These Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Bars are thick and chewy and topped with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. They're made with almond flour, cornstarch and coconut flour, so they stay soft and tender without being cakey. The recipe is based on my almond flour sugar cookies recipe, except these bars are much thicker and chewier, and made in an 8-inch square pan, so they're small-batch!
Quick Look: Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Bars
- ⏱ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 👩🏻🍳 Bake Time: 21 minutes
- 🆒 Cooling Time: 2 hours
- ⏳ Total Time: 2 hours 36 minutes
- 🧁 Servings: 16 bars
- ⚡ Calories: 248 per bar
- 🍽 Diet: gluten-free
- 🔥 Flavor/texture: Thick and chewy with a rich and sweet flavor and tangy cream cheese frosting to balance it out.
- 👌 Difficulty: Easy, but an electric mixer is required.
- ❤️ Why you'll love: Small-batch recipe, freezer friendly, gluten-free, ultra thick and chewy, not cakey.
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Behind the recipe: Creating thick and chewy sugar cookie bars with almond flour
Ever since I shared my almond flour sugar cookies recipe, I've wanted to make a version that was a cookie bar. Of course, adjustments had to be made to the recipe to turn my drop-style cookies into thick and chewy bars.
While almond flour adds a natural chewiness to baked goods, its high oil and moisture content can leave cakes and bars too soft or even mushy if not paired with the right ingredients.
So, here are the ingredients I used to achieve the perfect texture:
- Cornstarch: I often use cornstarch in my almond flour cakes and cookies to help absorb some moisture and keep baked goods thick, tender and chewy. (I love how it compensates for the added moisture of blueberries in my gluten-free lemon blueberry bread).
- Coconut flour: After the first round of testing, I knew these bars needed a little something extra. So, in addition to cornstarch, I added coconut flour to help absorb even more moisture, which also enhanced the soft and chewy texture. (This also works perfectly in my almond flour blondies).
- Extra yolk: One egg didn't cut it in these bars, so I added an extra yolk to boost the chewiness and thickness.
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Bars
- Behind the recipe: Creating thick and chewy sugar cookie bars with almond flour
- Ingredient notes
- How to make gluten-free sugar cookie bars with almond flour
- Measuring ingredients
- Expert tips
- Gluten-free sugar cookie bars FAQs
- More almond flour cookie recipes
- 📖 Recipe
Ingredient notes
- Almond flour - Fine blanched almond flour creates a smoother texture in these cookie bars compared to almond meal, which has a coarser texture.
- Cornstarch - This is a pantry staple for us since I use it for thickening sauces and adding to cakes and cookies. Tapioca starch is often used as a substitute but I find I need to use more of it to get the same results as cornstarch. It can also sometimes add a sandy texture to cookies if used in large quantities. So, I didn't test these cookie bars with tapioca starch.
- Coconut flour - A little goes a long way as it's super absorbent, so you just need 2 tablespoons for the cookie dough.
- Eggs - 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk at room temperature.
- Almond extract - Added to both the cookie dough and frosting to deliver a bakery-style flavor without making the recipe overly sweet. (This also works in my almond flour lemon poppy seed cupcakes).
- Sprinkles - You'll need sprinkles for both the batter and to top the frosting. Jimmies are best, especially for adding to the batter. Feel free to change up the colors to celebrate different holidays like I do for my Christmas blondies! Just make sure they're labelled gluten-free in order to keep these bars gluten-free.
- Cream cheese - This adds tanginess to the frosting, so it's not as sweet as using a buttercream frosting for the bars. (You can even use my whipped cream cheese frosting for a less sweet option). Make sure you use full-fat cream cheese for the best texture. (Light cream cheese can result in a thinner frosting).
How to make gluten-free sugar cookie bars with almond flour
Step 1: Whisk together the almond flour, cornstarch, coconut flour, baking powder and salt.
Step 2: Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 3-5 minutes on medium-high speed.
Step 3: Add the egg, yolk, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix until well combined.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The dough will be thick.
Step 5: Stir in the sprinkles, being careful not to overmix.
