These Almond Croissant Bars are layered with a shortbread cookie crust, vegan almond frangipane, a cookie crumble, and sliced almonds. It’s everything you love about almond croissants in a sweet, hand-held vegan cookie bar!
I have even more vegan cookie bars to choose from! Check out my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, my Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, and my Seven Layer Bars while you’re here.
If I could go to the bakery and treat myself to an almond croissant every day, I totally would! I love a flaky, almond- and powdered sugar-coated croissant stuffed with almond frangipane. It’s like heaven to me.
Luckily, my vegan Almond Croissant Bars have the same magic as the real thing. Just like my Vegan Almond Croissant Cookies, everything that makes an almond croissant so special—the frangipane filling, sliced almonds, and powdered sugar—is put into a hand-held dessert. Putting it all on top of a shortbread cookie crust just takes every bite over the top.
Why you’ll love almond croissant cookie bars
- Bakery-worthy cookie bars – Everything I love about an almond croissant goes into these easy dessert bars, from the almond frangipane to the sliced almond and powdered sugar topping.
- Soft and chewy – I’d compare these bars to a cross between almond croissants and my Vegan Blondies: they’re soft, chewy, and filled with decadent almond flavors.
- Easier than croissants – Yes, you can make vegan almond croissants from scratch (my Vegan Croissant recipe is a great place to start), but these cookie bars are sooo much easier and taste just as good. 🥐
How to make vegan almond croissant bars
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Make the cookie dough: Mix the vegan butter and sugar together in a large bowl until creamy and smooth. Next, mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Finish by mixing in the flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined.
Make the vegan frangipane: Process the almond frangipane filling ingredients in a food processor until creamy, smooth, and no longer gritty.
To layer the bars:
- Press some cookie dough into the prepared baking pan.
- Spread the frangipane on top of the dough.
- Crumble the remaining dough over the frangipane.
- Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of the cookie crumble, gently pressing them into the dough.
Bake the croissant bars until the edges are golden and the almonds turn a little darker.
Set the bars aside to cool completely in the pan. After, sprinkle powdered sugar over the top, then slice them into bars. Enjoy!
Cool completely before serving
Once you pull these bars out of the oven, just leave them on the counter until they’re totally cool (30 minutes minimum). This gives the frangipane time to set, which will prevent the bars from falling apart.
Frequently asked questions
Baking on a hot day or in a warm kitchen can make the frangipane loose and soft. Try refrigerating the frangipane for 20 minutes before spreading it over the cookie crust; this should help it firm up a bit.
I only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour, but you should be okay to replace it with a quality gluten-free flour blend instead (both in the cookie crust and frangipane). I like Better Batter, but have also had great results with King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour.
The great thing about these bars is that they can be assembled the night before baking and taste just as good the next day. Layer the cookie dough, frangipane, and crumbled cookie dough in the baking pan as normal, cover it, and refrigerate overnight. Take them out of the fridge a few minutes before baking so they can come down to room temperature first.
Pack the sliced bars into an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 4 days or freeze them for up to 2 months. Just thaw them at room temperature before serving.
Almond Croissant Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- 1 cup vegan butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegan Frangipane
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter softened
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
Topping
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×9 inch metal baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make the cookie dough: Add the softened vegan butter and sugar to a large bowl. With a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment) or handheld mixer, mix until creamy and smooth. Now add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until well combined. Add the flour, then sprinkle the baking soda and salt on top of the flour. Mix until just combined and set aside while you make the vegan frangipane.
- Make the frangipane: Add all almond filling ingredients to a food processor and process on high until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed.
- Layer the bars: Press about two-thirds of the cookie dough evenly into the prepared pan. Spread the frangipane on top of the dough in the pan, into an even layer. Crumble the rest of the cookie dough all over the top of the frangipane. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of the crumble and press them down a little bit.
- Bake: Bake in the center rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are golden and the almonds on top turn a little darker.
- Cool and serve: Let the bars cool for at least 30 minutes, but better to let them cool completely if you can! Sprinkle with powdered sugar before slicing into bars. Enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-free: Substitute a gluten-free flour, such as King Arthur’s Measure for Measure or Better Batter.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days in a covered container. They can also be frozen.
Made these today and was finally able to sample this evening and omg…they are incredible! I have been missing almond croissants ever since I went vegan and this recipe hits the spot 100%. I may have to eat this entire pan myself instead of sharing. 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Michelle. I am thrilled that you loved the recipe! I hope you enjoyed as many of them as you wanted to eat! Thank you for taking time to share your stellar review and recipe experience! Happy cooking to you!
These were incredible and my whole family raved about them! Thank you Nora!! This will become a regular recipe for me!
You are welcome, Sarah! Thank you for trying the recipe and for sharing your fantastic feedback! How awesome this is going to be on your meal rotation list! Happy cooking!
Nora, these are incredible! I made them yesterday and couldn’t believe how delicious they are; they exceeded my expectations. Even my picky husband and daughter loved them. I had to hold myself back from eating all of them, that’s how wonderful they are! Thanks for sharing another awesome recipe:)
You are welcome, Julia! I’m so thrilled to read that you and your family loved the almond croissant bars! Thank you for sharing your terrific review and recipe feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Is the mixture supposed to be very soft and goey when a knife is poked in after the stated cooking time? I followed the recipe exactly but after 35 – 40 minutes baking it was still raw in the middle and wobbly. I left it in for another 10 minutes but it was still the same, baked for a further 15 minutes and then when it was cold the base was like a brick. Such a shame, I was looking forward to this.
Yes, you definitely baked it too long! These are not like cake, where a toothpick will come out clean. It’s like cookie dough, and when baked, cookies will appear soft and gooey when they need to come out of the oven. Cookie dough continues to set up and firm up when removed from the oven after baking. No need to poke a knife into these bars, just look for slightly golden edges and the almonds on top darkening a little bit. The base turned rock hard from baking an extra 25 minutes.
These are so delicious, one of my new favorite desserts! (And I bake a lot). I left out the sliced almonds on top but otherwise made them exactly as written.
Hi Tamar, I’m so glad you are enjoying the almond croissant bars! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review! Wishing you a happy cooking!
As expected, delicious 🙂 I hosted a dinner party and everybody raved about them. I’m echoing others recommendations that 1/2 cup of almonds is MORE than enough. Will happily make again.
I am thrilled that the almond croissant bars were a hit at your dinner party, Paul! Thank you for taking time to share this fantastic feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
This is amazing! I made it exactly as is and everyone in my house loved it. When I make it again, I’ll reduce the sliced almonds to 1/2 cup as 1 cup was way too many for a 9×9 pan. I suspect in the pics above Nora only used 1/2 cup to get that lovely sprinkle.
These look amazing. Is there a specific vegan butter you would recommend? I used to use Miyoko’s for everything, but it seems not to exist anymore 🙁
I use Earth Balance sticks most often, I love them! Country Crock or Melt is fine as well. Enjoy!
This is so delicious. You are such a creative good vegan baker and cook. I can’t thank you enough I have a 4 year old with severe food allergies to egg, milk, and nuts and you have saved our household with your recipes.