Vegan Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies
These vegan chocolate chip bar cookies are soft, thick, chewy, and way easier to make than cookies! Dairy free, egg free, totally easy recipe.
All the deliciousness of a vegan chocolate chip cookie but with the ease of a brownie! These vegan chocolate chip bar cookies are delightfully easy to make and are perfect for packing into lunch boxes or with a cup of tea for dessert.
Free from: Dairy, casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, nightshades, tomatoes, and more
Starting from my most favorite vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, this recipe for bar cookies is a little less sweet but oh so soft and chewy.
Plus, because they are baked in a baking dish, there is no rolling, no chilling, and no fussing required! That means more chocolate chip cookie bites in less time.
Want to make some gluten free cookies? Check out my gluten free chocolate chip cookie that is also top 9 allergy free!
Why You’ll Love these Bar Cookies
- Soft, chewy, and sweet
- Perfect to pack in a lunch box because of sturdy square shape
- No mixer or fancy equipment required
- So quick! No rolling, no chilling, and no fussing required.
- Dairy free, egg free, soy free, nut free, and more!
Ingredients
If you’re familiar with my vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, a lot of the ingredients will be similar. However, there are a few changes to make them work better in this bar form. Here is a quick rundown of what you will need.
- Vegan butter: If possible, use a stick version of vegan butter over butter in a tub. The water:fat ratios are different in tubs and you may not get consistent results.
- White and brown sugar: The combination of both sugars makes it sweet and with a good depth of flavor. Use organic sugar or beet sugar to keep things vegan.
- Dairy free milk: Your favorite dairy free milk is perfect in this recipe as you need just a tablespoon. Coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk and rice milk all work great.
- Flax seeds and cornstarch: These are the egg replacers in this recipe. If you’re avoiding corn, see below for an easy swap.
- All purpose flour: Regular flour is all you need.
- Chocolate chips: My favorite chocolate chips are the Enjoy Life Rice Milk chips. They are top 9 allergy free and made in dedicated allergy free spaces.
- You’ll also need: Baking soda, baking powder, salt, and optional cinnamon for a little spice.
Allergy Substitutions
If you are avoiding soy, make sure that your dairy free butter is soy free. I personally like the Earth Balance soy free in a tub.
If you’re avoiding corn, replace the cornstarch with an equal amount of tapioca flour or arrowroot powder. Make sure that your vanilla extract and baking powder are certified corn free. See my shop page for my personal favorites!
If you are avoiding gluten, I believe that you can use gluten free flour in this recipe, though I haven’t tested it myself, yet. Use a good all purpose gluten free flour blend for baking that contains xanthan gum, like King Arthur Measure for Measure or Better Batter.
Best Pan for these Cookies
In testing this recipe, I used 3 different kinds of pans: Metal, ceramic, and glass.
In my opinion, the ceramic baking dish made the best cookies.
The metal pan heated up too quickly and the edges and underside of the cookies would be done while the middle of the cookies was still soupy.
The glass pan worked just as well as the ceramic, but I personally prefer cooking and baking with ceramic.
The ceramic baking dish was slower to heat and then distributed that heat more evenly through the cookies, making them done at the same time.
Want to know my favorite products? I’ve curated a list of all my favorite cooking and baking essentials. Everything from baking sheet to corn free baking powder and more. Shop my favorites!
Instructions
For the full instructions, complete with recipe measurements, please see the recipe card below. You can also use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page.
Prepare the baking dish by lining it with parchment paper. You can use little clips like these to help hold the parchment down while you fill it. Just remember to unclip it when you place the dish in the oven!
In a small bowl, make the flax egg by combining the ground flaxseeds with boiling water. Let it rest for 5 minutes to get a gel-like consistency.
Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients. Set this aside.
In a large bowl, add the melted vegan butter and mix with the brown sugar and white sugar. Mix this with a whisk and add the vanilla extract, dairy free milk, and the flax egg. Give it another good whisk.
Now, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. You can add the chocolate chips at this time as well. Switch to a spatula and mix until fully combined.
Tip! Some vegan butters have more water content than others. If your cookie dough is very wet, you can add more flour one tablespoon at a time.
Carefully press the cookie dough into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top. If you want, you can also sprinkle some flaky sea salt on top.
Bake the cookies for 32 to 35 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them rest in the pan for at least one hour before slicing and serving.
Variations
Salted Caramel: Add a drizzle of some dairy free caramel sauce (it’s nut and coconut free!) and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top when the cookies are baked and cooled.
Peanut butter chocolate chip: Add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to the dough. If you are avoiding peanuts, you can use your favorite nut butter swap like cashew butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter. Add an additional 2 or 3 tablespoons of flour when adding a nut butter to keep the dough in balance.
Double chocolate chocolate chip: Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.
Top Cookie Tips!
- Bake them in a glass or ceramic baking dish for best results! This more evenly distributes the heat so you have a more even bake.
- Let them cool for at least an hour before cutting. They need that time to firm up just a little bit.
- Depending on the brand of vegan butter that you use, you may need to add an additional tablespoon or two of flour. Some butters have more water in them than others. If the dough is sticky and wet looking, add a bit more flour. If it is dry, add a dash more dairy free milk.
FAQs
You know they are done when you insert a toothpick into the center of the dough and only a few crumbs remain on the toothpick. If you use a thermometer, it will read between 200F and 205F when they are cooked.
Keep them soft by storing them on the countertop in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Putting cookies in the fridge will dry them out.
Yes! These make for a great make ahead dessert because they freeze so well.
Let the fully baked bar cookies cool completely before slicing into squares. Lay each slice in between pieces of parchment paper in a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight before serving after freezing.
How to Store
Countertop: Keep cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Freeze baked, cooled, and sliced cookies between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before serving after freezing.
More cookie recipes to love
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Equipment
- 8×10 ceramic baking dish
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds ground
- 3 tablespoons water boiling
- ½ cup vegan butter melted
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon dairy free milk
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/177C. Prepare the baking dish by lining it with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Make the flax egg. In a small bowl, mix together the ground flaxseeds with the hot water. Set aside for 5 minutes to gel.
- Sift the dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, sift or whisk together the dry ingredients of flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (if using).
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, add the melted vegan butter and whisk in both white and brown sugar. Add the vanilla extract, dairy free milk, and flaxseed egg.
- Combine. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips. Stir together with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined. Add more flour, if needed.
- Bake. Transfer the cookie dough to the prepared baking dish and press into place with your hands or a spatula. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and have pulled away from the sides of the pan.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool in the pan on the countertop for at least one hour before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Allergy Substitutions
- If you are avoiding soy, make sure that your dairy free butter is soy free. I personally like the Earth Balance soy free in a tub.
- If you are avoiding gluten, I believe that you can use gluten free flour in this recipe, though I haven’t tested it myself, yet. Use a good all purpose gluten free flour blend for baking that contains xanthan gum, like King Arthur Measure for Measure or Better Batter.
- If you’re avoiding corn, use either tapioca flour or arrowroot powder to replace the cornstarch. Make sure that your baking powder and vanilla extract are also corn free. You can see my favorite corn free baking products on my shop page.
- Variations
- Salted Caramel: Add a drizzle of some dairy free caramel sauce and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top when the cookies are baked and cooled.
- Peanut butter chocolate chip: Add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to the dough. If you are avoiding peanuts, you can use your favorite nut butter swap like cashew butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter.
- Double chocolate chocolate chip: Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.
-
How to Store
- Countertop: Keep cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze baked, cooled, and sliced cookies between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before serving after freezing.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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