Almond Cookie Bar

HOW TO MAKE COOKIE BARS WITH ALMOND FLOUR

This buttery cookie is made much like shortbread. Except we are using almond flour instead of all-purpose flour. Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour is my favorite {not sponsored, just a big fan}.

Baking with almond flour is very common in gluten free baking. You use it much like regular flour, but the two can’t usually be swapped for one another without making additional recipe changes. Almond flour is made of finely ground almonds so it reacts differently from regular flour made of wheat.

a look at the chewy inside texture of almond cookie bars

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INGREDIENTS FOR THIS GLUTEN FREE RECIPE

ingredients for almond cookie bars with coconut

Almond flour ~ I used Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour
Confectioners’ sugar ~ adds softness and some sweetness
Kosher salt ~ if using table salt, use a little less
Coconut ~ use flaked or shredded, the kind that looks like shredded cheese. If you don’t want long strands in the cookie bars, give it a little chop before adding to the recipe.
Unsalted butter ~ because this is a shortbread like base, I recommend a good quality European butter such as Plugra or Kerrygold.
Chocolate ~ I used a chopped milk chocolate bar {I always have Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bars in my baking cabinet}, but you could use chocolate chips and dark chocolate, if preferred.
Almonds ~ dry roasted almonds were chopped for the topping, but you could also use sliced or slivered almonds.

HOW TO MAKE ALMOND COOKIE BARS WITH COCONUT AND CHOCOLATE

Start by preparing an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. This is the USA Pan that I use and love.

Then add the almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, coconut and kosher salt in a bowl and mix to combine. I use my pastry cutter for this {less dishes to wash!}. Next add the unsalted butter and use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms.

butter on top of dry ingredients in a glass bowl

Now press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 12 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly browned. Remember your oven is different than mine and our baking times might be slightly different.

unbaked buttery almond flour base in baking pan

When the cookie is baked, remove it from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate over the hot bars. Allow it to sit for three minutes, then use an off-set spatula to smooth the melted chocolate over the almond cookie.

chopped chocolate melting over almond flour cookie base

chocolate layer spread over buttery almond base

Sprinkle coconut and chopped almonds over the top of the melted chocolate. Then use clean hands to lightly press the coconut and almonds in to the melted chocolate.

Now comes the hard part, waiting for them to cool! It takes about an hour for the cookies to be cool enough to slice them into bars without them falling apart. You can speed this process up by placing the pan in the refrigerator once it is cool enough to handle with bare hands.

overhead look at cut cookie bars on a parchment lined cutting board

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS COOKIE BAR RECIPE

It’s EASY! Active time is 10-15 minutes.
No chill time.
Uses cold butter.
Creates soft and chewy almond cookie bars, with almond joy like flavors.
A great cookie bar for those needing a dessert without flour.