The best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! Soft, chewy, and thick, these easy cookie bars are vegan, eggless, and allergy-free! A quick and simple recipe that's easier than baking cookies, loaded with melty chocolate chips, and a perfect dessert for parties and potlucks that kids and adults will love!
Chocolate chip cookies, but make them bars! Everything you love about chewy chocolate chip cookies, but thicker, chewier, soft, and ooey gooey. They're easier to make than cookies, just mix, dump into a square baking pan, bake, and slice! A perfect gluten-free and vegan dessert you can whip up for that last-minute party that popped up on your calendar! Classic flavors, allergy-free, everyone will be satisfied with these gluten-free cookie bars!
Why You'll Love These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
When you don't want to fuss around making cookies, just dump this thick and chewy eggless cookie dough in a baking pan instead! Slice up bars or squares into however many servings you need and you'll have a perfect vegan dessert to feed a crowd! These chocolate chip cookie bars are completely:
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan
- Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
- Low in Sugar or Sugar-Free
- Kid-Friendly
- Quick & Easy
- Just 8 Ingredients, Made in 25 Minutes
- Make-Ahead & Freezer-Friendly
- Perfect Dessert for Parties, Potlucks, Office or Classroom Birthdays
Ingredients You Need
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: My go-to gluten-free flour blends are Great Value and King Arthur. These blends yield consistent results.
- Baking Soda + Salt: Make sure you use baking soda, NOT baking powder. The baking soda is activated by the butter as the cookies bake and then reacts to the sugars and salt to help the cookie bars rise and remain soft and chewy inside.
- Dark Brown Sugar Sweetener: Brown sugar is key to chewy chocolate chip cookie bars! I love the richer and caramel-like taste of dark brown sugar, but you can use light brown sugar or sugar-free brown sugar sweetener!
- Granulated Sugar Sweetener: The granulated sugar (or sugar-free sweetener) is used to give the cookie bars a nice crusty golden-brown exterior to bite into.
- Vegan Butter: For perfectly chewy, soft, and buttery cookie bars that remain moist and delicious, even though they're gluten-free and dairy-free!
- Vegan Egg Replacement: You can use a flax egg, powdered egg replacement, or the secret vegan cream cheese hack for the equivalent of 2 eggs in this eggless recipe!
- Vanilla Extract: You can't have chocolate chip cookie squares without that vanilla extract flavor balance.
- Allergen-Free Chocolate Chips: Dark, semi-sweet, or even chocolate chunks! Any allergen-free chocolate chip brand you love will work!
Substitutes For Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Just like the famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, my top suggestion for a vegan egg replacement in this recipe is dairy-free cream cheese. ¼ cup equals one "egg", so you will need ½ cup. You can also use 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons of milled flax seed mixed with 6 tablespoons of water), or 2 powdered egg replacements like Bob's Red Mill.
How To Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Preheat your oven and whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Melt the vegan butter in your microwave and mix in both sugars until everything is thick and melted.
- Add the egg replacement and vanilla extract to the melted butter mixture and mix together.
- Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients.
- Mix together the wet and dry ingredients until thick and doughy.
- Now add the chocolate chips to the mixed cookie dough.
- Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Don't overmix the cookie dough.
- Line a square 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Add the chocolate chip dough to the lined baking dish and use to hands or a spatula to press and smooth out the top evenly. Press in a few extra chips to the top before baking.
- Bake the cookie bars until the top is golden brown and the edges are set and slightly crisp before removing from the oven.
Cooling & Cutting The Cookie Bars
It is essential that you let the bars cool after you take them out of the oven! The longer you allow them to cool, the easier they will be to cut and the better they will hold up. Allow the block of bars to cool in the baking pan for at least 30 minutes before using the edges of the parchment paper liner to lift the block out of the pan. Now you can slice the bars while they're still slightly warm and soft or you can place them in the fridge or freezer for an hour or two to make slicing a breeze!
When slicing the bars, take a sharp knife and cut 12 cookie bars or squares. Using a sharp knife allows you to make even and clean cuts instead of sawing through the bars and making them fall apart. Again, it is easiest to do when the bars are cold.
How To Serve
You can serve these vegan cookie bars cold, room temperature, or warm! I personally love them frozen from the freezer. However, they're perfect for a party when served at room temperature, but an absolute decadent delicacy when warmed in the oven or microwave and served with a cold creamy scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream!
How To Store & Freeze
- Store leftover cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-6 days. You can store them in the fridge for 7-10 days.
