These peanut butter Tagalong bars are like your favorite girl scout cookies, but even better… because now they’re bars instead of cookies!
Buttery shortbread crust
Creamy peanut butter filling
Smooth chocolate coating
These impossible-to-resist homemade peanut butter Tagalong bars can be flourless, vegan, oil free, gluten free, and even keto friendly.
Also try this Oil Free Chocolate Cake
They’re perfect for peanut butter and chocolate lovers.
I consider them the “lazy girl” version of my Healthy Girl Scout Cookie Tagalongs, because they are now even easier to make – no rolling out the dough, no cutting into circles, and no need to spread peanut butter onto each individual cookie.
In other words, less work and more enjoyment, so pretty much a win all around. I’ve also cut out all of the oil from the original cookie recipe, to make them even healthier.
For Keto Tagalong Bars:
Use the keto-friendly options listed for each ingredient: almond butter, stevia, and sugar free chocolate chips.
For Nut Free Tagalong Bars:
Use a nut-free spread such as sunflower butter in place of the nut butter.
Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe (or this recipe for Vegan Sugar Cookies) as a crust instead of the almond flour.
Peanut Butter Tagalong Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour (nut-free version listed above)
- just over 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch uncut stevia OR 5 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup or honey
- Only if using stevia version, add 5 1/2 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup peanut butter OR allergy-friendly sub, thinned out with milk of choice until spreadable
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, or sugar free chocolate chips
- optional 1-2 tsp oil, for smoother chocolate sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment, and set aside. In a measuring bowl, stir together the almond meal, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and sweetener (and water, if using) to form a dough. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, and use a second sheet of parchment to smush the dough out evenly, pressing down again and again until it covers the bottom of the pan. Bake 12 minutes on the center rack, then let cool at least 20 minutes before either frosting right in the pan or removing from the pan and then frosting with the peanut butter. Carefully melt the chocolate. (I like to include the oil for smoother sauce that's easier to spread.) Spread on top of the peanut butter layer. Chill to set.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
More Healthy Chocolate Recipes:
Oh, Katie! You’re speaking my language 🙂 I had such a hard time figuring out which GS cookie was my favorite – I think it was a 4-way tie between Tagalongs, Thin Mints, Samoas, and Do-si-dos! Thanks for making these bars!!
Do you have a preference between all of these options? 🙂
Oh my word this looks perfect! Easy enough to make during naptime 🙂
Could I substitute coconut flour for the almond flour?
Or maybe out flour??
You can use this as the base! https://lett-trim.today/2014/12/09/sugar-cookie-bars/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I, too, would love to know what could be substituted to make this tree nut free. Thanks! I am not concerned with being gluten free but my little guy has severe food allergies. Thanks!
You can use this as the base if you’d prefer: https://lett-trim.today/2014/12/09/sugar-cookie-bars/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
A thing of beauty!
I took the lazy part seriously and just put the chocolate chips in a metal measuring cup into the oven while it (and the cookie) cooled down. They melted nicely that way and no worries about burning.
Yes, I was curious to see if it would work after so many people asked in the cookie recipe, so I omitted it intentionally. I’m sure it would work in the cookies as well, but I haven’t tried them without the oil and so am leaving that recipe as-is for now.
Thank you for making them!
I can’t believe it’s possible but these are even better than Tagalongs!! My husband and my kids loved them (all girls, ages 7, 4 and 1)! I used sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter since my husband can’t eat peanuts. This recipe is a keeper! THANK YOU KATIE!!
So delicious. Love these and they were simple to make.