Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe
These vegan Layered Chocolate Chip Cookie Cookie Bars have it all -- a layer of gluten-free shortbread topped by a layer of chocolate and all of this deliciousness smothered under a delicious almond-chocolate crumble. All of it is naturally sweetened with dates and your hands-on time is under 15 minutes. Everyone will be asking for more.
Servings: 16 bars
Calories: 265kcal
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups superfine almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup deglet noor dates (soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, then drained)
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup full fat coconut milk (from the can)
- ¼ cup blanched, sliced almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8 X 8 inch or similarly sized baking pan by oiling, then lining with parchment paper.
- Place the drained dates in the food processor and process until they have broken down into a paste with some small pieces dispersed throughout. Add salt, 2 cups of almond flour, vanilla, cinnamon, and vegetable oil to the food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together.
- Put ¾ths of the mixture into the baking pan you've already prepped and, using your fingers, press it into an even layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- While the cookie layer is baking, add the remaining ¼ cup of almond flour to the food processor and process until evenly mixed. If you want the crumb topping to hold together more firmly, you can add a tablespoon of melted butter to the food processor at this point. Remove the crumb topping to a bowl and stir in the blanched, sliced almonds and remaining chocolate chips. I used a mix of white vegan chocolate chips and regular chocolate chips here.
- Place 1 cup of chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl and place it in a double boiler (over a pan with some water in it). Once the chocolate chips melt and are really smooth, turn off the heat and stir in the coconut milk until you have a very smooth mixture.
- Pour the chocolate over the warm cookie in an even layer. Spread the crumb topping evenly over the chocolate layer. Place the pan in the oven and bake 12 more minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a rack. Place in a refrigerator for an hour at least before you slice and serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie bar | Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 8IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg