Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars {Gluten-Free}
These chocolate chip cookie bars are full doughy and sweet while also being gluten free and refined sugar free! Perfect for all sweet-tooths!
So these chocolate chip cookie bars came to me in a dream. I’m serious. I do dream about food and recipe creations! And I woke up in the morning with a serious craving for cookies.
But not just any cookies. A freaking BAR of chocolate chip cookies! And so these chocolate chip cookie bars came to be 🙂
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Me being me, I had to put some kind of spin of them to make it a “Banana Diaries” original (although I literally just went with an idea in my head without any research lol WHOOPS!). So these chocolate chip bites of heaven are completely gluten free and refined sugar free, and 100% delicious.
Literally, I could not get over how amazing and addicting these came out to be. Usually, you can’t really tell how it’s going to come out by just the batter (thought the batter- let me tell you- definitely checks out). So imagine me crossing my fingers and praying to the Baking Gods that these came out right on the first try!
I seem to have some kind of direct connection to them because it worked!
You wouldn’t believe that these chocolate chip cookie bars are completely gluten free and refined sugar free. I mean, it tastes like a Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie, only in the best form!
Alright are you ready for the secret? I used sprouted organic oats for the flour! I KNOW. And somehow they came out amazing! I actually went ahead and made my own oat flour by grinding up the oats in a food-processor! That way, you don’t need to go buy oats and oat flour. Just the oats!
Life hacks. I’m full of ’em.
Anyways! So why sprouted? I use sprouted oats because sprouting them actually helps to remove any phytic acid or lectin, which can sometimes cause digestive issues. SOMETIMES. If you’re not experiencing any upset tummies, don’t worry!
I honestly just use sprouted because these oats that I buy are organic and it’s my favorite brand! But if you have your own favorite brand of organic oats, then feel free to use those 🙂
So how about the others ingredients?
To bring these chocolate chip cookie bars to life, you’re going to need:
Flaxseed Eggs: this will help bing the chocolate chip cookie bars together!
Vegan Butter: you can also use coconut oil or regular butter if not vegan.
Vanilla: you can’t have chocolate chip cookie bars without vanilla! If you want to go hardcore on the vanilla flavor, you can flick in a few vanilla bean seeds from the whole vanilla bean pod, but you can also just use vanilla extract, like I do! You could also use vanilla bean powder if you’re avoiding the alcohol in vanilla extract.
Baking Powder & Soda: the powder helps the chocolate chip cookie bars rise and the soda kills the taste of the powder 😉
Sea Salt: because I have not met one chocolate chip cookie that I have not liked without a little sprinkle of sea salt!
Chocolate & Chocolate Chips: I mean, no explanation is really necessary here 😉 There’s a chocolate layer in the middle that you’ll actually use a whole bar of chocolate for (which is why I specify chocolate and chocolate chips). I recommend Lily’s Sweets, but you can use your own favorite! And then, of course chocolate chips 🙂 Lily’s are refined sugar free, as well as Pascha’s 100% dark chocolate chips!
I mean…can we just take a moment here to look at this beaut?
Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my face (too graphic?) lol.
Now, who’s going to eat these? Basically everyone under the sun that likes a chocolate chip cookie. Like I said before, they’re so addicting and delicious! Plus they’re the perfect amount of sweetness without being overly sweet!
I added mine on top of vanilla ice cream, and holy cow, it tasted so dang good! Warmed up with a squirt of whipped cream is also amazing!
I hope you love!! Let me know what you think down below 🙂 These just might rival my paleo chocolate chip cookies!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars {Gluten-Free}
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Dessert
Description
These chocolate chip cookie bars are full doughy and sweet while also being gluten free and refined sugar free! Perfect for all sweet-tooths!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups sprouted organic oats (divided; can sub in store-bought oat flour)
- 1 cup vegan butter (melted)
- 2 flaxseed eggs (sub regular if not vegan
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 bar Lily’s Sweets Baking Chocolate (can sub in your favorite chocolate)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- To make oat flour, pulse whole oats in a food processor for about 30 seconds or until a finally ground powder.
- Preheat oven to 375F and grease a 9×9 baking pan with butter or coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups oat flour (reserve 1 cup of oat flour for chocolate layer), baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flaxseed eggs, 3/4 cup melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for chocolate layer), vanilla, and maple syrup.
- Slowly pour in wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Fold in chocolate chips and set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, break chocolate bar into pieces and melt for 60 seconds, stirring every 20 seconds.
- Remove from microwave, and in a small bowl, combine 1 cup oat flour, melted chocolate, and 1/4 cup butter. Mix thoroughly until combined.
- Pour 1/2 of the cookie dough layer into the 9×9 baking dish.
- Pour all of the chocolate layer on top and finish with layering the last of the cookie dough layer.
- Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top if desired and place in the oven.
- Bake for at least 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool and serve!