Vegan Bourbon Bars
These bourbon bars are the ultimate Christmas dessert in my family. Packed with pecans, chocolate chips, and raisins in the cookie base, and doused with a healthy pour of bourbon in both batter and frosting, there’s a lot to love about these boozy little bars. This year, trying to be more climate friendly, I decided to veganize my aunt’s classic recipe. This version uses vegan butter and aquafaba in place of butter and eggs. (In trials, I found aquafaba to be the best egg replacement for these bars, because they help to bind the batter together while not adding too much moisture.) Enjoy!
Recipe: Vegan Bourbon Bars
- Makes: 2 dozen 2-inch bars, or 4 dozen 1-inch (bite-size) bars
- Total time: 2 hours (30 minutes prep time, 20-25 minutes active bake time, 1 hour cooling)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup vegan butter (softened) — testing this or +2 tbs
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tbs aquafaba
- ⅓ cup bourbon
- 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chocolate chips
FROSTING
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
METHOD
- If your pecans are raw, toast in the oven for 5 minutes at 375F (190C).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine softened vegan butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Using the whisk attachment, mix over medium until slightly lightened in color, and well-combined. Add aquafaba and mix well to combine. (It will stay grainy–that’s ok.)
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to vegan butter mixture alternatively with the bourbon, in three parts each. By the end you’ll have a smooth batter.
- Stir in pecans, raisins, and chocolate chips just to combine.
- Bake in a greased 13×9 inch pan at 350F (175C) for 20-25 minutes.
- Once bars are completely cool, prepare frosting by combining powdered sugar, vegan butter, vanilla, and bourbon in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. (Can also be done by hand.)
- Once bars are cool, frost evenly with frosting, and slice into squares.
