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When life gives you lemons? Make these Vegan Lemon Cookie Bars with Passion Fruit Frosting. Soft lemon cookie bars are made with a generous amount of lemon zest and lemon juice. Topped with a dreamy passion fruit frosting, and a little more passion fruit on top for decoration. The perfectly sweet, tangy and delicious summer lemony treat.

Ingredients for these dreamy Lemon Cookie Bars:

• Flours: All-purpose flour, aka plain flour, and cornstarch, aka cornflour. The additional cornstarch will give us a softer, tender crumb to the cookies.
• Plant-based butter: I always use salted vegan butter, but unsalted butter will work too. You’ll just need to add a pinch of salt to the cookie base. Let it sit at room temperature until softened.
• Sugars: A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar will gift us with the perfect soft cookie bar base. Oh, and icing sugar (aka powdered sugar/ confectioners’ sugar) for the dreamy passion fruit frosting.
• Lemons: Fresh lemons that are also unwaxed because we’re using the zest, along with the juice. Make sure you have enough lemons because there’s only so much zest you can get from one lemon. I used around 4-5 lemons for their zest.
• Flaxseed meal: Ground flaxseeds, once soaked in a little water, turn into the perfect egg replacement, but for this recipe, replace the water with lemon juice. 
• Baking soda: Just a tiny bit, it’ll give our cookie bars the perfect amount of thickness.
• Passion fruit: The ingredient that takes these regular lemon cookie bars into something more magical! 
• Extracts: Vanilla extract (make sure it’s extract and NOT essence). Along with a touch of almond extract, just for a slight hint of a nutty flavor. This is optional!   

All about the lemon cookie bars recipe…

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I’m such a cookie bar fan; it’s so much easier to make than individual cookies. This lemon bar recipe is so simple. The cookie bar base is soft, think of a buttery shortbread crust with fresh lemon flavor. So dreamy and delicious. 

To make this soft lemon cookie bar base, start by combining the fresh lemon juice with the flaxseed meal. This will be used as our egg replacer! Next, make the lemon-infused sugars by adding both granulated sugar and brown sugar into a food processor, along with the lemon zest. Pulse together 5-6 times or until combined. Once you open your food processor’s lid, you should be hit with the lemony scent. 

Add the lemon-infused sugar into a large bowl with the softened butter. Beat together with a handheld or stand mixer until light and fluffy; you might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula from time to time. Add in the egg replacer, beat together for another minute or until combined. Add the all-purpose flour, cornflour and baking soda. Continue mixing until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2-3 hours. For best results, I’d advise refrigerating overnight as the lemon flavor will become a little stronger, because you’re essentially letting the cookie dough marinate. 

Line a square baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer all the cookie dough into the pan and with the back of a wooden spoon (any spoon really), press the dough into an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges start to become golden. Easy right? No need for rolling the cookies into dough balls, using cookie cutters, or baking in batches. Once baked, allow the lemon cookie layer to cool at room temperature.  

Making the passion fruit frosting…

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Rather than making a regular lemon buttercream frosting, I thought it’d be more fun and summery to incorporate another tangy, fresh summer fruit. Oh, and you won’t need any cream cheese for this; the tangy flavor will come from the passion fruit.

In a large bowl, combine the salted butter with icing sugar, whisk together using a handheld blender. Add in the oat milk or any plant-based milk of your choice, along with passion fruit pulp, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until everything is silky smooth. If at any point the frosting looks too loose, add in more icing sugar, and if it feels not smooth enough, add in a TINY amount of oat milk again. When I say tiny, I mean 1tsp or less.

Once you’re happy with the consistency of the frosting, grab the cookie layer. Carefully lift using the overhang of the parchment paper, and place it onto a workspace.

Dollop the passion fruit frosting over the cookie bar base. I like to do this using an ice cream scoop! With an offset spatula, spread the frosting evenly over the base. Drizzle over a little more passion fruit pulp. Slice into neat squares, and enjoy! 

Once you try this irresponsible lemon recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram – I can’t wait to see your images!!

More summery vegan recipes you need to try:

• Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars
• Cookies And Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chik’n Sandwich With Hot Maple Slaw
• Peanut Tofu Lettuce Wraps

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