This is the BEST easy sugar cookie bars recipe! no matter the holiday or occasion these sugar cookie bars are delicious and festive!!
I am a sugar cookie lover! It must be a chewy cookie sugar cookie recipe, especially Christmas sugar cookies around the holiday season! I am not really sure why I only make them around then. It’s such a fun activity to make any holiday feel like a HOLIDAY!
This year I set out to change that. Only maybe something a little more casual, something easy to make and easy to store yet feels festive.
These frosted sugar cookie bars are so much more convenient than regular sugar cookies
I remember as a kid having sugar cookies and they all were the same sort of flat plain old cookie. Nothing bad but nothing to write home about either. Then one year we had delivered to us as a gift sugar cookies and my world was blown open! I have been searching to replicate that cookie for years and I think I found it in my mother’s simple and easy recipe that was hiding in her recipe box!
Only here in this application, I decided to make a bar and they turned out (I think lol) just as good!!
They are light, fluffy, and flavorful plus they hold their shape!!
Being in bar format allows you to travel with them a bit more conveniently and store them too.
Coat them in sweet pink frosting and sprinkle them with Valentines Day themed sprinkles. They are so cute. Plus, These are softer than classic sugar cookies yet still hold their shape.
For the Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the Cream cheese Frosting
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper
Make the bars: In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed using a hand mixer until well combined, about 1 minute. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed just until blended, about 1 minute.
Using a spatula, scrape the dough into the prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer. Bake just until the edges are starting to turn light golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle has moist crumbs, 20 to 25 minutes. (Do not overbake! The bars should be quite moist, and almost slightly underbaked in the middle.) Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Let cool completely. When fully cooled, remove the bars from the pan using the overhanging parchment paper.
Make the frosting: Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar, beating on low speed until fully combined, then repeat with the remaining 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar. Add the 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, the vanilla, salt, and food coloring, if using, and beat on medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping down the sides halfway through, about 4 minutes. Add more milk if needed to thin out the mixture. Add lemon juice and vanilla to taste.
Using a spatula, spread the frosting on top, then decorate with sprinkles, if using. Cut into 20 bars and serve.
Change the frosting color or use festive sprinkles to change for the corresponding holiday or season
store the soft sugar cookies in an airtight container
My favorite baking supplies!!
