These Healthy Candy Cookie Bars are the perfect way to use all that leftover Halloween candy and turn it into soft, thick cookie bars loaded with chocolate and delicious candies. The perfect treat for a snack or dessert. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free.
I have never been a great fun of sweets, have you? Frankly, it’s ages since I last bought sugar candies. I’m more a chocolate lover myself and, as I quit sugar a few months ago, sugar-free chocolate has become my new addiction.
Halloween is becoming increasingly popular here in Barcelona, and although we have our own traditions for the 31st October and 1st November, nobody wants to miss the opportunity to go to a Halloween party and dress up like a zombie. As could not be otherwise, my house was no exception.
I made those Healthy Candy Cookie Bars for a Halloween friend’s gathering at my place, and they loved it. Most of the people that surrounds me have a sweet tooth, but any sweet doesn’t do the trick. We all have become very picky when it comes to food. So, if you’re looking for a wholesome and healthy treat to stuff with your favorite candies, these Candy Cookie Bars are the way to go!
What are Healthy Candy Cookie Bars?
Healthy Candy Cookie Bars are the perfect combination of cookie dough and healthy chocolatey candies. Although, to tell the truth, these recipe will work with whatever candies you choose except gummies. Wondering what to do with leftover Halloween candy? Think no more and mix them in, you can’t go wrong with these delicious cookie bars.
What Kind of Candy Works Best in Healthy Candy Cookie Bars?
Any kind of candy will do the job, but personally, I prefer chocolate bars and chocolate candies, as well as chocolate covered nuts, like peanuts and almonds. That’s what I used for these candy cookie bars.
Are you in love with Reese’s, M&M’s, Snickers or Twix? Chop them up and mix them into this chewy candy cookie bars. Halloween is the one day of the year when it’s allowed to eat as much candy as one wants.
Tips For Making Healthy Candy Cookie Bars
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper. It makes it easier to lift the entire cookie bar out and then easily cut into squares. Not to mention that cleaning the pan later is a breeze.
- Use a 8-inch square pan. The cookie dough should be around ¾ inch thick when spread into the pan. If you use a larger pan, the dough will be thiner and you’ll get crumbly bars.
- Don’t over mix. Mix until just combined. If you over-mix, you’ll get a denser cookie bar.
- Don’t over bake either. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes just until golden brown and still gooey in the center.
RECIPE
Healthy Candy Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour
- ½ cup almond meal
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup almond butter
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Candies:
- ¼ cup dark chocolate covered peanuts
- ¼ cup colored chocolate covered peanuts
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate covered almonds
- 6 dark chocolate bars
Instructions
- In a small bowl, make your flax egg by mixing one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water. Stir well and let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF / 180 ºC. Line and grease an 8 x 8-inch pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine together the flour, almond meal, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the flaxseed mixture, almond butter, almond milk and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Do not over mix.
- Fold in the chocolate covered peanuts and almonds, reserving the chocolate bars to top the cookie bars.
- Pour the cookie bar batter into the prepared pan, spreading out evenly. Top with the reserved chocolate bars and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. For super gooey bars, only bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove cookie bars from the oven and let them cool for 30 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift the cookie bars out of the pan.
- Once the cookie bars are cool, cut into 16 bars and enjoy!
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Looking for more vegan desserts from Simple Green Recipes?
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
More dessert ideas from favorite blogs:
Cashew Tahini Bars from Running On Real Food
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