Wholesomely Hannah

healing through food, SCD-based recipes

Grain-Free Banana Cream Cookie Bars (SCD-Friendly)

A healthy grain-free chilled dessert for the specific carbohydrate diet

Banana cream pie meets chocolate chip cookies: a match made in heaven! This chilled SCD-friendly healthy dessert has quickly become a favorite of mine…

A SCD Chilled Dessert Recipe

Cold chilled desserts are almost a necessity for hot summer months, right?! Spending this past week on the beach with my family has had me craving ice cream sooo badly. Since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2020, ice cream has been out of the picture. Luckily, I’ve had some time in the kitchen to play around with SCD-friendly, gut-healthy ingredients to create this fun chilled dessert.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD, for short) focuses on eliminating inflammatory carbohydrates to restore a healthy gut microbiome composition. Even though the SCD puts gluten, grains, unfermented dairy products, soy, and refined sugar off-limits, its been so much fun to try and create fun dessert recipes from unprocessed ingredients!

Banana Cream pie cookie bars

Over the past year and a half of following the SCD, I have luckily been able to add in a few foods back in to my diet when I’m not in a flare. Most of these fall within the “paleo” category, but I wrote a full blog post about my experience and how I navigated re-introducing non-SCD foods slowly.

Refined-sugar-free frozen dessert recipe for gut health

Although this may not quite be the same as ice cream on the beach, having these in the freezer is a game-changer for when the ice cream craving hits. The soft, buttery chocolate chip cookie base, crunchy chocolate chips, and decadent banana cream layer make this chilled dessert a family favorite!

How to Make the Perfect Grain-Free Cookie Bars

The secret to a gooey, buttery grain-free chocolate chip cookie: almond flour, honey, and unrefined coconut oil.

Although almond flour is slightly difficult to try and bake with since it doesn’t “fluff” or rise like typical wheat flour, it does happen to lend itself perfectly to a dense chocolate chip cookie. Especially when you need a sturdy cookie base for a frozen dessert, almond flour is KEY.

Tip: I always to make sure that I buy extra finely ground almond flour to make sure that the cookie bars don’t have a grainy texture! Finely ground almond flour is also easier for your body to absorb and digest, which is always an extra win in my book.

Grain-free cookie bar recipe layered with a healthy banana cream pie filling

I always also prefer to use unrefined coconut oil since it still holds on to it’s coconut flavor. The slight hint of coconut adds a layer of flavor dimension that I crave… especially in the summer months! If you don’t like the flavor of coconut, feel free to use either refined coconut oil or grass-fed butter in it’s place.

Honey is my favorite SCD-legal sweetener to use in baking. It browns and behaves very similarly to maple syrup or agave, but it’s digested early enough in the small intestine to not be inflammatory to the colon. Even though maple syrup is not considered to be “legal” on the SCD, it has been one of the paleo ingredients that I’ve been able to add back in when I don’t have IBD symptoms!

A little bit of honey also goes a long way. I only used a total of 3 tablespoons for the whole recipe!

How to Store & Serve:

It’s best to store these banana cream pie cookie bars in an air tight container inside the freezer. Because the banana cream mixture has a greek yogurt base, it holds too much liquid to store in the refrigerator… nobody likes a soggy cookie…

A fun healthy frozen gluten-free dessert for the summer

To serve, let the banana cream cookie bars sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the banana cream pie layer has a dreamy, mousse-like texture & the chilled cookie layer is tender enough to glide a fork through. To make it even better, the cold chocolate chips add the perfect crunch to every bite of this dessert.

How to Make Banana Cream Pie Cookie Bars:

Step 1: Make the Base! Combine the chocolate chip cookie ingredients, mix well, then stir in the chocolate chips. Press the cookie dough mixture into a lightly greased 9×9″ pan and bake for 13-15 minutes at 350F.

Paleo cookie ingredients
Paleo cookie dough recipe
Paleo chocolate chip cookie bars

Step 2: As the cookie base is cooling, combine the banana, almond butter, almond milk, & honey in a food processor. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Fold in the Greek yogurt and egg yolks. Pour the mixture on top of the cookie base in the 9×9″ pan and top with chocolate chips, slivered almonds, banana slices and a dash of cinnamon for garnish. Bake again for 2 minutes.

Healthy banana cream pie filling ingredients
high protein frozen banana cream pie cookie bars made with greek yogurt

Step 3: Freeze for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving! Store cookie bars in the freezer. To serve, let the cookie bars sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

A fun healthy layered banana dessert for the summer

What You’ll Need:

More of My Favorite Chilled Desserts:

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Grain-Free Banana Cream Cookie Bars (SCD-Friendly)

  • Author: Hannah Carney
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Freeze Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 1/2 hours
  • Yield: 16 cookie bars 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

Soft, buttery chocolate chip cookie bars with a chilled creamy, decadent banana cream layer. This healthier SCD-friendly dessert recipe is so perfect to have ready in the freezer for hot summer months. Grain-free, Gluten-free, Refined-sugar-free, SCD-friendly. 

Ingredients

Scale

Cookie Base: 

  • 2 cups almond flour 
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • 1/4 cup mini paleo chocolate chips

Banana Cream Layer: 

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 egg yolks

Optional Garnish:

  • 1/2 banana, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp. mini paleo chocolate chips
  • 2 tbsp. slivered almonds
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×9″ pan and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the “cookie base” ingredients (besides the chocolate chips). Beat with an electric hand mixer until a thick dough forms. Stir in the the mini chocolate chips.
  3. Evenly press the cookie dough into the lightly greased pan and bake for 13-15 minutes, until the edges of the cookie base are slightly golden brown.
  4. As the cookie base cools, make the banana cream layer: combine the banana, almond butter, almond milk, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon in a food processor. Blend on high for about a minute, until a smooth, creamy mixture forms. Fold in the Greek yogurt and egg yolks.
  5. Pour the banana cream mixture evenly on top of the cooled cookie base and top with the optional garnish ingredients. Bake for an additional 2 minutes.
  6. Let cool completely.
  7. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.  

Notes

Store in freezer & let thaw at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. 

  • Category: Something Sweet
  • Method: Bake

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie bar
  • Calories: 200
  • Sugar: 6
  • Fat: 15
  • Carbohydrates: 11
  • Fiber: 2
  • Protein: 6

Keywords: Grain-free, healthy dessert, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, gut health, banana recipe, cookie bars, banana cream pie, frozen dessert, summer recipe, Greek yogurt, specific carbohydrate diet