These eggless Soft Toffee Cookie Bars are so tasty you won’t be able to stop after just one. The soft and buttery brown sugar base will melt in your mouth, and is topped with a layer of semi-sweet chocolate. My soft cookie bars are egg free and nut free, but I promise you won’t even notice.
Sprinkle with sea salt for the finishing touch if you’d like. I’m a big fan of salted sweets, but the sea salt topping is optional (my kids prefer it without!).
Growing up, my mom would always make us this classic Toffee Bars recipe from Betty Crocker. It’s still a family favorite to this day, so I knew I had to recreate an egg free version that would be safe for my son to eat. I renamed them Soft Toffee Cookie Bars for clarity (to avoid confusion with traditionally crunchy toffee – these squares are soft, like a soft baked cookie).
This new recipe stays soft and chewy, thanks to a little cornstarch and maple syrup (the syrup blends in seamlessly – it won’t taste like maple syrup). As much as I love the original Toffee Bars, I think this new recipe is even better!
Check out my other favorite eggless desserts below:
- Eggless Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
- Sweet & Tart Egg Free Lemon Bars
- Egg Free Chocolate Cookies (Egg, Dairy, & Nut Free)
- Chocolate Wacky Cupcakes (Dairy, Egg, Nut Free)
- Egg Free Cheesecake – Three Ways!
- Baked Vanilla Donuts (Egg, Dairy, & Nut Free)
These Soft Toffee Cookie Bars are:
- Egg free
- Peanut free
- Tree nut free
- Soy free
- Gluten free (use 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour)
- Dairy free (if you use margarine and safe chocolate chips)
- Fish and Shellfish free
Soft Toffee Cookie Bars (Egg Free, Nut Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed (I like to use dark brown sugar; light will also work)
- 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (lightly spooned into measuring cup, and leveled off with a knife – not packed or scooped).
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- Sea salt, optional (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, and grease bottom of 9″x13″ pan.
- Stir together softened butter or margarine, brown sugar, vanilla, and maple syrup.
- Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Add mixed dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. (The dough will be thick, this is normal! Just keep stirring until combined).
- Press dough evenly into greased 9×13 pan, flattening with a spatula.
- Bake 17 minutes, or until edges are a light golden brown (it may look underbaked, but will set nicely as it cools).
- Immediately after removing from oven, sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips evenly on top of bars. Allow to sit until chips have softened completely – the heat from the hot bars will melt the chocolate. Once chocolate chips are softened, gently spread chocolate over tops of bars with a spatula until evenly covered (less pressure is better, so the tops of the cookie bars stay intact). Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.
- Allow bars to cool and chocolate to set before cutting into squares with a sharp knife. They'll be worth the wait!
do you think i could use golden syrup instead of maple ?
maple is very expensive . 🙁
Hello! I’m not familiar with golden syrup, but you could give it a try! I just enjoy the flavor maple syrup gives it (I’ve also used simple, generic “maple flavored pancake syrup” for it many times before — it doesn’t have to be pure 🙂 ). Otherwise, you can leave it out altogether, and try using slightly less flour.
These are wonderful! I was out of cornstarch so used 2 tablespoons of arrowroot instead. I also forgot to add the salt to the dough, oops! Still came out delicious. The brown sugar gives them such a nice, caramel-y flavor. I was looking for an egg-free traybake because eggs are scarce right now (thanks, panic buyers!) and I wanted to save the few we have for a meal rather than use them to make a treat. So glad to have found this–bookmarked for future use 🙂
Hi Susan – Thank you so much! I grew up making a similar recipe with my mom (but with egg – however, now my son is allergic), so these are a favorite for family gatherings. It always makes me so happy to hear others are enjoying them. 🙂 I’ve heard arrowroot is a great cornstarch substitute. I’m glad it worked out!
Can we omit the cornstarch at all? 🙂
Hi Chris! I haven’t tried these without cornstarch yet, but my guess is they would turn out just fine. 🙂 They may not be quite as soft, but it shouldn’t affect the flavor at all.
Hi,
These bars look delicious. I was wondering if I do use gluten-free flour, should I use xantham gum as well? Also, I’m trying to get ahead of my holiday baking. Would these bars freeze? Thanks!
Hi Tina! For GF flour, I would add xanthan gum or use an all purpose blend that contains xanthan gum. You may need to experiment with the flour amount a little, as some GF flours can make items a bit drier. I would start with 2 cups, and go from there. The dough consistency should be a similar to cookie dough, maybe a tad thicker.
I haven’t tried freezing these, since they don’t last long around here. 😉 You could try cutting the bars and freezing in a single layer. Then, once frozen, wrap or store in a resealable bag or airtight container. Or a better option might be to freeze the dough, then thaw once you’re ready to bake the bars. I may have to experiment with this…
I hope this helps! Happy baking!
I tried the egg free; chocolate chip cookies and they are a delight thank you for providing this great Recipe !!!!!
Hi Crystal – I’m so glad you like them! They are definitely a favorite around here. Thank you for the feedback!