Cashew butter cookie dough bars (gluten free, vegan)

Cashew butter cookie dough bars made with oat flour and sweetened with maple syrup! They taste JUST like cookie dough, but without all the butter and sugar. Gluten free, vegan, and you only need 6 ingredients! 

We are ALMOST done with the longest month ever and I couldn’t be happier. January is the time of year when you’re trying to be a little healthier after all the holiday indulgence, but you’re also just generally sad because it’s so cold and bleak and you kind of just want to shove a bunch of cookie dough in your mouth and call it a night.

You know what I mean?

Well, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing 😂 but I don’t feel bad about it because it’s been in the form of these guilt-free cashew butter cookie dough bars 😍

It starts with creamy cashew butter, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, which is the star of the show. Seriously, the vanilla extract makes these cashew butter cookie dough bars actually taste like real deal cookie dough! So don’t skip it.

Then you mix in the gluten free oat flour and dark chocolate chips. I put 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate chips in the recipe, buuut I definitely won’t judge if a few extra handfuls end up getting tossed in somehow.

And even though I sprinkled some flaky sea salt on top of the bars after baking, I also added a little more salt to the batter. It helps bring out the cookie dough flavor!

Also…did I mention that these are vegan?! Meaning YOU CAN EAT THE BATTER. Not that you don’t eat regular cookie dough batter, but now salmonella doesn’t have to be in the back of your mind (ew). So lick that spoon. As many times as you want.

Next you’ll line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper (I cut the parchment paper so it fits!) and clip the sides with metal clips to keep the sides of the parchment paper from falling down (you don’t necessarily have to use clips, but I like to). You could also just spray the pan with nonstick spray and skip the parchment paper altogether. I’ve done it both ways and they both work well!

Then, the best part. You spoon the batter into the pan, flatten it out with your hands, and basically drench the top in chocolate chips. Or you could be reasonable and only use a few, but what’s the fun in that?!

Once they’re done baking, I highly suggest sprinkling some flaky sea salt on top. It really takes these to the next level.

Wait 20 minutes in agony for them to cool and then slice into 16 bars, find the biggest one, and eat it 😂 (anyone else always pick the biggest one?)

And there you have it. Healthy cashew butter cookie dough bars! Basically just healthy cookie dough in bar form. Seriously, not only do these taste like straight cookie dough, but the texture is ON POINT! Especially when they’re still warm. Honestly, this might be my favorite recipe. EVER. Hopefully these will make this long stretch of winter a little bit better for you too.

Here are some of the ingredients I used to make these cashew butter cookie dough bars:

Gluten free oat flour: I used gluten free oat flour because oats are full of fiber and they’re a healthy source of carbs. It also adds to the cookie dough flavor (kind of like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie!) Highly recommend. Oat flour is also slightly sweet, making it the perfect gluten free flour alternative for these cashew butter cookie dough bars!

Cashew butter: I used creamy, salted cashew butter. The one I used also had a little bit of sunflower oil in it, which most store-bought cashew butters do. If yours does not have any oil, you may want to add a little bit more coconut oil to this recipe so that it has the right texture.

Coconut oil: Coconut oil adds to the moisture of these bars and you can’t taste the coconut at all! It’s a great source of healthy fats and helps to keep us full.

Maple syrup: Maple syrup helps bind everything together and adds the perfect flavor. I haven’t tried these with coconut sugar, but I don’t think it would work quite as well.

Vanilla extract: The vanilla extract is what REALLY makes these taste like cookie dough so don’t make these without it!!

Dark chocolate chips (dairy free to make these vegan): I used dairy free dark chocolate chips. The higher the percentage of cacao, the more antioxidants and less sugar the chocolate has. You could easily use milk chocolate chips, if that’s more your thing. I used 1/2 a cup in the batter, but I always add more on top 😉

Enjoy!!