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
Below 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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📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- â…“ 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.
- Slice and serve.
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Can you use this recipe for a cookie cake and add vegan buttercream decorations to the top? Or do you think it may be too soft for this?
This would make a great cookie cake! It's pretty firm and should hold up fine with decorations. Enjoy!!
Hi,
Looks delicous!
I’d like to add unsweetened shredded coconut to the recipe. How much would you recommend?
Thanks!
Thank you! I would start with just a little - like 1/2 cup. If that works, you can try going up to as much as a cup, although you may need to add a tablespoon or so of water to the batter, since coconut can be drying.
Thank you!!