Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
These soft and chewy vegan chocolate chip cookie bars are quick and easy to make! They take a bit less effort than classic chocolate chip cookies and don’t require a mixer or any dough chilling.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes About the Ingredients
Melted vegan butter for denser chocolate chip cookie bars! And since the butter is melted, we don’t need to use a mixer to make the dough.
Light brown sugar for depth of flavor and added moisture. And a little granulated sugar so the cookie bars aren’t overly chewy.
Dairy-free yogurt adds more moisture to the cookie bars. You can substitute this with equal amounts of dairy-free milk, but your cookie bars will just be drier after the first day (if you haven’t eaten the whole batch already!).
Baking powder for a little lift, and baking soda to help with caramelization and browning.
Dairy-free chocolate. You can use chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate bar.
Cornstarch (optional) makes these cookie bars softer, especially the edges! Alternatively, you can use a little more flour – the edge slices will just be a little crispier.
Prepare the Cookie Dough
One of the best things about these vegan cookie bars is that you don’t need a mixer! Just add the butter and wet ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until combined. If you have time, try to dissolve as much of the sugar as possible as this will give your cookie bars a slightly crackly top.
At this stage, it’s okay if your butter is warm! However, make sure the wet mixture has cooled before you add the dry ingredients as we don’t want to activate the raising agents. Overly warm butter will also melt the chocolate that we’ll add later!
Then add all the dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and stir. The cookie dough should be very soft and fudgy… you’ll almost want to eat the whole thing straight from the bowl!
Finally, sprinkle in your chocolate chunks/chips and fold until just combined. Try to avoid overmixing the dough because this will activate the gluten and lead to overly dense and chewy cookie bars.
Baking the Cookie Bars
The dough should be soft enough for you to press into a square cake pan and easily smooth the top. If you want an extra smooth surface, you can use a slightly wet offset spatula to smooth it out. And feel free to press extra chocolate chunks on the top of your bars!
The cookies bars are ready when the surface is evenly golden brown. The edges will look a bit cooked and the middle will still be very soft and even a bit wobbly.
The hardest thing about this recipe is waiting for the cookie bars to cool down. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let it cool in the pan for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The bars are easier to cut when they’ve mostly cooled down!
How is this Recipe Different from my Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sometimes, scaling up a recipe into a bigger portion just doesn’t work!
Even though my original chocolate chip cookie recipe is perfect as it is (that recipe took 10 trials!), the recipe doesn’t bake evenly in a larger pan. Instead, the edges would turn out extra crispy, with an extra fudgy and slightly raw center.
My team and I experimented with different types of raising agents, sugars, creamed versus melted butter, different baking temperatures, pans and times. The solution was the ratio of flour, butter and sugar. I increased the butter (for richness) and the flour (for stability) to get a more consistent soft and chewy texture for these bars.
Customizing the Recipe
Yes, this recipe works well with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour and no other changes! Your dough may be a slightly different consistency but they will still bake well.
Yes! To the dough, you can add:
– chopped pecans and walnuts
– chopped pretzels
– freeze-dried fruit such as strawberries or raspberries
Adding other ingredients adds more bulk to the recipe so you may need to bake the bars for an extra few minutes.
Yes! If you’re baking them from the refrigerator, just bake the bars for an extra few minutes. Over time, the cookie dough will oxidize and darken in color, but the bars will still taste great.
Troubleshooting Tips
The cookie dough is meant to be very soft! However, if you’re making this recipe on a hot day, or are in the beginning stages of overmixing, the butter can separate from the dough. Don’t worry! To fix it, simply pop the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes and the dough will come together.
More vegan cookie recipes
Follow Rainbow Nourishments on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of our latest recipes!
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225g) vegan butter, melted and cooled (note 1)
- 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (75g) dairy-free yogurt, or same quantity of dairy-free milk, room temperature (note 2)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (345g) all-purpose plain flour, spooned and leveled (note 3)
- 2 tablespoons (15g) cornstarch, or sub with the same quantity of all-purpose flour (note 4)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter
- 1 cup (170g) roughly chopped vegan chocolate or chocolate chips, plus more for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Line a 9" (23cm) square baking pan with parchment paper overhanging.
- Add the butter, both sugars, yogurt and vanilla to a large bowl. Mix until combined and some of the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, raising agents, and salt and mix until just combined. The dough should be very soft and tacky. Add all the chocolate and mix through.
- Scoop the cookie dough into your prepared pan and smooth the top. If desired, top with additional chocolate chunks/chips.
- Bake the cookie bars for 25-28 minutes or until they're evenly golden brown on top. For softer cookie bars, bake for less time. Place the baking pan on a wire rack and let the cookie bars in the pan cool for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- When the cookie bars are room temperature, remove them from the pan, cut into bars and enjoy!
- Store leftover cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The bars also freeze well for up to 1 month.
Notes
- These cookies will work with a vegan spreadable butter but your cookie bars will be slightly less rich.
- Alternatively, you can use the same amount in unsweetened applesauce. Cookie bars made with milk, yogurt or applesauce all taste the same on the day of baking. However, if you make them with yogurt or applesauce, they’ll stay softer for a few extra days.
- Measure the flour accurately: If you’re using measuring cups, ensure you spoon and level your flour otherwise your cookie bars will be drier. To do this, fluff up the flour in the bag, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. For the best results, use an electric kitchen scale and measure in grams.
Gluten-free version: This recipe works well with King Arthur’s measure for measure gluten-free flour without any other changes. Other gluten-free flours may have different results. - Cornstarch helps these cookies stay soft, especially the edges! Alternatively, you can just use more flour.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
I have made a lot of vegan cookie bars in my time and these are hands down the best chocolate chip bars out there! Followed the recipe exactly, using a combination of dark chocolate chunks (365 brand) and mini semi sweet chips (Enjoy Life). They baked perfectly level and evenly. Served at a Super Bowl party and they got rave reviews. I think they are even better cold from the fridge the next day. Definitely bookmarking this recipe. Thank you!
Hi Erica, I’m over the moon you loved these choc chip bars!! Thanks for letting me know what chocolate worked for you and for making them part of your Super Bowl party. And I appreciate you for taking the time to let me know as well!