These bars are like the lovechild of a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie!
Gooey, fudgy, rich, decadent, peanut buttery, chocolatey, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip brownie bars – I could go on with adjectives, but you really need to try them to understand!
This recipe was created to say thank you.
I found out last week that my book made the list of Amazon’s Top 20 Best Cookbooks Of 2015. Seeing my name included on that list when I opened the email was such a shock… I think I probably screamed… and maybe scared the neighbors… I can’t stop smiling… and still can’t believe it!!!
Please forgive me for mentioning the book again… there is no way I can keep this exciting news to myself! Making Amazon’s Top 20 Cookbooks of the year is by far one of the MOST exciting things to happen in all the time I’ve been blogging. And I can’t ever thank you enough.
Before the book came out, my publisher had warned me that because not everyone eats dessert, cookbooks with only desserts rarely sell as well as non-dessert books and that I should keep this in mind and not get my hopes up too far. Neither of us ever expected this amount of incredible success; we have been stunned at how many people have been buying the book.
It’s completely crazy!!!!
Words are failing me once again, and therefore I wish to express my thanks to you all in my usual favored way: through—what else?—dessert!
Thank you to everyone who reads this blog.
Thank you to everyone who has ever made one of the recipes or mentioned the site to a friend.
Thank you to everyone who has bought the book.
But mostly, thank you to everyone simply just for reading. I know full well it’s because of YOU that I’m able to do what I love every day, and I never want to take that for granted. I wish I could send a batch of chocolate chip brownie bars to each of you as a thank-you for making this all possible. Thank you again and again and again. Thank you, a million times over. ♥
Okay, brownie time!
Gooey Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars
Adapted from Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bars
Gooey Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup peanut butter OR allergy-friendly alternative
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp flour (almond flour, white, spelt, sorghum, oat, and Bob’s gf all work here)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup sugar or xylitol
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (mini are best, but regular will also work)
- optional chocolate chips for the top
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8×8 pan. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the first 3 ingredients until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients, and stir. Only if it’s too dry after stirring to resemble a thick brownie batter, very slowly add a little milk of choice (or water) until the desired texture is reached. Smooth evenly into the prepared pan, then press in some extra chocolate chips if desired. Bake 20 minutes, then remove from the oven. It will look a little undercooked, so do not touch the pan for at least 15 minutes. After this time, it will have firmed up and you can cut without crumbling. After a day, leftovers should be stored in the fridge for freshness.
Links Of The Day:
Chocolate Quinoa Breakfast Cups, from the Hello Breakfast Cookbook
Cannot wait to try making these! <3<3<3 They look so gooey–which I LOVE!
You describe them as flourless, yet there is flour in the recipe?
Sorry, you are correct! (Although… if you did want to make them flourless, I can vouch for oat flour in this recipe, which is really just ground-up oats. And although I haven’t tried it, almond flour might also work.)
If using gf flour, do I also need to add xantham gum?
Does the calorie count include the regular sugar?
It is for the xylitol, but I used regular chocolate chips (not sugar-free) in calculations. If you want bars that are completely sugar-free, be sure to use sugar-free chocolate chips.
Can I omit the baking soda?
Congratulations on the book!!! I have it & have tried only 2 recipes and both were amazing!! These brownies look soooo yummy!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Katie, I have enjoyed making several of the recipes in your book. Thanks for sharing your talents with the world! I have a couple of questions regarding the nutritional information you give. First, you show a yield of 16 brownies…I’m not sure how you would be able to cut that from an 8 x 8 pan of brownies…
Also, your nutrition information states it does not include the chocolate chips, yet these are not optional in your recipe (only on the top). Could you please shed some light on these questions? Thanks again for all you do!
Hi Nancy,
As mentioned in the nutrition link, it very much DOES include the chocolate chips. The bars in the photos were cut into 16 squares.
