Almost every 4th of July from my childhood until I left home for college, my family and I mixed up a batch of homemade vanilla ice cream as our holiday dessert. My parents pulled out their old-fashioned ice cream maker, the hand-cranked wooden kind, and bought ice and rock salt from the grocery store.
Although we tried my great-grandma’s recipe once, it was a French-style base that included cooking eggs to make the custard, and it turned out so lumpy that we opted for a super easy, egg-free recipe from a Ben & Jerry’s cookbook every other year. With zero eggs (just lots of heavy cream and sugar!), it still turned out incredibly rich and smooth every time.
After Mom quickly mixed up the base, we poured it into the ice cream maker’s metal container, took the entire ice cream maker outside, and positioned it right next to a drain. We surrounded the metal container with lots of ice liberally sprinkled with rock salt and took turns methodically churning the ice cream by hand. (As the salty ice melted, the water came out the side… Hence positioning the ice cream maker by an outdoor drain!)
A while later, when Dad was the only person strong enough to continue turning the handle, he declared the ice cream ready to eat. We rushed inside to scoop ourselves big bowls of the deliciously sweet and creamy treat, and although our parents always topped theirs with fresh berries, my brother and I ate our fruit on the side… We didn’t want anything to “ruin” the flavor of our homemade ice cream!
As much as I love that childhood ice cream, I wanted to come up with an easy dessert I could make ahead of time, unlike that ice cream… And one that didn’t include a big arm workout!
So I came up with these Healthy Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars! They’re buttery sugar cookies topped with vanilla bean frosting and fresh berries (just like my parents’ ice cream!), but because they’re baked in a pan, there’s no rolling or cookie cutters involved like with traditional sugar cookie recipes. I love simple recipes like that! And even better, these healthy sugar cookie bars are only 77 calories!
Let’s talk about how to make these healthy frosted sugar cookie bars!
You’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!) mixed with a teeny bit of cornstarch (like this!) and baking powder. The cornstarch helps keep your healthy sugar cookie bars supremely soft and chewy by doing two things: (a) it soaks up moisture, just like when it’s used to thicken sauces and soups, and (b) it prevents the gluten from forming really long strands. (Long gluten strands = a tough, rubbery texture.) So the moral of the story? Don’t skip the cornstarch!
As for white whole wheat flour, such a thing actually exists—and it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour! White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits, but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… Which lets the soft and chewy texture of these healthy sugar cookie bars truly shine!
Unlike traditional sugar cookie recipes that call for creaming ½ cup (or more!) of softened butter with lots of granulated sugar… These healthy sugar cookie bars only require 2 tablespoons of melted butter—and no refined sugar! And because the butter is melted, you don’t need an electric or stand mixer to make these cookies… Just a whisk and fork!
Instead of granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten your healthy sugar cookie bars with a combination of honey (like this!) and vanilla stevia (like this!). You must use both! If you used pure honey, you’d add way too much liquid to the cookie dough… Which would result in bready, muffin-like cookies. If you only used enough honey to give the cookie dough the proper consistency for soft and chewy cookies, they wouldn’t taste nearly sweet enough.
So that’s where the vanilla stevia comes in! Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!), and it’s also highly concentrated. You just need ¾ teaspoon in these healthy sugar cookie bars—and that definitely prevents us from adding too much liquid!
This is the vanilla stevia that I use because I love its warm flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes, like with some other stevia products. Although you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
I also included one special secret ingredient in these healthy sugar cookie bars, and that’s butter extract (like this!). Because you’re using so little butter compared to traditional sugar cookie recipes, the butter extract makes these healthy ones taste just as rich and, well, buttery!
Once you’ve mixed together the cookie dough, gently press it into the bottom of your baking pan. No chilling required! It’ll be a fairly thin layer, so be patient while spreading it across the bottom. I highly recommend using a spatula to do this. (These are the cute little ones I use!)
While your healthy sugar cookie bars bake, it’s time to make the vanilla bean frosting! You’ll actually start with… Greek yogurt! It sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? But when you mix Greek yogurt with instant pudding mix (this kind!), it turns extremely thick… A very similar thick consistency as buttercream frosting. (I use that trick to pipe my cupcakes’ frosting and make them look so pretty!)
