Who doesn’t love Monster Cookies? Well, sure, they’re delicious, but they are usually LOADED with sugar and tons of candy. We can do better and they’ll still taste amazing. In fact, this recipe has no flour at all and a fraction of the added sweetener you’d usually find. You can go crazy with M&M’s and mini peanut butter cups if that’s your thing or you can go health-nut with hemp seeds, coconut and cacao nibs. Play around and have fun. These last for up to two weeks in the fridge and they freeze great. If you use sprouted oats, do let the batter sit for a bit before baking so the oats can soften up. Sprouted oats are great, but they tend to be a bit thicker and chewy in baking recipes. Regarding the quick-cooking oats, they help to make the cookie batter less chewy. But I never buy quick-cooking oats. Instead, I pulse old-fashioned rolled oats in either a food processor or a spice grinder. I use the spice grinder to grind whole flax seeds as well.

Why you’ll love this monster cookie bars recipe

• perfect for back-to-school snacks
• easy as can be and flexible!
• easy to make gluten-free, dairy-free, even vegan
• great way to clean out your pantry of odds and ends like the last of a bag of coconut or chocolate chips
• high fiber, good quality protein and lower added sweeneters make this a pretty nutritious dessert/snack!

Ingredients 

• Butter – I use softened unsalted butter for this recipe. A quick and easy way to get your butter to soften more quickly is to cut it into small pieces and leave it out on the counter while you prep the rest of the ingredients. You can use a plant butter like Miyoko’s as well. 
• Sugar – I use two different sugars (brown and cane sugar) and the bars turn out perfectly sweet for me. You can use other sugars like coconut sugar, maple sugar (expensive), or monk fruit sweetener (such as Lakanto). 
• Nut butter – any creamy nut or seed butter will work well here. I often use peanut butter or almond butter, depending what I have on hand. If you’re nut-free, you can try tahini, granola butter or sunflower seed butter, although the sunflower seed butter may produce a green tint when it reacts with baking soda. 
• Eggs – I use 2 eggs and I prefer using room temperature ingredients in baking. You may be able to use flax eggs in this recipe. 
• Vanilla extract – I recommend using a pure vanilla extract without any artificial flavors or additives. 
• Rolled oats – I like to buy organic rolled oats. If it’s important to you, you can try sprouted oats. I like One Degree Organics. Just keep in mind sprouted oats tend to be a bit thicker and chewy in baking recipes. If you use sprouted oats, I would let the batter sit for a bit before baking so the oats can soften up. Do NOT use steel cut oats for this recipe. 
• Quick cooking oats – I never buy quick cooking oats so instead I pulse old-fashioned rolled oats in either a food processor or a spice grinder. 
• Flax meal – I prefer grinding whole flax seeds myself to make flax meal as opposed to buying ground flax meal at the market because it will be fresher.  I also store flax meal in the fridge or freezer to prevent it from going rancid. 
• Baking soda – I use Thrive Market baking soda or Arm & Hammer 
• Combination of add ins – You can have fun with your add ins and go crazy with M&M’s and mini peanut butter cups if that’s your thing. I often use a combination of chocolate chips, chopped nuts, diced dried fruit (prunes go well with chocolate chips), shredded coconut, hemp seeds, and cacao nibs. 

How to make monster cookie bars 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with butter and line with unbleached parchment paper. Or if you want these to be thicker, use an 11-inch or 10-inch round skillet or baking dish.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugars, and nut butter until fluffy and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. (You can use a hand mixer too)
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.
5. Add both oats, flax meal, baking soda, and salt and mix together. It will be a stiff sticky mixture.
6. Add your desired combination of chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, and coconut and mix until just combined.
7. Transfer batter to the prepared baking dish and spread out with a spatula or wooden spoon. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if you like. Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes before baking so the oats soften up a little. Bake in the oven for 17 minutes until the batter has slightly puffed but is still soft to the touch. You want this to be slightly underdone. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into bars. They will firm up as they cool. They are fine at room temp, but I store them in the fridge so they last longer.

Tips 

• If you’re in a pinch and need the butter to come to room temp more quickly, cut the butter into small pieces and leave out on the counter while you prep the rest of the ingredients. 
• Similarly, if you need eggs to come to room temp, place them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water until they no longer feel cold. 
• You can use an 8 x 8 inch baking dish to make a half batch of this recipe. 
• I don’t recommend using sunflower seed butter in this recipe as it might give off a green tint (unless you don’t mind) due to the sunflower seed butter reacting with the baking soda. 

Substitutions 

• Nut butter – almond butter, peanut butter, tahini, granola butter, sunflower seed butter (see notes above)
• Quick cooking oats – pulse old-fashioned rolled oats in a food processor or spice grinder. 
• Eggs – flax eggs can work but the bars may not hold together quite as well

Other recipes you may like

*No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter-Oat Bars 

*Peanut Butter and Jelly Crumble Bars 

*Vegan Magic Bars 

*Mixed Berry Oat Bars 

*No Bake Oatmeal Chip Breakfast Bars 

*No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars 

*Salted Flourless Chocolate Chunk Cookies

If you give this flourless monster cookie bars recipe a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes,  updates and things I’m loving lately.  If you enjoy this recipe, I taught it last year in my online class!  Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better, healthier cook!