These chocolate chip oat bars are simple to make and full of wholesome ingredients, like oats, almond butter, and dark chocolate. They’re egg, dairy, gluten, and refined sugar free + vegan friendly!

It’s been one of those weeks, y’all. You know, the ones where nothing seems to go your way. It’s like the forces of the universe have singled me out and are conspiring against me. I’ve just come to expect that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. It’s even a law (one of Murphy’s, I think.) I’m like, yep, of course I’m going to hit every. single. red. light. Oh, the grocery store is out of only MY favorite things? Yeah, that makes total sense.

So should I be surprised that the hairstylist butchered my hair? I’m the idiot who booked an appointment this week. 🤦🏻‍♀️ You can’t live life in perpetual fear of things going wrong. I’m not a superstitious person. I don’t believe in bad luck, read the horoscope section, or take fortunes that come from a cookie seriously. I actually think that the things going wrong in our lives are sometimes a direct result of our own pessimistic attitudes and the expectation we have of bad things to come.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking credit for my bad haircut! In my opinion, you shouldn’t be employed by a reputable salon if you can’t perform a simple haircut. But a lot of the other “bad” things was only even noticed because of my grumpy, negative attitude. Seriously, how many other times in my life have I hit every red light? On a good week, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it. And the grocery store is often out of my favorite things because they’re a lot of other people’s favorite things too!

Sure, the fact that I tested a cookie recipe about 10 times and couldn’t get it just right, was a bit discouraging. What a waste of time and ingredients. But, had I not failed at the cookie recipe, I wouldn’t have thought to try these bars and gotten this recipe. Sometimes you just have to look for the silver lining. We can’t stop bad things from happening, but our attitude in response will determine whether we rise or fall.

These chocolate chip oat bars are, in my opinion, the best part of a chocolate chip cookie—the ooey, gooey center, but in every bite! 😋 They’re also simple to make, only lightly sweetened, and have wholesome ingredients, so you really can enjoy them anytime. And since they’re pretty much made of oats, that would basically make these bars a breakfast food, right?! 😜

Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

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Author: Joscelyn Abreu
Total Time: 25 mins
Yield: 16 bars 1x

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Description

These chocolate chip oat bars are simple to make and are full of wholesome ingredients, like oats, almond butter, and dark chocolate. They’re vegan friendly, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened.

Ingredients

Scale

1½ cups oat flour* (use gluten-free oat flour if needed)
¾ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
⅓ cup rolled oats (use gluten-free oats if needed)
1½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nut butter (I used almond butter, but peanut butter or a nut-free butter should also work)
1/2 cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil/butter or other oil of choice
flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water. Let sit for 10 min)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, plus more for top of batter (use dairy-free chocolate chips if necessary)

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease an 8×8 inch baking pan (or line with parchment paper) and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, blend together dry ingredients—oat flour, coconut sugar, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add almond butter, milk, oil, flax egg, and vanilla extract, stirring until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and then spread batter into prepared pan. Top with additional chocolate chips and bake for 18–22 minutes, or just until the edges are golden brown and center is mostly set. They will firm up more as they cool. Do not overbake, unless you want drier, cake-like bars.
For a clean cut, cool thoroughly before cutting into bars. Makes 9–16 bars, depending on how large you cut them. Store in an airtight container in a cool room for 2–3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Cook Time: 25 mins
Category: Vegan, Dessert, Gluten-Free

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These simple chocolate cupcakes are moist, delicious, and vegan friendly. They’re easy to make and include a gluten-free variation.

Sometimes you just need chocolate to make it through a long week, and preferably in the form of cake. Even better if that cake is topped with with even more chocolate! These cupcakes are the quintessential chocolate treat. Moist cake topped with the creamiest frosting is the most delicious combo too.

Although I love making layer cakes, I sometimes prefer the ease of cupcakes. They’re simple to make, take less time in the oven, and are the perfect single serving. They are also much easier to clean up than sliced cakes thanks to their wrappers, which conveniently serve as makeshift paper plates.

I’m more of a cake than frosting person, unlike my kiddos, who seem to enjoy the frosting more than the cake. I just add a little smear of frosting on my cupcake, while they prefer their’s piled high. You can easily customize the frosting on your cupcakes to suit your taste and even make a pretty swirl with a simple piping bag and decorative tip, if you want to.

I included a couple of different frosting options in the recipe below. One is a Two-Ingredient Whipped Ganache, which is just dark chocolate melted with coconut milk and whipped until it’s light and fluffy, and the other is a more traditional buttercream made with butter/shortening, cocoa, and powdered sugar. I like both, although the whipped ganache takes a bit of planning ahead, so if I’m in a pinch for time I make it with unsalted butter. Butter is one of the only sources of dairy that doesn’t have an adverse affect on my tummy, but if you’re dairy-free, you can easily use vegetable shortening/vegan butter instead. I hope you enjoy these cupcakes! If you’re a fan of chocolate cake, be sure to check out these other chocolate cake recipes on the blog! Happy baking!