Super soft, chewy and easy to make – these almond flour cookie bars will be gone before you know it! No chilling, rolling or fussing required. Simply mix everything together in one bowl and bake! | Gluten Free + Grain Free + Dairy Free Option

I got a question a couple of weeks ago on my Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe asking about whether or not the recipe would be suitable to make into bar form. Happy for any excuse to make those cookies again I jumped at the opportunity to play around with the recipe and these dangerously delicious bars are the result.

Not only are these cookie bars just as soft, chewy and melt-in-your-mouth good, but they’re way easier to prep since there’s no need to roll into individual bars. Just spread across a prepared baking tin and bake.

How to Make these Almond Flour Cookie Bars

Altogether these bars are made up of only 10 ingredients, are prepped in one bowl and will be ready in easily under an hour.The process is fairly standard for your average cookie making: mix the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients.

Start out by beating your butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl until whipped and combined and then mix in an egg and some vanilla extract.

Then add in almond flour, starch, baking soda and salt. When it comes to adding the starch you have a few different options. Use tapioca or arrowroot starch if you want to keep these bars grain free, but you can use corn starch if that’s easier. You don’t need much here – just a couple of tablespoons. The addition of starch makes for chewier, slightly denser bars.

Once the dough has formed, stir in the chocolate chips and then transfer to a prepared baking tin, spread and bake.

Can I Freeze These?

Yes! Both the dough and the baked bars can be frozen.

• To freeze the dough: Spread the cookie dough across a baking parchment lined-tin. Make sure leave enough baking paper hanging up over the sides to easily remove the cookies from pan. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap and foil and place in the freezer until solid – about 3-4 hours. After the dough has frozen in block form, pull the sides of the baking paper to remove the dough from the pan then wrap back up in plastic wrap/foil and seal in a large freezer safe bag. Keep stored in the freezer up to 3 months. When you’re ready for cookies simply bake from frozen, place the block of dough back in the pan and bake from frozen – add an extra 2-3 minutes to the overall bake time. You may also want to write down the date frozen as well as the bake temperature and time.
• To freeze baked cookie bars: Once fully cooled place the bars on a baking sheet you can fit in the freezer. Place in the freezer until solid and then transfer the cookies to a bag or Tupperware container – place a small sheet of baking parchment in between each cookie to prevent cookies from freezing together. Bars will keep up to 3 months in the freezer.  You can enjoy frozen cookies straight out of the freezer or allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight.

Final Tips & Substitutions

What’s the Difference Between almond flour and almond meal?

Though almond flour and almond meal are made from essentially the same thing (ground almond) there are a couple of key differenced between the two.

• Almond flour is typically made with blanched (skinless) almonds into a more fine flour.
• Almond meal is usually made with un blanched (skin on) almond into a more coarse flour.

Can I use almond meal instead of almond flour in this recipe?

Yes! In many cases you cannot swap out almond meal/almond flour interchangeably but with these cookies you can.

Can I use a different type of flour altogether?

No. I tested this recipe multiple times using almond flour/meal. I can’t guarantee the same results if you use any other types of flours.

If you’re interested in making cookies with different types of flours there are plenty of other recipes on this site you might prefer instead.

• Sunflower Seed Chocolate Chip Cookies (nut free, paleo, low fodmap and vegan)
• Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (grain free/nut free)
• Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (used coconut, almond and tapioca flour)
• Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oat Cookies (vegan option and low FODMAP )
• Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (flourless, paleo)

Can I use a different type of sugar?

• You can use coconut sugar in place of the white and brown sugar though the overall taste will be a little different. Coconut sugar tends to have a more burnt caramel taste which I personally like, but it’s something to keep in mind.
• I haven’t yet tested this using low carb sweeteners but I do think you’d be alright to use a granulated sweetener like swerve. Try to use a sugar substitute that’s meant to be used as a 1:1 substitute for sugar.
• I don’t recommend liquid sweeteners as they would throw off the balance of ingredients. You would likely need to change the amounts of your ingredients which would need further testing.

And that’s it! If you’re feeling extra decadent I recommend enjoying these bars topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream – you won’t regret it!

Yield: 9 large squares or 12 small squares

Almond Flour Cookie Bars

4.5 Stars (49 Reviews)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

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Super soft, chewy and easy to make - these almond flour cookie bars will be gone before you know it! No chilling, rolling or fussing required. Simply mix everything together in one bowl and bake! | Gluten Free + Grain Free + Dairy Free Option

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup | 150 g butter, salted or unsalted, softened to room temperature OR softened coconut oil
• 1/2 cup | 110 g brown sugar
• 1/4 cup | 50 g white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons | 10 ml vanilla extract
• 3 cups | 288 g almond flour
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, arrowroot starch or corn flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup | 125 g chocolate chips

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line an 8x8 inch (20x20cm) square baking tin with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Cream together the butter/coconut oil and sugars in a large mixing bowl with an electric or stand mixer. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
3. Add the almond flour, starch, baking soda and salt until combine. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix in on a low speed until a dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon or rubber spatula.
4. Transfer the dough to the lined baking tin and spread evenly across the bottom and sides of the pan.
5. Place in the oven on a low rack and bake for 28-30 minutes until the top is slightly goldened and a knife comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cookie.
6. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Keep stored in an air tight container at room temperature or in the fridge.

Notes

I recommend either

• using a loose bottomed baking tin for easy removal or
• lining your baking tin with parchment paper leaving a few extra inches over the sides of the tin. The extra paper over sides will make it easier to pull the bars out of the tin when you're ready to slice/serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

9

Serving Size:

1 square
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 448Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 209mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 4gSugar: 19gProtein: 9g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Desserts Cuisine: American

If you’re looking for a paleo or vegan friendly version of this recipe I recommend checking out my Chocolate Chunk Paleo Vegan Blondies. They’re made with an almond and coconut flour blend, coconut sugar and a flax egg making them a great option for dairy, egg, grain and refined sugar free diets. Plus they’re still super tasty!