Healthified Sugar Cookie Bars! (paleo-ish)

I’m fairy certain that the most appropriate way to celebrate the fact that the weekend is soon approaching is with frosting and sprinkles. Really, the frosting and sprinkles combination might be the best way to make any day a happier one. But, just as important as the joyful toppings, is the carrier method! The vehicle that delivers the frosted sprinkles studded goodness must be equally as delicious as the top. Anything less than that will inevitably yield massive disappointment. And these super easy, incredibly tasty Healthified Sugar Cookie Bars are sure to be pure bliss in every bite. The bottom cookie layer is so good that honestly, I would be just as glad to eat these without the frosting and sprinkles, and I’m pretty sure that’s saying something. Although, obviously, they do make them more fun to eat.

These Healthified Sugar Cookie bars are so incredibly easy to make that really, they should not just be reserved for weekend baking! They are made in just one bowl, with only 9 simple ingredients, and bake up in just about 15 minutes. Truly, these could be whipped up in just about 20 minutes and you could probably be done doing the few dishes you’ve made and even wiped down the counter by the time these are ready to come out of the oven. And once you have tasted these bars, I’m certain that this recipe will surely become a regular in your baking rotation. These Sugar Cookie Bars are everything you would hope for from a good sugar cookie but in bar form and made better-for-you. These are really reminiscent of those grocery store Lofthouse cookies, super soft (but very sugary) cookies with a thick layer of frosting and some sprinkles. While those have lots of weird, crazy ingredients these cookie bars are made simply, with real ingredients, and because of that, taste even better. These bars have perfectly crispy crusts counterbalanced by a soft and chewy cookie center. They are just perfectly sweet to be called a dessert but not overly so. And then, if you like, topped with your favorite vanilla frosting, and some fun sprinkles. But again, these bars are incredible on their own that you could skip this part entirely.

What Ingredients Do I Need?

These bars are made with a few simple, better-for-you ingredients, and free from refined flours and oils! Here are the main ingredients used in this recipe:

Avocado Oil & Tahini- I love this combination of fats for cookies and bars. The tahini adds the perfect amount of dense chewiness to the baked goods while the avocado oil adds additional moisture without making them feel heavy. Both of these ingredients are incredibly neutral so do not distract from the flavors of the bars. Feel free to sub olive oil or melted and cooled coconut oil for the avocado oil. And sub tahini with any other single ingredient (no added oils and sugars), thin, and drippy nut/seed butter. Some good options are sunflower seed butter or natural almond butter. Always be sure to stir the nut/seed butter well in the container before measuring and do not use the compacted paste-y bottom part.

Cane Sugar vs. Coconut Sugar – To make these sugar cookies I used organic cane sugar because it’s far more similar in flavor to conventional sugar than my go-to sweetener, coconut sugar. Coconut sugar has a natural caramel-like flavor and more similar to traditional brown sugar. Also, for aesthetic purposes, I wanted to keep these bars on the lighter side. Coconut sugar is great, but tends to turn baked goods a brownish color. That being said, if you want to keep these bars strictly paleo and/or refined sugar free, I give a sub for coconut sugar in the recipe below. While they are delicious, they are definitely less reminiscent of sugar cookies than those made with cane sugar.

Cassava Flour & Tapioca Flour – This combination of unrefined flours gives these bars an incredibly light but still moist and chewy texture. All while being gluten and grain free! I use and love Otto’s Cassava Flour, which I have found to be cheapest on Amazon. And use Bob’s Red Mill for the tapioca flour.

Frosting & Sprinkles – Sometimes you just don’t want to mess around with making your own frosting. Simple Mills makes a very good healthier ready-made frosting that is always my go-to when I’m looking for a quick frosting that is made with real ingredients. And I’m always looking for an excuse to bust out sprinkles by Supernatural. All their sprinkles are made without artificial dyes and colored with natural ingredients instead. Plus, they are vegan and made with conscientious ingredients. For these Sugar Cookie Bas I used their new-ish mix called Dinomite! Unfortunately, it appears that these are (currently) out of stock, but here’s another super fun sprinkle blend that would also look amazing!

These Healthified Sugar Cookies are a delicious sweet treat that you can feel good about eating! They are gluten, grain, dairy free, and happen to be nut free. They can easily be made strictly paleo by replacing the cane sugar with coconut sugar, but I say, go with the cane sugar to get the full sugar cookie effect. And, if you do elect to keep these bars bare, they would be an excellent accompaniment to your coffee or tea.

paleo-ish (gluten/grain/dairy free), nut free

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