Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Flour-less): Yum!

You may have noticed a lot of food related posts on the blog lately. There are two reasons for that. One- I've been hearing about some great new foods lately and I love finding good recipes for them to make it easy for everyone to incorporate them into their diets. Two- starting my online training program has really gotten me thinking about my friends' dietary needs.

One need I've been seeing a lot of is the need for gluten-free foods, and a desire for nutritious and delicious desserts. The recipe for flour-less chocolate chip cookie bars accomplishes just that, and are super easy to make. The recipe calls for chickpeas instead of flour, which add protein and fiber without sacrificing any flavor. What's even better is that the cookie bars can be vegan too, simply by substituting the dark chocolate chips for vegan chocolate chips. Yum!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Flour-less)

Ingredients:

• Coconut Oil Cooking Spray
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup all natural peanut butter  or almond butter
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees  and spray 8×8 inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In a food processor or blender, add all ingredients except chocolate chips and process/blend  until batter is smooth. Fold in ¼ cup  of the  chocolate chips.
3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan then sprinkle ¼ cup of chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20  minutes and edges are a tiny bit brown.
4. Cool pan for 20 minutes on wire rack. Sprinkle with sea salt then cut into squares.  Enjoy immediately!

Makes 16 Cookie bars.

As you can probably imagine they were a hit with my children! I will definitely be making these again soon!

Blessings,

Caroline

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies with Carob/Chocolate Chips

Prep Time 15 Minutes Cook Time 30 Minutes

Servings 16

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• 2 whole Ripe Bananas, Mashed Until Creamy
• ⅓ cups Peanut Butter, Creamy Or Chunky
• ⅔ cups Unsweetened Applesauce
• ¼ cups Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Butter Extract, Optional
• 1-½ cup Quick Oatmeal, Uncooked
• ¼ cups Chopped Peanuts
• ¼ cups Carob Chips Or Chocolate Chips, Optional

Preparation Instructions

Preheat heat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, mix mashed banana and peanut butter until completely combined. Then add in the applesauce, vanilla protein powder and vanilla and butter extracts. Mix again until completely combined.

Add in the oatmeal and nuts to the banana mixture and combine. (Add the optional carob/chocolate chips at this time if you want them mixed throughout.)

Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Drop cookie dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flatten cookies into circles, about a 1/3″ thick. (If you want the optional carob/chocolate chips on the top of the cookies, push them into the cookies now.)

Bake cookies approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown and done. Remove from oven and let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack. (If you want the traditional fork tine marks on the cookies, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to score the tops of the cookies while they’re still warm.)

When cookies are completely cool, store in a covered container. Enjoy!

Find this recipe as well as many other yummy ones here!