This month has given us a few surprises. A major glitch with this site caused a small setback with the loss of a few recipes and links. Around this same time, my husband decided to accept a new job… in Washington, DC. We’re moving east in just a few weeks! It’s exciting and bittersweet but very busy. We’re buried in phone calls, house showings and the general wrapping up of our lives here in Salt Lake.
Last week, Holly and Chelsea were able to visit Utah for a few days before I start moving. These lemon sugar cookie bars (thankfully) made it into our schedule. They have a thick cookie base and are topped with a lemony, citrus frosting! They are thick, sweet and chewy and can be made dairy-free!
Since our cravings for lemon goodies never end, we wanted to see how we could change recipes we already love into a lemon flavor! We used this Healthy Sugar Cookie recipe as the base with a touch of lemon zest. A helping of lemon juice to the frosting of these SWIG Sugar Cookies reflect the most perfect lemon flavor. It was the perfect marriage of the two recipes! If you’d like less lemon flavor or want to omit the frosting, simply sprinkle bars with fresh lemon zest and xylitol. Enjoy!
Sugar Cookie Base:
1/2 cup Butter, at room temperature (Vegan Earth Balance or Regular Butter)
2/3 cup Raw Honey
2 Large Organic Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Stevia Extract
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
2 cup White Wheat Flour
Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 cup Butter, softened (Earth Balance or Regular)
1/4 cup Coconut Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Liquid Stevia
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Heaping 3/4 cup Xylitol
1 teaspoon White Wheat Flour
3-4 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice (to taste)
1-2 teaspoons Lemon Zest for Sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 X 9 or 7 X 11 baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and zest and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixture, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 addition, mixing until just combined.
Press the cookie dough into the sheet pan, using a greased spatula or parchment paper to spread it evenly. Bake for 16-18 minutes until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely. Frost with lemon buttercream frosting below.
In high powdered blender, blend the xylitol with 1 teaspoon flour until completely fine. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and softened coconut butter until combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and stevia and mix until combined. Add the powdered xylitol, mixing slowly at first and then increasing speed as it incorporates. Add the lemon juice 2 tablespoons, mixing until smooth. Add up to 4 tablespoons of lemon juice until you reach desired flavor.
Spread frosting onto cooled bars.. Slice, sprinkle more lemon zest over bars if desired and serve! Store bars in an airtight container. These bars are best the day of making them but they will last up to 3 days.
Linda O'Neill says
Looks delicious and will be making these this weekend. I was wondering if you’d consider reentering the recipe itself in your web site to eliminate the programming marks.
Thanks for considering.
Natural Sweet Recipes says
Hi Linda, So happy you are going to give this recipe a try! I am very sorry for the inconvenience! I am currently working on trying to fix the recipe format. Here is the recipe for now:
Sugar Cookie Base:
1/2 cup Butter, at room temperature (Vegan Earth Balance or Regular Butter)
2/3 cup Raw Honey
2 Large Organic Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Stevia Extract
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
2 cup White Wheat Flour
Lemon Buttercream:
1/2 cup Butter, softened (Earth Balance or Regular Butter)
1/4 cup Coconut Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Liquid Stevia
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Heaping 3/4 cup Xylitol
1 teaspoon White Wheat Flour
3-4 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice (to taste)
1-2 teaspoons Lemon Zest for Sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 X 9 or 7 X 11 baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and zest and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixture, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 addition, mixing until just combined.
Press the cookie dough into the sheet pan, using a greased spatula or parchment paper to spread it evenly. Bake for 16-18 minutes until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely. Frost with lemon buttercream frosting below.
In high powdered blender, blend the xylitol with 1 teaspoon flour until completely fine. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and softened coconut butter until combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and stevia and mix until combined. Add the powdered xylitol, mixing slowly at first and then increasing speed as it incorporates. Add the lemon juice 2 tablespoons, mixing until smooth. Add up to 4 tablespoons of lemon juice until you reach desired flavor.
Spread frosting onto cooled bars.. Slice, sprinkle more lemon zest over bars if desired and serve! Store bars in an airtight container. These bars are best the day of making them but they will last up to 3 days.
Lauren says
These look delicious!