Scratch Made: Vegan Cookie Bars

After making a batch of my cookie bars for Whit’s bake sale a few weeks ago, I was inspired to try a new recipe and tweak a few things.

Thankfully, the tweaked recipe turned out to be just as tasty as the original!

The only difference I would make would be to use regular unsweetened applesauce. I ran out and used some chunky applesauce – it still worked, but I think I’d like them better without the chunks of apples.

Vegan Cookie Bars

• 2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave syrup
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 Tbsp ground flaxseed, mixed with 2-3 Tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks
• 1/4 cup dried fruit

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In small bowl, mix flax with water and let sit to thicken for 2-3 minutes.
3. In large bowl, mix oats, oat bran, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, chocolate and dried fruit (or whatever mix-ins you want – all fruit, all chocolate, etc).
4. Add applesauce, maple/agave, and flax mixture to dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
5. Press mixture into 8×8 pan (sprayed/greased) and bake 25-30 minutes or until golden on top and set.

I love the mix of the tart dried fruit and rich dark chocolate in these bars.

There’s just enough sweetness from the brown sugar and maple syrup to make them taste a bit like a dessert, but they’re not so sweet that you couldn’t have these for breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea and some fruit.

Next time, I’m going with all chocolate.

What can I say?  I’m a chocoholic at heart.