A couple of years ago, I flew to Michigan for a retreat with other food bloggers. We started in Grand Rapids and spent our first 24 hours exploring the city before driving out to Lake Michigan for a long weekend.
On our first morning in Grand Rapids, we walked a few blocks away from our hotel to a cute café for brunch. The interior was decorated like a charming French bistro, including brick walls and pillars covered in mosaics.
After looking over the menu for a long time, we each placed our brunch order. Shortly after, the waiter brought over our drinks, and he also set a gigantic cinnamon roll on the table as a breakfast “appetizer” on the house.
I had never seen a cinnamon roll so big! At least three inches tall and five inches wide, it came in a black skillet topped with another inch or two of cream cheese frosting piled on top. We had to use a fork and knife to cut slices to pass around the table!
After everyone around me took their first bites, it was unanimous: that cinnamon roll was amazing! Warm, cozy, sweet, gooey, doughy… True cinnamon roll perfection. Yet we all agreed an entire one would be a little too much sugar first thing in the morning — and should probably count as dessert instead!
So I took those same sweet cinnamon roll flavors and turned them into these Healthy Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars! The soft sugar cookie base has lots of cozy cinnamon, and the sweet cream cheese frosting is the perfect finishing touch.
Yet unlike that original cinnamon roll… These healthy cookie bars contain no refined flour or sugar, and the frosting actually sneaks in a protein boost too!
So maybe… Eat these healthy cinnamon roll cookie bars for breakfast — and save that gigantic Cinnabon-style cinnamon roll with its extra frosting for dessert instead?? 😉
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CINNAMON ROLL COOKIE BARS
Let’s go over how to make these healthy cinnamon roll cookie bars!
You’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!). Yes, that actually exists — and it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour! Instead, 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… And that lets the soft and chewy texture of these cookie bars truly shine!
Hint: I’ve also included a gluten-free option in the Notes section, if you’d like to make your cinnamon roll cookie bars gluten-free!
To make these bars taste like cinnamon rolls, you’ll also whisk lots of cinnamon into the flour. This is my favorite type of cinnamon. It’s the only one I use in my baking now! It has a stronger, fuller, and slightly sweeter flavor than regular cinnamon. I highly recommend it!
Whereas many traditional bar recipes call for a full stick or two of butter, these ones only require 2 tablespoons of butter. Yes, that’s it! That really helps keep your healthy cinnamon roll cookie bars low calorie and low fat.
Then to make these healthy cinnamon roll cookie bars taste just as buttery and chewy as traditional cookie bars, you’ll (a) melt the butter to boost the chewy texture and (b) add more vanilla extract. Additional vanilla enhances butter’s rich flavor, so these healthy cookie bars taste just as rich as regular ones!
To sweeten your healthy cinnamon roll cookie bars, you’ll use a combination of honey and liquid stevia (this kind!). If you only used honey, that would add too much liquid to your cookie dough… And your cookie bars would have a bready or cakey texture, rather than moist and chewy.
So that’s why you’ll use half honey and half stevia! Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly). It’s also highly concentrated. You just need 1 teaspoon for these cookie bars — and that definitely prevents you from adding too much liquid to your cookie dough!
This is the liquid stevia that I use because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste 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!)
Once you’ve spread your cookie dough into the pan and popped that in the oven, it’s time to make your healthy cream cheese frosting! You’ll need Greek yogurt, light cream cheese, instant pudding mix (this kind!), a bit more liquid stevia (this one!), and a hint of cinnamon (remember, this is my favorite!).
The instant pudding mix is actually a key ingredient in this healthy cream cheese frosting! The Greek yogurt adds more moisture to the frosting than traditional frosting recipes… But the instant pudding mix thickens the frosting so that it has the same consistency as regular cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting!
Then all that’s left to do is frost your healthy cinnamon roll cookie bars, slice them into squares, and…
Enjoy! 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 cinnamon roll cookie bars!
Healthy Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIE BARS
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) honey
- 1 tsp liquid stevia (see Notes!)
FOR THE FROSTING
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt (see Notes!)
- 4 oz (113g) neufchâtel or fat-free cream cheese, well softened
- 1 serving (8g) sugar-free, fat-free cheesecake instant pudding mix (see Notes!)
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅜ tsp liquid stevia (or adjusted to taste)
Instructions
- 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, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together butter, milk, egg white, and vanilla extract. Stir in the honey and liquid 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, cream cheese, instant pudding mix, cinnamon, and liquid stevia together using an electric hand-held mixer 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 using an offset spatula!) Slice them into 16 square bars.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy “Flourless” Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
♡ Healthy Sugar Cookie Bars
♡ Healthy “Flourless” Almond Butter Cookie Bars
♡ Healthy Zucchini Cookie Bars
♡ Healthy Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Bars
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy 45-Minute Cinnamon Rolls
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy brownie & bar recipes!
