These Keto Sugar Cookie Bars have all the tenderness and flavor of your favorite cookie in an easy-to-make bar form. Topped with sugar-free buttercream and sprinkles, they’re a perfect treat for any occasion!
I was never that much of a sugar cookie person until I embarked on my keto journey. The real deal never held that much appeal for me, and I’d pass them over in favor of anything with chocolate.
But I’ve gained a healthy appreciation for this classic flavor over the years. It all started with my keto sugar cookies, which quickly became a family tradition and a reader favorite. We make them every year to decorate and I am always surprised by how much I like them.
But these tender Keto Sugar Cookie Bars have me weak in the knees. They are so good, and so easy to make. And you can dress them up for any holiday or special occasion.
I made a holiday version for my Keto Holiday Cookies & Bars e-book. Check it out here:
Why you need this recipe
I now readily admit that sugar cookies are pretty darn tasty. But I think I like these bars even more than the actual cookies. Pressing the dough into a pan makes them so easy, you can whip up a pan in less than an hour.
They are softer than cookies, and have a delicious chewiness. And adding a thick layer of sugar free frosting certainly doesn’t hurt.
You can also adjust this recipe to suit your tastes. You could switch out the extract and add some almond or lemon. Or even peppermint for the holidays. You could make the frosting in fun colors or you could add my rich keto chocolate frosting. So many delicious possibilities.
At 2.1g net carbs, these festive treats fit in perfectly with the keto diet!
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: As always, I recommend a good finely ground almond flour for the best texture. If you need to be nut-free, you can try sunflower seed flour. But you will need to add a tablespoon of acid, such as lemon juice, to offset the green reaction.
- Butter: Make sure your butter is properly softened so that the sweetener combines well. If your house is on the chilly side, heat the butter for 10 seconds or so in the microwave.
- Sweetener: I recommend Swerve Granular for the bars themselves, and Swerve Confectioners for the frosting.
- Eggs: You will need one whole egg and one egg yolk. Make sure they are room temperature before adding to the dough.
- Cream cheese: The frosting has a little cream cheese in it to make it whiter. Perfect for holiday sugar cookie bars!
- Sprinkles: Keto sprinkles make baking so much more fun. I like the great colours and mixes from The Sprinkle Company on Etsy.
- Baking staples: Vanilla, baking powder, salt
Step by Step Directions
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
2. Add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until the dough comes together.
3. Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the center is puffed and the edges are golden brown. It will still be very soft. Remove and let cool in the pan.
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Beat in the sweetener until well combined, then beat in the vanilla extract.
5. Spread the frosting over the cooled bars and sprinkle with holiday sprinkles. Refrigerate 30 minutes to set the frosting before cutting into bars.
Expert tips
Beat the butter and sweetener thoroughly before adding any other ingredients. This process makes the butter really creamy so that the other ingredients combine better. And make sure to use room temperature eggs, as cold eggs will make the butter clump up.
The cream cheese in the frosting both gives it structure and makes it more white in color. So you don’t have to use ridiculous amounts of powdered sweetener to achieve a nice consistency.
Let’s discuss those sweeteners. I really think that erythritol based sweeteners such as Swerve will give you the best results in both the bars and the frosting. Allulose or BochaSweet will make the bars very soft and more cake-y. Allulose also has a tendency to brown baked goods too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
The term “sugar free” doesn’t always mean that something is keto friendly. Many cookies don’t have any added sugar but contain other sources of carbs such as starches and grains. Make sure you read the nutritional labels and ingredients list to identify the total and net carb count per serving.
These delicious Keto Sugar Cookie Bars have 3.9g of carbs and 1.8g of fiber. So they have a net carb count of 2.1g per bar.
You can make these bars ahead and refrigerate or freeze them until ready to serve. Store them in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper to keep the frosting and sprinkles looking fresh.
Keto Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Bars
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 2/3 cup (121.33 g) Swerve Granular
- 1 large (1) egg, room temperature
- 1 large (1) egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (224 g) almond flour
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
Frosting
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (136.5 g) Swerve Confectioners
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- Sugar-Free Sprinkles of choice
Instructions
Bars
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease a 9×9 inch metal pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- All at once, add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until the dough comes together.
- Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the center is puffed and the edges are golden brown. It will still be very soft.
- Remove and let cool in the pan.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Beat in the sweetener until well combined, then beat in the vanilla extract.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled bars and sprinkle with holiday sprinkles. Refrigerate 30 minutes to set the frosting before cutting into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Can’t wait to try this!! Could you line the pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it?
Thanks,
Patti
soooooo delectable and irresistible!!
These sound marvelous. I love your recipes. I would like to try these as a bar cookie with SF chia seed berry jam in place of the frosting, with a little extra sugar cookie dough dolloped on top of the jam. In your opinion do you think that would work? Do you have a cookie bar recipe similar to the one I would like to try? Still going to make these for New Years Eve. Thank you!
I made these this weekend and WOW! The consistency was perfect and the flavor divine. As we say here in the south,these are “smack your mama good”. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes. Next up, cranberry bliss bars
Thanks so much!
Can you bake this in a glass 9×9 pan instead of metal?
Glass bakes VERY differently than metal. So lower the temp by 25 degrees and you will probably need to bake longer but you should be keeping your eye on it very carefully, checking on it frequently.
Can you use coconut flour or 1/2 coconut flour? I have an issue with oxolates. Thank you!
Not in this recipe, no.
Have you tried pumpkin seed flour? It has far less oxalates than almond flour and bakes very similar. It does make baked goods slightly darker, though.
I am having very hard time getting baked goods that still have the mouthfeel of the originals. Everything turns out grainy and somewhat dry. Is there anything I can do about this, or is it something that just hoes with keto? Thanks in advance for your reply,
Janet
I recommend a better brand of almond flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill) and taking your baked goods out a bit earlier.
Still trying to figure out how the serving size is 16.. more like 9 to me LOL. So delicious!!!
They are very rich, so serving size is according to that. I always cut my square pans into 16 squares.
Stupid question, perhaps, but do you use unsalted or salted butter?
It’s not a stupid question at all! I don’t specify because I find salt to be a matter of taste and I prefer salted in my desserts. But most bakers would tell you that you are supposed to use unsalted. I say that it’s really up to you.
What keeps the frosting from getting grainy/sugary? I made a similar icing with 4 oz of cream cheese, 2 T. butter, Swerve confectioners sugar added to make the right consistency. I did not expect the confectioners sugar to be grainy. What didi I do wrong? Is it because I did not use a recipe? The consistency was easy to spread, was not grainy until the next day. and looked great. Yes, I suppose I should have looked up one of Carolyn’s recipe, but I thought since I used swerve it would work out well. I did not put it in the fridge.
Was anything warm when you beat it together? Heat tends to make the sweetener recrystallize more. My recipe also has more butter, which may make a difference as well.
Just made these today. I accidentally left out the baking powder but they still taste great! Thanks for a simple variation to sugar cookies.
Delicious! I had my doubts, because I haven’t made a sugarfree sugar cookie recipe that tasted similar to non sugarfree ones. Wow, am I glad I gave this recipe a shot. From now on it will be my go to recipe, and it’s so easy, no messy rolling cookies out.
these are absolutely delicious both of the cookie and the icing! the only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because OMG the almond flour is so so crumbly! also, they really stuck to my pan. what do you recommend greasing the pan with? I used butter but I have used avocado spray in the past and neither one seems to work for me. I used a glass pan. I will make them again! ❤️
Glass pan: That is your problem right there. My recipe clearly states to use a metal pan. Glass and ceramic conduct heat VERY differently. So that may have contributed to the crumbliness, but also would cause some sticking. They were clearly over-baked on the outside.
These were so delicious! I’ve been craving them since I finished them off.
I like the sugar cookie but prefer more of a cream cheese frosting with less butter. I will switch it up next time. And yes, there will be a next time. Thank you Caroline for all your talent and efforts in producing such wonderful recipes.
This makes an amazing crust for a strawberry dessert I make!