Skip a step and make cookies in a pan instead! These soft and cakey allergy-friendly chocolate chip cookie bars are an easy-to-make treat!
Allergy-friendly Cookie Party
This year, I’m participating in an allergy-friendly Blog Hop Cookie Swap with a few of my fellow specialty blogger friends and we’re hosting a virtual giveaway on Instagram to go along with it! We each chose a yummy “free from” cookie recipe to share with you (scroll to the bottom of this post to see what treat they each chose!).
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
We make a lot of chocolate chip cookies in our home. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Salted Brownie Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie and most recently, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
So it only seemed fitting to share another chocolate chip related recipe (because you can never have enough cookie recipes to turn to) to celebrate this fun Fall Cookie Exchange. The recipe I went with is a classic with a twist—Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! 😉
There’s so many things you are going to appreciate about these bars:
- They are Vegan (no dairy, eggs)
- Top 8 Free
- Gluten Free (but adaptable for all-purpose flour)
- Easy to Make
- Loaded with Chocolate Chips
- Perfect for last minute celebrations
Not to mention that you can also use the same dough to whip up a batch of fluffy cookies if you prefer the more traditional cookie. They won’t flatten much, so enjoy them nice and puffy or flatten a little with the palm of your hand. Any way you make them…..they are delicious!
Cookie Bar Tips or Substitutions
- Make sure your oven is the right temperature! This is probably the most overlooked and most common problem. In fact, I went out and bought an inexpensive thermometer (like this) because my recipes were acting weird. What I found out was that my oven although only 3 years old) was heating 25° hotter then I set it at. That makes a HUGE difference!
- Use sliced and chilled butter, not soft or melted butter.
- Not gluten-free? Simply swap the gf flour blend we use for the same amount of all purpose flour.
- Not dairy-free? Use your favorite stick butter and chocolate chips.
- Don’t forget the water. It is an ingredient for a reason!
Blog Hop Recipes
Looking for more cookie inspiration? My friends have stirred up some pretty incredible recipes – check them out below!
- My Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (see below) which are V,GF,Top 8 free
- Jenna with the Urben Life : Vegan Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies (Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free)
- Celeste with There is Life After Wheat: Copycat Swig Sugar Cookies (Gluten Free, Soy Free, Nut Free)
- Kortney with Allergy Girl Eats: Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies (Top 8 free, GF)
- Jenn with Veggie Inspired: Soft Baked Vegan Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting (Dairy free, Egg Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Vegan, Gluten Free)
- Brianna with Flippin Delicious: Gluten free Snickerdoodles (Top 8 free, GF)
- Sarah with The Fit Cookie: Gluten free SunButter Cookies (Gluten free dairy free soy free)
- Chelsey with Chelsey Amer Nutrition: Allergy-friendly Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (Top 8 Free, GF, Vegan)
- Erica with Celiac and the Beast: Vanilla Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookie (GF/DF)
- Amanda with Eat at Our Table: Apple Spice Snickerdoodles (GF Dairy free option)
- Kristin with The Prioritized Group: Pumpkin Spice Crinkle Cookie (Top 8 Free, GF)
Cookie Swap Giveaway on Instagram
To join in on the fun:
September 16th, we’re kicking off your Monday Morning with a cookie baking frenzy. To Enter, be sure to head over to Instagram then…..
1. Follow everyone @fallcookieexchange is following (we check, so don’t skip this step!)
2. Like the photos
3. Tag your friends. Each tag as a separate comment = 1 entry.
4.✨BONUS ENTRIES✨ Bake one of these recipes, share a photo in your stories for 5 additional entries. Be sure to tag us @fallcookieexchange so we can count it!
What you could win:
- Once the swap ends, we’ll draw one lucky participant to win a $350 Kitchen Aid Mixer.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar
Skip a step and make your chocolate chip cookies in a pan instead! These soft and cakey allergy-friendly chocolate chip cookie bars are an easy-to-make treat loaded with vegan chocolate chips!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour blend (or AP Flour)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (tapioca starch if allergic to corn)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chilled butter, sliced
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9x9 baking glass with parchment for easy removal.
- In a standing mixer, beat butter, sugars, water and vanilla until smooth. Note that vegan butter has a grainy look when you add the water, but that's ok!
- Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Blend until smooth then fold in chocolate chips.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough into baking pan and press down, making sure to get into corners.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until top is light brown.
- Allow to cool before slicing and removing from pan.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 231Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 273mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 1g
Nutritional information isn't always accurate.
I love cookie bars! Will for sure be making these soon with Enjoy Life chocolate chips 🙂
Our chocolate chips of choice!
Those cookie bars look so good! I love dessert bars of all kinds, it’s even better when you can combine cookies and bars. So good!
I agree Sarah. I love that it takes 1 step out of the baking process.
So excited about this recipe and learning new allergy blogs/recipes! I am new to the whole allergy free cooking and in the past have planned dessert, bread and then the meal! I am having to rethink every step in the kitchen.
I know exactly what you mean but so glad you’re here.
These are so yummy!!!! You won’t be sorry you made them- that is if you don’t eat all the dough first! Haha!! I used wax paper to help me pat it down to get the dough even in my pan- it worked way better than my spatula. Enjoy!!