Our delicious gluten free frosted lemon cookie bars are perfectly tangy and sweet, and are great for spring events and holidays. These fudgy cookie bars are also dairy free, egg free, and vegan as well!
Spring is the perfect time for lemon recipes, and we’re in love with our latest recipe for frosted lemon cookie bars!
These bars have a dense and fudgy lemon cookie layer (almost like a lemon brownie/blondie) topped with a creamy lemon buttercream frosting. And it’s all completely gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.
We created this recipe based on our lemon white chocolate chip cookie recipe. Instead of white chocolate chips, we added frosting on top. But you can add some mini white chocolate chips to the cookie dough as well if you like!
Why we love this recipe
These lemon cookie bars are quite easy to make and are perfect when you want a lemony treat or non-chocolate dessert options.
These bars will firm up the next day, but since they are a bit fudgy in the middle, they will stay soft for several days, which can sometimes be a struggle with gluten free baked goods.
How to make allergy-friendly frosted lemon cookie bars
Making our gluten free and vegan lemon cookie bars is easy! Here are the steps for making these (this is just an overview, the full recipe is at the end of the post):
- Preheat your oven to 350° F and line an 8×8-inch glass baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Zest your fresh lemon and then juice it, straining out any seeds and pulp. Measure out the amount of fresh lemon juice you need and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the dairy free butter, sugar, golden ground flaxseed, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- Beat in the gluten free flour blend, the salt, and the baking soda until well mixed.
- Add the sorghum flour, lemon juice, and dairy-free milk to the bowl and mix again until combined, forming a thick cookie dough.
- Spread the cookie dough evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 33 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before frosting.
- The bars will puff up a bit in the oven and fall once they begin to cool, leaving a “rim” around the edge of the baking dish. This is normal for this recipe, and we frost just inside the edges of the cookie bars.
- The lemon cookie bars must cool completely before adding the frosting, or the frosting will melt off the cookie bars.
- Once the bars are completely cooled, make the frosting by mixing together the frosting ingredients until smooth.
- Spread evenly over the cookie bars, then cut and serve.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight bag or container for 3-4 days. The bars should also freeze well (we haven’t tried freezing and thawing the frosting yet).
These bars will firm up as they rest overnight, but they will remain dense, soft, and fudgy for several days.
Check out our other gluten free and dairy free lemon dessert recipes!
Gluten Free Frosted Lemon Cookie Bars (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
Lemon Cookie Bars
- ½ cup dairy free/vegan butter, softened (we recommend the Country Crock Plant Butter sticks)*
- 1 cup unbleached cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground golden flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 medium lemon
- 1 cup King Arthur gluten free all-purpose baking mix*
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup Authentic Foods superfine sorghum flour OR brown rice flour
- 3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon rice or oat milk or other dairy free milk
Lemon frosting
- ¼ cup dairy free soy free butter, softened
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1½ teaspoons dairy free milk of choice (such as oat milk or coconut milk)
- 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fresh zest of ½ lemon
- Dash salt
Instructions
Lemon cookie bars
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8×8-inch square glass baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- Wash and zest your lemon and then juice it, straining out any seeds. Measure out the amount of lemon juice you'll need and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the dairy free butter, sugar, golden flaxseed, vanilla, and lemon zest until mixed and creamy.½ cup dairy free/vegan butter, softened, 1 cup unbleached cane sugar, 1 tablespoon ground golden flaxseed, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, zest of 1 medium lemon
- Add the all-purpose gluten-free baking mix, the salt, and the baking soda to the butter mixture and mix again until blended.1 cup King Arthur gluten free all-purpose baking mix*, 1/4 teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- Add the sorghum flour, lemon juice, the dairy-free milk, and mix again until a thick cookie dough forms.¾ cup Authentic Foods superfine sorghum flour, 3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon rice or oat milk
- Spread and press the cookie dough into the prepared baking dish. Using an offset spatula here works well, making sure to press the dough into the corners of the pan.
- Bake for 30-33 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely before frosting.
Lemon frosting
- Add the dairy free butter to a medium-sized bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamy.1/4 cup dairy free soy free butter, softened
- Add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, dairy free milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt, and beat together until well mixed and creamy.1½ cups powdered sugar, 1½ teaspoons dairy free milk of choice, 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, Fresh zest of ½ lemon, Dash salt
- Spread over the cooled lemon cookie bars and sprinkle some additional lemon zest on top. Cut into squares and serve.
- Store any leftover bars in an airtight container or bag for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.