Coconut Cookie Bars

Thick, crumbly and chewy, these coconut cookie bars are a guiltless pleasure that’s quick and easy to make. Plus, they’re naturally vegan, with no hard-to-find ingredients, gluten free, and extra low in calories.

The Taste and Texture of Coconut Cookie Bars

These bars mix oats with coconut oil, desiccated coconut and chopped almonds. That said, it’s probably safe to assume you’ll like them if you’re a fan of coconut. Or nutty, crumbly, sweet treats. Or both.

Are These Coconut Bars…

• Dairy Free: Yes
• Vegan: Yes
• Gluten Free: Yes
• Delicious: Absolutely!
• Healthy: As healthy as it gets without compromising on deliciousness 

How Many Calories Are in One Cookie Bar?

One of these bars (1/16 of the recipe) has approximately 150 calories.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Coconut Cookie Bars

Ground oats – place the oats into the bowl of your food processor, and pulse until they are ground into a powder-like consistency. Use certified gluten free oats to make sure these bars are gluten free.

Baking powder – makes the bars a bit more airy and soft.

Sea salt – to enhance the sweetness.

Coconut oil – use non-refined coconut oil if you like the taste of coconut, or refined coconut oil if you want to avoid it.

Sugar – for sweetness.

Almond milk – adds moisture and helps to bind the ingredients.

Vanilla extract – for a hint of vanilla flavour.

Desiccated coconut – use unsweetened coconut, not coconut flakes, which will make the bars too crumbly.

Almonds – finally chopped almonds makes the texture and flavour of these bars even more interesting.

How to Make Coconut Cookie Bars

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing the ends of the paper to hang over the sides.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground oats, baking powder and sea salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted oil and sugar until all of the oil is incorporated and there are no lumps of sugar. Add the almond milk, vanilla extract, coconut and chopped almonds, and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until almost completely incorporated.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

How Long Do They Keep?

When stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, these coconut bars will last for two to three days. You can keep them longer, but they will dry out significantly and become much more crumbly. They’re best freshly baked.

Do They Freeze?

Yes. If you’re planning to freeze them, do so as soon as they cool. This will prevent them from drying out too quickly. You can keep them in the freezer for 2 to 3 months, but they remain safe to eat beyond that.

More Vegan and Gluten Free Sweets

If you’re looking for more vegan and gluten-free sweet treats, make sure to check out these chickpea flour cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, or snickerdoodles, this creamy rice pudding or this crustless apple pie.

Are You a Fan of Coconut?

Then make sure to check these out:

• Coconut Flour Pancakes
• Coconut Cake
• Overnight Steel Cut Oats with Coconut