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Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. Just like mom’s oatmeal cookies, but updated to be gluten-free and without refined sugar! Envision buttery oatmeal cookie bars swirled with melty chocolate chips. All made with simple, wholesome ingredients: butter, old fashioned oats, almond flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, eggs, and probably too many chocolate chips. But in my book, you can never have enough! They’re sweet, salty, very chocolatey, gluten-free, and truly delicious.
My mom used to bake cookies before dinner. She’s kind of famous for it. And that’s how I grew up. We always had homemade desserts. But then the question was, “Well, what’s for dinner?”.
Dad made dinner most of the time. Things are different now, but my mom is still famous for her desserts. Especially her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
She makes them all in one bowl with absolutely nothing fancy. Just combine all the ingredients, mix, bake, and eat.
She used to make them both as cookies and cookie bars. They were one of my favorite desserts.
With all the sweet baking from the holidays, I decided to take her recipes and swap a few ingredients to make her cookie bars a little healthier.
Mom used to use canola oil, but we’re going to use a mix of brown butter and melted coconut oil. Then, maple syrup to replace the sugar and almond flour instead of all purpose flour.
Don’t worry, the process is still just as easy. And I promise, these cookie bars are the yummiest, with rich, warm brown butter and melty chocolate chips!
Here are the details
Ingredients
- salted butter
- old fashioned oats – I like Bob’s Red Mill brand
- almond flour – again, I use Bob’s Red Mill
- baking soda
- salt
- melted coconut oil
- maple syrup
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips – and lots of them
Fancy Tools
Nope! You don’t need those. Just a skillet, a mixing bowl, and a baking pan.
Steps
Step 1: brown the butter
The key is to brown the salted butter on the stove in a skillet. Use a medium skillet to ensure the butter does not bubble over.
Add the butter to a skillet set over medium heat to brown the butter. Allow the brown butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted. It will be golden and pretty!
Just don’t let it burn.
Step 2: mix the cookies
Now take the oats, almond flour, baking, soda, and salt and toss everything in a bowl. Add the melted coconut oil, the brown butter, maple, eggs, and vanilla.
The order does not matter! Just get everything but the chocolate chips into a bowl and mix.
Step 3: add the chocolate and bake
Now add the chocolate chips. Use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or a mix!
Bake the cookies for 25-ish minutes, and you’re all done.
You can dive into these while they’re still warm like we always do, or let them cool.
If you dive in warm, they’ll be messy, but that’s what makes them so good. Just embrace the mess. These are so delectable. Perfectly set on the edges, yet the soft in the center with just the right amount of chew, sweetness, and rich flavors.
These make about 24 bars, so they’re great for parties too!
Looking for easy party desserts? Here are a few ideas:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies
Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Twix Bars
Caramel Butter Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Lastly, if you make these Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Servings: 24 cookie bars
Calories Per Serving: 248 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 2. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let cool for 5 minutes. 3. In a bowl, beat together the oats, almond flour, baking soda, salt, brown butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the chocolate chips. 4. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly golden. You can let them chill or cut into them. If they're warm, they will be messier – but so DELISH!
This post was originally published on January 14, 2025
I tend to love Tieghan’s recipes, but this one fell flat. More like it crumbled. I should have read the other reviews and realized it wasn’t going to work out when my batter was far drier than what I saw in the TikTok. It tasted good, but wouldn’t hold up so I had to trash it.
Hi Nicole,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and so many others, I am so sorry they didn’t turn out for you!
I’d love to try these, but I wish there was an AP flour conversion. My son is allergic to nuts, so almond flour is a no go here.
Hi Allison! You can definitely swap the almond flour for all-purpose flour. Just use the same amount (1:1) and the bars will bake up great, still soft, chewy, and delicious! xT
Pretty disappointed. I was excited to try this recipe and expecting it to have a cookie texture, hence the title. They were more of a fluffy texture, like a muffin, and were SO crumbly/falling apart. Also NOT sweet enough. My boyfriend says they’re “dry and bland”. Definitely more of a mildly sweet breakfast-type bar than a “cookie” bar. I really wanted to like these but they’re just not one of the better recipes I’ve tried. It’s frustrating because I used alot of high quality expensive organic ingredients, and now feel like I wasted money.
