Some days, chocolate chip/chunk cookies are more of a requirement than anything else! So why bars instead of cookies? I’m so glad you asked: bars are so much faster than cookies because they bake all at once – no running out to the kitchen every 8 minutes to put another cookie sheet in the oven!
It’s been a cookie kind of week here with all the  blowing, cold,  and snowy-ness. I may need to add a cozy Hot Chocolate to the menu because it’s snuggle on the couch weather, (good book + sweets + footstool = I may not leave the couch)!
These bars are really simple to make, just 4 easy steps:
- Mix the ‘dry’ ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- Roughly chop up the chocolate chunks because the package doesn’t lie when they say ‘Mega Chunks’.
- Stir the ‘wet’ ingredients into the ‘dry’ ingredients until a thick dough forms.
- Spread it out as evenly as possible in the pan and bake!
I gave you an up close shot here so you could see the craggy/crunchy tops, soft and chewy interior, with lots of chocolate chunks in every bite!
Enjoy your weekend!
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Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 18-2" cookie bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fine almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chunks, (Enjoy Life brand)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease an 11″ x 7″ baking pan.
- Melt the coconut oil over low heat in a small saucepan.
- While the coconut oil is melting, combine the almond flour, coconut sugar, sea salt, baking powder, and tapioca starch.
- Chop the chocolate chunks until they’re about 1/2 their original size, and mix them into the almond flour mixture.
- Mix in the melted coconut oil, egg, and vanilla until a thick cookie dough forms.
- Spread the cookie dough into your prepared pan as evenly as possible. Don’t worry if the dough is rough and craggy, it makes a great crunchy top after baking.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bars are puffy, golden brown, and still moist in the center.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
These are the best cookies I have ever made, with a huge bonus of being GF! I do use arrowroot starch and organic maple syrup in place of tapioca and coconut sugar. They come out perfect every time. Even my picky husband and kids (they do not care for GF baked goods) love them just like any other “real cookie.” Perfect texture and perfect taste! They even are better the next day if that is even possible. Thanks so much for this incredible recipe.
I’m definitely going to try maple syrup in these, I’m making some this week so I can’t wait to try it out, and I totally agree with you that they’re even better the next day!
I don’t have tapioca four or starch on hand, can I substitute coconut flour or use more almond flour?
The tapioca is what creates the chewy texture in these bars, so there really isn’t a substitute for it. I wouldn’t use coconut flour because it has a tendency to take up too much moisture, but you could try this with a bit more almond flour as a sub – it will just be crumbly! 🙂
Could I use regular white cane sugar?
You should be able to substitute regular white sugar with similar results. Let me know how it goes if you give it a try! 🙂
These look amazing. I can almost taste them just by looking!
Melting chocolate chunks can really do a number on you!
We dont get almond flour in SriLanka also tapioca what are the best substitutes?
If there’s another kind of nut flour available to you, that might work. As for the tapioca starch, (sometimes called tapioca flour) you could try cornstarch instead. It’s important to keep the flour a nut flour, otherwise there won’t be enough moisture in the recipe! Let me know what’s available for you, and maybe we could figure out a substitute!
These bars look so perfectly chewy and delicious! Just like every chocolate chip cookie should be. They look awesome.
Pinning!
I finally got around to making these!
Instead of making bars, I just made them as cookies. They were delicious! I accidentally overcooked them even, and they still had that beautiful chewy texture. I also ran out of coconut sugar (I’m a hot mess lately) so I only had 1/4 c or so, but it was just right for my taste. I couldn’t even tell it was missing.
Another awesome recipe. Thanks Kari!
I’m glad you stopped by to share your experience because I’ve been wondering if they would work as cookies or not – mystery solved!
Can I substitute something else for the tapioca? Or if I have instant tapioca can I blend it and use that?
I’m not sure what would happen if you substituted something else. The role tapioca starch plays in this recipe is to give the bars a nice chewy texture, (similar to the texture you get with white all-purpose flour).
Those bars look fantastic Kari!
Thanks Mike! I’m making them again for the weekend because it’s so miserable outside that cookie making seems like the appropriate activity!
There is no recipe with the chocolate chunk cookies…looked all over???
Sorry about that, there were only photographs this morning! I’ve fixed the mistake and the rest is there now, including the recipe. Let me know if you make them, and have a great weekend! 🙂