There is something about baking that relaxes me and makes me happy. As I measure the ingredients and mix everything together, I get that familiar feeling of comfort that seems to surface every time I lick beaters full of oatmeal cookie dough or bite into warm brownie fresh out of the oven.
A few weeks ago, when we invited our neighbors over for a casual weeknight cookout, I wanted to whip up a fast dessert that would be easy to grab as we chatted away and figured welcoming guests into our home was the perfect excuse to bake up a sweet treat! I shared a few pictures of the baking process when I first made these bars on my Instagram Stories, and a bunch of you requested the recipe, so I made sure to make the bars again and photograph everything to share on the blog. (And, let’s be honest, it was a great excuse to make these bars again for our little family to enjoy!)
I bought everything I needed for these bars and our cookout at ALDI, including all of the ingredients for the Black Bean and Brown Rice Salad we all loved so much! I initially thought I’d make a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies for dessert for the cookout but when I saw the SimplyNature Creamy Almond Butter (part of ALDI’s SimplyNature line of product that are free of any artificial preservatives, flavorings and colors) for only $4.99*, I switched my game plan and picked up some oats, SimplyNature Organic Coconut Oil, mini chocolate chips and SimplyNature Organic Wildflower Honey with the hope of making a batch of chocolate chip almond butter bars for everyone to enjoy.
Chase has also been loving homemade energy bites made with dates and an assortment of nuts and nut butters, so I grabbed some dates and walnuts as well, figuring I could make a toddler-friendly energy bite version of the bars for him, too!
The bars were really easy to make – a one bowl recipe – and everyone loved them! As you’ll see below, the recipe calls for mini chocolate chips and while regular chocolate chips may be substituted, I definitely recommend sticking with the mini chips because they melt into the bars and make them extra chocolaty and almost brownie-like. These bars taste like a perfect hybrid between a chocolate chip cookie and an almond butter blondie.
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Mini chocolate chips melt together and pair perfectly with nutty almond butter in these Must-Make Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars. Made with coconut oil, oats and honey, these bars come together quickly and disappear even faster once you take them out of the oven.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup SimplyNature Creamy Almond Butter
- 3 tablespoons melted SimplyNature Organic Coconut Oil
- 3/4 teaspoon Stonemill Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup SimplyNature Organic Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup SimplyNature Organic Wildflower Honey
- 1 SimplyNature Organic Cage Free Brown Egg
- 3/4 cup Baker’s Corner All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cup Millville Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 3/4 teaspoon Baker’s Corner Baking Soda
- 1/4 teaspoon Stonemill Salt
- 1/2 cup Baker’s Corner Mini Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix almond butter, brown sugar, vanilla, honey, melted coconut oil and egg together in a large bowl until combined. Slowly mix in the flour, oats, baking soda and salt.
- Once batter is fully combined, stir in mini chocolate chips and spread batter into an 8×8 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Allow bars to cool and then transfer to the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so before serving to allow the bars to set further.
- Slice into bars and enjoy!
Keywords: DAIRY-FREE, DESSERTS/SWEET TREATS, RECIPES
And now for the kid-friendly energy bites version…
Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Energy Bites
Makes 16 Energy Bites
Prep Time: 5 Minutes // Cook Time: 2 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Southern Grove Pitted Dates
- 1/4 cup Southern Grove Walnuts
- 1/2 cup SimplyNature Creamy Almond Butter
- 1/4 cup Baker’s Corner Mini Chocolate Chips
Directions:
- Combine dates, walnuts and almond butter in a food processor and pulse until a thick dough forms. Remove food processor blades and stir in mini chocolate chips.
- Roll batter into round balls and refrigerate for an hour before digging in. Store in an air-tight container.
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Disclaimer: Price and product availability may vary store-to-store.
I love that these would be an awesome dessert but have some healthy staying power in them! Coconut oil and almond butter are a match made in healthy fat heaven!
We do most of our grocery shopping at Aldi. I love that I can quickly grab all the ingredients for these while I’m there. I’d love more Aldi recipes!
Making these for our Memorial Day trip! Sounds delicious!
Hope you love them!!
GOO central! These bars pack some serious goo and I love it.
Yessss! The gooey middle was definitely the best part!
These look absolutely delicious!
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Both recipes sound so good! Nut butter + chocolate is one of my all time favorite combos. Thanks for sharing these!
These look so delicious! I am definitely going to save this recipe to make later. Also, 4.99 for almond butter is an awesome price.
You really can’t go wrong with almond butter! I agree with you, there is something super relaxing about baking and plus, it makes the house smell amazing!
So, these are totally healthy right? They look delish! One of the things I’m really looking forward to when we move to TX is being close to an ALDI! I’ve actually never been, only because they literally aren’t here! I think there might be ONE in AR that I know of!
Yummmmm! I’ve never been in an Aldi and don’t think we have one here, but I keep hearing about the great prices. Happy Thursday, Julie! 🙂
These sound great! I feel a little broken if I don’t get my Aldi’ing in on the weekends.
My son is going to love these! Can’t wait to try! 🙂
Those almond butter bars look incredible!! Do you think you could substitute the egg with a flax egg?
I think you probably could but I cannot say for sure since I haven’t personally tried it yet. If you do, please report back and let me know if it worked!!
Yum! Those bars are calling my name 🙂
I wish we had Aldi here, but I shop mostly at Publix (love!) and a local chain, Rouse’s.
I already had all of these ingredients and have a friend coming over tonight, so in the oven these go! The batter tasted AMAZING!
Hooray!!! Really hope you enjoyed them!
Talk about a delicious post! I don’t have kids, but I think I might be making those energy bites this weekend! If they are good enough for Chase – I am sure they will be amazing!!!
I think I ate just as many as he did! 🙂
Ooooooo…these look so yummy! Perfect for what we were craving tonight! Thanks for another great recipe – your recipes are so easy and FAST! Thanks!
I’m so obsessed with almond butter I go through like a jar a week. I need to find giant jars, lol.
My little guy had been all about the snack bites lately! I love them too =)
The combo of oats and nut butter always seem to be a win. These look so good!
I made the almond butter bars yesterday to round out our holiday weekend and they were delicious. My 16-month old also had a few bites! I wanted to make him the energy bites but my Aldi did not have dates. 🙁
oh bummer! they are refrigerated so check by the produce next time! also, i’m SO glad you liked the bars!!! thank you for taking the time to let me know!
These indeed look like a MUST make. I have two almond butter jars that need some use, despite the fact that they were $25 a jar! XD
Hi Julie, what could you substitute honey with? Maple syrup?
I think that should work!!
How do you think whole wheat pastry flour would be as a substitute for the all purpose?