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Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Bars: a simple vegan and gluten-free recipe for thick, chewy, super-chunky chocolate chip cookie bars.
Okay, can I see a show of hands for people who love the warm, comforting smell of cinnamon, maple syrup and chocolate all beautifully mixed together?
‘Cuz… if I could bottle this scent and carry it around with me in my purse, I would. ?
But you know, only for the really rough times. Like, for when your coworker/frenemy passive aggressively tells you your outfit is actually cute today. Or, when you realize you left the extra-special 7-layer birthday lasagna in the oven 30 minutes too long. (Well, in this case, you’d probably need to air out the kitchen first before you could smell anything but smoke…) Or, when–oh, you get the idea.
Are you sensing that baking/eating/fooding is therapeutic to me? (Yep, fooding.) Woah, did I just sense a nod of mutual agreement on your end? A-ha! I’m not the only one. 🙂
Just one whiff of this worry-melting aroma and you’re happy as a clam. That’s what these Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Bars are all about. Once you pop these guys in the oven, the baking process just spreads this blissful scent all throughout your abode.
Bonus? They’re incredibly easy to make, full of simple ingredients and sweet-tooth nourishing. Yep, nourishing. P.S. If you’re looking for a sugar-free cookie bar, try this totally droolworthy Magic Cookie Bars recipe from All Day I Dream About Food. To make then vegan, use vegan butter, vegan chocolate chips and coconut condensed milk. And enjoy!
Check it out, these Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Bars are…
- quick and easy to make
- super chunky, with generous portions of walnuts and chocolate chips
- vegan and gluten free
- perfectly sweet, with a light cinnamon kick
- thick, chewy and deliciously satisfying
The best part is, this recipe and I go waaay back. It was one of the first recipes I ever tried that was made from better ingredients (i.e., not ingredients referred to as Those That Shall Not Be Named). Back then, I was putting all my efforts into making something healthier for my mom and just trying to figure out the difference between good calories and bad calories. *Sigh* Cue The Barbra belting out “Memories… like (light?!?) the corners of my mind!!!!”
Anyway, years later, I’m a little less clueless about the whole Good vs. Bad ingredients business, and this recipe still kicks butt. At least according to my mom.
So before you even think about figuring out how to bottle this scent, make these Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Bars first. Don’t worry, we can figure out the scent as a team (and sing like it’s the last thing we’ll do on this earth). After all, us weirdos have got to stick together! 😉
In the meantime, let’s make some more gluten free treats! I’m particularly drooling over these Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Bars from Flippin’ Delicious. They look soooo yummy and my friend Brianna (the genius blogger behind Flippin’ Delicious) even included vegan options in the recipe! Woohoo! Next up, I’m gonna be making my Gluten Free Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and my Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies. 🙂
More Gluten Free Vegan Cookies & Desserts: Best Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe, Almond Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Easy Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.
chocolate chip walnut cookie bars - vegan, gluten-free
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted, natural nut butter
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ¼ cup gluten-free oat flour
- 2 tablespoons ground flax
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Add-in Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper or greased foil. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: coconut oil, nut butter, maple syrup, sugar and vanilla.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: oats, flour, flax, cinnamon, walnuts and salt.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture. Stir together until well-incorporated. I like to fold the mixture together with a rubber spatula. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour this mixture into your baking pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes. Keep in mind that the bars will harden as they cool.
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack. Slice into 16 bars. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can easily swap out the nuts for another ingredient, like cacao nibs or dried fruit. 🙂
- Adapted from Oh She Glows.
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Try my Healthier Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. I mean, can you really resist these?
And for my fellow chocoholics out there, try my Double Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies (Vegan) They’re out of this world. ? ?
Question of the Day
What’s your favorite kitchen scent?
I can’t wait to hear your responses. ❤ demeter
Hi,
What could I use in place of the oat flour? Thank you!!
Hi there! I’ve had many readers use a 1:1 AP gluten free flour blend with good results. Let me know how they turn out!
What is the nutritional value of these cookie bars as far as carbs, fat and protein? Thanks!!
Hi Kristen! I’m currently in the process of adding nutrition info to all of the recipes on the site. It’s a slow process, so thank you for your patience! .
I love these bars! I’ve made them many times already but haven’t posted a review. They’re so good. I love making them to have a yummy snack during the week. I only just cut back on the sugar a bit, I use 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1 TBS coconut sugar. I find that amount of sweetness works best for me 🙂 thank you for all of your great recipes!
Wonderful! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed my recipe, Julie. 🙂 Great idea to reduce the sugar to your liking. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know how these worked out for you. Happy baking! .
hi,
i made these as published and something seemed off.
made them again this morn and made up 2 flax “eggs’ instead of 2 tbsp flax meal added dry. i like them much better this way, takes on more of a cake texture, much fuller body.
also, didn’t add the brown sugar either time. i think these bars are plenty sweet with just the 1/3 C maple syrup. one more thing i did was cooked them for 40 minutes/ 350 degrees.
other than that, added some chopped dried cherries.
will make these bars often, thank you for the recipe.
A cake-like texture for cookie bars sounds intriguing! It sounds like you had such a great time experimenting with these! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I truly appreciate it, Fred! 🙂
They were easy to make and are absolutely delicious!
That’s wonderful! Thank you for letting me know, Emily. 🙂
Hi Demeter!
This recipe looks delicious – I’d love to try it this week but I’m running out of oats.
Is it possible to replace all of the oats with flour? And I don’t have flax seeds, so could I perhaps replace them with apple sauce or apple cider vinegar?
Many thanks!
Hi Victoire! For this recipe to work, you’re definitely going to need the oats. Sorry about that! If you do have the flour, you could try this recipe: https://beamingbaker.com/healthier-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies/ And, substitute the flax eggs for chia eggs. Let me know if you have any more questions. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks so much!
My pleasure! Let me know if you need anything else. 🙂
I finally tried these, but subbed cranberries for the chocolate chips! I’ve been having them for breakfast, will you judge me? Such a perfect recipe. Thanks Demeter! xoxo
Oh yummy!!! Cranberry just taste sos yummy in everything. Word of the day: yummy. Lol. I am the last person to judge you–in fact, scoot over–I’m gonna go ahead and help myself to some breakfast cookie bars too! xoxo P.S. Thanks for reporting back, Megan. <3
Demeter!! I think the aroma of these, which by the way I can almost smell through my computer screen due to GORGEOUS PICTURES, could pretty much be the cure for anything. Even the drippy chilly Monday morning outside my window at this very moment! Must make, must make. Meantime…happy Monday! xo
Kate!!! Haha. Thank you so much! Riiight? What’s up with the wretched weather… it’s supposed to be Spring! Glad you enjoyed the pics. Happy Monday! xoxo