Imagine all the delicious festive gingerbread flavors brought together in the most chewy and fudgy bar! These vegan fudgy gingerbread bars have a delicious cranberry–cream cheese frosting that brings a lovely tart balance to the sweet gingerbread flavors.

Another balancing ingredient is the salty brown miso paste in the cookie dough to bring a little mouthwatering umami flavor. Although the look and flavor of these bars are festive, they taste amazing all year ’round.

And they’re just one of a fabulous collection of every vegan cookie imaginable – from your favorite chocolate treats and fruity confections to no-bake delights and to-die-for tray bakes – from Fantastic Vegan Cookies by vegan food star and blogger, Tina Strandberg of My Berry Forest.

Instead of buying over-processed cookies from the store, learn just how easy it is to create healthier versions of your favorite cookies that are both quick to make and exceedingly delicious.

Fantastic Vegan Cookies raises the bar on plant-based cuisine, not only for vegans and vegetarians, but also for the growing number of people looking to eat better and healthier.

Vegan Fudgy Gingerbread Bars: Ingredients

Yield: 16–20 bars

• 1 cup (200 g) pitted dates such as medjool dates
• 3⁄4 cup (170 g) vegan butter
• 1⁄2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
• 2 tsp (10 ml) brown rice miso paste (see Tip)
• 11⁄2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp (7.5 g) cinnamon
• 2 tsp (10 g) grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1⁄2 tsp baking soda
• 1⁄8 tsp salt

Frosting

• 2⁄3 cup (160 ml) vegan whipped cream
• 1⁄3 cup (80 g) vegan cream cheese
• 1⁄3 cup (90 g) sweetened cranberry jam
• 1⁄3 cup (50 g) cranberries

Vegan Fudgy Gingerbread Bars: Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8 x 8–inch (20 x 20–cm) baking pan with parchment paper.

In a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, warm the dates, vegan butter and brown sugar, constantly stirring until the dates are mostly dissolved. Add the miso paste and blend the mixture with an immersion blender until everything is smooth. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, baking soda and salt.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon, spatula or with your hands until the cookie dough is smooth.

Press the dough evenly into the prepared baking pan and bake it for 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool in the pan completely before removing it.

In a bowl, mix together the vegan whipped cream, vegan cream cheese and sweetened cranberry jam with a spoon until they are smooth. Spread the frosting on top of the gingerbread and cut it into squares or bars. Decorate the bars with cranberries.

Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

Tip: You can also make these bars without miso paste. Just add 1⁄4 teaspoon more salt to balance the flavors.

Reprinted with permission from Fantastic Vegan Cookies by Tiina Strandberg, Page Street Publishing Co. 2021. Photo credit: Tiina Strandberg