One of the things that I missed the most while on the Paleo diet was making my mom’s chocolate chip cookies. Now I have these bars as a delicious substitute for when those sweet cravings come around. And boy oh boy, do they smell good when they are baking.
Not only that, but they melt in your mouth, warm right out of the oven. These cookie bars make a wonderful occasional treat in this household.
The steps for this recipe are pretty basic if you are familiar with Paleo baking recipes. First you mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, you mix together the wet ingredients. Then you pour the wet ingredients into the dry to combine, in this case using a hand mixer to beat well. This way the cookies should come out smooth instead of crumbly, as I have found some other almond flour recipes to do.
Lastly, you fold in as many or as few chocolate chips as you prefer, and bake. The wonderful aroma that fills your kitchen will be very rewarding.
Allow the cookie bars to cool for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into, or they might fall apart. I have found that these bars keep best in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to a week.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp almond milk
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the vanilla, eggs, almond milk, oil, and syrup. Then add to the dry ingredients and stir well with a hand mixer. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Pour mixture into greased 8x8 baking pan, smoothing out to even. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
OMG!!!! Amazing!!! Dangerously amazing.
I’d like to know how you discovered they could last for up to a week. How is it possible you still had them that long?
This recipe is fantastic! Thank you!
Haha, I know! Well, once I made a triple batch because I was so excited about them, and then we didn’t end up eating them all. So now I keep it to one or two batches.
I have vanilla (unsweetened) almond milk at home. Do you think I should reduce the amount of vanilla extract I put in this recipe or will it be ok? So excited to try these!
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Yes. Good question. When i substitute coconut flour it makes recipes dry since it absorbs much more moisture than almond flour. The question is, “If i use coconut flour instead of almond flour, which of the other ingredients do i increase? The almond milk, the coconut oil, or the eggs?”
Those are both good questions. I am sure cookie bars can be made with coconut flour, but it cannot be directly substituted for almond flour. As Colleen mentioned, coconut flour absorbs moisture differently. So it would be an entirely different recipe if you used coconut flour. I have not yet tried making these with anything other than almond flour.
Are chocolate chips allowed?
We encourage the use of dark chocolate chips, since dark chocolate is Paleo-approved. Obviously those are not always readily accessible. But popular brands such as Nestle and Ghirardelli have started producing dark chocolate chips.
Absolutely amazing! I will need to think twice about making them again. I have eaten 1/3 of the pain and they have only been out of the oven an hour! I didn’t have almond milk or any milk on hand. I did use 1tsp of powdered skim milk and no added fluids. Only 21/4 c of almond flour on hand. So I made the difference up with coconut flour. As I said, absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to share some with my son who is Paleo follower.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Can you use honey instead of maple syrup?
Yes, that should work fine.
Oh my gosh, these were amazing! I’m on my second now. Made as directed, didn’t change a thing. Yum!
what happens if i used coconut flour (before reading the entire thing) and I added in dry into wet instead of the other way around….is it totally botched now?
These are ABSOLUTELY my new FAVORITE! They are amazing!!!!!!!!!! I have such a sweet tooth and this soooo gave me the taste of the chocolate chip cookies I have missed!!! Thank YOU!
I am allergic to wheat and so I’m thinking the Paleo diet may work for me. Is it completely wheat-free? I am also thinking that dairy messes me up too. Today I shop… Tomorrow I start… Hoping this diet will help me to feel ‘normal’ again!
Hi, can rice malt syrup be substituted for the maple syrup? Tnx
Is the ending mixture supposed to be flour-like still?
I swear I did this to a T but it still kind of looks like slightly damp flour…
I made these tonight and the WHOLE family loved them. I followed the recipe to a “T”. I didn’t change a thing. It was the first paleo dessert that both of my children enjoyed. This dessert will definitely be made more often. It’s perfect for when you get a craving for something sweet! Thank you!
I made these and they were so fluffy!! They were enjoyed by a party of a people including myself, thank you. 🙂 I put it on my blog as well if you want to see!!
Don’t chocolate chips have dairy and sugar in them. Or is there a non dairy non sugar brand out there.
From my understanding dairy and sugar are not paleo.
Heather. try the brand Enjoy Life. They are sugar free and dairy free
Hi, Enjoy Life chocolate chips are dairy free (and other major allergens), but they are not sugar free.
Mine came out very cake like. Is that how they’re meant to be. They are yummy
Hi
I just realized I don’t have any almond meal/flour left can I use buckwheat flour instead?
These were amazing!!! Perfect for a little treat! My family even wanted more!! Love love love
Can i use Coconut milk instead of almond milk ?
Made these without changing a thing. Sooooo good!!!! Thank you!
I am new to the paleo lifestyle but have been enjoying the recipes so far. However I have a tree nut allergy and most recipes call for some type of tree nut flour or milk. Any suggestions for substitutions.
HI Denise,
So glad you are enjoying the recipes. You can substitute seeds for nut, for flour and milk. Coconut flour and coconut milk is also an option. But keep in mind that you will have to adjust as different seeds ad coconut have different properties. Coconut flour, absorbs liquid like crazy, so you use substantially smaller amounts of it.
Any way to make these with a substitute to eggs? I’m allergic to eggs ☹️
Summer,
Yes, you can. You can use apple sauce, pureed prunes or banana, gelatin or flax eggs.