These Vegan Cookie Dough Bars are safe to eat, made with real ingredients, and are naturally sweetened! The perfect edible cookie dough in one healthy treat.
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Who doesn’t love a good edible cookie dough?
Vegan Cookie Dough for One is one of my most popular posts. Apparently the world has been waiting for some safe, perfectly portioned cookie dough to get in their faces.
Let’s take that a step further, and have a delicious no bake cookie bar that is perfect for a treat, taking to a party, or girls night out.
Ingredients
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- Raw, unsalted almonds
- Pitted dates
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Coconut oil
- Maple syrup
- All purpose flour
- Vegan mini chocolate chips
How to make vegan cookie dough bars:
- Spread flour on a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF to kill any bacteria. Let cool.
- Prepare your loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Process almonds in food processor until coarse. Add the dates, a pinch of salt, and vanilla and process until a dough ball forms.
- Press the mixture into an even layer in the prepared pan and set aside.
- Combine liquid ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Stir in flour and chocolate chips and mix until smooth.
- Spread cookie dough mixture over almond mixture.
- Refrigerate until set, then cut into squares.
Top questions
Is this cookie dough really safe to eat?
This cookie dough is 100% safe to eat thanks to toasting the flour in the oven and leaving out any eggs. Raw flour has been linked to food borne illness, so be sure to follow each step for safe to eat cookie dough.
How long will these no bake cookie dough bars keep?
These bars will keep in the fridge, in an air tight container for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months.
Are these really healthy?
These are different from other cookie dough bars because it’s a layer of cookie dough on top of a nut/date crust (essentially a larabar!).
The dates and almonds will help you stay full, and they are full of fiber nutrients your body needs. You know how sometimes you eat junk food and it just leaves you wanting more?
These bars are legitimately satisfying, and filling. You won’t even want to overindulge. They make a great treat for the kids, too.
Tips for customizing your edible cookie dough bars
- Swap the cookie dough for a triple batch of peanut butter cookie dough or double chocolate chip cookie dough
- Sprinkle the top with additional sea salt
- Use whatever nut combination you’d like for the crust such as pecan or cashew
- Make them gluten-free by using your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour
- Swap the chocolate chips for carob chips or cacao nibs
More cookies to enjoy
- Vegan Cookie Dough Dip For Two
- Vegan Cookie For One
- How To Make Edible Cookie Dough
- Vegan Peanut Butter Single Serving Cookie Dough
- Homemade Cashew Cookie Larabars
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Vegan Cookie Dough Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw, unsalted almonds
- 1 ½ cups pitted dates
- Coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, divided
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vegan mini chocolate chips, plus another tablespoon mini chocolate chips for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread the flour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes to kill any bacteria. Let cool completely.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarse but not powdery.
- Add the dates, a pinch of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the vanilla and process until a dough ball forms. If the dough seems too crumbly, add a few drops of water until you reach the desired consistency. Be careful because too much water will make the dough extremely sticky.
- Press the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, and ¾ teaspoon vanilla with a fork until thick and well combined.
- Add the flour and another pinch of salt and mix until smooth and shiny. Mix in 1 tablespoon of the mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the cookie dough over the almond mixture in the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with an additional tablespoon of chocolate chips, if desired, and use your hand to gently press them into the dough so they'll stick.
- Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Use the parchment to lift the bars from the pan and cut into bars or bite sized portions.
- At this point you can transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to one week, or freeze up to 3 months.
Caroline @ chocolate & carrots says
These are amazing! I can’t wait to try them! 😀 I have a feeling I’m going to be obsessed.
Lindsay Moe says
Ummm, yes!
cheri says
These look incredible, love everything about them.
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks Cheri!
Anna @ Garnish with Lemon says
I have friends with some food allergies, and this is an ideal recipe for them. Thanks, Lindsay!
Jessica says
Could pecans be substituted for the almonds? I have to work around food allergies.
Lindsay Moe says
Absolutely! I think pecans would be lovely here. The overall flavor would be a little different since pecans tend to have a more distinct taste, but if you’re used to eating them instead of almonds I don’t think it should be a problem.
Madeline says
How many servings does this make??
Lindsay Moe says
It depends on how big you like them, but it makes 8-16 servings.
Emmie {Blue 11 Interiors} says
Hi Lindsay, I’m so glad we got to meet this weekend at Go Blog Social! You have a gorgeous blog and your photography is beautiful!
Lindsay Moe says
Thank you so much! I’m glad we met as well and I can’t wait to dive in to your blog!
Jessica says
how yummy!!! these look so so good
xo Jessica
Kristi says
Wow! I made these last weekend, and I have fallen head over heels in love with them! I’m in the beginning stages of my vegan journey, and I’m try to cut out as much “non-vegan” food as possible. One of the things I’ve had a hard time avoiding is my all time favorite-Cookie Dough! These bars really satisfied my craving and THEY’RE VEGAN! Thank you!!! If it’s okay with you, I would like to share this recipe on my blog!
Lindsay Moe says
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them. I would be happy to allow you to share the recipe on your blog, I just ask that you credit with a link to the original post and that you use your own photos.
Erin Colatrella says
I just made these and they are absolutely delicious! I am officially obsessed! Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Lindsay Moe says
Yay! I’m glad you liked them.
Natalie Farinholt says
Thanks for the recipe, ma’am! I made them and they’re oh so tasty. I didn’t have any almonds so I used pecans. Andddd I was fresh out of whole wheat flour so I played around with the measurements and used some coconut flour. Hahah but they still turned out quite well. I put them in a muffin pan so I wouldn’t have to worry about slicing them, worked out perfectly!
Lindsay Moe says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! What a great idea to use a muffin pan!
Theresa says
These ‘brownies’ are fabulous! I used carob chips and whole wheat flour. I LOVE them. My daughter makes a mean non-vegan cookie dough brownie, now I will enjoy one that is just as delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Lindsay Moe says
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Angela says
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for a great recipe! I made my own take on yours and posted the recipe on my blog, linking back to this page. If there’s anything you’d like for me to update or add, please let me know.
Thanks again for the inspiration 🙂
Angela
Mariella says
Could I make these gluten free?
Lindsay Moe says
I have personally not tried it. I’ve heard from readers who have tried gluten-free flour that you may need to adjust the amount of flour you use and certain gluten-free flours will have a slightly different taste. Give it a try with whatever your favorite gluten-free flour is and let me know how it goes!
Becky says
I made these for a gathering recently and they were a big hit! I did cut back significantly on the maple syrup and used about 2 tsp and thought it was still plenty sweet with the dates and the chocolate chips. My four year old was so sad we didn’t have any to bring home!
Lindsay Moe says
I’m glad everyone enjoyed it! My kids love them too!
Tara says
I made these last night and loved the ‘crust’ with the dates but had trouble with the flour/maple syrup/coconut oil mixture. It was much too thick and I had to spread it over the crust with a knife vs. ‘pouring it over’ as the instructions say. I also found the taste to be very floury. Am I doing something wrong? Everyone else seems to have great reviews.
Lindsay Moe says
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble! The cookie dough mixture can be greatly affected by several things, hopefully I can help you pinpoint that. If it is very cold in your house the mixture will be thicker. Make sure you are warming and melting the coconut oil completely and try adding the flour a little at a time until you reach a consistency you’re comfortable with. You can also cut back on the flour a bit or add a touch more vanilla or maple syrup if it is too floury for your taste. I have experienced this as well when I was not measuring very closely. I hope that helps!