A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away I reached for that long tube of prepackaged chocolate chip cookie dough. Not realizing at the time that the aforementioned tube would inevitably make me feel sick and bloated. Not to mention it's loaded with chemicals that I will never be able to pronounce much less should they actually enter my bloodstream. I am now an avid follower of the mantra "if you can't read it, don't eat it."
At least once a week my husband asks for cookies immediately following dinner. Cookies? Cookies? Cookies? I had been reading Blissful Basil and knew she recommended a cookie recipe that looked divine. Eventually, I gave in and on this particular occasion I was SO glad I did. When we took our first bite of these glorious cookies, we knew we had discovered the holy grail of plant-based chocolate chip cookies! Yes, they are that good. Marvelously chewy, they hit just the right spot for our chocolate chip cookie cravings.
I would take these cookie bars over a traditional chocolate chip cookie every day of the week because these bars have No FOMO written all over them.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
You need:
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbl water
- 1/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I love Enjoy Life brand)
Get cooking:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper (be sure to not use a dish larger than 8x8)
- Add coconut sugar, coconut oil and vanilla to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high for one minute.
- In a different bowl, whisk together remaining dry ingredients: oat flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
- Add the water to the mixer with the other wet ingredients.
- Turn on mixer and slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Beat for 30 seconds or until the dough forms, it should begin clumping together. The finished dough product should resemble Play-Doh. Add a small splash of water if the dough looks too dry or crumbly.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Transfer dough to your lined baking dish and spread out evenly to the edges. It will be thin!
- Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to not over bake.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then remove to wire rack by pulling it up from the parchment paper. Let your cookie bars cool completely on the wire rack.
- Slice into 12 bars or 16 if you're feeding a crowd (OR pretending to share but really you feel the cookie monster in you take over and everyone else simply receives smaller portions.)
Store in an airtight container or cover with foil to keep fresh.
Adapted from Blissful Basil cookbook
