vegan chocolate chip cookie bars

Cookies aren’t something we eat too often.  I suppose there was a landslide of different types that I busily made for Christmas gifts, but in general, you don’t find many cookies in our cabin.  After all, they can be kind of a dangerous thing to have around, in my opinion.

But sometimes you really just want to bake something, and sometimes a cookie just sounds like the perfect thing!  So, a couple weeks ago, I told Joe I wanted to make cookies.  He looked at me with wide eyes, and then suggested, “cookie bars?”  Joe’s been talking about cookie bars for ages now; he’s got plenty of fond memories of his mom’s, and has been strongly encouraging me to try making cookie bars for quite sometime now.  I thought for a moment, and decided, “yes!  cookie bars!”  So I went out for a run (I thought that was an important factor in justifying the cookie baking), and then set about adapting the recipe from Joe’s mom into a vegan version.

The toughest part about making cookie bars, as opposed to regular cookies, is that you have to wait for the whole pan to cool a bit before you can dig in, as opposed to sneaking one gooey hot cookie off the sheet.  Otherwise, cookie bars are a total winner!  They’re easier than cookies (just press them in a pan, instead of dropping them individually), and, if you’re the kind of person who loves soft cookies (like Joe & I are), these are exactly what you want.

I toasted the walnuts for these treats, which gave them a wonderful richness, and with the coconut oil, they have a plenty “buttery” enough taste even without any dairy!  I would like to try the recipe out again, using an egg, because I thought they turned out a lil crumbly, but that could’ve also been because I used 100% Kamut flour, which has a different texture than wheat.

I will certainly be making these again though…  I just need the weather to warm up a bit more so I can get out for a few more runs! 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
makes about 16

1 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
3/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Oil a 8×11 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In a smaller bowl, combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut milk and vanilla (you may want to add an egg if you’re not vegan, or a flax egg if you are!).  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well, then stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips.  Pat into a prepared pan and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown.

Let cool, at least slightly!, before cutting into squares.  Store in an airtight container or freeze.

Enjoy!!!

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