These soft, chewy, and deliciously sweet sugar cookie bars are made entirely without eggs and dairy, and topped with the creamiest vegan cream cheese frosting! No chilling required- all of the sweet sugar cookie flavors without the hassle of cutting out the cookies!

stacked vegan sugar cookie bars

I’m totally with you- sugar cookies are amazing. They’re soft, sweet, chewy, and just melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

But honestly, the hassle of chilling the dough and then rolling it out and carefully transferring the cut out cookies to a baking sheet can be a messy one. These sugar cookie bars are essentially all of the deliciousness that comes from sugar cookies, but in bar form.

And WAY easier.

stacked vegan sugar cookie bars on parchment paper

Let me tell you about these vegan cookie bars:

  • Texture: With a touch of cornstarch (or arrowroot starch!) we create the soft, buttery texture that comes with traditional sugar cookies. These bars are so chewy and perfectly sweet. Like a cross between a blondie and a cookie in one!
  • Flavor: We have all of the classic flavors of sugar cookies- sweet vanilla, notes of almond, and that buttery richness! Even without using real butter! These vegan sugar cookie bars are made even more delicious too with the topping of vegan cream cheese frosting, which helps tone down the cookies so that they’re not overly sweet. It’s a DREAM with that slight tang!
  • Ease: You don’t even need a hand mixer to make the dough! Simply whisk everything together in 5 minutes and bake. These cookie bars are that simple!
  • They’re so beautiful! I mean, how awesome is that pink frosting?! A little bit like my classic vegan Lofthouse cookies too (which are just as easy, and have a bit of a different taste!).
  • Allergen friendly: While yes, I’m vegan (for the animals!), I will say, these sugar cookie bars are a great allergy friendly treat if you’re allergic to eggs or dairy. Also, you can easily make them gluten free too! In fact, let’s go over the ingredients next 🙂

Ingredients & Substitutions:

  • Flour: You can use all purpose or gluten free 1:1 baking flour. I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour here! It works perfectly!
  • Sugar: A high quality vegan sugar, like Florida Crystals sugar, is key here. We’re just using granulated sugar!
  • Dairy free yogurt: This is our vegan egg replacement, and creates that super soft and chewy texture. You can also use applesauce, but yogurt will give you the best results!
  • Vegan butter: I love using Miyoko’s unsalted butter here.
  • Cornstarch: This is also what helps with creating that chewy texture! You can substitute arrowroot starch if you have a corn allergy.
  • Baking powder: To help give our sugar cookie bars a lift!
  • Vegan cream cheese frosting: This is just vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, and vegan powdered sugar! I used vegan red food coloring to give it a touch of pink color. The ones from Whole Foods or Go Supernatural! are great. You can also use beet powder!
  • Vegan sprinkles: I used Sweetapolita’s vegan birthday sprinkles here.
  • Vanilla extract: We need a lot here to give that rich vanilla flavor- a full tablespoon! Then we’ll use a touch of almond extract if you’d like to add even more flavor depth 🙂
bitten frosted sugar cookie bar on parchment paper
wet ingredients being whisked
First start by whisking together the vegan butter, sugar, dairy free yogurt, vanilla, and almond extract.
vegan sugar cookie dough in a bowl
Then fold in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and sea salt. Fold JUST until the flour is incorporated into the wet mixture.
sprinkles added to cookie dough
Add in your choice of vegan sprinkles if desired.
sprinkle funfetti cookie dough in a bowl
And fold to evenly distribute throughout the cookie dough.
cookie dough before being baked
Press the dough into your prepared 8×8 baking pan.
baked cookie bars
Remove from the oven and allow the cookie bars to cool fully before frosting.
vegan cream cheese frosting dyed pink
Once the vegan sugar cookie bars are cooled, you can make the vegan cream cheese frosting! If you don’t want pink, you can leave as is, or add another fun color!
frosted vegan sugar cookie bars
Frost the vegan sugar cookie bars and sprinkle on additional sprinkles if desired!

Do I need to add the frosting?

Absolutely not! If you just want to enjoy these cookie bars without being frosted, you absolutely can. Just let them cool for 10 minutes, slice and serve. No additional decorating needed 🙂

And if you want to try something different, you can swap in my classic vegan buttercream instead to still achieve frosted sugar cookie bars!

Storage:

Refrigerator: These sugar cookie bars will last in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Freezer: You can alternatively freeze the cookie bars for up to 3 months!

vegan sugar cookies on parchment paper

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

Soft & Chewy Vegan Sugar Cookie Bars with Rich Cream Cheese Frosting pinterest pin

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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stacked vegan sugar cookie bars

Soft & Chewy Vegan Sugar Cookie Bars with Pink Cream Cheese Frosting

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  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 26
  • Total Time: 31 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

These soft, chewy, and deliciously sweet sugar cookie bars are made entirely without eggs and dairy, and topped with the creamiest vegan cream cheese frosting! No chilling required- all of the sweet sugar cookie flavors without the hassle of cutting out the cookies!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup (300 g) organic granulated sugar or coconut sugar*
  • 1/3 cup (84 g) unsweetened applesauce or dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional, omit if nut-free)
  • 2 1/4 cups (300 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt (omit if using salted butter)
  • 1/2 cup vegan sprinkles, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 batch vegan cream cheese frosting
  • 1–2 drops vegan red food coloring or beet powder

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and oil. Measure out all ingredients.
  2. Whisk: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, sugar, yogurt, vanilla extract and almond extract.
  3. Fold: Add in the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and sea salt, and use a silicone spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet, JUST until the wet are incorporated.
  4. Add in the sprinkles: Pour in the sprinkles, and fold again just until evenly distributed.
  5. Bake: Spoon the dough into the prepared baking dish and use the back of your spatula to spread to the edges of the pan. Bake for 25-26 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden. Remove from the oven.
  6. Cool: Cool the bars in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool COMPLETELY before frosting. There should be no warmth whatsoever! 
  7. Make the frosting: Make the vegan cream cheese frosting according to instructions, adding in the vegan food coloring along with the vanilla. 
  8. Frost and serve! Spread the frosting onto the bars. You can chill the bars for 20-30 minutes in the fridge to set the frosting more before slicing. Sprinkle additional sprinkles on top, slice and serve!
  9. Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container or bag for up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Notes

Gluten Free: I recommend using King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour. It produces the most consistent results!