Lemon Pie Sugar Cookie Bars (Vegan)
These lemon pie sugar cookie bars take everything you love about lemon pie and turn it into an easy, irresistible treat. The soft sugar cookie base is packed with finely ground graham cracker crumbs and a hint of lemon zest, while the creamy buttercream is infused with sweet homemade lemon curd and just a touch more zest. Every bite blends the sweet, tender, graham-filled cookie with the luscious, tangy lemon buttercream. They’re a breeze to make, completely dairy- and egg-free, and perfect for a lazy weekend bake or your next summer gathering.
What you will need:
These sugar cookie bars are simple, tasty, and perfect for summer. You’ll need one medium lemon, some finely ground graham crackers, and a touch of lemon curd to flavor the buttercream. Whether you use homemade or store-bought lemon curd, both work great—check out my lemon curd recipe if you’d like to make your own. The rest of the ingredients can all be found at your local grocery store.
Ingredients:
Sugar Cookie Bar
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- cornstarch
- graham crackers
- cane sugar
- light brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- lemon zest
- plant based yogurt
- plant based butter
Lemon Buttercream
- plant based butter
- powdered sugar
- plant based heavy cream
- lemon curd – Lemon Curd (Vegan)
- lemon zest
How to:
Prep work:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Crush 4 1/2 sheets of graham crackers into a fine consistency, which should give you the 10 tablespoons needed for the recipe, and set them aside. Zest a lemon, reserving 1 teaspoon for the cookie bars and 1/4 teaspoon for the buttercream. Using 1 medium lemon should leave you with extra zest, which you can use to decorate the tops of the bars if you like.
Sugar Cookie Bars:
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and finely crushed graham cracker crumbs. Give it a quick whisk to blend everything, then set it aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the cane sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until it’s evenly coated. Add the butter, then use a handheld mixer to cream the mixture on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until light, fluffy, and creamy. Mix in the yogurt and vanilla extract, blending on medium-high speed for another minute until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and blend on medium speed until fully combined and no traces of flour remain.
Pour the dough into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly, pressing it down firmly, and smoothing the top. Bake the cookie bars for 27 to 32 minutes; mine were perfect at 29. The edges should be golden brown, pulling away from the sides, and the center fully set. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Let the bars cool in the pan for 15 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Buttercream:
The buttercream gets its lovely lemon flavor from lemon curd. The lemon curd can be homemade or store bought, both work well. If you are interested in making homemade lemon curd, please see my recipe – Lemon Curd (Vegan). The lemon curd can easily be made a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. If you prepare it the same day, make sure it has cooled to room temperature before making the buttercream.
Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment. Whip the butter on high for 2 minutes, scrape the sides down and continue whipping the butter for another minute. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl, blend at medium speed until all of the sugar is absorbed – about 1 minute. Add the heavy cream and lemon curd and continue blending at high speed for 3 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and toss in the lemon zest, folding it in until well incorporated. Once the cookie bars have cooled to room temperature, spread the buttercream evenly over the top. For an optional finishing touch, sprinkle finely crushed graham cracker crumbs and a bit of lemon zest over the buttercream.
Serving and Storing:
The lemon pie sugar cookie bars are ready to be sliced and served. If making them ahead of time, store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. Store the cookie bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Lemon Pie Sugar Cookie Bars (Vegan)
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bar
- 1¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup (100 grams) cane sugar
- ½ cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ cup (120 grams) plant based yogurt – room temperature
- 8 tbsp (113 grams) plant based butter – room temperature
- 10 tbsp (4.5 sheets) graham crackers – finely crushed
Lemon Buttercream
- 1½ cups (180 grams) powdered sugar
- 5 tbsp (70 grams) plant based butter – room temperature
- 1 tbsp dairy free heavy cream – cold
- 2 tbsp lemon curd
- ¼ tsp lemon zest
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper.
- Finely crush the 4.5 sheets of graham cracker, set aside. Zest the lemon and set the zest aside.
- To a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cornstarch and finely crushed graham cracker crumbs. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
- To a medium bowl, add the cane sugar, brown sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is well coated in zest.
- Add the butter to the sugar. Using a handheld mixer, blend the butter and sugar together at high speed for about 2 minutes or until light, fluffy and creamy.
- Add the yogurt and vanilla extract to the butter mixture, blending at high speed for about a minute or until well blended.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend at medium speed until well blended and no more flour can be seen.
- Add the cookie dough to the prepare pan – spread it out evenly, firmly press it down and smooth out the top.
- Bake the cookie bars for 27 to 32 minutes (mine baked perfectly at 29 minutes). The edges should be browning and pulling away from the pan. The center should be set and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Leave the cookie bars to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
Lemon Buttercream
- If preparing homemade lemon curd, make sure to prepare it first and let it cool to room temperature before preparing the buttercream.
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment. Whip at high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and whip for 1 more minute.
- Add the powdered sugar to the creamed butter and blend at medium-high speed for 1 minute or until the ingredients are well combined.
- Add the heavy cream and lemon curd to the bowl, blend at high speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add the lemon zest, folding it in until well combined.
- Add the frosting to the top of the sugar cookie bars – make sure the bars have cooled to room temperature. Spread the buttercream evenly across the top of the bars. You can decorate the bars with a sprinkle of finely crushed graham cracker crumbs and lemon zest.
- The bars are ready to slice and serve or place the bars in the fridge 10 to 15 minutes for the frosting to firm up bit before serving. I suggest storing the bars in the refriigerator.