until no flour pockets remain. Stir in the dough chips.
—
Don’t overmix
06
Press. Press into an even layer with oiled hands. Press the top chips in.
—
39 g on top
07
Bake. Until puffed and lightly browned; a skewer shows moist crumbs or melted chocolate.
30–45 min
165 °C 325 °F
08
Cool + cut. At least 1 h in the pan. Lift out by the sling and cut 6 × 4 (fig. 1).
1 h
24 squares

Cut map

Drawn to scale

Fig. 1 Black = pan; hatched = parchment tabs to lift by; dashed = cuts, 6 × 4, only after the full hour.

Done when

And how it keeps

Done when

TopPuffed, lightly browned

SkewerMoist crumbs or chocolate

Keeps

Room temp5 days, airtight

CutAfter 1 h in the pan

CK-002Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie barsCookie · Bar

Rev 032026-09-283 / 3

Trials

Change one variable per trial

B tests the altitude rule for 4,700 ft.

Variable	Trial A	Trial B	Trial C
Date
Change	As written	Soda + powder −20%	Half sheet, × 1.75
Bake time
Staff rating 1–5

Revisions

Newest last

Rev	Date	Change	From
Rev 01	2026-09-26	First issue, adapted from NYT Cooking	—
Rev 02	2026-09-27	Revisions and batch log on page 3	Review
Rev 03	2026-09-28	Generated cut map	Review

Batch log

Fill in by hand

Date

Batch ×

Pan

Oven

Bake time

Rested before cut

Served

Notes