These sweet and buttery vegan sugar cookie bars with pretty pink buttercream frosting are as fun to eat as they are to eat! Best of all, they’re easier to make than most cookie recipes and can be customized for any holiday or occasion.
These chewy and colorful vegan sugar cookie bars add an extra fun twist to my vegan sugar cookies! Buttery Sugar Cookie Base is easy to make in one pot and cooks up in just 15 minutes. Once cooled, it’s topped with a vegan pink buttercream frosting that’s delightfully fluffy and sweet!
This recipe makes enough cookie bars to serve a crowd but is less work than your average vegan sugar cookie recipe. Forget about rolling out cookie dough, cutting it into shapes and carefully arranging each one. All you have to do is press the dough into a baking pan, bake, then spread the frosting on top!
3 Reasons Why You’ll Love These Pink Sugar Cookie Bars
- The perfect balance of chewy and crisp: These cookie bars have a buttery base that will remind you of my vegan sugar cookies and chocolate sugar cookies. Each bite is light, crispy and perfectly chewy.
- So easy to make: Cookie bars are easier to make than most vegan cookie recipes because the dough is pressed into a pan, then baked! No rolling, cutting, or chilling required.
- A year-round dessert: Not only is this recipe big enough to serve a crowd, but the frosting and decorations are customizable for any occasion. Keep it in your back pocket when you need dessert to bring to Christmas, Easter, showers, get-togethers with friends, or any special event.
How to Make Vegan Sugar Cookie Bars
Find the full recipe with measurements on the recipe card below.
Beat the vegan butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until you have a light and fluffy mixture. Add the almond milk, cornstarch, and vanilla, then beat until combined. Finish by gently mixing in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Transfer the cookie dough to your prepared pan and spread it to the edges. Bake until the dough is firm and golden brown, then set aside to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the buttercream frosting by beating the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and some milk and beat again until you have a smooth, spreadable frosting.
To finish, mix in your favorite food coloring. I used pink, but you can use any color you like or are appropriate for the holiday.
Spread frosting on cooled sugar cookie bars, then decorate with sprinkles. Cut into bars and enjoy!
Decorating tips and ideas
Be sure to cool the sugar cookie base completely before you start decorating otherwise the icing will melt and slide off. From there, you can decorate the bars using any fun variation you like:
- Colored icing: I added pink food coloring to the buttercream but you can leave it out (for a white vanilla buttercream) or use your favorite color instead.
- Use gel food color: Gel food color is much more concentrated than liquid, which means you can use less while achieving the perfect shade of pink or your desired color. It’s also non-aqueous, which means the consistency of refrigeration won’t be affected.
- Customize colors: Whether you’re making sugar cookie bars for Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, or another special occasion, customize the sprinkles and buttercream color for the event. Use white frosting and red and green sprinkles for Christmas, purple frosting and yellow sprinkles for Easter, etc. Sweetapolita is my favorite place to order vegan sprinkles. They are so beautiful!
- Instead of pink vanilla buttercream: Decorate cookies with cream cheese frosting, chocolate frosting or strawberry buttercream instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Although I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, a 1:1 mix of gluten free flours, such as King Arthur and better batter, should work if you need to make the cookies gluten free.
No! There is no need to chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator before baking the cookie bars.
Cookie dough can be made and refrigerated for 2 to 3 days before baking. You can also bake the cookie base, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for about 3 to 4 days before decorating. It freezes well!
Decorated cookie bars will stay fresh for 3 to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Individual bars can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 3 months.
Want more vegan bars and brownies?
Easy buttercream frosting and sprinkles
Make sugar cookie bars
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease (or line with parchment paper) a 9×13 inch pan. Set aside.
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Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add softened vegan butter and sugar to a large bowl. Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes, until fluffy and light.
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Now add the almond milk, cornstarch and vanilla. Beat on high until it is fully combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl a few times.
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Transfer the cookie batter to the prepared pan and press down evenly.
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Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown and done in the middle. Cool completely before frosting.
Make and decorate the frosting
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In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons milk.
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Beat, starting on low speed and increasing to high for 2-3 minutes. Add more milk if the mixture is too dry or thick. If it’s too wet, add more powdered sugar until you have a spreadable frosting.
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Gradually add a little food coloring, if desired. I used pink.
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Spread frosting on completely cooled sugar cookie bars, then sprinkle. Cut into bars and serve.
- gluten free – You can substitute a quality gluten-free flour to make them gluten-free.
- Any type of milk will work here, such as oat, almond, cashew, coconut or soy.
- Can omit cornstarch if needed or substitute arrowroot/tapioca starch.
Calories: 248kcal | Sugars: 37g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 3g | Monounsaturated fats: 4g | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 605IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg