Halfway Cookie Bars – rich cookie base with melty chocolate chips and meringue baked to golden gooey perfection – but vegan, gluten-free, and healthier!
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY HU KITCHEN
I am all kinds of excited about this recipe, so my apologies in advance if I talk too fast or shout too much or ramble too long. I just can’t help it.
I’ve had this idea tucked in the back of my mind for years, and that is not me exaggerating that is facts. It’s one of those childhood favorite treats my mom used to make that seems to be unknown and underrated by most of the world, which is truly a tragedy.
In my house they were just called “those really yummy chocolate chip cookie bars with the brown sugar meringue on top”. But it seems that the small faction of the world that does acknowledge their existence refers to them as Halfway Cookie Bars. And that’s cuter so we’ll go with that.
Now these are not the kind of bars that scream HEALTH. No no, the original halfway cookie bars are the kind of bars that should be sliced small and shared with many. They are rich and messy and gooey and very chocolatey and that meringue. The meringue topping is decadence plopped on top of decadence and baked to a golden caramelized heaven. Unnecessary but unforgettable, so somehow very necessary.
I’m sure by now you can see why they aren’t a very common vegan dessert – ahem, brown sugar meringue.
But it was time. Time that I put aside my fear of aquafaba, forget the failed attempts of years passed, and give it another chance for the sake of bringing VEGAN halfway cookie bars into this world.
And friends, it worked! I had my doubts but it worked.
We’ll dive into the details in a moment, but first I need to share the other VERY EXCITING thing about this recipe. It is from my very favorite brand of chocolate, Hu Kitchen, and it goes by the name of Gems.
Hu Kitchen has just created a chocolate chip/chunk hybrid designed for baking or snacking, and I have done both and can tell you they pulled it off FLAWLESSLY.
I will (have…many times) eaten other chocolate chips straight out of the bag, and while it’s not the worst activity to have to participate in it’s never the best chocolate eating experience either.
These are different. These taste like eating a high end chocolate bar just in perfectly bite-sized, adorably gem-shaped form. Vegan and paleo with a most enviable ingredient list (organic cacao, unrefined organic coconut sugar, organic fair-trade cocoa butter). Not overly sweet, melt wonderfully, honestly exceeded even my expectations. Which were high because if you’ve ever tasted a Hu Kitchen bar you know they are NOT messing around when it comes to chocolate.
A day has not gone by this week that I haven’t eaten at least a handful of these precious little things, and I don’t see that trend stopping anytime soon.
How to make Vegan Halfway Cookie Bars
First comes the cookie base. Oat flour, applesauce, almond butter, salt, vanilla, coconut sugar, the usual cookie things you hopefully have on hand.
They are not AS rich as the original, but still pretty dang rich.
Press this into the bottom of the pan, and then comes THE GEMS!
Now for the trickier part, meringue.
Aquafaba (chickpea liquid) whipped up with sugar into fluffy clouds of sweetness.
I used a can of organic no-salt added chickpeas and coconut sugar. I do recommend powdering the coconut sugar in a high speed blender first to avoid collapsing the meringue, and adding it VERY SLOWLY. Like spoonful by spoonful slowly. You can use regular white sugar instead, that is a slightly safer way to go if you are new to aquafaba meringue. A half teaspoon of cream of tartar helps to stabilize the meringue too.
I am no aquafaba expert, there are much more detailed tutorials out there if you do some googling on the topic.
Spread on top of the bars and bake!
Another tricky step, waiting for them too cool. But if you slice too soon they will be too gooey/crumbly, so patience.
Or pop them in the fridge overnight and forget, because these things are really good cold too.
It brings me endless gobs of joy to be able to share products with you that I truly (TRULY) love, turned into recipes I have always dreamed of creating.
So I hope you love these bars. And I hope you love Gems. And if you are on the fence just order the 6 pack already, pay shipping once, and treat yourself to the best chocolate hexagons money can buy.
Vegan Halfway Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 bars 1x
- Category: desserts
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
Halfway Cookie Bars – rich cookie base with melty chocolate chips and meringue baked to golden gooey perfection – but vegan, gluten-free, and healthier!
Ingredients
Cookie Bar
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
- 1/3 cup (85g) almond butter
- 1/3 cup (80g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup (70g) coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) oat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (85g) Hu Kitchen Gems
Meringue Topping
- 3/4 cup (180g) aquafaba*
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (85g), powdered**
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Stir together the almond butter, applesauce, prepared flax egg, coconut sugar, and vanilla.
