These simple and sweet oatmeal cookie bars couldn’t get any easier! I took the oatmeal cookie dough that we always used when I was growing up (my mom says it came from a canister of Always Save oats), added chocolate chips and dried cherries, and threw it all into a baking dish. So. Easy. No fiddling around with a cookie scoop, or worrying that your cookies will spread. Just pop the dough into the oven and you’ll get a giant cookie bar that can be sliced into snack-able, individual bars! I drizzled mine with a bit of melted white chocolate for some holiday pizazz given that these are a part of my 12 Days of Dairy-Free Cookies countdown, but feel free to leave these babes as-is, or press extra chocolate chips into the batter pre-bake!
Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:
Coconut sugar is my favorite, better-for-you replacement for white granulated sugar. It’s low GI, unrefined, and doesn’t taste like coconut!
Brown sugar adds moisture and sweetness to these bars. You can use coconut sugar instead, if you’d like, but I really like the flavor brown sugar lends to these.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips are a no-brainer when it comes to anything cherry. I love a good cherry + chocolate dessert, and I’ve found that dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips are easier, and more affordable, to come by than dark chocolate (which is surprising!).
White chocolate chips add a bit of sweet and some “color” to these bars. I love the contrast between the dark browns of the cookie bar, the red of the cherries, and the bright white of the white chips and drizzle.
Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Chewy oatmeal cookie bars loaded with chocolate chips and dried cherries! An easy and quick spin on a traditional oatmeal cookie.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup vegan butter stick, softened
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup dried cherries
- 1/3 cup dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup dairy-free white chocolate chips + ~3 Tbsp more for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8" baking dish with non-stick spray (I used olive oil) and parchment paper. I like to cut one, long-ish strip of parchment paper to cover the bottom and 2 of the 4 sides, creasing it over the sides and trimming with scissors. Bring your egg to room temperature by placing it in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter, coconut sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the egg. And then the vanilla.
- Use a large wooden spoon or spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Gently stir in oats. Finally, stir in the dried cherries and chocolate chips.
- Press cookie dough into your prepared baking dish and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Since we used both coconut sugar and brown sugar, the cookie bars will naturally be dark in color.
- Allow cookie bars to cool in the dish on top of a cooling rack until firm enough to lift out (around 30-40 minutes). Lift the cookie bars out of the dish and allow to cool completely. Slice into 16 bars.
- If desired, melt ~3 Tbsp of white chocolate chips in 15 second intervals in the microwave. Add melted chocolate to a small ziploc bag, snip the corner, and drizzle over each individual cookie bar.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from Always Save
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 209Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 169mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g
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