For those following a ketogenic diet, finding satisfying desserts can sometimes feel like a challenge. But fear not, because these Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars offer a delightful solution! These bars capture the essence of classic chocolate chip cookies in a thicker, gooier, and low-carb form. This recipe is not only easy to make but also incredibly versatile, allowing for various flavor combinations to suit your preferences. This recipe will become a new weekly staple.
Why You'll Love These Keto Cookie Bars
- Low Carb and Grain-Free: These cookie bars are naturally gluten and grain-free, making them a perfect choice for those with dietary restrictions or preferences.
- Versatile: While chocolate chips are a classic choice, feel free to experiment with other flavors like salted caramel or white chocolate.
- Quick and Easy: With just 15 minutes of prep time, these bars are a convenient option for a weeknight dessert or a party treat.
- Satisfying: The thicker bar format creates a gooey center and a more filling treat.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Almond Flour: The base of these grain-free low-carb cookie bars is almond flour. Almond flour makes a light and fluffy treat with the perfect crisp when combined with the right ingredients! It is also full of healthy fat, fiber, and some plant-based protein. Using fine-grained almond flour will yield the most "flour-like" results.
- Butter: Butter gives these low-carb blondies that iconic cookie flavor we all love so deeply. Fat in baked goods adds flavor and helps bind everything together. Unsalted butter is recommended because the recipe calls for additional salt.
- Sugar-Free Sweetener: In order to keep these cookie bars sugar-free, we use a sugar-free granulated sweetener. You have many options when it comes to sweeteners! Use your favorite granulated sugar-free sweetener, such as Truvia, monk fruit sweetener, xylitol, erythritol, Swerve, Lakanto, etc. I stick to Lakanto and Swerve which are a 1:1 swap with traditional sugar.
- Eggs: Help to bind the ingredients together and contribute to the cookie bars' structure.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Cookie bars are always made better with vanilla extract!
- Baking Soda & Sea Salt: Used for leavening the cookie bars and holding them steadfast, we use baking soda.
- Chocolate Chips: Stevia-sweetened chocolate chips are the chocolate portion of these cookie bars! You can use Lily’s or ChocZero dark chocolate chips. If you can find them, mini keto chocolate chips are great too.
- Xanthan Gum: This is what binds our ingredients together (yes, even in small amounts).
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. It is critical to line the dish to avoid sticking and crumbling when attempting to remove and cut bars.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a small mixing bowl, combine almond flour (1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons ), xanthan gum (1/2 teaspoon), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), and salt (1/4 teaspoon).
- Cream: Use an electric mixer to cream the butter (1/2 cup), erythritol (3/4 cup), and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) together in a large bowl.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs (2) and continue to mix until smooth.
- Add Flour Combo: With the mixers on, add flour a little at a time.
- Fold in Chocolate: Fold in the low carb chocolate chunks (1 cup).
- Spread and Bake: Spread the dough into the prepared casserole dish, smoothing the top with your spatula. Place extra chocolate chunks on top.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. The cookies are done when the top has been browned. For a gooey center, remove from oven just as top is becoming golden brown. Remove, cover the top of your casserole dish with foil, then continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Cool and Cut: Allow the cookie bars to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. To cut the cookies you can place them in the freezer for 10 minutes and use a very sharp knife.
- Serve: We place ours in the freezer for 20-30 minutes, it cools quickly but it’s still warm in the center and the chocolate is melty. Slice, serve and enjoy!!
Tips for the Perfect Keto Cookie Bars
- Softened Butter: Make sure your butter is properly softened before creaming it with the sweetener. This will ensure a smooth and creamy mixture.
- Don't Overbake: For a gooey center, remove the bars from the oven just as the top is becoming golden brown. They will continue to firm up as they cool.
- Cool Completely: Allow the cookie bars to cool completely before cutting to ensure perfect crisp edges.
- Storage: Place any leftover cookies in an airtight container quickly to preserve moisture and keep them from drying out. These cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. You can freeze these bars up to 3 months if stored in an airtight freezer bag.
Variations and Add-Ins
- Nuts: Add some chopped nuts for a delicious crunch.
- Different Keto Chocolate: Use different kinds of keto chocolate.
- Sugar Cookie Bars: Make keto sugar cookies bar by skipping the chocolate chunks.
- Mix-Ins: You’re welcome to mix and match the add-ins as desired.
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Two delectable keto desserts in one! These easy Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars will quickly become your favorite sugar-free treat.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup sweetener (brown sugar substitute)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sweetener
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Prepare the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt. Add the egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract and beat until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Bake the crust: Preheat oven to 325ºF and grease a 9-inch square pan well. Press about two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until light golden brown, then remove from the oven and let cool (it will not be fully baked at this point).
- Make the cheesecake filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until completely smooth, about 1 minutes. Add the powdered sweetener, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Finally beat in the egg until just combined.
- Assemble the bars: Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Take the remaining cookie crust mixture and crumble over the top of the filling, pressing lightly to adhere.
- Bake, then chill: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top crust is golden and the filling is just a little jiggly in the center.
- Cool and Chill: Let the bars cool completely before refrigerating for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.
Tips for Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
- Soften Cream Cheese: I cannot stress how important it is to have your cream cheese properly softened before beating. In cooler climes, this means warming it up a tiny bit. I always zap mine in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Bake the Bottom Crust: Bake the bottom crust until it’s just golden brown. You don’t want it fully baked but you want it to bake enough to be firm under the cheesecake filling.
- Sweetener Options: I recommend using an erythritol-based brown sugar sweetener for the crust. Allulose will cause it to brown too much and it will also be overly soft, so the bars won’t have enough structure. You do want a powdered sweetener for the cheesecake filling but it can be whatever kind you like best. I used a combination of erythritol and allulose.
Serving and Storage
- Serving: Reheat your keto cookie bars for the best results! As mentioned, baked goods made from sugar alcohol taste best when reheated.
- Storage: Keto dessert bars like this refrigerate and freeze really well. Make sure to let them cool properly before wrapping them up tightly to store. You can freeze them in the pan, if you like, but I recommend pressing plastic wrap to the surface of the cooled bars, to avoid freezer burn. Then wrap the whole pan tightly in foil or additional plastic. You could also cut them into individual servings and store in a covered container between sheets of waxed paper, so that you can enjoy them anytime the craving strikes.
Nutritional Information
Each Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar (recipe above) has 4.4 net carbs each. This keto chocolate chip cheesecake bar recipe has 6.1g of carbs and 3.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.9g net carbs per bar.
Other Keto Dessert Recipes to Try
- Turtle Brownies (low carb + keto): Perfectly fudgy and decadent.
- Keto Chocolate Cake: This recipe is moist, soft, and so decadent.
- No Bake Peanut Butter Pie: The perfect easy dessert recipe!
- Classic Keto Whoopie Pies: Features a soft, chewy cookie with light and fluffy vanilla filling!
- Keto Cranberry Cheesecake Bars: These delicious Keto Cranberry Cheesecake Bars have an almond flour shortbread cookie crust, a vanilla cheesecake filling, a layer of low-carb cranberry sauce, and a pecan crumble topping.
- Keto Coffee Cake Cookies
- Keto Brookies
- Sheet Pan Keto Cookies: These Sheet Pan Keto Cookies have just 1.5 net carbs each and require no chilling!
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
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