Buttery soft and festive peanut butter cookie bars that are perfect for Valentine's day! These cookie bars are chocolaty with a hint of peanut butter and topped with fun pink and red m&ms and sea salt. Made with wholesome ingredients in under 30 minutes!
The Perfect Valentine's Baked Treat
February is just around the corner and that means all things chocolaty treat! (If you're more of a fruit person though, check out these fun heart-shaped strawberry pop tarts!)
Whether you're baking something for your Valentine, Galantine, BFF, or Mom (we don't judge), these cookie bars are sure to be a hit. Each one is filled with chocolate chunks and festive m&ms with a fudgy and flavorful cookie texture. Best part about them? They bake just like brownies in a single pan in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- Almond flour + Tapioca flour - this combination of flours provides a soft and buttery texture to these baked treats.
- Valentine's M&Ms + Chocolate chunks - for a festive yet chocolate flare. Grab a bag of your favorite Valentine's M&Ms for this recipe.
- Peanut butter - not only adds a delicious peanut butter flavor to these cookies but also adds some moisture so they're nice and fudgy. Make sure to use 'creamy' style and not chunky!
Step by Step Instructions
Mix the eggs and coconut sugar
To make these peanut butter cookie bars, first mix the eggs and coconut sugar together with a stiff whisk or a mixer. Similar to my paleo dark chocolate brownies, you want to mix until you reach a thick and creamy consistency and the mixture looks like peanut butter.
Add the remaining "wet" ingredients
Add the peanut butter, almond milk, and vanilla to the bowl. Continue to mix until the peanut butter is broken up and incorporated into the batter. The mixture should be creamy and thick and smooth enough to fall off the whisk when you lift it up.
Fold in the dry ingredients
Next, fold in the flours and baking soda until no flour clumps remain. This is best done with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to over mix this step or the cookie bars may become too dry.
Add the chocolate and pour into pan
Add the Valentine's M&Ms and chocolate chunks and give the batter a few big swirls with a rubber spatula. Like before, make sure not to over mix the batter in this step.
Line an 8x8 inch (9x9 also works) baking pan with parchment paper and pour the batter into the pan. Level off the top with your spatula and "drop" the pan on the counter a few times get out any air bubbles.
Then bake it in the oven until golden brown. Sprinkle with a little sea salt on top once it comes out of the oven. Let it cool slightly before slicing into bars!
Frequently Asked Questions
Be careful not to over mix the batter. This can result in dry cookies! Also, remember that these cookie bars will continue to bake once they are out of the oven. I recommend taking them out once they are golden brown and you can insert a tooth pick into the center and it comes out clean. This is around 16 minutes for my oven.
Creamy natural peanut butter is best for this recipe. This peanut butter is my favorite! It's silky smooth and made with only one ingredient - peanuts!
To make these cookie bars paleo and dairy-free, simply swap the peanut butter for almond or cashew butter. You'll also want to skip the M&Ms and just double up on the dairy-free chocolate chunks!
Store these cookie bars in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 5 days on the counter and a week in the fridge. If keeping them in the fridge, warm one up in the microwave for 20 seconds before enjoying!
Related recipes
PS : If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a star review and comment below! Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram and Pinterest to stay up to date on all tasty recipes here at The Fit Peach!
Peanut Butter Valentine's Day Cookie Bars
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 Bars 1x
Description
Buttery soft and festive peanut butter cookie bars that are perfect for Valentine's day! These cookie bars are chocolaty with a hint of peanut butter and topped with fun pink and red m&ms and sea salt. Made with wholesome ingredients in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup almond flour
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup Valentine’s M&Ms (omit if dairy-free)
- ¼ cup dairy-free chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, mix the egg and coconut together with a stiff whisk or a mixer until thick and creamy. This may take a minute or two. You want the mixture to resemble peanut butter (see above image in step 1 for reference)
- Add the peanut butter, almond milk, and vanilla. Continue to mix until the peanut butter is fully incorporated into the batter and there aren't any large chunks.
- Fold in the almond flour, tapioca flour, and baking soda with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to over mix the batter. Fold until no flour clumps remain.
- Add the Valentine's M&Ms and chocolate chunks and give the batter a few large swirls to incorporate them. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and pour in the batter. Level off the top with a spatula and "drop" the pan on the counter a few times to get any air bubbles out. Bake in the oven for 16 - 20 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with sea salt and let cool slightly before slicing into bars.
Notes
Peanut butter substitutes : If desired, substitute the peanut butter for almond or cashew butter (or really any nut butter). Just make sure it's a 'creamy' style nut butter and not super chunky.
Paleo and Dairy-free : To make these cookie bars completely paleo and dairy-free, substitute the peanut butter for another nut butter. Also, skip the Valentine's M&Ms and double up on the df chocolate chunks!
Storing : To store the cookie bars, place them in an airtight container. They will keep fresh for up to 5 days on the counter or a week in the fridge. If storing them in the fridge, warm up the cookie in the microwave for 20 seconds before ready to enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: peanut butter cookie bars, gluten-free valentines treats, gluten-free valentine cookies
Hi 🙂 can you sub the almond and tapioca flour for oat flour?