Hmmm, I guess I need to check my recipe software for accuracy because it gave me a nutritional breakdown on this recipe as 181 calories at 16 bite sized brownies per batch. Thanks for your speedy reply.
Actually I’ve gotten as many as 20 servings from that size pan before. If the brownies are really rich, you don’t need or even want a giant bar. And it’s not bite sized. Portions nowadays in restaurants are just needlessly way too big, when you could be satisfied from a much smaller amount.
I made these tonight and they very easily cut into 16 squares — we each had one and as they were super rich, one was quite satisfying. I use sucanat (not xylitol) and homemade, raw applesauce and the calorie count was closer to 160, but still pretty reasonable.
Thank you so much for making them! 🙂
Hi Katie,
Yeah on the book!! I do have a question about this amazing looking recipe.. you describe them as “Gooey, fudgy, rich, decadent, peanut buttery, chocolatey, FLOURLESS, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip brownie bars”.. yet the ingredients include “1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp flour (white, spelt, sorghum, and Bob’s gf all work here)” with no option like almond flour to make them grain-free. Is there a way to keep them vegan and make them grain-free as well?
Thanks for all you share.
Sorry about that. I took that adjective out of the post. If you want to make them flourless, oat flour does work. I haven’t tried almond flour in this particular recipe, but I know readers have successfully used it in the zucchini bars this recipe is based off. So that looks favorably towards almond flour working here! 🙂
thanks Katie.. think I could sub the applesauce for zucchini in this recipe? same amount of almond flour as listed for the others?
Is it really 1/12 tsp of baking soda? I’m guessing it’s just a typing error and you really meant 1 1/2 tsp but just wanted to make sure. Thanks!
Fixed! 🙂
Congratulations!!! I’m so thrilled for you with the success of your book! I make your recipes all the time and everyone I serve them to raves about them! I tell them about your blog and how creative and cute and funny you are! (I love your writing style almost as much as your recipes!) You are so gifted and I’m glad you get to do what you love! 🙂
Congrats Katie! I want to buy your book too, but I don’t have enough money as a high school student, so I’m asking it for Christmas! I love your blog, the recipes all are amazing 🙂
If you go to buy it for Christmas, look on amazon. I got my first one at Barnes and Nobles before realizing it’s like $5 less on amazon!
Yeah, I will, because I live in Europe 😉
These look so good! I’ve been subscribed for about a year and have never been brave enough to try making one of your recipes. I think I’ll try this one; it looks delicious!
Congratulations to you, Katie! Yours is my all-time favorite dessert cookbook also! I am so glad that I found you because I cannot eat sugar at all because I get a yeast infection every time. I have a suggestion. Xylitol, to me, is quite granular. I put it in a medium-size, small mesh sieve and using a spoon, work it back and forth to make the granules smaller, then adding to the recipe. I have two questions for you, Katie! What brand of mini chips do you use or suggest for me? You mention in some of your recipes “UNCUT STEVIA.” What exactly is this and what brand do you suggest? Thank you!
I’m not Katie but I found this helpful https://lett-trim.today/stevia-conversion-chart/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Try EnjoyLife mini chips. Fair trade and vegan 🙂
Katie thank you for making my all time favorite dessert cookbook. You deserve all your success. I recommend you to everyone. I bet I have made at least 30 of your recipes and my 2 boys love your desserts! Your recipes even inspire me to come up with my own. I will be making these brownies!!! Much love to you!
The Peirick Family
We love you Katie!!! <3 big love coming all the way from NL, Canada!
Congratulations Katie! I only recently found your site and made a delicious chocolate chip cookie pie with white beans from your recipe. I did not know you had a book! Desserts are my vice! I will definitely be making this recipe and purchasing your book. Congrats again!
That is AMAZING. Congratulations, Katie!
Kindredly,
a Kacyful of Chocolate
Congratulations! You totally deserve all of your success, your recipes are amazing. I never knew there was such thing as a healthy dessert until I stumbled upon you blog. Thank you!