Damn Good Cookie Bars

 

I was going through some of the recipes on Everyday Dish, and realizing that there are so many that I make on a regular basis. they are true family favorites. I thought it might be fun to go through, and post a few.

The one that I grabbed today is Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. These are like the love-child between brownies and chocolate chip cookies. They are so easy and so good! The recipe is one that I’ve adapted from Karina Allrich at the Gluten Free Goddess blog. She generously let me adapt her recipe and film it for Everyday Dish. I started making thes a few years back, when a friend of mine had to stop eating gluten. She was so sad and was craving cookies. I baked her up a tray of these and told her that she didn’t have to share them with her kids. These were all hers.

I loved these bars so much that I started baking them regularly. I brought them with me places, when someone who ask me to bring dessert. I baked them at our cart. I even did a couple of gluten-free baking demos at Whole Foods market, and made these babies. They are that good. Over the years, I have played with different flour blends. Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour works great, as do other gf flour blends. I think one time I even used white rice flour instead of a blend, and they still came out good. They were super chewy and stuck to the pan quite a bit, but they were still fab.

So if you have a hankering for some great cookie bars, whether or not you’re gluten-free, give this recipe a try. You’ll be so glad you did! Now, I think I’m going to go in the kitchen and bake up a batch myself.

Oh, and if you want to watch the video of me making these, here’s the link

Note: I just made these bars again, using the gf flour blend from Cybele Pascal (instead of Bob’s Red Mill). What I found was that less coffee was needed with this flour blend. So start with 5 tablespoons of coffee, and add more if needed to make a thick batter

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
These cookie bars are out of this world good, and will have your guests begging for more (whether or not they avoid gluten). The bars are almost a cross between a candy bar and a cookie, with a lovely butterscotch flavor. Thanks to the ease of the gluten-free baking flour blend, the recipe goes together in a snap. These bars are adapted from a recipe by Karina Allrich at her awesome blog (glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com)
Preheat the oven to 350°F
9×13-inch glass baking pan, well-greased and lined with parchment paper
Makes about 18 large cookie bars

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose Gluten-Free baking flour or you’re favorite gluten-free blend
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if your blend doesn’t contain xanthan)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons agave nectar
5 to 9 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 tbsp ground flax seed meal
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, whisk together baking flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the brown sugar and mix until combined. In another bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla, agave and 5 tablespoons coffee. Add the flax meal, and whisk until combined. Add the oil mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until smooth. If the dough is way too stiff, add another tablespoon or two (or as needed) of coffee to soften. It’s a pretty thick cookie dough. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake in the center of preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center is almost firm to the touch and just leaves a little dent in the top. Let bars cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Recipe adapted from a recipe by Karina Allrich (glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com)