Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars — Soft, chewy, and flourless so the creamy almond butter shines through with chocolate chips in every bite!! Easy, no-mixer peanut-free dessert recipe that’s a guaranteed hit!!
Best Ever Almond Butter Dessert
I’ve made a ton of bars with peanut butter but it’s been years since I’ve baked with almond butter.
These easy, one-bowl, no-mixer bars were worth the wait.
They’re similar to my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies in that there’s no flour but I swapped peanut butter for almond butter. The result is a soft, perfectly chewy bar, minus any gluten.
The interaction of the almond butter and egg creates enough for structure that they don’t fall apart but if you love soft bars, these are for you.
Almond Butter Bars Ingredients
To make the chocolate chip almond butter blondies, you’ll need the following basic ingredients:
- Almond butter
- Dark brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Tip
I recommend use mini chocolate chips for better distribution!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars
These peanut-free and accidentally gluten-free almond butter bars are very easy to prepare! Here’s an overview of the recipe:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the almond butter and dark brown sugar. Whisk until smooth and combined.
- Add the egg, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and stir until combined.
- Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Turn the batter out into prepared pan, packing it with a spatula to form an even, smooth, flat layer.
- Evenly sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons chocolate chips on top of the bars.
- Bake until the top is set in the center and done; don’t overbake or bars will turn crumbly and not hold together.
Can the Brown Sugar Be Substituted?
You can use all granulated (white) sugar, if that’s what you have on hand. However, dark brown sugar adds a very rich depth of flavor.
Plus, it has double the molasses of light brown sugar, which plays perfectly with the almond butter. Brown sugar also lends moisture to baked goods.
So, yes. You can swap the brown sugar for granulated sugar if needed but note that the bars won’t have the same depth of flavor nor will they quite as moist.
What Type of Almond Butter Should I Use?
I used a raw, no-salt almond butter from Trader Joe’s. I wanted the bars to have a slightly salty-sweet quality so I added enough salt given my almond butter to achieve it.
If your almond butter is already salted, scale back on the added salt.
Tips for Baking with Almond Butter
Bake time: All almond butters vary in their consistency and therefore baking times will vary. 13 to 14 minutes is perfect in my oven and climate with my almond butter, but bake until your bars have set up.
Additional mix-ins: I love the combination of almond butter and chocolate, but you may substitute 1/2 cup mix-ins of your choice. Chopped nuts, dried fruit, or another flavor of baking chip may all be used.
Nut butter swap: If you only have peanut butter on hand, try making my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars instead. They’re the sister to this recipe! Or, simply substitute the almond butter for peanut butter or another nut / seed butter and follow this recipe as written.
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Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars
Ingredients
- one 16-ounce jar almond butter, I used raw, no-salt added
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste (scale back on the salt if your almond butter is salted)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus about 2 tablespoons for sprinkling (I recommend mini chips for better distribution)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl add the almond butter, dark brown sugar, and whisk until smooth and combined.
- Add the egg, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and stir until combined. Dough will be thick and a bit granular.
- Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Turn the batter out into prepared pan, packing it with a spatula to form an even, smooth, flat layer.
- Evenly sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons chocolate chips.
- Bake for about 13 to 14 minutes, or until top is set in center and done; don’t overbake or bars will turn crumbly and not hold together. All almond butters vary in thickness, and climates and ovens vary, so baking times will vary. Bars firm up as they cool.
- Place pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake — The cake is soft, extremely moist, dense but not heavy, and has bold peanut butter flavor that’s complemented by chocolate.
Peanut Butter Toffee Bit Cookies — You need just 6 simple ingredients to make these toffee cookies! The peanut butter cookie dough is accidentally gluten-free and packed with toffee bits!
I adore using almond butter when I bake so these bars are def up my alley!
I find myself eating spoonfuls of almond butter as my snack quite often. Putting it into yummy bars sounds like an even better idea! lol Can’t wait to try these out :)
Averie,
I prefer almond butter to peanut butter. These bars look delicious.
Annamaria
Love the combination of salty and sweet. Not to mention, these looks super simple! Yum!
I use almond butter sometimes, but what is raw almond butter?
Made from almonds that haven’t been roasted before being turned into AB.
These look delicious Averie! I love almond butter but haven’t used it in baking! Can’t wait to try this one!
I figured it was a nice change-up from peanut butter :)
They look absolutely fantastic! I’m craving almond butter now, it’s been so long since I had it!
I am in love with this recipe. I love the use of almond butter and dark brown sugar – I can practically taste the caramelly fusion of flavor goodness. I don’t know that there is a national holiday corresponding to them today (it is National Plum Pudding Day), but there should be. :-)
caramelly fusion of flavor goodness = yes and that is exactly what it tasted like!
When it comes to nut butters, almond and peanut are my top 2! These look fabulous–simple with a touch of chocolate and sweet enough without being overly rich. Yum!!
They had such a unique flavor and weren’t overly sweet yet still really satisfying!
We must be connected somehow because I’ve been baking with almond butter all week! It’s the best. Well, other than peanut butter. :) But these look amazing. I’m sure the brown sugar adds so much to the moisture!
Adds the perfect amount of moisture and how crazy that you’ve been baking with AB all week! It had been years for me! I shouldn’t wait that long next time :)
This looks delicious, I will try this recipe out on the 14th for my kids. This is it! So excited.
Averie, about how many cups of almond butter total?
It’s one 16-ounce jar. That probably comes out to about 2 cups but I didn’t measure it – I just transferred it from the jar to the mixing bowl. Do it that way, much less messy that trying to get it into a measuring cup.
Thank you so much for replying. T c