Easy version of your favorite chocolate chip cookies? Friends, we had to do it! All the flavor is still present in these vegan, gluten-free, chocolate chip cookie bars—you just need to skip the hand mixer, chilling, and scooping steps! Simply spread, stir, and bake.
Plus, you only need one bowl and eight ingredients! They are almost too simple to be true—perfectly chewy, buttery, sweet, and flecked with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chunks. Now that you have your preferred mixing bowl, let us bake!
How to Prepare Gluten-Free, Vegan Cookie Bars
The base ingredients of these vegan + gluten-free cookie bars are flax egg for binding, brown sugar for sweetness and crisping edges, and vanilla and melted vegan butter for traditional cookie flavors!
We mix them first, then move on to the dry ingredients! Sea salt brings out the flavors in every grain of our gluten-free flour blend, which is the gluten-free G.O.A.T. for simulating the texture of all-purpose flour. Baking powder also adds some lift.
There is only one more ingredient needed, and it is possibly the most crucial of them all: chocolate chunks or chips! For a little crunch, we also enjoy adding walnuts, but feel free to ignore this if you are not a fan of nuts in cookies.
These cookie bars should be a hit with you! They are:
squishyCreamyTentativeJust right sweetnessadorned with chocolateGluten-free and vegan without a trace!
Enjoy these with a glass of nondairy milk, and you will be in cookie heaven. Alternatively, try them with our 5-Minute Caffeine-Free Chai or Vegan Hot Cocoa if the weather is chilly.
Additional Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
Tell us if you give this recipe a try! Do not forget to rate it, comment, and tag @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Salutations, companions!
Preparation Time: Ten minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
35 minutes in total
16 servings (bars)
Dessert Course
Cuisine: Vegan and Gluten-Free
freezer-safe for one month
Does it hold up? 3–4 Days
Cook in Mode Avoid having your screen go dark.
1 tsp flaxseed meal (for flax egg preparation)
2 ½ tablespoons water (for flax egg recipe)
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar (for different results, use coconut sugar instead; see notes).
1/2 cup melted vegan butter
One teaspoon vanilla extract
One-third cup MB 1:1 GF Blend*, or an alternative gluten-free blend
One-third tsp baking powder
Half a teaspoon of sea salt
Half a cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips (we prefer Enjoy Life; make sure it is dairy-free as needed)
Half a cup of finely chopped walnuts (optional, but suggested)
Put parchment paper in an 8 x 8-inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius). Put aside.
Combine the flaxseed meal and water in a medium-sized mixing bowl, then set aside to thicken for five minutes. Add vanilla, brown sugar, and melted vegan butter after that. Mix thoroughly to incorporate; the blend should solidify.
Fold in baking powder, sea salt, and GF flour blend next. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and optional walnuts until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the lined baking pan and bake for 25–28 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center is golden. Let cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before slicing into bars. The longer they sit, the better they will hold their shape, although we do love to enjoy them slightly warm!
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3–4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV9QvGcPgTY[/embed]
*We preferred the flavor and texture of brown sugar over coconut sugar. The brown sugar made the bars chewy, while the coconut sugar gave them a more wholesome flavor and a cakey, slightly crumbly texture.*If not gluten-free, you can try all-purpose flour in place of the gluten-free flour blend. We recommend starting with 1 ¼ cups, adding more as needed to achieve the consistency of the batter in the video.Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional ingredients.
