Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Bars - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

4.50 from 10 votes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gingerbread cookie bars, gluten-free gingerbread cookies, vegan gingerbread cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Author: Rhian Williams

• ▢ 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil (or sub coconut butter)
• ▢ 7 tablespoons date syrup (or sub maple syrup or any other similar sweetener)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 75 g (⅔ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
• ▢ 75 g (⅔ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub rice flour, or plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 1.5 teaspoons ground ginger **
• ▢ 1 teaspoon mixed spice (or a mixture of ground nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon)

For the frosting:

• ▢ 100 g (⅔ cup) raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
• ▢ 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice

To decorate (optional):

• ▢ Dried cranberries , roughly chopped

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.

• Add the date syrup and vanilla and mix well.

• Measure out the dry ingredients (ground almonds, gluten-free flour, ginger, mixed spice) and mix well.

• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well - add a splash of any type of plant-based milk if it's too dry to combine at this stage.

• Transfer the mixture into a loaf tin lined with greased baking paper – I used a one-pound loaf tin.

• Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.

• Bake in oven for around 10 minutes until lightly browned at the edges - don’t worry if it’s quite soft when you take it out as it will firm up as it cools.

• Leave to cool completely before applying the frosting.

For the frosting:

• Drain the soaked cashews and add to a food processor or blender with the maple syrup and lemon juice.

• Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.

To frost and decorate:

• Use a knife (or palette knife) to spread frosting over the top of the cookie bars.

• Decorate with chopped dried cranberries, if desired.

• Cut into squares.

• Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

*You can alternatively usealmond flour.

**These gingerbread cookie bars do end up being quite gingery,so if making this forchildren or for people who don't like ginger, you might want to use a little less than the amount listed in the recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Bars

Amount Per Serving

Calories 275Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 5g25%

Sodium 5mg0%

Potassium 166mg5%

Carbohydrates 35g12%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 67mg7%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.