These vegan sugar cookie bars and sweet, simple, and comforting. Here, they’re outfitted in pale pink in honor of the upcoming heart-themed “holiday,” but rest assured that you can dress them up or down however you see fit. Change up the color of the buttercream, add sprinkles or crushed freeze-dried raspberries, etc. The world is your oyster vegan sugar cookie!
Hello! I’m dropping in today with a quick V-day recipe.
To be totally honest, Dan and I haven’t really celebrated this “holiday” since getting married.
I’m a romantic at heart (so is Dan), but every day is a great day to celebrate L-O-V-E. You feel me?
Gentle resistance to conformity aside, I’ll always welcome another reason to make sweets.
And so, here’s my take on a vegan sugar cookie—in bar form and slathered thick with buttercream.
You know me. I’m typically a coconut sugar and nut butter kind of sweet maker, but today we’re keeping things classic. Cane sugar, vegan butter, powdered sugar, etc.
Less than 10 ingredients stand between you and these crispy-chewy sugar cookie bars! Sending lots of LOVE and hugs. 💕
Vegan Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Vegan Sugar Cookie Bars
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons filtered water
Pink Vegan Buttercream
- 1/2 cup vegan butter at room temperature
- 2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Tiny splash beet juice as needed to color
- Splash or two plain unsweetened plant-based milk as needed to thin
Instructions
For the Vegan Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8 x 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper (double-check your pan size—a 9 x 9-inch square pan won't work for this recipe).
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, cane sugar, and vanilla on high for 2 minutes using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, arrowroot powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Place the bowl next to the mixer.
- With the mixer off, add the flour mixture. Then, add the water on top. Beat for 15 seconds or until just incorporated. Do not over-mix. The dough should pull together into large, moist crumbles as it moves around the mixing bowl.
- Press the dough evenly into the lined baking pan.
- Bake for 18 to 24 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs at the tip.
- Let cool completely in the pan.
For the Pink Vegan Buttercream
- While the cookie bar cools, prepare the buttercream.
- Beat the butter using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer fitted with the beater attachments) until light and fluffy. About two minutes.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar and continue beating until a fluffy buttercream consistency is reached. Add the vanilla and beat again. Then, slowly add a few drops of beet juice at a time and beat until the desired pink color is achieved. If you've achieved the color you want but the frosting is still too thick, add a tiny splash of plant-based milk (or as much as needed to thin) and beat again.
- The buttercream should be light, fluffy, and easy to spread yet still hold its shape.
To Assemble
- Slather as much of the buttercream as desired over the cooled sugar cookie bar (I use about half and freeze the other half for another use).
- Lift out of the pan, and slice into squares or rectangles.
- Enjoy.
- Refrigerate leftovers. (These are best enjoyed chilled straight from the refrigerator.)
These look totally amazing! OMG! YUM!
Thanks, Jennifer!
Omg, girl! You’re killing me with these! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Tori! ;)
Can I use coconut butter? I really want to make these!
Hi, Maria! I wouldn’t recommend using coconut butter in place of the vegan butter. I don’t think they’d come out the same with that swap!
could these be made with regular AP or a Gluten Free AP flour instead of the Spelt?
Hi, Brad! I’d imagine they can be made with regular all-purpose flour instead of the spelt. You might just need to adjust the baking time (bake longer) since spelt tends to be a bit more drying than AP. Enjoy!
Will cornstarch work in place of the arrowroot?
Hi, Chandler! Cornstarch should work just fine as a substitute, the texture may just be a touch different. Enjoy!
These cookie bars are so cute and festive for Valentine’s Day! And that buttercream… I’m swooning! ;)
Thanks, Sarah!
Although I’m more of a chocolate girl I found these to be delicious and a wonderful treat to have with coffee. Definitely would make them again.
This is so delicious as dessert!. I will definitely this try and share my feedback with you.
Look forward to hearing what you think, Sunil!
I made this recipe twice. I thought the first time I made a mistake because I lowered the temperature because my pan was glass. The next time, I used my fancy cookware and they jut didn’t turn out well at all. They were very undercooked even at 24 minutes. I don’t know what I did wrong. UGH! This is a disaster because I am to have them for a friend’s birthday tomorrow.
Hi, Irene! I’m so sorry to hear the recipe has given you trouble. Did you do the toothpick check and ensure there were just a few crumbs at the tip when inserted into the center? Assessing doneness via another measure other than time is most important because all ovens function a bit differently. Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer recently? Over time an oven’s temperature can drop so that it’s actually heating to a point significantly below what it’s been set to, so checking once a year (or even every 6 months) is helpful in case it needs to be re-calibrated. Not such a big deal with cooking but a very big deal with baking. Having said all this, these bars are designed to be on the soft, super moist side. But should not be at all raw and should hold together well.
Also, keep in mind that they firm up quite a bit when chilled (which is how they’re intended to be stored), so even if they are a bit underbaked they might seem entirely fine when chilled. Hope some of this is helpful and I’m so sorry again they gave you trouble. No one needs that, especially not right now! Sending happy birthday wishes to your friend.