Healthy Flourless Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookie Bars
These dessert bars are quick and easy to make, and they’re always a huge hit! They have almost the same chewy and fudgy texture as brownies, along with plenty of sweet almond flavor and rich chocolate morsels. Leftovers should keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they freeze well too!
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp (80g) homemade creamy almond butter
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ tsp liquid stevia
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup (56g) unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup (60mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk, room temperature
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups (180g) oat flour (gluten free if necessary and measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 3 ½ tbsp (49g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the almond butter, vanilla, stevia, and salt. Stir in the applesauce until fully incorporated. Stir in the almond milk and maple syrup. Pour in the oat flour, and sprinkle the baking soda over the oat flour (to prevent it from clumping!). Stir in the oat flour and baking soda until just incorporated. Stir in 3 tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips on top. Bake at 300°F for 11-13 minutes (see Notes!). Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the bars rest for at least 6 hours once at room temperature for the best taste and texture before slicing and serving.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's very important to measure the oat flour using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much oat flour will make your cookie bars dry and crumbly.
IMPORTANT MIXING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s really important to follow the instructions exactly as written! The order of ingredient additions, as well as when you stir them in, makes a big difference in the texture of your cookie bars.
IMPORTANT BAKING + RESTING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: The cookie bars are actually done baking when the edges look firm but the center still looks glossy and underdone! The heat from the pan continues to cook the center while they cool. If the edges of the cookie bars pull away from the edges of your baking pan within 10 minutes of pulling them out of the oven, then you’ve baked them for long enough! (Do NOT overbake these cookie bars — they’ll turn out dry, cakey, or bready if you do!)
If you’re too impatient to wait for 6 hours once your cookie bars are at room temperature, then you can stick the pan in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours after they’ve reached room temperature to speed up the process.
FOR SWEETER COOKIE BARS: Increase the liquid stevia by an additional ¼ teaspoon (for 1 ½ teaspoons total), or substitute 2-4 tablespoons of additional pure maple syrup for an equal amount of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (ie use an extra 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and decrease the milk to 2 tablespoons to compensate).
ALMOND BUTTER NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: This is my homemade creamy almond butter recipe. You just need a blender to make it! If you prefer to use store-bought almond butter, then make sure the only ingredients are almonds and salt, and stir it really well before using in this recipe. Do not substitute crunchy almond butter. (See my blog post above for why!)
If you prefer, homemade creamy peanut butter may be substituted for the almond butter. Alternatively, if you prefer to use store-bought peanut butter, then make sure the only ingredients are peanuts and salt, and stir it really well before using in this recipe. Do not substitute crunchy peanut butter.
STEVIA NOTES: I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! I buy mine online here, and you’ll also use it in all of these recipes of mine. For the best results, use the same liquid stevia that I do. Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they're not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for one another.
You cannot substitute additional pure maple syrup for the liquid stevia because the cookie bars require a precise balance of wet and dry ingredients.
If you strongly prefer not to use stevia, then substitute ¾ cup (144g) coconut sugar or light brown sugar, omit the stevia AND the pure maple syrup, and reduce the milk to 1 tablespoon (15mL).
PURE MAPLE SYRUP ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
OAT FLOUR NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: This is my favorite store-bought oat flour (or this for a gluten free option!) because it’s so fine and powdery. If you prefer to make your own at home, I show you how here!
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the oat flour. Many store-bought gluten free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.
VEGAN, EGGLESS + DAIRY FREE OPTION: Use vegan-friendly mini chocolate chips. These are my favorite!
HOW TO STORE: Store leftover cookie bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should last about a week (if not longer!). Once baked and fully cooled, these cookie bars also freeze really well!
{gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.