These easy Sugar Cookie Bars are so delicious! The soft and chewy sugar cookies bars are topped with sweet buttercream frosting and sprinkles. The bars make a fantastic Christmas cookie but can be adapted for any holiday!
Sugar cookies are a classic for a reason! You can’t go wrong with any type of sugar cookie – from Lofthouse-style sugar cookies to cake-y sour cream sugar cookies.
Sugar cookie bars take all the delicious buttery sweetness of a sugar cookie and put it into a faster, easier bar. This recipe makes a great alternative to the traditional sugar cookie recipe!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter – I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt to 3/4 teaspoon in the bars and add an extra pinch or two to taste to the frosting.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar – I recommend using light brown sugar in this recipe. The light brown sugar helps to add moisture and chew to the bars without giving them any molasses flavor.
- Large egg
- Egg yolks – The fat in the egg yolks helps to give the bars a chewier texture.
- Vanilla extract – Sugar cookies are basically butter, flour, sugar, and a few other ingredients. Feel free to add another teaspoon vanilla extract in the bars, frosting, or both to bump up the vanilla flavor.
- Almond extract – I like to add a bit of almond extract to give the bars just a bit more flavor. It’s an optional ingredient and can be omitted if you prefer.
- All-purpose flour – It’s important to properly measure the flour. Too much flour can give you dry, crumbly bars. To properly measure the flour, either weigh it or sift or stir it to break it up. Then, lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Powdered sugar – If your powdered sugar if lumpy, sift or stir it before adding it to help break it up. This will help it better incorporate with the butter.
- Heavy cream – I like to use heavy cream because it makes for a richer, creamier frosting. You can use milk if you prefer.
- Food coloring
- Sprinkles
How to make sugar cookie bars
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or use parchment paper to line a 9×13-inch baking pan. If using a glass baking pan, preheat the oven to 350F. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy and well-combined.
Add eggs and yolks. Beat until eggs are well-incorporated, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
Add dough to prepared pan and spread in an even layer.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are very light golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Let the bars cool in the pan until they reach room temperature.
To prepare the buttercream frosting, beat butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and salt, and mix until combined.
Stir in vanilla extract.
Stir in enough milk to make a spreadable frosting.
Top with sprinkles.
How to tint the frosting
If you would like to tint the frosting, add food coloring after step 12. Feel free to use as much or as little food coloring as you’d like to achieve your desired color.
Holiday sugar cookie bar ideas
Sugar cookies are a popular dessert around Christmas time, but they are easily adaptable for any holiday! Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Christmas: Red, white, or green frosting with Christmas sprinkles
- Valentine’s Day: Pink frosting with pink, white, or red sprinkles
- St. Patrick’s Day: Green frosting with shamrock, gold, or white sprinkles.
- Easter: Pastel frosting with pastel sprinkles
- Halloween: Orange frosting with black and white sprinkles
Storage
I recommend storing the sugar cookie bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 5 days when stored in the fridge.
More bar recipes!
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Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Vanilla Frosting
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream enough to make a spreadable consistency
- Food coloring optional
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or use parchment paper to line a 9×13-inch metal baking pan. If using a glass pan, preheat the oven to 350F. Set aside.
- To make the sugar cookie bars, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until fluffy and well-combined.
- Add egg and egg yolks. Beat until eggs are well-incorporated, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in vanilla and almond extract, if using.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just incorporated.
- Add batter to prepared pan.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are very light golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. It's better to slightly underbake the bars than to overbake them.
- Let the bars cool in the pan until they reach room temperature.
- To prepare frosting, beat butter until fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and salt, and mix until combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Mix in enough cream to make a spreadable frosting.
Notes
- Butter – I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt to 3/4 teaspoon in the bars and add an extra pinch or two to taste to the frosting.
- Brown sugar – I recommend using light brown sugar in this recipe. The light brown sugar helps to add moisture and chew to the bars without giving them any molasses flavor.
- Egg yolks – The fat in the egg yolks helps to give the bars a chewier texture.
- Vanilla extract – Sugar cookies are basically butter, flour, sugar, and a few other ingredients. Feel free to increase the amount of vanilla extract in the bars, frosting, or both to bump up the vanilla flavor.
- Almond extract – I like to add a bit of almond extract to give the bars just a bit more flavor. It’s an optional ingredient and can be omitted if you prefer.
- All-purpose flour – It’s important to properly measure the flour. Too much flour can give you dry, crumbly bars. To properly measure the flour, either weigh it or sift or stir it to break it up. Then, lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level.
- Powdered sugar – If your powdered sugar if lumpy, sift or stir it before adding it to help break it up. This will help it better incorporate with the butter.
- Heavy cream – I like to use heavy cream because it makes for a richer, creamier frosting. You can use milk if you prefer.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Reggae Slowpoke says
This is one of my favorite desserts!
Kate says
Yay! Thanks for commenting!
Trina says
This recipe was perfect for me, great taste and no cookie cutters.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that you liked the bars!
Jen says
Kate, these sound delicious! And they are so cheerful – can’t help but make you smile. I think I might attempt them in the next couple of weeks. Thank you for all the work you do in providing great recipes.