These vegan cookie bars are sweet, chewy, and studded with rich dark chocolate chips and crunchy pecans. So easy to make and so good with a big glass of almond milk!
You can’t beat vegan chocolate chip cookies when you’re cravings something sweet, right? Well, actually, I think you can. Personally, I prefer my cookies in bar form whenever possible. Cookie bars are like cookies, but better — extra thick, extra chewy, and perfect for dunking.
I often like to whip up a batch of my cookie butter blondies when a cookie bar craving hits, but I don’t always have all the ingredients on hand. (A jar of cookie butter stashed in my pantry won’t last long!) So I decided it was time to create a recipe for a simpler vegan cookie bar, from ingredients I almost always have. These vegan chocolate chip cookie bars did not disappoint!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Water.
- Ground flaxseeds. We’ll be mixing these with the water to create a flax egg, which is a great vegan egg substitute for baked goods.
- Flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, also known as white flour or plain old wheat flour. Other types of flour might work, but I haven’t tested the recipe with any of them, so I can’t make any promises.
- Baking soda.
- Cinnamon. This is optional, but will add a lot of delicious flavor to your cookie bars.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. I used Earth Balance brand vegan butter to create this recipe. Some other brands you’ll probably see at the store are Melt and Miyoko’s. Vegan butter can usually be found in the refrigerator section, near the regular butter.
- Sugar. Make sure your sugar is organic. Non-organic sugar may be processed using animal bone char.
- Brown sugar. This also needs to be organic.
- Vanilla extract.
- Apple cider vinegar. If you don’t have this on hand, check out my list of apple cider vinegar substitutes.
- Vegan chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life brand dark chocolate morsels.
- Chopped pecans. You can skip these if you’re not a fan or have a nut allergy. You can also swap them out with another type of nut, such as walnuts.
How They’re Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Begin by making your flax egg. Mix the water and ground flaxseeds in a large bowl, then set it aside. The mixture will need to sit for a few minutes to gel.
While your flax egg sits, whisk your dry ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
By now your flax egg should be ready! Add room temperature vegan butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar. Beat the mixture at high speed until it becomes pale and fluffy.
Now begin adding the flour mixture. Add just a bit at a time, and beat each addition in at low speed before adding more.
Now ditch the electric mixer and switch to a spoon. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
Spread your cookie dough into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Pop it into the oven and bake the cookie bars until they’re golden brown and pulling away from the edges of the pan.
Place the pan on a cooling rack when it comes out of the oven. Let the bars cool completely before slicing them up and removing them from the pan.
Shelf Life & Storage
Vegan cookie bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about five days, or in the freezer for about three months.
More Dessert Bars
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Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
These vegan cookie bars are sweet, chewy, and studded with rich dark chocolate chips and crunchy pecans. So easy to make and so good with a big glass of almond milk!
Ingredients
-
⅓
cup
water -
2
tablespoons
ground flaxseed -
2 ¼
cups
all-purpose flour -
1
teaspoon
baking soda -
1
teaspoon
ground cinnamon
(optional) -
½
teaspoon
salt -
¾
cup
vegan butter,
at room temperature -
¾
cup
organic granulated sugar -
¾
cup
organic brown sugar -
2
teaspoons
vanilla extract -
½
teaspoon
apple cider vinegar -
1
(9 ounce/255 gram) package
vegan chocolate chips -
1
cup
chopped pecans
(optional)
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
-
Stir the water and ground flaxseeds together in a large mixing bowl. Set the mixture aside and let it rest for at least 5 minutes, to gel. You can proceed with the next step of the recipe in the meantime.
-
In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
-
Once the flax mixture has sat for at least 5 minutes, add the vegan butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar to the bowl. Use an electric mixer at high speed to beat the mixture until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
-
Begin adding the flour mixture to the butter mixture, adding it in about 3 increments and beating each one in at low speed until fully incorporated.
-
Stir the chocolate chips and pecans into the dough.
-
Spread the dough evenly in the prepared baking pan, smoothing out the top with a spatula.
-
Place the baking pan into the oven. Bake until the top of the bars is golden brown and the edges begin to pull away from the pan.
-
Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the bars cool completely.
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Amount Per Serving (1 bar (1/16 of recipe))
Calories 335
Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 5g25%
Trans Fat 0.04g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Sodium 213mg9%
Potassium 72mg2%
Carbohydrates 44g15%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 27g30%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 409IU8%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 41mg4%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.