No-bake Cookie Dough Bars are soft, chewy and full of chocolate flavor. These bars have been my favorite dessert since summer started. They are naturally gluten-free and vegan and the recipe comes with a nut-free version.
How to make this recipe
No-Bake Cookie Dough Bars start off by blending dates, cashew butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, and almond flour in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Once processed, fold in chocolate chips.
Place the cookie dough mixture in a parchment paper lined 8x8 baking pan like this one from USA Pans and spread out into an even layer. Place the pan into the freezer for about 15 minutes while the chocolate layer is being melted.
Put a small bowl over a boiling pot of water and add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Gently heat the chocolate until melted. Remove the coconut dough pan from the freezer and pour the melted chocolate on top. Once spread out in an even layer, place the cookie dough bars back into the freezer for another 15 minutes. Once chilled, remove from the freezer and cut. Enjoy!
How to make this recipe nut-free
In the recipe video I use coconut flour instead of almond flour since I don't eat almonds too much. If you are like me and don't eat almonds, use coconut flour instead as directed in the recipe. If you are completely nut-free, using sunflower butter or pumpkin seed butter is a good option in place of the cashew butter. And as I stated above, use coconut flour in place of the almond flour.
How to store
I prefer to store these bars in the freezer. The chocolate will be hard but the cookie dough part will stay fairly soft, just like cookie dough should be!
Looking for more no bake dessert recipes? Make sure to check out Chocolate Chia seed pudding, Raw Chocolate Brownies, and Edible Brownie Batter.
No-Bake Cookie Dough Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates, pitted (about 5 ounces)
- ½ cup cashew butter (or your favorite seed butter for nut-free)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup almond flour (or 2 tbsp coconut flour for nut-free)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- ¾ cup chocolate chips (for the topping)
- 2 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Make sure your dates are very plump and juicy. If they are not, soak them in hot water for 5-10 minutes. Add the cashew butter (or your favorite seed butter such as sunflower or pumpkin seed butter for nut-free), maple syrup, almond flour (or coconut flour for nut-free), vanilla extract, and salt to a food processor and process until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Once the dough is mixed well, fold in the ¼ cup of chocolate chips. Place the cookie dough in a parchment paper lined 8x8 baking dish and spread out into an even layer. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- While the cookie dough bars are chilling, create a double boiler on the stove top with a small pot with water and place a slightly larger boil on top of the pot. Bring the ater to a boil. Add the chocolate chips and coconut oil to the bowl and melt.
- Once the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the heat and pour overtop of the chilled cookie dough bars. Place back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened. Once hard, remove the bars from the baking pan and cut into 5-10 bars. Enjoy right away or store in the refrigerator for later.
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