You’ll also add a bit more vanilla stevia (like this!) for sweetness and vanilla bean paste (I use this one!) for flavor. You could easily omit the vanilla bean paste if you don’t have it… But I love the gorgeous and sophisticated look of those little black flecks in the frosting!
Once your healthy sugar cookie bars have completely cooled to room temperature, spread your healthy vanilla bean frosting on top (I highly recommend an offset spatula like this to do so!), slice them into squares, and top with fresh berries.
Then all that’s left to do is eat! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your healthy frosted sugar cookie bars!
| Healthy Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars | | Print |
- for the cookie bars
- 1 cup + 6 tbsp (165g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¾ tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp butter extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) honey
- ¾ tsp vanilla stevia
- for the frosting
- 1 cup (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 serving (8g) fat-free, sugar-free vanilla instant pudding mix
- ¾ tsp vanilla bean paste
- ⅜ tsp vanilla stevia, or adjusted to taste
- for the fruit topping
- 16 fresh raspberries
- 24 fresh blueberries
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cookie bars, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, vanilla extract, and butter extract. Stir in the honey and vanilla stevia. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Using a spatula, gently press the cookie dough into the prepared pan in a thin, even layer. Bake at 325°F for 10-12 minutes or until the center feels firm to the touch. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan.
- While the cookie bars bake, prepare the frosting. Beat the Greek yogurt, instant pudding mix, vanilla bean paste, and vanilla stevia together using an electric or stand mixer for 2 minutes. Cover the bowl with foil, and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Once the cookie bars are completely cool, spread the frosting across the top. (I highly recommend an offset spatula like this to do so!) Slice them into 16 square bars, and gently press 1 raspberry and 2 blueberries into the top of each bar.
Use store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) for the gluten-free option, but make sure you measure them carefully, like this or with my favorite kitchen scale!
If using coconut oil, the cookies may have a faintly detectable coconut flour.
Vanilla extract may be substituted for the butter extract, but the cookies will not have the same iconic taste.
I highly recommend using the vanilla stevia! It's one of my favorite ingredients (you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!), and I buy mine online here because that's the best price I've found.
You cannot substitute additional honey for the vanilla stevia because the cookies require a precise balance of wet and dry ingredients. However, you may substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) coconut sugar (or granulated sugar, if you aren’t concerned about keeping these cookies clean eating friendly) for both the honey and stevia, but the cookies will appear “speckled” if using coconut sugar because it doesn’t dissolve as well.
If you prefer not to use the vanilla stevia in the frosting, then substitute 1 teaspoon of this powdered stevia OR 2-3 tablespoons of Truvia or granulated sugar.
Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.
This is the instant pudding mix that I use. You just need the dry instant pudding mix—don’t prepare it according to the package directions! You may omit it, but you’ll need to increase the vanilla stevia (and just mix the ingredients together until incorporated—not for 2 full minutes!). Without the instant pudding mix, the frosting will be a bit runny and may slightly drip down the sides of your cookie bars.
This is the vanilla bean paste that I use. It’s affordable (I buy it online here!), and those black vanilla bean speckles gives the frosting an elegant look! You can substitute vanilla extract or omit the vanilla bean paste in the frosting, if you prefer.
{gluten-free, clean eating option, low fat, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Sugar Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Sugar Cookies
♡ Healthy Slow Cooker Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
♡ Healthy Small Batch Blueberry Crumble Bars
♡ Healthy Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars
♡ Healthy Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Hello Amy!
These look delicious! I can’t wait to try baking them. Also, I wanted to thank you for your article about setting up a food blog. I recently stared one (it’s not solely about food, but also about marketing, fitness and traveling) and your post really helped!
Also, since I’m fairly new here, I was wondering: What’s the name of the Instagram plugin you’re using in your footer? It looks amazing and I’ve seen it on a couple of websites but I can’t figure out what it’s called.
Anyway, keep up the great, mouthwatering work!
Best,
Claudia
http://thatsmeonline.net
Thank you so much, Claudia! I’d love to hear what you think of these sugar cookie bars! 🙂 I’m really glad my blogging tutorial helped you. That means a lot! The Instagram bit comes from LightWidget!