Step 6: Use an offset spatula to spread the dough out in an 8-inch square pan lined with parchment paper.
Step 7: Bake at 325F for 18-21 minutes or until they puff up and start to lightly brown. Let cool.
Step 8: To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add in the almond extract and powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.
Step 9: Spread the frosting over the bars and top with sprinkles.
Measuring ingredients
For convenience, US cup measurements are included in the recipe card for this recipe. To ensure greater accuracy, however, weight and volume measurements are also provided. So, if you see grams (g), you'll want to use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, and if you see milliliters (ml), you'll want to use a liquid measuring cup. Smaller quantities of ingredients are provided in teaspoons and tablespoons.
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Expert tips
- Creaming butter and sugar. Make sure you cream them together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Depending on your electric mixer, that could take about 3-5 minutes. This will add air to the batter and help keep the bars thick and puffy.
- Amount of sprinkles: 2 tablespoons of jimmies might not seem like a lot, but I promise, it's plenty. You don't want to go overboard on the sprinkles as it will affect the texture of the bars.
- Bake at 325F. That's not a typo! I know most cookies are baked at 350F but these bars bake best at a slightly lower temperature. I tested them on 350F and the edges and surface of the bars browned too much before the middle was done. (I also use a lower temperature when baking my almond flour brownies so the brownies stay fudgy from the middle to the edges)!
- Don't overbake. I know I say this about all baked goods, but it's really important for these bars as they'll just end up dry and the edges will harden. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the top is puffy and just starting to brown.
- Let the bars fully cool. Not only is this important for the frosting (it will melt on warm cookies) but almond flour baked goods need time to firm up when they come out of the oven. Cooling will result in perfectly chewy bars!
Gluten-free sugar cookie bars FAQs
Since the frosting on the bars is primarily made with cream cheese, you'll need to store these bars in an airtight container in the fridge. But, don't worry, this doesn't make them hard and dry. The almond flour keeps them moist, and the refrigeration actually makes them chewier!
Yes! These bars freeze perfectly, even with the frosting. Just store the bars in a single layer in an airtight container. They will last in the freezer for 1-2 months. You can also freeze the slab of bars before they're frosted. Just wrap in a few layers of plastic wrap and place in a resealable freezer bag in the freezer. Defrost at room temperature before frosting.
Yes, you can leave the sprinkles out of the cookie dough if you prefer. It won't affect the taste or texture too much.
Absolutely! I used a cream cheese frosting, but if you prefer a buttercream style, this vanilla sour cream frosting would work nicely. I also think the strawberry buttercream I use for my gluten-free strawberry cake would be amazing!
More almond flour cookie recipes
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📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 1 ¾ cups (182 g) fine blanched almond flour
- 3 tablespoons (23 g) cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons (13 g) coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons sprinkles, (I used jimmies)
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces (113 g) full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar, (plus more, if necessary)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and line it with overhanging parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cornstarch, coconut flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the egg, yolk, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix again until well combined.
- On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until just combined. The dough will be thick.
- Stir in the sprinkles, being careful not to overmix.
- Use an offset spatula to spread the dough out in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 18-21 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the middle is puffy and starting to brown. Let cool fully in the pan on a wire rack.
- To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add in the powdered sugar and almond extract and beat until smooth and creamy. (Add more powdered sugar if you prefer a thicker and sweeter frosting).
- Spread the frosting over the bars and top with sprinkles.
Notes
- Make sure you cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Depending on your mixer, that could take about 3-5 minutes. This will add air to the batter and help keep the bars thick and puffy.
- Two tablespoons of sprinkles might not seem like a lot, but I promise, it's plenty. You don't want to go overboard on the sprinkles as it will affect the texture of the bars.
- To keep these bars gluten-free, make sure your sprinkles are labelled gluten-free.
- It's important that you don't overbake these bars as they'll just end up dry and the edges will harden.
- Not only is it important for the bars to cool so the frosting doesn't melt, but almond flour baked goods need time to firm up when they come out of the oven. Cooling will result in perfectly chewy bars!
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Nutrition Facts per Serving
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.
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