Mmm, these look delicious! I love cinnamon, I love sugar cookies, and I love cream cheese frosting. Did you make these just for me haha? P.S. I need the name of that cafe so I can also get myself a giant cinnamon roll!
I share all about that restaurant and my trip here! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cookie bars!
Hi Amy! I’m new to your recipes and made these today. I thought I followed your recipe as you indicated, though I did not have vanilla stevia and used 1 tsp of powdered stevia in place of the vanilla stevia. They don’t seem to be as chewy as you describe and a bit more dry. I felt like the recipe needed more moisture. Though quite tasty. Thoughts?
Thank you
Penny V.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Penny! I’m happy to help solve that texture issue. 🙂 How did you measure the flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you measured? Also, did you make any other modifications besides the powdered stevia? And what brand and product of powdered stevia did you use? (Every stevia brand and product tends to have a slightly different sweetness level!) Once I know your answers to all of those questions, we’ll have a much better idea of the culprit and how to fix that issue if you decide to make these cookie bars again!
I did measure the dry ingredients with a kitchen scale. I’ve since gotten the liquid stevia you suggest and am going to attempt these again. I am also going to weigh the butter and milk as I did not do that in my first attempt. I will let you know my results. Enjoy your recipes and the science behind them ?
I’m so honored that you’d like to try making them again Penny! That means a lot to me. I can’t wait to hear how they turn out! 🙂 I think weighing the butter will also help a lot. However, do not use your kitchen scale for the milk! Although your scale probably has an “ounces” option, that’s actually for dry ounces, not liquid ounces. Kitchen scales can only measure weights (grams), not volumes (mL), so always use measuring cups for any liquids like milk, water, etc for the best results!
I was excited to try this recipe. My results did not meet my expectations. The only thing I did differently in your recipe was use All purpose flour instead of white whole wheat flour. Besides the flour, I followed your directions to the T. The cookie bar mixture tastes just ok and I should expect this since they are healthy. The frosting I would never make again. It was so sticky that it grabbed to the beaters and the spatula when spreading it over the cookie bar mixture.
I’ve never left a comment before and debated whether to leave a negative one but I am very disappointed.
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe, Karen! That sounds disappointing, frustrating, and not like how these cookie bars or frosting should turn out at all, so I’d love to help figure out what happened. 🙂 Can you describe the taste and texture of the cookie bars a bit more? Were they soft and chewy, dry and cakey, not sweet enough, or something else?
Did you use any of the modifications that I included in the Notes section, besides the all-purpose flour? Also, did you use the same stevia that I did? (I linked to it in both the Ingredients list and Notes section! My links are the pink-colored font. I know it can be easy to miss that!)
In the frosting, did you use the same instant pudding mix that I did? Did you use neufchâtel or fat-free cream cheese? How long did you chill the frosting before spreading it over the cookie bars?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprits once I know your answers to all of them!
Hello Amy! Thank you for responding to my comments. I used exactly the same ingredients in the cookie bars that you did except for the flour. One of the reasons I was excited to try these is because I had most of the ingredients. I used the same instant pudding mix, greek yogurt, neufchatel cream cheese and put it in the fridge for 2 hours as the recipe said. The cookie part is soft and chewy. The icing stuck to the beaters and spatula like glue and my husband said the icing stuck to the roof of his mouth. After breakfast this morning, he told me that he will just scrap the icing off tomorrow morning.
I am a lifetime Weight Watcher and appreciate you for putting the points value of the recipe.
I did take a picture but don’t see anywhere on here that I can attach it. Please don’t take this personal. I have used many of your recipes and they were winners.
It’s my pleasure, Karen! I’m always happy to help, and I’m truly honored that you’ve enjoyed many of my other recipes. Thank you for taking the time to share that with me — it truly means a lot! 🙂
I’m relieved to hear the cookie part was soft and chewy. You said that part just tasted okay, so if they had a soft and chewy texture, were your cookie bars not sweet enough?
Just to confirm two things… You used the fat-free and sugar-free version of the instant pudding mix, correct? The fat-free, sugar-free cheesecake instant pudding mix typically comes in a box with 4 servings, so you only used ¼ of the box, right? (Too much instant pudding mix can quickly make the frosting more like glue or cement!)
You’re welcome to email me your photo! My email contact form is here. 🙂