Vegan Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars (Gluten-Free)
It’s about time this divine recipe got a permanent home on my blog. I’ve been meaning to post this one year for so long, after sharing it on my Instagram and having it become one of my most popular treats.
I developed this recipe back in April based off of my vegan almond butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Since those are one of my favourite treats, I wanted to turn them into a chewy, gooey cookie bar that is super easy to throw together, vegan, gluten-free and full of good-for-you ingredients. When I made these for the first time, my boyfriend tried them said they were his favourite treat I’ve ever made. Now he requests them regularly (and I happily make them, because I am equally as obsessed).
These vegan tahini oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie bars check all the boxes. They are:
Vegan + gluten-free
Made with tahini for a super rich texture, plus some protein + healthy fat
Made with rolled oats and oat flour for an oatmeal cookie-like vibe and no hard-to-find gluten-free flours!
Sweetened with the perfect amount of coconut sugar
Full of dark chocolate chunks, chopped dates + if you like, chopped up halva (SO good)
I hope you make these and love them because they have truly become my go-to dessert to bring to any gathering. Everyone looooves them! Tag me if you make them, and check out the quick tutorial video that I made below :)
Vegan Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
3 tbsp coconut oil or vegan butter, softened
⅓ cup smooth tahini (can sub almond butter, or half and half is really nice!)
½ cup + 2 tbsp coconut sugar (can sub brown sugar)
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water or non-dairy milk; mix + let set for 10 minutes)
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup + 1 tbsp oat flour (packed)
1 cup rolled oats
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt
½ cup soft dates, chopped into small pieces
⅔ cup chopped dark chocolate (or chips)
⅓ cup chopped sesame halva (optional but incredibly delicious, I get mine from Parallel in Toronto)
Sesame seeds + flakey sea salt for topping (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line a square (8x8 or 9x9) baking pan.
Mix together your butter, tahini + coconut sugar in a large bowl until a thick paste forms. Add your prepared flax egg + vanilla and whisk to combine until you have a smooth mixture.
Add in your dry ingredients (oat flour through sea salt) and mix to form a stiff dough. Fold in the date, chocolate chunks and halva if using, reserving a few pieces of each add-in for topping. Press your dough into the pan (it will be quite thick) and top with reserved add-ins.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until the centre has just set. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and extra flakey sea salt if desired. Let the bars cool for at least 20-30 minutes, then slice into 12-16 squares + enjoy!
Makes 12-16 squares
