This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These Chai Cookie Bars are moist, tender, chewy, and perfectly seasoned with all the best chai spices! These bars are bursting with warm, sweet flavor and take just 15 minutes to prep!
Easy Cookie Bars Recipe
Is there anything better than a warm, ooey-gooey cookie bar?
Yes. It’s a warm, ooey-gooey cookie bar loaded with chocolate chips, flavored with a hint of chai spice, and topped with a vanilla bean glaze.
These Chai Cookie Bars are among my favorite recipes to whip up during the holiday season. They’re super simple and have the perfect chewy, tender texture and just the right amount of flavor. These bars are gluten-free, paleo-friendly, and grain-free, and take fewer than 30 minutes to come together.
They’re the perfect sweet treat to enjoy after dinner or to bring to your next holiday party!
Looking for another cookie bar favorite? Check out my classic chocolate chip cookie bars!
What Defines Cookie Bars?
Cookie bars are essentially just cookies in bar form! The dough is pressed into a baking pan, baked into one big cookie sheet, then cut into squares.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour – These bar cookies use a combination of blanched almond flour and coconut flour.
- Coconut Palm Sugar – Our sweetener of choice. Coconut palm sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness with subtle caramel-y flavor notes. If you don’t have coconut palm sugar, maple sugar will work as well.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – We’re using a combination of leavening agents to give the cookie bars plenty of lift.
- Butter – Adds moisture and flavor depth.
- Vanilla – Gives the cookie bars an extra layer of sweetness.
- Eggs – Create a chewy, tender cookie bar texture and help the cookie bars hold their shape.
- Spices – Our chai spice blend is a combination of cardamom, allspice, cinnamon, ground cloves, and ginger. This classic blend of spices gives the bars the perfect warm and sweet flavor!
- Chocolate Chunks – Use your favorite variety of chocolate chunks. If you can’t find chocolate chunks, chocolate chips will work just fine, too!
- Optional Topping – I love to finish these bars off with a sprinkle of maple sugar and cinnamon.
- Vanilla Glaze – Our vanilla glaze is a simple, three-ingredient recipe made with powdered sugar, almond milk, and vanilla beans.
What is Chai Made Of?
A classic chai spice blend is a tasty combination of ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.
For this recipe, I’m using all of the traditional spices plus allspice to tie everything together!
How to Make Chai Cookie Bars
This chai bar recipe takes just a few minutes to prep! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe:
- Make the cookie dough: In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together all of the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and chai spices.
- Bake: Pour the batter into an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper, then sprinkle with maple sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely.
- Glaze and serve: In a small bowl, whisk together all of the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over the cooked chai cookie bars, then slice and serve.
Cooking Time Tip!
I cook my bar cookies for 10 minutes because I like them just a little bit undercooked and chewy. If you prefer yours to be a little more well-done, plan for closer to the 15-minute mark! I recommend checking them at 10 minutes, then adding time as needed.
What If My Cookie Bars Are Undercooked?
If you slice into your cookie bars and they don’t quite seem done, then don’t worry! Simply pop them back into the oven and bake them until they are cooked to your liking.
To double-check the doneness of the cookie bars, insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs on it, then they’re good to go.
Tips and Notes
- Don’t substitute the flours. Different gluten-free flours absorb moisture differently. For this reason, I don’t recommend using another type of flour or flours in this cookie bars recipe.
- Sift the flour. Running the flour through a fine mesh sieve helps remove any clumps.
- Line the baking dish. A layer of parchment paper makes it so easy to just lift the bars out of the pan. If you don’t have parchment paper, a thin layer of cooking spray will work too.
- Cool before cutting. For cleaner cuts, let the bars cool slightly (or completely.) Cutting into them too soon will create a messier, more crumbly cut.
Variations
- Make them dairy-free. This chai bar recipe can easily be made dairy-free by swapping the butter out for a dairy-free variety, coconut oil, or palm shortening.
- Try another topping. I love the crunch of maple sugar sprinkled over these cookie bars but feel free to try them topped with powdered sugar, your favorite frosting, or a caramel drizzle.
- Use other mix-ins. The chocolate chunks are deliciously rich and melty in these cookie bars, but feel free to try other mix-ins too! You can swap the chocolate chunks out for white chocolate chips or caramel chips or try giving your bars a nutty crunch with a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans.
How to Store
These chai cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To enjoy the frozen bars again, simply let them thaw in the refrigerator!
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
- Carrot Cake Cookies with Maple Glaze
- Double Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Chai Cookie Bars with Vanilla Bean Glaze
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour sifted
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour sifted
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon grass-fed butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
Cookie Add-Ins:
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoons ginger
- 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
Optional Topping:
- 1 tablespoon maple sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Vanilla Glaze:
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon almond milk or nut-milk of choice
- 1/2 vanilla bean sliced in half and seeds scraped out
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredient to the dry and mix until well combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks and chai spices.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle with maple sugar and cinnamon if using and bake for 10-15 minutes (see note).
- While cookie bars bake, whisk together glaze ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
- Let cool completely before cutting. Drizzle with vanilla bean glaze and devour!
Just made this recipe today! Hubby absolutely loved it. I really like the flavor profile. Keep ‘em coming! We love your recipes.
The best! I took them to a party and there wasnt one left to take home. The whole party was raving about these cookies. Thanks for the recipe!
Has anyone commenting actually made these? I’ve had the in 15 minutes and they are raw. The butter-eggs step was also unclear. Is the butter melted? Creamed first? They smell delicious but I’m worried I wasted some expensive ingredients. I’ve never had a bad recipe here, hopefully these will be perfect when cool.
How did they turn out, Cyndi?
These bars are hell amazing. I will definitely give it a try for sure. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe with all of us. Much love and Regards.
Do you melt the butter or keep it soft? Thanks!
It’s looking so awesomely awesome. That Glaze my god… These kinds of bits and pieces that just don’t last too long in our house too really. Loved this awesome recipe of yours. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe with all of us. Looking forward to more recipes like this. Best wishes and Regards.
These are so amazing!! Loving every bite!
This Amazingly craveworthy! These are nice looking cookie bars one can try. It seems easy and quick.I want to try this recipe but i am allergic to cardamom so is there it alternative you can suggest?
THIS IS NUTS! haha… really though, these look great! These are the kinds of bits and pieces that just don’t last too long in our house. Thanks for sharing.
🙂
Hi, this looks amazing, going to try it! What are the cookie add-ins? Thanks!!
What do you mean!?
Lol, never mind. My printed version had the cookie add-ins blended-in as the rest so it looked like an ingredient, not like a header 🙂
So sorry- that is fixed 🙂
Stop!!!! These look so moist and gooey!!
OMG i have all the ingredients! totally making!
That vanilla bean glaze though…These look heavenly!
I’ll take two!!
You got it!!
These look great! Do you have suggestions on substituting any of the flours? I know they are meant to be gluten and paleo free but I don’t follow a strict diet. Thanks!
That GLAZE! WOW!
??
Oh these look dangerously good. Chai is my drink of choice, so I know I’m gonna love these!
YES!!!
Oh Lexi- YUM!! these look amazing!