Sugar Cookie Bars
Sugar cookie bars are everything you love about classic sugar cookies—soft, buttery, and perfectly sweet—without the fuss of rolling or cutting. Just spread the dough in a pan, bake, frost, and watch them disappear.
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These sugar cookie bars bake up soft, are nice and thick, and just melt in your mouth. Cookie bars like these and my M&M Christmas Cookie Bars, and my Gingerbread Cookies are perfect for parties, cookie trays, school events, or gifting to neighbors.
Plus, you can customize them with any frosting color, flavor, or sprinkles to match your holiday celebrations.
Why You'll Love Easy Sugar Cookie Bars
These classic cookies are so quick and easy. No chilling, rolling, or cookie cutters required. Just press the dough into a pan, bake, frost, slice, and you’re done!
These could be a fun option for kids to make instead of the traditional Sugar Cookies for decorating. Instead, top these bars with the simple homemade frosting and add any desired toppings and sprinkles.
Let's Gather The Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: Make sure you spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a knife.
- Baking Powder: Helps the bars bake up light instead of dense.
- Salt: Enhances all the sweet vanilla-almond flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Using softened butter, not melted butter.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the bars and helps them stay soft and chewy rather than cakey.
- Egg + Egg Yolk: The whole egg binds the dough, while the extra yolk keeps the bars extra soft.
- Almond Extract: You can leave this out if you prefer.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds warmth, sweetness, and classic sugar cookie flavor.
- Powdered Sugar: Sweetens the frosting and gives it that smooth consistency.
- Milk: Thins the frosting just enough so it spreads easily. You can use more or less depending on your preference.
- Christmas Sprinkles: The festive finishing touch! Use any colors or shapes to match your holiday theme.
- Step 1: Line a jelly roll pan or a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Add flour, baking soda, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk to mix.
- Step 2: Add softened butter, and sugar to a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until creamy.
- Step 3: Next, add eggs, almond extract, and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix to combine.
- Step 4: Carefully dump the dry ingredients from the bowl into the wet ingredient mixture and mix to combine. A soft cookie dough should start to form.
- Step 5: Dump the dough into the prepared baking pan and press the dough out to the edges of the pan. Bake!
- Step 6: Work on the frosting recipe. Add softened butter and powdered sugar to a medium bowl. Mix with hand mixer until combined.
- Step 7: Add extract and milk. Mix until combined.
- Step 8: Use a rubber spatula to spread the frosting on the cookie bars once cooled. Add sprinkles or toppings as desired.
Recipe Tips
- Use room temperature butter for both the dough and frosting so everything mixes smoothly.
- Do not over-bake the sugar cookie base. The center should look slightly soft when you take the pan out of the oven. The bars firm up as they cool.
- Cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt into the bars.
- Store cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.
Recipe Faq's
Yes! These bars stay fresh for about 3 days at room temperature. You can also bake them the night before and frost the next day.
Freeze unfrosted bars up to 2 months. If freezing frosted Sugar Cookie Bars, freeze them uncovered first until solid, then store between parchment layers.
More Cookie Recipes
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Sugar Cookie Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour spoon and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For The Frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a jelly roll pan or 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt until combined.
- In a large bowl add the softened butter, and sugar and using a hand mixer beat until creamy.
- Add in the eggs and almond extract and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until combined.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
- Let cool completely.
- For The Frosting
- In a medium bowl add the softened butter and powdered sugar and mix until combined.
- Add in the vanilla and milk.
- Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookie bars and add sprinkles.
