These Chocolate Coconut Cookie Bars have twice the chocolate and coconut flakes for oodles of deliciousness. They have no added fats, and are gluten-free, soy-free and vegan, of course.
With the New Year around the corner, it’s time for resolutions. And here’s mine: I resolve to eat lots and lots of desserts in 2018.
No, I’ve not gone crazy, nor have I lost sight of my weight loss goals. It’s just that with goodies like these vegan Chocolate Coconut Cookie Bars in my cookie jar, I am confident I can have my dessert and eat it too.
As you may have noticed if you read this blog, I’ve posted lots of gluten-free dessert recipes lately, and all of them are naturally sweetened. Most, like these scrumptious bars, are free of any added fats.
One reason I love making gluten-free desserts so much is because it’s so easy to make them. Most come together easily in a single bowl or in the food processor, meaning there’s not only minimal time required to mix up the batter, but minimal cleanup as well.
I also love the taste of almond flour in desserts. I don’t bake much with starchy gluten-free flours because I find the almond flour goodies not only taste better, but they’re better for me, and my family, too.
So take a few minutes today to whip up these delicious Chocolate Coconut Cookie Bars. You’ll be sure to love ’em, and what’s better, you won’t have to stop eating them even if you make a skinny resolution.
Chocolate Coconut Cookie Bars, vegan, gluten-free
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/2 cup vegan turbinado or cane sugar or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup aquafaba or chickpea brine (you can sub applesauce if you wish, but your cookies will be more tender and they could require a couple of extra minutes of baking time)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place all of the ingredients except the chocolate chips and coconut flakes in a bowl or in the bowl of a food processor. Mix or pulse until everything comes together.
- Add the chocolate chips and coconut flakes and mix until combined. If you are doing this in a food processor, just pulse a couple of times until everything is mixed.
- Line a 9 X 9 inch glass or metal baking pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- Pat the batter evenly into the pan. This batter is a little dry, but it should be moist enough to hold together when balled. If it's too dry, sprinkle on some aquafaba and mix.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool thoroughly on a rack, then cut into squares.
Nutrition
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I brought these to a work function and they were gone in minutes! I used flax “eggs” instead of aquafaba, syrup instead of sugar, unsweetened coconut instead of sweetened coconut (I think the flakes I used were a bit too big), and about 3/4 cup dark chocolate chunks instead of 1/2 cup chocolate chips. They fell apart pretty easily – but they were fabulous! Next time though I’m going to add a touch of coffee to see what it does to the flavor.
WoW !!!!!!! This is the best bars I have had in a while . I cant stop eating it, i added sliced almonds and soaked unsweetened cherries and i just used 1/3 cup coconut sugar , i don’t like my treats too sweet . It was sublime , no eggs just aquafaba , no oil !! Just the best and I added almond extract . Thanks the best
Loved this! I think you are right–they are cookie bars, but definitely a close cousin to brownies. So delicious. I was just a little scared with how dry the batter was—was glad that you mentioned this, so added just another T or two of aquafaba (don’t you think the engineer who invented the term aquafaba was clever, since that’s just what it is—bean water, but aquafaba sounds so much better!). Crispy and deeply delicious. I think they are sufficiently sweet. Sweetness isn’t the first thing you notice—just the chocolate coconut almond blend. Just sweet enough to take the edge off, which is really all you want/need in a sweet (there may be a life lesson in this as well—not to expect things to be excessively sweet, but to able to find the sweetness around other aspects).
Hi Ellen, I am so glad you liked these! And yes, they are very brownie-like, but crispier. I love the word “aquafaba” too! Sounds way better than chickpea brine or bean water or soaking/boiling liquid or whatever. 😉 Hehe.
Hi Vaishali,
I’ve tried the recipe and it’s 100% the same for the ingredients and the process, however after baking is not too sweet it tends to be bitter. can you advise???
Hi there, I find that with the bittersweet chocolate and the 1/2 cup of sugar the cookies are exactly sweet for my — and most people’s — tastebuds. If you wish to add more sugar, feel free to do so.
OMG, these look so good. I love desserts with chocolate and coconut. Putting this on my list of must-makes this season!!