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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
Ugh! I love dessert bars especially cookie bars. If only I could get a hold of that ground flax. That nowhere-to-be-found ground flax! About the nut butter, is almond butter okay?
P.S. If that bottled scent was put into the market, it will be the best perfume ever!! Well at least for weirdos like us ?
Have you tried Amazon? I usually buy my flax online, tbh. 🙂 Yup! You can use almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter. It’s up to you. Haha! Us weirdos have GOT to stick together. Thanks, Sheryl! <3
I see. I’ll go check Amazon. Oh I’ll try peanut butter first 🙂 What a great post-workout treat! Thanks Demeter!
PB’s the best! 🙂 No, thank you Sheryl. xoxo
I love that these are gluten-free! And the walnuts are perfect for some extra omega-3 brain power! I for sure am gonna give these a try.
Love your blog by the way!!
Thanks! Super ingredients, I say. 😉 Let me know how it turns out if you do try them. Thanks Morgan! 🙂
Well since these are full of healthy ingredients, I might just go ahead and eat the whole batch. 😉 You make eating healthy so easy Demeter!
If you find a way to bottle the lovely scent, I will be a very loyal customer to you! Good luck.
Yeah! Hehe. My biggest goal is to make healthy eating accessible and delish, so thank you for saying that. <3 Haha. I'm workin' on the scent! Big hugs to you, Natanja. Have a great Easter weekend! xoxo
Don’t be jelly but I naturally smell like cinnamon, maple syrup and chocolate. Just sayin’…hahahaha! I do love this recipe and not because it has all my favorite flavors, but because it has all my favorite flavors AND it’s healthy. What?!?!? Yes, please and I’ll take the whole pan while you make yourself (and everyone else) another batch…Happy Easter weekend to you and Erik 🙂
OMG. Time for you to come over here and join the Magical Scent Team. Like, stat. Haha. Those smells just… I don’t even know how to explain it. So glad that you love this recipe! I’ll get right on making like 15 batches. 😉 Happy Easter weekend to you too, Karrie! xoxo
I love baking! And fixing my baking fails! These look gorgeous! So thick and delicious! Pinned!
Agreed! Thanks so much for commenting and pinning, Mira. Cheers! 🙂
Dear Demter, you have done it again!!! What a gorgeous looking vegan and gluten-free cookies. I’d like to hoard these and eat them all by myself. Chocolate chip and walnut is a great pairing. Happy weekend to you! Cheers! xo
Aw, Anu! As always, it’s a joy to hear from you. 🙂 Hoarding: Yes!! Great idea! Haha. Hope you enjoyed a very Happy Holi. Cheers back to ya, Anu. xoxo
demeter, can you PLEASE bottle up that scent and i will buy a bottle. 🙂 I love hearing your personal stories and
these bars look so yummy! i love baking too (as you can tell, because i have made some of your fantastic recipes!)
baking helps melt most of the stress away. i’m going to make these cookie bars soon! i can’t wait to try them!
Workin’ on it! 😉 Would you like to join the Scent Team? Haha. Thank you so much for your sharing your thoughts and trying out so many bb recipes. Can’t wait to hear all about it! Take care. xoxo
Baking and cooking is totally therapeutic for me as well! And I can totally relate to how you wa t to bottle the scent up. One of my favorite parts of the baking process is when the smell forst reaches me and the anticipation really kicks in! These bars look absolutely delicious. 🙂
Right? Wohoo for therapeutic bakers (is that a thing now?) 😉 The scent is totally half the fun. Thanks Ashlyn! 🙂
Sounds like thia easter day will be something amazing with this recipe pn my dinning table. Love this preparation??
That’s wonderful, Sherly! Enjoy. 🙂
These look so good, they have me craving a late night sweet treat
Right on! 🙂 Thanks Dahn!