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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 am a stickler for following recipes to the T! I like to know how the recipe is going to turn out without any substitutions! But I couldn’t use coconut oil because my daughter dislikes anything that tastes or smells or has the texture of coconut, LOL. But this turned out AMAZING!
If it wasn’t for the eggs I would have ate this stuff right out of the bowl! I did have a little LOL. And that was before I added the chocolate chips!
*I did only use one cup of mini morsel chocolate chips , simply cuz that’s all I had in my freezer .
**Really good oatmeal bars!!
Hi Jo,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great rest of the week:) Xxx
These weren’t great. One of the strongest flavors is coconut, which should really be mentioned in the recipe. Otherwise kind of bland. Texture is dry and crumbly. The best part were the chocolate chips.
Hi Stella,
So very sorry to hear you didn’t love these bars, thanks for giving them a try and sharing your feedback! xx
The comments would make you think these things weren’t worth trying… THEY ARE DELICIOUS! I probably overcooked mine by about 2 minutes but even then these are so good. We made everything as you said, subbing the almond flour for APF and then using 2.5 cups of oats instead of the three.
What a great sweet treat without refined sugar (minus the chocolate chips but do they count? 🤪)
Editing to add my 5 star rating.
Also, I did not experience these as being super crumbly? In fact I could eat it as a bar without really even needing a plate.
Didn’t have a strong coconut taste either.
Just want to encourage others to try these because they are awesome! We are from a household that doesn’t use added sugar outside of chocolate chips, honey, and maple syrup so maybe we are more accustomed to the taste of something like this? Regardless, we enjoyed!!!
Sugar is sugar, Jessica. It doesn’t matter if it’s maple syrup.
Thanks so much, Jessica:) I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed these cookie bars, thanks a lot for making them! xT
Super crumbly even after allowing them to cool. Bland & a let down. Not sure how well thought out this recipe was, but it was a miss for me.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
Super excited to make these, as soon as I saw the recipe today, exactly something I’ve been craving to eat. Not a cookie, and not a power ball, but something healthy with a bit of sweetness from the natural maple syrup, coconut oil, and real butter that’s browned, perfect combo! I did use original flour, and pat them down on a lined cookie sheet instead of the 9×13, and they are better than I imagined, breaking off into little unshapped bars. Thanks for the recipe, delish!
Hi Sheri,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment! So glad it turned out well! xT
Very crumbly. I anticipated something maybe chewy. Also, the flavor was kind of weird…
Hi Melody,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. xx
Just made these with gluten free flour. Shall let you know how they turn out. Stay tuned…currently in the oven.
Thanks for trying the recipe, Cari! I hope they are delish! Have a great evening:) xx
When I printed out the recipe it said 2 tsp of baking soda… I only realized that it was incorrect when I came back to see how to store them. (I will have to make them again correctly.)
So sorry about that!
Made these this afternoon. I agree with the others that these came out very crumbly, but more than anything…holy coconut oil taste. Husband and I are not a fan of this heavy flavor. It was not expected to be so strong.
Hi there,
Thanks so much for making these cookie bars! So sorry to hear you did not enjoy the coconut oil in the recipe, thanks for sharing your feedback! xx
These look so good! Just curious what makes them healthier. Sugar is sugar, our bodies don’t distinguish the difference. Just in case you didn’t know this.
Made these this afternoon. Tasty but very very crumbly, like eat with a spoon crumbly. Did I do something wrong? I followed the instructions exactly and did not change anything.
Hi Jackie,
Thanks so much for giving these bars a try! They are definitely messy, especially if you cut them warm. If you want more shape to them, allow them to fully cool in the baking dish before cutting. I hope this helps for next time! xT
The flavor was great but the texture was very crumbly. I also think 2 tsp of baking soda was too much, you could taste it a bit. Might try all purpose flour next time.
Recipe calls for 1 tsp baking soda.
Hi Olive,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! These are a touch crumbly, but you just want to use 1 teaspoon of baking soda. If you choose to try with all purpose flour, I would use 2 1/2 cups of oats and 2 cups of flour. I hope this helps! xx
Do you know if these would taste ok with a vegan butter to make them gluten free and dairy free?
Hi Jane,
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Same! Wondering if I can sub white or wheat for almond!
Hi there,
Yes, that would be okay to do, I would just use 2 1/2 cups of oats and 2 cups of flour. I hope this helps! xT
May I use whole wheat and white flour, one cup each? Sounds fabulous but I have plenty of flour and don’t want to get almond flour.
Hi Bobbi,
I would use 2 1/2 cups of oats and 2 cups of white flour. I hope you love this recipe! xT
I made them with 2 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup each whole wheat and white flour. They are very dry. Guess I should have increased the fat or added some liquid. Won’t make them again without changing something to make them more moist.
These sound so good! I love the “healthy” spin on it using no refined sugar!
Would quick oats work? I know the texture wont be exactly the same but would the recipe still bake correctly?
Thanks!
No refined sugar… with chocolate chips? Okay.
Hi Olivia,
You can give it a try, but I always find that old fashioned oats work better. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
These sound amazing! Would regular flour or even coconut flour work the same?
Thanks so much, Jennifer!! I would use 2 1/2 cups of oats and 2 cups of regular flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT