These low carb keto cookie bars are undeniably delicious, and perfect for a gluten free, low carb keto lifestyle. With only 5 net carbs per each of these chocolate chip bars, we're confident that these can help kick your sugar cravings.
If you're looking for something that tastes like low carb chocolate chip cookies, with even more decadence, you've come to the right place. With just a few staple pantry ingredients, you'll whip these up in no time!
Quick note about this recipe: it was originally created for a paid Instagram collaboration with Lily’s Sweets! We decided we absolutely had to bring the content over to the blog as well, (it’s gorgeous and delicious!) but we weren’t required to. 🙂 Thanks for supporting brands that help us bring fresh, free content to you, our readers!
Feel free to skip to the recipe card if you're ready to get right into it. We do cover common questions, tips, and tricks in the body of this post to keep reading if you're wondering something. We do also include tons of step by step pictures in the body of the post.
Ingredients:
- Unsalted butter - We will melt the butter, and actually allow it to be warm to combine and dissolve the sweeteners a little better. Don't worry, it will have plenty of time to cool off before adding in the eggs!
- Sugar free sweeteners - We use a mixture of brown sugar Swerve, and granular Swerve for the best texture and taste. Personally we find that adding half brown sugar substitute really creates an awesome texture, and molasses like taste that can't be beat. You could of course use all granular sweetener if you want.
- Cream cheese - Softened on the counter for at least an hour. Cream cheese helps these gluten free bars hold together, as well as add a great texture.
- Vanilla extract - Essential for a classic chocolate chip cookie bar flavor.
- Eggs - Room temperature eggs make the best texture.
- Almond flour and coconut flour- The base of these yummy bars is made from almond flour! We use a mixture of both almond and coconut to get just the right texture.
- Xanthan gum - A pretty essential part of gluten free baking. Xanthan gum helps hold the bars together.
- Salt - Salt is an essential part of all baked goods! It enhances sweetness and flavor. We use kosher salt in the actual bars themselves, and then sprinkle on flakey sea salt after baking for the perfect bite.
- Baking soda - We use a little baking soda, not baking powder, as a leavening agent in these bars. We don't want too much of a rise, so we don't use too much. Baking powder would make these bars too "cakey".
- Semi-sweet sugar free chocolate chips - As we mentioned above , we love Lily's semi-sweet chocolate chips for these bars. You can use whatever your favorite brand or variety is. Dark chocolate and milk chocolate work perfectly too.
You will find all the links to the tried and true ingredients we use in the recipe card below.
This recipe is now also available as a Google Web Story!
How to Make Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 pan, then line with parchment. In a large bowl, cream together sweetener and warm butter with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add in cream cheese and vanilla extract, and continue mixing together until there are no lumps of cream cheese, about another 3-5 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time until completely incorporated, but don't over mix.
In a separate bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients, folding together the batter with a rubber spatula. Don't over mix.
Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving some for the top. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top to even it out. Press in the remaining chocolate chips all over the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, and the edges are lightly browned. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt, and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire cooling rack for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving.
After bars have cooled, cut in and serve!
Tips For The Best Bars:
- A 9x9 pan is the better option for the cook time outlined. If using an 8x8 pan, you may need to add about 10 minutes to the bake time.
- Wait at least an hour to cut into the bars after baking so that they have time to set up. We like to let them cool for a few hours. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan using parchment paper and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- Salting the cookie bars right after they come out of the oven will help them stick to the melted chocolate.
- We like to drop the pan of cookie bars onto a cutting board right after they have cooked to help them deflate faster, and to give some nice cracks and texture in the top.
- Warm, melted butter will actually help dissolve the sweetener in this case. We will have plenty of time spent creaming together the butter and sweetener so that the butter won't be too hot when we add in the eggs.
- Room temperature cream cheese and eggs will create the best results. This is important for all baked goods to avoid eggs from scrambling or butter from seizing (if the batter is too cold).
How To Tell When the Bars Are Done:
Everyone is a little different with their preferences when it comes to done-ness, but you definitely don't want the batter to be raw. You will want the tops and edges of the bars to be lightly browned.
