This was inspired from a visit to Starbucks and a subsequent desire to recreate a delicious dessert bar that was both gluten free and dairy free. This is a really good recipe – I dare you to try it… you will not be disappointed. I am actually really inspired by the oat part of this to come up with more bars and cookies; and we all know how much I love my oats. The ideas are swirling… stay tuned. Again, if you do not have maple sugar (I get mine in bulk on Amazon) you can sub in coconut sugar, date sugar or brown sugar.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
1 cup maple sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup gluten free flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1.5 cups gluten free old fashioned oats
1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk*
1 cup dairy free chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs coconut oil
Directions:
*DO NOT SHAKE COCONUT MILK CAN. YOU WANT TO CAREFULLY OPEN IT AND UTILIZE ONLY THE THICK CREAM PART THAT IS AT THE TOP OF THE CAN.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8×8 brownie pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl combine the coconut oil and sugar. Then mix in the egg.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt & oats. Next add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture and combine – I had to use to my hands to fully incorporate the mixtures. Take 3/4 of the dough and place and press it into the brownie pan and set aside.
In a small sauce pan on low heat, melt the 2 tbs coconut oil, then add the chocolate chips and vanilla and stir to melt. Remove from heat and add the canned coconut milk (top thick part, pictured below) and stir until fully incorporated. Pour chocolate mixture on top of the oat layer. Take the remainder of the oat mixture and crumble it on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let it cool for 30 minutes and then place in the freezer for 1-2 hours to set. Slice as desired and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge (not freezer).
