Choco-Oat Cookie Bars
If once in awhile ya just “gotta have” something sweet that satisfies or you’re looking to serve your family a healthier treat, try my Choco-Oat Cookie Bars. Traditional chocolate chip snack cakes, cookies and bars are typically laden with white flour, refined sugar and excess calories. I have lightly sweetened these bars with unrefined coconut palm sugar and all-natural chocolate chips. Judicious use of real butter provides just the right texture and a combo of oats and gluten-free flour replaces the usual white flour.
Yield: 9 to 12 bars
Yield: 9 to 12 bars
Ingredients
- Olive oil spray
- Parchment paper
- 1 cup gluten-free baking flour mixture or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum only needed if using gluten-free flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened, cut into pieces (1 stick)
- 2/3 cup coconut palm sugar see MPM Mini-Bites for more info
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips or 3/4 cup raw cacao nibs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with olive oil spray. Line pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. (for easier removal of bars)
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, xanthan gum,* baking powder and salt. *only needed if using gluten-free flour
- With an electric mixer, beat together butter and coconut palm sugar. Beat in vanilla and eggs, combining well.
- On low speed, add flour mixture, alternating each addition with coconut or almond milk. Mix just until all ingredients are well combined.
- By hand, stir in oats and chocolate chips or cacao nibs. Spread mixture into pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out almost clean and bars are lightly browned.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in pan on a rack.
- Lift out bars and allow to finish cooling before cutting.
- Cut bars into 9 or 12 portions.
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage Tips: store bars covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Consider wrapping and freezing bars individually for up to 3 months for a readily available portion-controlled treat!
Coconut Palm Sugar: I have been searching for a healthier sweetening alternative for use in baking and have been experimenting with coconut palm sugar. Brands to look for are Coconut Secret and Wholesome Sweeteners.
Reportedly lower glycemic and possibly suitable for some diabetics, coconut palm sugar has a similar look, taste and texture of brown sugar, albeit to some, less sweet. Coconut palm sugar can replace regular cane and/or brown sugar in equal amounts in most recipes. Do your own research about this unprocessed sweetener to decide if it’s an acceptable choice for you. Naturally, if you have a medical concern, check first with your health care practitioner.
If you prefer not to use coconut palm sugar in this recipe, you can use 1/3 cup cane sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar.
Gluten-Free Flours and Flour Combinations: are becoming increasingly popular and are now commonly found in many mainstream supermarkets. I like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour which takes the guesswork out of choosing just the right mixture. When using gluten-free flours, you will need to add some xanthan gum, a natural carbohydrate, which helps provide just the right texture and volume to your baked goods.
Chocolate Chips: the choice is yours as to how healthy you want your chocolate chips to be! Enjoy Life Foods makes Semi Sweet Mega Chunks and Mini Chips which are gluten, dairy and soy-free chips that do contain sugar. Sunspire makes a variety of chocolate chips including Grain Sweetened Dark Chocolate Chips which are sweetened with brown rice syrup solids. Their Unsweetened Carob Chips do contain dairy. Ghirardelli offers all natural 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips which do contain sugar and dairy. For an unsweetened chocolate chip alternative, consider trying cacao nibs sold by companies such as TerrAmazon.
*This recipe can be considered gluten-free if you choose certified gluten-free ingredients.
Other healthier chocolate chip treat to try are: Chewy Peanut Butter Choco-Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Squares and Breakfast Power Bites.
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