- To freeze the bars, you can freeze the block of baked bars, uncut, by tightly wrapping the block in plastic wrap, then foil, and storing in an airtight freezer bag or container. If your bars are already cut, you can tightly wrap them the same way and freeze them in a bag or container for up to 6-8 months.
- The bars only need to be slightly thawed before you can cut them from frozen. Otherwise, you can thaw them in the fridge overnight before bringing them to room temperature or warming them in the oven at 300°F or microwave to serve.
How To Keep The Bars Soft
Making sure you keep the bars tightly wrapped or sealed in a container is key. Warming them will make them soft again no matter what!
Doubling The Recipe
You can double the recipe and use a 9x13-inch baking pan! Allow for 5-10 more minutes of bake time.
How To Make Thinner Cookie Bars
If you want thinner cookie bars, you can use a 9x9-inch pan or a slightly larger one! You may need to reduce the baking time slightly to prevent them from overcooking.
Want More Of A Brownie Texture?
For really ooey gooey bars, like brownies, and less like cookies, you can underbake these vegan chocolate chip cookie bars, for about 15-18 minutes. Make sure you let them cool before trying to slice them as the melted chocolate and dough will be messier.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Loaded Vegan White Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies
- Vegan White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
More Dessert Bar Recipes:
- Blackberry Crumb Bars
- Vegan Lemon Bars
- Thick & Fudgy One-Bowl Brownies
- Funfetti Blondies
- Fudgy Vegan Brownies
- Snickerdoodle Blondies
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Vegan, Allergy-Free)
The best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! Soft, chewy, and thick, these easy cookie bars are vegan, eggless, and allergy-free! A quick and simple recipe that's easier than baking cookies, loaded with melty chocolate chips, and a perfect dessert for parties and potlucks that kids and adults will love!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 Servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ Tsp Salt
- ¾ Cup Dark Brown Sugar Sweetener (or preferred dark brown sugar)
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sweetener (or preferred granulated sugar)
- 1 Stick (½ Cup) Vegan Butter (melted)
- 4 oz (½ Cup) Vegan Cream Cheese* (room temperature)
- 1 ½ Tsp Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¼ Cups Semi-Sweet Allergen-Free Chocolate Chips (plus more for toppings)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Melt your vegan butter in a small bowl before adding in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Mix together until the sugars are melted.
- Add the cream cheese or egg replacement you are using and mix it into the melted butter and sugar.
- Pour the thick and warm mixture into the gluten-free flour bowl and mix everything together until thick and doughy.
- Gently fold in your choice of chocolate chips or chunks to the warm cookie dough batter (careful not to overmix the batter).
- Line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper before pouring and evenly pressing the thick cookie batter into the pan. Use a flat metal spatula or your fingertips to even out the top. Press in a few additional chocolate chips to the surface of the bars.
- Bake the bars for about 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, just until the surface is golden brown and the edges begin to crisp.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bars to cool to room temperature before using the parchment paper to lift out the block of bars and allowing the bottom to cool on a wire rack before slicing the bars.
Notes
- You need the equivalent of 2 eggs in this recipe. You can also use 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons of milled flax seed mixed with 6 tablespoons of water), or 2 powdered egg replacements like Bob's Red Mill.
- If the dough seems too dry, add an extra tablespoon of melted vegan butter to the batter.
- Store leftover cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-6 days. You can store them in the fridge for 7-10 days.
- Freeze the block of baked bars, uncut, by tightly wrapping the block in plastic wrap, then foil, and storing in an airtight freezer bag or container. If your bars are already cut, you can tightly wrap them the same way and freeze them in a bag or container.
- The bars only need to be slightly thawed before you can cut them from frozen. Otherwise, you can thaw them in the fridge overnight before bringing them to room temperature or warming them in the oven at 300°F or microwave to serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
Just like chocolate chip cookies, but in the thick and chewy form of a brownie! These gluten-free cookie bars are going to be a hit with everyone you serve them to!
So tell me:
+ Team Cookies or Bars?
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Jess
These turned out great! They are light and delicious. We did caramel and semi sweet chips.
Rebecca Pytell
Glad to hear!
Tammy
Ooh these look so rich and indulgent. Perfect that they're gluten free too for me. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
Rebecca Pytell
Hope you enjoy them!
Nicolle
These are on the list! Thanks so much for sharing, can't wait to try them 😉
Rebecca Pytell
Awesome, hope you enjoy!
Jo
These look amazing! I'm pinning these to make later today 🙂
Rebecca Pytell
You will love them!
Christine
OMG THESE LOOK AMAZING!
Rebecca Pytell
Hope you enjoy them!