Vegan Snickerdoodle Bars

Rich, gooey vegan snickerdoodle bars have all the sweet, cinnamon flavors of the traditional cookie, in easy to make bar form! Healthy, gluten free and naturally sweetened.

Are you sick of hearing me freak out about how much I love Christmas every time I post?

I sure hope not.

When I think snickerdoodles, I immediately think holidays. Is this a thing? I feel like I might have made it up and people enjoy snickerdoodles year round, but do me a favor and pretend it’s a Christmas only thing.

These vegan snickerdoodle bars are everything wonderful about snickerdoodle cookies, only better because they’re bars! Which means they’re super simple to bake, and oh so rich and gooey. Who doesn’t love gooey when it comes to dessert? Not anybody I’d like to know, that’s for sure.

I’m kind of obsessed with brownies/bars. They’re one of my favorite things to bake, because as I mentioned, their incredible gooey texture is unmatched by most other sweets, but mostly for the ease and simplicity of bar recipes.

How much do I love brownies/bars?! I’ll run you through my faves.

1. I vividly remember tasting these vegan chocolate chip cookie gooey bars and literally moaning with bliss. SO FREAKING GOOEY AND GOOD, I CANNOT DEAL.
2. Classic brownies. Rich, fudgy, perfection.
3. As if brownies weren’t good enough, swirl them with date caramel and you’ve got vegan caramel brownies. Thank me later.
4. If you’re feeling fancy (or crunchy?) add a crunchy layer of chocolate on top of your already perfect brownies.
5. Banana chocolate chip bars, because the only thing better than chocolate or banana by themselves is combining the two.
6. Peanut butter chocolate chip buckeye bars, because there’s never a bad time for peanut butter + chocolate.
7. Pumpkin chocolate chip bars for when it’s September-December and you’re cramming as much pumpkin in your face as long as it’s socially acceptable to do so.

I feel like instead of Christmas cookies, we should make Christmas bars a thing. Doesn’t have the pleasing alliteration, but they’re too good to leave out of the fun with all these Christmasy flavors!

Ingredients for vegan snickerdoodle bars

• Chickpeas: you’ll use drained and rinsed canned chickpeas for the base of the bars, which provides tons of nutrition and a super rich and gooey texture.
• Nondairy milk: milk brings the batter together. I use unsweetened almond milk for neutral flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
• Medjool dates: you’ll blend the dates with hot water to make a paste, which naturally sweetens the bars.
• Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats to flour consistency, which helps hold them together.
• Cinnamon: the warm spice is a must for anything snickerdoodle.
• Cinnamon + stevia: this sweet + spiced mix will get sprinkled on the batter before baking for more flavor and nice texture.

Tips for making vegan snickerdoodle bars

• Measure the rolled oats before blending into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 1/2 cup of whole, rolled oats, then put that 1/2 cup into your blender to make flour.
• Use a nonstick or parchment-lined square pan. I use an 8 inch silicone pan which makes it very easy to remove the bars after baking. I highly recommend a silicone pan or lining with parchment paper so that the bars don’t stick.
• Let them cool completely. Make sure to let the bars cool in the pan for at least 1 hour after baking. They’re pretty soft, so they’ll firm up a lot as they cool. If you try to remove and cut them too soon, they may fall apart.

Vegan snickerdoodle bars are an easy treat to bake up for a night of Christmas movie binging. With just a few healthy ingredients, these sweet, gooey bars will bring your belly total holiday happiness.

Xo,

Sara