Healthy 4 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

These Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are gluten-free, refined sugar-free and DELICIOUS. You'll love this simple, one bowl recipe made with only 4 ingredients.

The base of this healthy cookie dough mixture calls for nut butter, unsweetened shredded coconut flakes, egg and pure maple syrup.

Since we don't use any flour in this cookies, this recipe is also grain-free! And if you or a loved one cannot eat nuts, easily swap for your favorite seed butter. As a result, these healthy chocolate chip cookie bars are a wonderful recipe to make for anyone who is trying to lighten up their diet or has common food allergies.

Enjoy This Healthy Dessert Fresh Out of the Oven!

There's nothing better than a warm, freshly baked cookie that you just took out of the oven. Of course, I am 100% guilty of always eating a homemade cookie right away and not giving it any time to cool. Melty pools of rich chocolate combined with a chewy cookie and a gooey center is something I could drool over!

Although some cookies are better after they have had some time to rest, I highly encourage you to dig into these healthy chocolate chip cookie bars ASAP.  This recipe is so soft and tasty when it's freshly made! Serve your cookie slice with a scoop of vanilla gelato if you're feeling indulgent.

If You Don't Love Coconut...

Now, if you're not a fan of coconut, let me say that the coconut is overpowered by the nut butter in this recipe and these cookies do not taste very much like coconut. So I think they're still worth a shot! Also, try using less coconut flakes and mixing in some extra chopped nuts or dried fruit to bulk up these healthy chocolate chip cookie bars.

How to Make Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars:

You'll be pleased to hear that these healthy chocolate chip cookie bars are made in one bowl with no mixer needed! Whenever you're craving a gooey under-baked chocolate chip cookie, but you're

To start, simply add nut butter, coconut flakes, egg, pure maple syrup, salt and vanilla extract to a bowl. Then, use a spoon to stir together your healthy cookie dough mixture until well combined.

Next, stir in some chocolate chips or another mix in of your choice like chopped nuts, dried fruit or white chocolate or butterscotch chips.

After you've made your cookie dough, grease an 8x8" baking pan or line with parchment paper and press your cookie dough batter evenly into the pan. Once your dough is spread out to all four corners, sprinkle the top with a few more chocolate chips and a pinch of flaky sea salt.

Lastly, bake your healthy chocolate chip cookie bars at 375F for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Let bars cool a bit before slicing. Naturally, these chewy cookie bars are best enjoyed warm as they still have extra gooey, under-baked cookie centers.

Everything You'll Need

• Nut Butter: Use your favorite nut butter like peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter. I think you could even use a seed butter in this recipe if you're allergic to nuts.
• Unsweetened Shredded Coconut: Use finely shredded coconut and not larger flakes of coconut. We want a smooth, finer texture for this gooey cookie bars.
• Egg: This recipe calls for an egg to bind the ingredients together and create a delicious chewy cookie texture.
• Maple Syrup: We're adding pure maple syrup to add natural sweetness to this recipe and to stay away from refined sugars.
• Chocolate Chips: Add in your favorite chocolate chips or chop a small dark chocolate bar.
• Vanilla Extract: Feel free to add a splash of vanilla extract to enhance the flavors in this healthy dessert. Or leave it out if you want to keep things simple. This recipe is delightful either way.
• Sea Salt: This ingredient is optional, but I can't help myself to not enjoy a sweet and salty moment, so flaky sea salt is a yes for me!

Need to make a substitution?

Nut or Seed Butter?

I used half cashew and half peanut butter in my healthy chocolate chip cookie bars. However, almond butter or a seed butter would be great substitutes!

No Pure Maple Syrup?

If you don't have pure maple syrup, I'd try using some honey or coconut sugar. But, I have only tested pure maple syrup so far. Let me know in the comments if something else works well for you!

What Kind of Coconut?

Look for the words "unsweetened" and "fine" when choosing for the right kind of coconut to use in this recipe. Search for shredded coconut flakes like this option from the brand Let's Do Organic. I'm able to find this product in a few grocery stores near me and I've been using it in baking recipes for years now. (Not sponsored or anything, just a product I buy and what I used in this recipe.)

More Healthier Dessert Recipes

• Salted Caramel Pecan Chickpea Blondies
• Healthy Blueberry Crisp for Two
• One Bowl Vegan Flourless Chickpea Cookies
• Easy Crunchy Caramel Chocolate-Covered Dates

If you make these healthy chocolate chip coconut cookie bars, be sure to tag #bakedabundance on Instagram. We’d also love if you would leave a comment below and rate the recipe. We appreciate you! 

Recipe

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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5 from 1 review

These Healthy Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookie Bars are gluten-free, refined sugar-free and DELICIOUS. You'll love this simple, one bowl recipe made with just 4 ingredients.

• Author: Marley Braunlich
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup nut butter (I used ½ cup cashew and ½ cup peanut)
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 large egg
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
• sea salt, for sprinkling

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Instructions

1. To a bowl, add nut butter, coconut flakes, egg, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine.
2. Next, stir in chocolate chips or another mix in of choice like chopped nuts or dried fruit.
3. Grease an 8x8" baking pan or line with parchment paper. Spread your healthy cookie dough mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
4. Once your cookie dough is spread out to all four corners, top with a few more chocolate chips and a pinch of flaky sea salt.
5. Lastly, bake these healthy chocolate chip cookie bars at 375F for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bars should come out clean or with little crumbs.
6. Finally, cool for 10 minutes before slicing into bars. Serve warm for extra gooey cookie centers.

Notes

I used a 50/50 mixture of cashew butter and peanut butter in these bars. However, almond butter or another nut or seed butter would taste delicious!

For sweeter bars, add a 2-3 tablespoons of coconut sugar or increase the pure maple syrup to ½ cup or add more chocolate chips.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 8
• Calories: 387.44kcal
• Sugar: 12.8g
• Sodium: 174.43mg
• Fat: 30.84g
• Saturated Fat: 11.94g
• Carbohydrates: 22.32g
• Fiber: 5.82g
• Protein: 8.82g
• Cholesterol: 20.85mg

Keywords: healthy desserts, chocolate chip cookie, coconut flakes, cookie bars