These delicious Keto Cookie Bars are loaded with two kinds of chocolate, pecans, and keto peanut butter cups. Rich, tender, and gooey, they put other low carb dessert bars to shame!
There are some desserts that are so good, you want to make them every day. These Loaded Keto Cookie Bars fall firmly in that category. They are so rich and delicious, and absolutely packed with chocolatey goodness, that you can’t stop thinking about them.
I created this recipe soon after my husband died. My sister and sister-in-law were both here, helping me sort through everything that needed to be done. We were devastated and leaning heavily on each other. And I wanted a mouthwatering dessert that was ultra gooey but still easy on my blood sugar.
So I took my popular keto blondie recipe and loaded it up with all sorts of sugar-free add-ins. Of course, they didn’t take away any of my grief, but they tasted damn good! I’ve made them countless times since then, and they do give me a tiny sliver of joy every time.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Almond flour: This is an almond flour-based recipe and it won’t work very well with coconut flour or other nut meals.
- Sweetener: I prefer using my brown sugar replacement for a richer flavor. Other granulated sweeteners may also work. See the Sweetener Options for more details.
- Collagen: Collagen adds gooeyness to the cookie bars, and I particularly love this recipe with the salted caramel collagen from Perfect Keto. If you don’t have any, you can skip it OR you can add an extra egg yolk to the dough.
- Chocolate chips: I used dark chocolate chips from Lily’s.
- Peanut butter chips: You could also use white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or just more chocolate chips.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans add delicious crunch. Walnuts would be great too.
- Peanut butter cups: I used Lily’s cups, but you could easily use my homemade version instead.
- Baking staples: Butter, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, salt
How to Make Keto Cookie Bars
- Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, collagen, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the butter, egg, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Stir in the goodies: Add the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, pecans, and chopped peanut butter cups.
- Press into the pan: Press the dough into a 9×9 inch baking pan.
- Bake: Bake until just barely set (you want them gooey!).
- Cool: Let them cool in the pan before cutting into bars.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Bakeware: I have made these keto cookie bars in both a metal pan and a glass pan. Metal bakes through faster than the glass, and they end up a bit more firm. Both work but if you use glass or ceramic, be prepared for it to take a little longer.
Underbaking: I like to remove mine from the oven when the center is still looks a little uncooked. They continue to cook a little after they come out of the oven and will firm up more. But if you prefer them more firm, take them out when the center is set properly.
Servings: I recommend cutting these into 20 bars to keep the carb count in check. They are so rich and packed with chocolate that a small piece is enough!
Sweetener Options
I prefer to use an erythritol-based sweetener for this recipe. But you can use allulose or xylitol, with some precautions and caveats. They may bake differently and get darker with allulose, so keep your eye on them in the oven. And they will likely be softer and more cakey, rather than gooey.
More Delicious Keto Bars
Keto Cookie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (224 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar replacement
- 1/3 cup (78.86 g) collagen protein, (aka collagen peptides)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) sugar free chocolate chips
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) sugar-free peanut butter chips, (or white chocolate chips)
- 1/3 cup (36.33 g) chopped pecans
- 4 keto peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and lightly grease a 9×9 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, collagen protein, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the butter, egg, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add the chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and chopped peanut butter cups. Mix in until well distributed.
- Press the dough into the prepared baking pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and just barely set on top.
- Remove and let cool completely before cutting into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I love this recipe! I made these without the peanut butter cups and added coconut flakes and baked it longer so it was less gooey. Baking with almond flour has been hit or miss, but these are the perfect texture.
condolences to you, Carolyn. Thank you for sharing with us even in your grief.
So delicious!
I used 6oz total between white, milk & dark chocolate sugar-free chips (Lily’s), since I didn’t have peanut butter chips (maybe I’ll get some for next time). I chopped up 4 of the Quest peanut butter cups.
These are so very decadent! Thanks for another great recipe Carolyn!
Glad you liked them!
These look amazing. But I’m commenting more to say I’m sorry about your husband, Carolyn. That is so sad. Happy you’re finding slivers of joy. ❤️
Do you think you could make these as cookies?
Does all of that sugar substitute spike Blood sugar?!
Debi
What sugar? There is no sugar in this recipe.
These are the closest thing I’ve ever seen to Congo Squares. A recipe from my grandmother. Yum!!!
Carolyn, I am so very sorry to hear of the loss of your husband! I have followed you for years after I received the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Please accept my sincere sympathy.
Just made these to take on a cross country trip. So, so good!! Thank you for blessing us with such amazing recipes!
Have a great trip!
Swerve brown sugar is 192 grams for ½ cup. Your 100 grams seems low. Is there a typo?
Sorry, my bad, I missed that swerve was giving a 2 tsp weight not 1.
Hi Heather, you are actually mistaken. Swerve Brown has 192 grams per FULL CUP, not half a cup. It has 8 grams per TWO teaspoons. There are 16 tablespoons per cup and 3 teaspoons per tablespoon. So that’s 48 teaspoons, divided by 2. 8×24=192.
So have a cup has only 24 teaspoons. Divide that by 2 and you have 12. 12×8 = 96. 100 grams is pretty close to 96! 🙂
I made these as soon as I saw it posted on Facebook. They are so good! I used chopped white chocolate instead of peanut butter cups based on what I had on hand. The only thing I’ll do differently next time is to bake it in a parchment-lined pan because the Lily’s butterscotch chips I added sort of stuck to the bottom of the pan. Everyone should make these!
Glad you enjoyed them!
I can’t afford peptides or whey protein or egg white protein in so many of your amazing recipes. what job do they do besides add protein? I wonder what woukd happen if I left them out?
Hi Lillie… in many of my recipes, whey protein (or egg white protein) helps the cakes and muffins rise properly. Gluten is a protein, and in its absence, another dry protein can help the texture of keto recipes. You can skip it, but the results tend to be less fluffy and a little more dense.
Collagen works differently… it tends to attract more moisture. So in a recipe like this, it helps give them gooeyness. As I do say in this blog post, you can skip it. But it does affect the texture a little.
So freaking good! My spouse LOVED these! They were supposed to be for his lunch this week but he said, “I’m sorry, after one bite I knew I was going to need a few!” He had gotten himself a tall glass of milk and that was his lunch! I’m going to make another batch! Because I needed an extra bite too! Nothing sounds better than a loaded keto cookie so I sent the link to my daughter in-law because I knew she would love them too! You are best keto “kooker” ever! 😀
Can these be frozen?
Absolutely!
What can I use to replace collagen? It upsets my stomach
This looks beyond delightful! Would Equip Protein powder be the same as collagen peptide? I have to be dairy free.
Yes, it tends to act the same way since it’s beef bone protein. (I think, anyway… check your label!).