Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8X8 glass or stoneware dish with nonstick baking spray or grease and flour. You could use parchment paper, but I find them to not bake as tightly this way and prefer them without parchment. Make sure your pan is 8X8, otherwise the bars will be thinner if your pan is larger than that. The bars should be 1 inch high after baked.

In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, tapioca starch and salt and whisk well. When measuring the flours, use a scale for accurate results. Otherwise, make sure to scoop up the flours with your measuring cup and lightly pat down and level off with your finger.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the syrup, brown sugar, applesauce, almond butter and vanilla and whisk until completely smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients and stir for a good couple of minutes until really thick and well mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out flat and even and out to the corners with the back of a spoon. The batter will be thick. Place extra chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until firm, golden and a toothpick basically comes out clean. I removed mine at 27 minutes and they were perfect. Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing, as they will firm up a lot while cooling and will fall apart if cut while they are too warm. Store any way you like, room temperature or the fridge. My husband loves them really firm and cold from the freezer.