- Add the oat flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Spread into the bottom of a greased baking dish (I used this 9×6″ dish, but an 8×8″ square works too)
- Top with the Hu Kitchen Gems. Press in gently. Set aside.
- In a dry clean bowl, begin whipping the aquafaba with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Beat to soft peaks.
- Add the cream of tartar. Continue beating for another minute or so.
- Add the powdered coconut sugar slowly while beating one tablespoon at a time until you have added the full 1/2 cup. Continuing beating to stiff peaks.
- Spread on top of the cookie bars.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350ºF.
- Cool completely before slicing and eating (or even refrigerate overnight, I love them cold!)
Notes
*This is the liquid drained from one 15oz can of no salt added chickpeas
**Grind in a high-speed blender to a fine powder to avoid collapsing the meringue. You can use cane sugar or powdered sugar instead.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 347
- Sugar: 27g
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 5g
Keywords: vegan, gluten-free, meringue, aquafaba, chocolate chip, egg free, dairy free, baking, dessert
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What the what?? First thing in the morning I get this notification that has the words “ cookie bars” in it and I don’t think I’ve clicked on a video that fast. The baked aquafaba part kind of looks like toasted marshmallows…they’re like S’mores Cookie Bars!😍😭
That is a great comparison, yes!! A little more caramelized/airy/flaky on top than a marshmallow but similar indeed. Mmm but now that you say it I want to make that top layer even more marshmallowy…🤔😂
For those who soak and cook their own chickpeas (or any other beans), aquafaba is the residual cooking water. To be sure the liquid has the good consistency and will works in a recipe, simply put in the fridge for a couple of hours. When cold, it should be thicker and slightly cohesive, a bit like egg whites. If it’s too liquid put the water back to a boil again.
Thank you so much for sharing, I’ve never made beans from scratch (🙈) so I didn’t know that! Do you find it to work better than canned for aquafaba/meringue things?
Well, I’ve never bought canned beans 😉 It works very well, as long as you check the texture once cooled, a I said. The cooking water should thicken in the fridge.
I made maple aquafaba ice cream yesterday (yes!), and realized that you can get the aquafaba into snowy peaks into a clean vitamix! This stuff is really one of the weirdest thing in the cooking substitution world, don’t you think so?
Oh wow, so much respect for your DIY-ing game🙌 Aquafaba ice cream sounds incredible, I am so intrigued to try that now and in the Vitamix too?! Thank you for all this fun inspiration, you are amazing💕
Hi Natalie! I LOVE your recipes. But what can I substitute for aquafaba, given its health risks? I’m not vegan, btw, and I’d love to hear options.
Aquafaba carries the toxins of the plastic liners in cans (which likely remain toxic even when they are replacing BPA with something else). But even if you make it from scratch, the water from soaked beans contains anti-nutrients that are not healthy. That’s why traditional customs around the world are to drain soaking water for beans before cooking them. Sally Fallon’s works probably offer more info about this, if you’re interested.
Thanks again for your delicious recipes!
Totally get that, and thanks for the info! You can make a coconut sugar meringue with egg whites instead, try 4 egg whites in place of the aquafaba and the same amount of coconut sugar (powdered first is still safest). Hope that helps!
Yum, thanks, this substitute sounds delish!!!
You do not use the soaking liquid, but the cooking liquid! I discard the soaking water, rinse the beans and then cook in fresh water.
Bean cooking water is apparently also discarded halfway through in many traditional cooking methods, likely for the same reasons.
Okay, these look CRAZY good. How have I never heard of this recipe?! Also can totally relate to being apprehensive about trying out aquafaba merinuge – had my eye on it for years and need to suck it up and try it, and you’re motivating me more because you nailed it, they look incredible, Natalie!!
I don’t know why they aren’t more well known, but they are KILLER🙌 Ah yes, the adventures in aquafaba haha. It’s weird/tricky stuff, but pretty fun to play with😊
“those really yummy chocolate chip cookie bars with the brown sugar meringue on top” made me laugh. I have actually never heard of Halfway Bars, but I am 100% sold. The way you beat that fluffy aquafaba and dollop it on top – I could watch that forever. And I am also obsessed with the sound of these Hu Kitchen gems – I LOVE their chocolate bars, so I’m sure I’d love these too!
Hahaha!! It was actually an old recipe from my mom’s neighbor when she was a kid, handwritten on a notecard and all. I had to google to find out the slightly more well known name, but they seriously are underrated🙌 Also GEMS…worth it❤️❤️
Making these today!