When you insert a toothpick into the center, you will want a few crumbs to cling to it if you prefer a nice and moist, chewy center.
What Makes These Bars So Chewy?
Using melted butter instead of room temperature makes the bars more chewy. We also add in slightly more almond flour, along with cream cheese and 2 whole eggs to make these bars super chewy! They still have an incredible crispy edge, so they're basically perfect.
In addition, adding some brown sugar replacement helps add more moisture to the dough, as well as some incredible molasses like flavor.
Storing the Cookie Bars:
You can keep these cookie bars covered at room temperature for a day or two, but you will need to refrigerate them in an airtight container. These cookies will keep in the fridge for up to one week. You can also wrap the bars really well in plastic wrap, the store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The longer these sit at room temperature, the more moisture will evaporate and the more crumbly they will become.
More Recipes To Try:
- Almond Flour Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
- Keto Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups
- Low Carb Banana Dream Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
- White Chocolate Raspberry Tart (Gluten Free, Keto) > made with Lily's white chocolate chips!
- Kitchen Sink Brownies (Low Carb, Gluten Free)
- Brownie Blondies
Need more ideas? Be sure to check out this massive list of over 85+ low carb and keto friendly recipes on our site! You can also sign up for our email list to be notified as soon as new recipes hit the blog!
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Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (warm melted butter will help dissolve the brown sugar replacement)
- ½ cup granular erythritol
- ½ cup brown sugar replacement
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 whole eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups almond flour (224 grams)
- ¼ cup coconut flour (30 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup sugar free semi-sweet chocolate chips (160 grams)
- flakey sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9 pan, then line with parchment. In a large bowl, cream together sweetener and warm butter with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in cream cheese and vanilla extract, and continue mixing together until there are no lumps of cream cheese, about another 3-5 minutes.Add in eggs one at a time until completely incorporated, but don't over mix.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum.Combine the wet and the dry ingredients, folding together the batter with a rubber spatula. Don't over mix.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving some for the top. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top to even it out. Press in the remaining chocolate chips all over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, and the edges are lightly browned.
- Sprinkle with flakey sea salt, and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire cooling rack for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving. Cut in, and enjoy!
- This makes 12 large size bars, or 16 medium sized bars. These will store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for 3 months if wrapped tightly in plastic and store in an air-tight container.
Notes
- If using a 8x8 pan, you may need to add around 10-15 minutes minutes to the bake time. As always, use a toothpick to determine if the center is fully cooked.
- Wait at least an hour to cut into the bars after baking so that they have time to set up. We like to let them cool for a few hours. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan using parchment paper and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- Salting the cookie bars right after they come out of the oven will help them stick to the melted chocolate.
- We like to drop the pan of cookie bars onto a cutting board right after they have cooked to help them deflate faster, and to give some nice cracks and texture in the top.
Nutrition
These nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are only estimates. We cannot guarantee the accuracy.
Isabel Lopez says
Hi! Very interested in making these delicious bars. If i don’t xanthum gum, can i use something else?
Briana says
Hey Isabel!
Xantham gum is our top choice (and truthfully the only thing we have tested with) but I'm sure ground flax seeds or gelatin would work as well.
If you don't have any of these things, the bars will still turn out delicious, but they may just be a bit more on the crumbly side. Let us know how it goes!
Nessa says
Can this recipe be made for regular cookies instead of bars
Briana says
I'm sure it can, but we haven't tested it yet, so unfortunately we can't be 100% sure!
Nandy says
I’ve had to keep this one on rotation. My husband is constantly requesting I make bars. It’s that good! I use different types chocolate chips for variety. Thanks for creating this amazing recipe.
Briana says
Hey Nandy! Thank you so much for the sweet comment! This is so awesome to hear. It's one of our favorite desserts we've ever made! 😍 Thanks for being a fan!
Yvonne says
They look and smell lovely but I think the 9x9 pan is a better option. I used an 8x8 and the middle was still pretty raw even after baking longer than the time outlined in the recipe. I’ll try it again and see how it goes.
Briana says
Hey Yvonne, thanks for the message. I went ahead and updated the instructions to make it more clear that a 9x9 pan is a better option. I hope you were able to keep baking the bars to get them to a point you like!