Thick, rich vegan chocolate chip cookie gooey bars are everything you love about the classic cookie in easy, bar form! Made with just 5 healthy ingredients, these bars are gluten free and naturally sweetened.
Oh. My. WORD. A quick note before we get down to business here…I love everything I post. Recipes do not make it to my blog unless I’m 100% enthusiastic to share them with you. That being said, are there some that I love more than others? Absolutely. This is one of those. So, prepare yourself for dramatic exclamations, a lot of caps, and multiple professions of my love and adoration for these bars. Yes, they are THAT good. Promise!
Anyway, how’s your week going, guys? Good? Great, let’s celebrate with these! Not good? No worries! You’re about to get to stuff your face with one of THE best things to ever come out of my kitchen. Say hello to vegan chocolate chip cookie gooey bars.
Is it possible to be in love with dessert…? Asking for a friend.
Ingredients for vegan chocolate chip cookie gooey bars
- Chickpeas: you’ll use drained and rinsed canned chickpeas for the base of the bars, which provides tons of nutrition and a super rich and gooey texture.
- Nondairy milk: milk brings the batter together. I use unsweetened almond milk for neutral flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
- Medjool dates: you’ll blend the dates with hot water to make a paste, which naturally sweetens the bars.
- Vanilla extract: a little vanilla gives that classic chocolate chip cookie flavor.
- Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats into flour, which helps to hold the bars together.
- Vegan chocolate chips: I used PASCHA unsweetened chips, but use whatever vegan chocolate chips you like
Tips for making vegan chocolate chip cookie gooey bars
- Measure the rolled oats before blending into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 3/4 cup of whole, rolled oats, then put that 3/4 cup into your blender to make flour.
- Use a nonstick or parchment-lined square pan. I use an 8 inch silicone pan which makes it very easy to remove the bars after baking. I highly recommend a silicone pan or lining with parchment paper so that the bars don’t stick.
- Let them cool completely. Make sure to let the bars cool in the pan for at least 1 hour after baking. They’re pretty soft, so they’ll firm up a lot as they cool. If you try to remove and cut them too soon, they may fall apart.
These bars are made up of just a few ridiculously good for you ingredients, but they come together to create an insanely delicious, easy bar, with all the wonderfully nostalgic flavors of a chocolate chip cookie. The texture is ooey, gooey, and so rich, with the perfect complement of pops of chocolate chip in every bite. The flavor is sweet, caramel-y, and of course, will totally remind you of a cookie.
Another perk of these bars is that they’re absolutely divine however you choose to enjoy them. I’m typically a warmer-upper when it comes to desserts, throwing them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds for that warm, gooey experience. I get that from my mother – hi mom! But I couldn’t even resist waiting that much longer to devour these, and they were surprisingly AWESOME cold, straight out of the refrigerator. My husband devoured about four bars immediately upon walking in the door from work the day after I made them. He literally didn’t even put his bag down. I knew I married the right guy.
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Gooey Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup nondairy milk – I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup date paste – 15 medjool dates blended with 1 cup hot water
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup rolled oats, blended into flour
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend the chickpeas and almond milk until totally smooth.
- In a large bowl, mix the chickpea puree, date paste, vanilla and oat flour until thoroughly combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, and pour the batter into a sprayed/nonstick square pan.
- Bake the cookie bars for 50 minutes.
- Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.
Never heard of banana flour ….. where can I get it!
Hi, Sheri! I just get my banana flour at Meijer, the big chain grocery store where we live. So you may be able to find it at yours, but if not, you can get it online! I have an amazon link on this post (you should see it right below the recipe/instructions). I always use Pereg brand!
Oh my gooey gooey goodness! I feel like this is a similar situation as the single layer cake discovery: cupcake -> cake and cookies -> cookie bars. Easier, gooeier, healthier–winning all around! Plus I was always a center-of-the-cookie lover and with bars it’s pretty much all soft and chewy center bites 🙂 And I always love to see banana flour on the list. I can imagine these taste heavenly both warm and cold. And maybe even with some ice cream toppings too!
Yes, go center-of-the-cookie team!! Without a doubt the best part. Banana flour definitely plays an important role here as like, the sole dry ingredient, it never disappoints 🙂 OMG yes yes and more yes to ice cream + toppings. Can’t go wrong with that!!
Love this! Any suggestions on substitutions for banana flour if I want these bars NOW & can’t wait to order it online!? Thanks in advance!!
Haha I don’t blame you for wanting them ASAP! I haven’t tried with anything else, so I can’t say for sure, but I would think the closest substitue would probably be oat flour (just whole grain, rolled oats ground into flour consistency in the blender). Let me know if you try it and how they come out! 🙂
This looks amazing! Is there any other flour I can us?
Oat flour might work, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for sure! But I think that would probably be the closest, so just grind the oats up into flour consistency and make sure you’ve got a half cup. Let me know how they turn out if you try it!
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