YAY! Let me know how it goes…🤗
How have I never heard of halfway cookie bars???? I feel like I missed out on something pretty epic…rich, messy, chocolatey AND a caramlized meringue topping?!? I am chomping at the bit to make these 😍😍 especially since you’ve used my absolute FAVORITE chocolate!!!! Whoa, but those gems?! I must get my hand on a few bags 😂 I very much doubt they’d make it into any baked goods seeing as I lack restraint around chocolate. I am SO glad that you got through your fear of aquafaba because now these cookie bars exist!! They look amazing, Natalie! I still have your zucchini chocolate chunk blondies to make…decisions, decisions 😆
I truly don’t know why they are such an unknown thing, but one of the best gooey chocolate secrets imo😋😋 Oh I have definitely eaten more Gems then I’ve baked lol. They are just too perfectly sized and too delicious not to eat by the handful…daily…in embarrassing quantities😂 These remind me of the zucchini blondies a little bit, just fancied up. Although gotta get in those greens so…😉
Can I replace bananas for the apple sauce thank u
Yep, mashed banana will work!
Hi
What can I use instead of flax seed and almond butter?
Thanks 😊
You can use chia seeds in place of the flax (or skip it if you don’t have those either, just know the cookie will be slightly more crumbly). And the almond butter can be swapped with any nut/seed butter (sunbutter, peanut butter, tahini, etc) Hope you enjoy 🙂
OH MY LORD, these seem like the most addictive and heavenly cookie bars in the world! I also have all of the necessary ingredients, so this is perfect. Heck, I could just make these cookie bars right now and it’s almost 11 P.M.–realistically I shouldn’t do that, but the temptation is real!
Haha yes that is quite an accurate description of these things SO GOOD😋😋 I mean cookies at 11pm sounds like my kinda friday night…but weekend cookie bar baking is always good too!
Hi! I just made them and they are fantastic! Have you ever used confectionary sugar instead of coconut sugar for the meringue? I am assuming it wouldn’t give it that toasty flavor from the coconut sugar. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes! *The Vitamix made oat flour and coconut confectionary sugar in a minute!
★★★★★
I am so happy you loved them!! Yes confectionary sugar would work too, the original recipe uses brown sugar so that’s why I picked coconut sugar. But I’ve heard confectionary sugar works even better with aquafaba so definitely worth a try 🙂 Isn’t it amazing? I love the Vitamix so much too!
I made these today and my meringe was sooooo nice and thick and fluffly but completely disentegrated in the oven 🙁 Now there’s a tiny bit of meringe left in the middle and a pool of liquid around the edges. Not sure what went wrong :”””(
It will deflate somewhat in the oven, but shouldn’t get watery. What kind of sugar did you use?
I used regular confectionary sugar. My meringue was beautiful when I put it in the oven. Still tastes fine, the liquid got kind of caramely.
I mean it is supposed to brown and caramelized, that’s natural with meringue when you bake it, but I’m not sure why it got watery😕
Hi Natalie
This looks really good
Want to try it
But Applesauce is not commonly available in my country. What can I sub it with?
Thanks
You could make your own applesauce (google unsweetened applesauce, tons of easy recipes) or sub mashed banana or yogurt!
I was super excited to try this recipe, but it really didn’t work out for me. 🙁 My issues seemed to revolve around the aquafaba meringue – I followed the instructions exactly, using the powdered sugar option because I thought it would be the safest bet for success. Like another commenter, it looked beautiful when I spread it onto the cookie base and after baking it was a nice golden brown. But it almost seems like it wasn’t baked long enough as the meringue never fully got crunchy/chewy looking like the photos after the 30 mins, it stayed kind of squishy. A lot of the meringue seemed to disintegrate and soak the cookie base making it soggy and actually bubbling when I took it out from the oven. The meringue in the middle of the pan did stay but doesn’t seem like the right texture at all. The overall texture wasn’t right, but I can tell from tasting it that this recipe would be great once the meringue was done properly – the only thing I can think of is that the powdered sugar is maybe the culprit here? Would 1/2 cup of coconut sugar be more hearty than 1/2 cup powdered sugar maybe and compromise the structure of the meringue? I hope to try this recipe again, but next time I’ll use coconut sugar.
★★★
Aw so sorry to hear they didn’t turn out for you! Vegan meringue can definitely be tricky and take a few trials to get right😅 I hope the next batch comes out better, keep me updated!