No-Bake Brownie Cookie Bars

I’m going to admit it, I have a pretty big sweet tooth. I’m a sucker for sweets. But, sometimes I do get lazy and I like to have something relatively easy to make. Luckily for me and you, I have a recipe that requires no baking. That’s right, no oven!! Just half an hour in the freezer after you’ve mixed everything together and you got yourself the best little treat. These No-Bake Brownie Cookie Bars are so dang good! It was effortless to make and was a mix of two of my favorite treats: cookies and brownies :) Bonus points for it being a tad bit healthier; these bars are made up of a cookie layer that tastes just like peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough and a brownie layer filled with chocolate goodness. Get to it guys, this one’s a goodie!

Ingredients you'll need

These No-Bake Brownie Cookie Bars require only a couple of ingredients in which most of them you probably have already :)

• Creamy peanut butter

• Vegetable oil

• Molasses

• Almond flour*

• Chocolate chunks

• Granulated sugar (processed)

• Brown sugar

• Cocoa powder

• Vanilla extract

• Evaporated milk

• Salt

Notes about ingredients*:

Since there is no baking needed for this recipe, you cannot substitute the almond flour for all-purpose flour or any other type of wheat, germ, and bran flours. This is because it is unsafe to eat as it can be filled with bacteria if it is not being heat-treated.

If you cannot use almond flour for some reason, you can heat treat your flour. This will obviously take more time but it's better to kill any nasty germs.

How to Heat-Treat Flour

Using an oven:

Simply spread your flour on a baking sheet and bake at 350° F for 5-10 minutes. The magic number is 160 degrees. Once your flour has reached that temperature you'll know it's safe. Allow to cool completely before using in recipe.

Using a microwave:

Microwave the flour in small batches for about 1 minute and 30 seconds on high. Take it out of the microwave and stir after every 15 seconds. You'll know it's ready after this time but to make sure, you can use a thermometer and check if it has reached 160° F. Let it cool completely before using in recipe.

Tips for making these No-Bake Cookie Brownie Bars

These tips and tricks will help you nail this recipe!

• Blend your sugar- I don't know about you but I wouldn't like eating something with a gritty texture. Since I like the taste of granulated sugar over powdered sugar, the best way to tackle this problem is by simply blending your sugar in the food processor until it becomes fine and slightly fluffy. This will reduce any feeling of grain in you bars.

• Use creamy Peanut Butter over Chunky- Unless you like chunky peanut butter and would like to use it in this recipe, then by all means, however, if you want a smooth texture I recommend using a creamy peanut butter.

• High-quality cocoa powder is the way to go- Using high quality cocoa powder will make these bars taste incredibly rich in flavor and 10x better.
  

Happy baking! :)

If you make this be sure to tag us on Instagram @sarahskitchenofficial

-Sarah <3

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Recipe Details:

Yield: 16 pieces

Time spent

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 0 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

COOKIE LAYER

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

• ¼ cup molasses

• 2 tsp vanilla

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 ¾ cup almond flour

• 1 cup chocolate chunks

BROWNIE LAYER

• 1 cup chocolate chips

• ¼ cup granulated sugar (processed)*

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 1 cup almond flour

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 ½ tbsp vegetable oil

• ¼ cup evaporated milk

• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Cookie Layer:

1. Line an 8x8-in. pan with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, stir the peanut butter, vegetable oil, molasses, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined. Next, add the almond flour and mix. It’ll start to thicken up which is good. Add in the chocolate chips and fold them into the mixture. Take the “cookie dough” out and press it into the pan, it will be the bottom layer. Place it in the freezer while making the next layer to allow it to stiffen up a bit.

Brownie Layer

1. In a microwave safe bowl, add meltable chocolate chips and your oil. Microwave on high for about 1-2 minutes, taking it out of the microwave and stirring every 15 seconds.

2. In a large mixing bowl, pour in the chocolate and oil mixture. Add the granulated* (check tips) and brown sugar. Beat until completely combined and smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Add the evaporated milk and vanilla extract, then beat again until smooth.

3. Sift in the almond flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Beat only until incorporated, you do not want to over-mix. Take the mixture and press it on top of the cookie layer, making sure it’s nice and compact. Freeze for 30 minutes before enjoying.

Tips

• *Blend your granulated sugar in a food processor before adding it to your mixture to reduce any feeling of grittiness.