Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars (Vegan Gluten-Free)

These Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars are the ultimate no-bake chocolate chip cookie and caramel slice combination. With a no-bake chocolate chip cookie base, a cashew caramel filling topped with dark chocolate and cookies.

If you follow Nourishing Amy, you will know that I love no bake caramel slices. I have made quite a few already but these ones stand out for a few reasons. They are packed with chocolate chip cookie and they are made with cashew butter as opposed to my usual peanut butter, meaning they taste even sweeter and more like cookies.

What makes these caramel bars so special?

These caramel delights are delicious, they are:

• Thick, fudgy, gooey and rich
• Chocolatey, sweet (but not too sweet) and salted
• Nutty and caramel-y
• Easy to make in a few steps
• Quick to make as they are no-bake
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free

If you already love the sound and look of these Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, let’s firstly discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

These bars are simple but effective and the ingredients are divided into three layers:

For the biscuit base:

• Oats: make sure these are gluten-free where needed. These replicate flour for our biscuit layer.
• Cashews: blitz up the cashews with the oats to form the flour.
• Salt: for the flavour.
• Cashew butter: to help bind the bars to a lovely sticky dough. Other nut/seed butters will work, see below.
• Maple syrup: for sweetness and stickiness and other syrups like agave or vegan honey will also work.
• Coconut oil: when the melted coconut oil sets and solidifies it helps to harden the base so they melt in the mouth but hold their shape.
• Chocolate chips: to make the base taste like a chocolate chip cookie.

As for the cashew salted caramel middle:

• Cashew butter: the runny, smooth cashew butter is best and I am obsessed with the one from KoRo (Nourishing5 is my discount code for 5% off and they ship globally).
• Maple syrup: for the sweet stickiness that we all love about caramel. Other syrups can be used, too.
• Coconut oil: this adds such a lovely texture that allows your teeth to sink in and will turn gooey when left at room temperature but also sets the caramel when they are in the fridge.
• Salt: for the salted caramel element.

Finally onto the top layer:

• Dark chocolate chips: or regular dark chocolate chopped small. You can use any dairy-free dark or milk chocolate for the top.
• Coconut oil: this is important in the top as it means the chocolate is less likely to crack when you slice through.
• Chocolate chip cookies: crush the cookies on top for the best finish to these Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars. I used the vegan and gluten-free cookies from KoRo but you can also make your own.

Can I substitute the cashew butter?

The cashew butter is important in making these Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars stand out from the other caramel slices as the taste is naturally mellow and sweet, and almost like cookie dough. You can swap this for another nut or seed butter (like almond or peanut butter or tahini or sunflower seed butter) but the taste will change. Similarly swap the cashews in the base for other nuts and/or seeds as needed.

How do I make these bars?

These are very simple to make and require no baking!

• Make the base: blitz the oats and cashews and then stir the rest of the ingredients together to a sticky dough.
• Press into a 6-inch square tin: to make an even base layer. Chill in the fridge while you make the other layers.
• Stir together all the caramel ingredients: till smooth and pour over the base layer.
• Allow to set for 1 hour: and firm to touch.
• Melt the chocolate and coconut oil: and pour over the caramel.
• Sprinkle over the crushed cookies: and leave to set for 1 hour more.
• Use a sharp, hot knife to slice into bars: and sprinkle with flaky salt, if desired.

How long do these last?

These Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge in a sealed container. You can eat them straight from the fridge or allow to chill at room temperature for 20 minutes. You can also freeze the bars for up to 1 month, wrapped well.

Are these Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars gluten-free and nut-free?

As mentioned above, if swapping the cashews and cashew butter, these bars will taste slightly different but still be delicious. To make these bars nut-free, swap the cashews in the base for seeds like sunflower or pumpkin seeds and swap the cashew butter for seed butter like tahini or sunflower seed butter. Also check that your cookies and chocolate and free from nuts. These bars are naturally gluten-free, just check that your oats and cookies are free from gluten.

I love no bake recipes, what others can I make?

I hope you are going to love these Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars and for more ideas, how about my:

• No Bake Caramel Almond Brownies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Oat Bars
• Mini Chocolate Mousse Pecan Tarts
• Chocolate Plum Mini Cheesecakes
• Pumpkin Spice Brownie Cookie Dough Bars

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bars so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these bars, I’d love to see them so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With cashew caramel love x