Toffee Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookie Bars Vegan, gluten-free, soy-free Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/09/02/toffee-cinnamon-oatmeal-cookie-bars-vegan-gluten-free Recipe

Ingredients

1 flax egg: (1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats, ground into a flour (Or use 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon oat flour)
3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon non-dairy chocolate chips, divided (I used Enjoy Life mini chips)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
Mix flax egg in a small bowl or mug and set aside to thicken.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the coconut oil and sugar with electric beaters until combined.
Pour in the flax egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and beat again.
Finally add in the oat flour, rolled oats, almond flour, and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (reserving the 1 tablespoon for later) and beat until combined.
Spoon dough into prepared pan and spread out until smooth and even. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top and press down. I use a pastry roller to roll the dough out even.
Bake for 18-20 minutes (I baked for 20 minutes), until golden brown and slightly cracked around the edges.
Place pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then, lift out and place bars directly on cooling rack for another 10 minutes or so, until cool. Slice and enjoy! Note: The bars will crumble slightly if sliced warm, but they firm up nicely when cooled.
Tips: 1) Instead of coconut sugar, you can try using Sucanat or unpacked light brown sugar. 2) Coconut sugar gives the bars a deep golden hue during baking. At first, you might think you burned the bars like I did, but that wasn't the case. They are supposed to have a dark golden hue when using coconut sugar. Other sugars might result in a lighter outcome. 3) To make the freshly ground oat flour, add 3/4 cup rolled oats into a high speed blender. Blend on high until a fine flour forms. You can also simply use store-bought oat flour (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon should do it).