Hi Chelsie,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear the cookie bars were not enjoyed. xx
I actually used olive oil instead of coconut oil and found it less crumbly / more held together ! I also added cinnamon to mine which made it darker overall in color but had a bit more flavor to it !
Hey Adair,
Happy Sunday!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was a winner!!
I can’t wait to try these. They look so good
Thank you for sharing
Thanks so much, Linda!! I hope you love this recipe! Have a great weekend! xx
Dry, crumbly and not much for flavor. I was excited because the browned butter smelled delicious & I thought would add some flavor but sadly-it fell flat. I love to try new recipes, but this was not our favorite!
Hi Melissa,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
My family LOVED these. I’m easy, I will eat anything with browned butter in it. They’re not super sweet and very oat forward, which I appreciate. Will be making again.
Hey Lisa,
Happy Sunday!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for making it and your comment!!
Oh my. These were not very tasty. 1/2 cup of maple syrup in a 9×13 pan? Not sweet enough therefore dessert like, tasted like oatmeal cardboard. I ate the chocolate and tossed the rest.
Hi there,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
We made these with all-purpose flour and extra butter instead of coconut oil since that is what I had on hand (we wanted something warm and chocolatey on this bitter cold day rather than looking for something healthy anyways:). They turned out really well and were not as crumbly as some people mentioned, likely because of the substitutions we made. The bars were more of a muffin consistency and would be really good with a little bit of flaky sea salt on top too! We will definitely make again!
Thank you so much, Megan! So glad to hear this recipe was a winner, I appreciate you making it! xx
I made these this weekend for SuperBowl Sunday at my house. I was looking for a healthy dessert alternative to serve, as I’m trying to lose a few pounds and I also had some friends coming who are a little more health conscious. That said, when I tasted them immediately after cooling, I was slightly disappointed in them. I thought they were a little dry and not quite a sweet as I typically like for a chocolate chip cookie alternative. I know a lot of people say they were “too crumbly” but I actually felt they had the expected amount of “crumbliness” considering the amount of almond flour and oats. I don’t know, I pressed them well into the pan and let them cool enough (not even all the way) and I didn’t have an issue with them falling apart or anything. By the next day they were even more substantial, yet still nice and chewy. I also felt they tasted better the next day and have to say, I was surprised at what a hit they were with my guests. I kept warning everyone they were “healthy” so they didn’t expect an over indulgent type cookie bar, but everyone said there were delicious and either had seconds or asked to take a couple to go. I’ve been eating what’s left more than I should over the last couple of days. I actually found I LOVE them reheated in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the chocolate chips and then I sprinkle a tiny bit of flaky salt on top. OMG! they do feel more breakfasty or snack-like to me than a dessert, but I do love them now. I think, though, next time I’m going to add just a tad more of the browned butter (to perhaps make them slightly moister, but I’d also like a more profound browned-butter flavor) and I will probably add just a slight bit more sweetener if I want them to be more dessert-like. Perhaps some truvia brown “sugar” stevia so as not to add extra empty calories. But I just wanted to let you know that we enjoyed these very much! (even my 15 yr old!) Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Jeanine,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Should they be pressed into the pan like a shortbread crust? Would this help with the texture? Flavor is nice but they completely fall apart.
Hi Jean,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try! Yes, you want to press the dough into the pan. I hope this helps! xx
I’m allergic to nuts, can i use regular flour to coconut flour
Thanks
Hi Olicia,
Yes, that will work nicely for you. If you use all purpose flour, I would reduce the oats to 2 1/2 cups. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Good flavor but they were so crumbly you couldn’t hold to eat. Would be good on yogurt or ice cream as almost a granola.
Thanks so much, Hannah! Glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! They can definitely be crumbly. I would wait until they are fully cooled, they should be less crumbly for you. xx
Tasted good. But were crumbly. I used cashew nut flour instead of almond flour
Hey Tina,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Yes, they are a bit crumbly. Glad to hear they were enjoyed! xT