Preheat your oven to 350F and line 8×8 pan with parchment paper across both sides for easy lifting and set aside.
Combine ground chia and water, set aside for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, cream coconut sugar and coconut oil with a hand or stand mixer for 3 minutes.
Add mashed banana, vanilla and chia mixture. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk all dry ingredients. Once combined, add to wet mixture and mix with hand or stand mixture until incorporated.
Add walnuts if using them.
Drop batter into prepared pan, flattening out as best you can.
Bake until golden, 40-50 minutes, or toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven, slide out of baking pan and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
Because these bars are gluten-free and vegan, the consistency isn’t exactly the same as a regular cake. The end result is fully cooked, not mushy, but somewhat elastic-like, I believe from using ground chia. Kevin and I both really enjoyed them. The longer they sit after being baked, the less elastic-like they become.
Recipe by Healthful Pursuit at https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/06/chocolate-banana-cake-bars-vegan-gluten-free/