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These easy sugar cookie bars with homemade frosting are basically your favorite sugar cookie in bar form. Perfect for dessert or a sweet treat anytime and easy to customize for any holiday!
Our Favorite Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
If you’re looking for an easy dessert or just craving something sweet, you’ll love this easy recipe for sugar cookie bars with sweet and creamy frosting. We based this sugar cookie bar recipe on on our popular Christmas sugar cookies. Readers love those cookies, but this bar cookie recipe is a lot easier and tastes just as delicious!
Instead of rolling, cutting and chilling the dough, you just mix the ingredients, press the dough into a 9×13 pan, and bake. You can use any frosting, but our simple buttercream frosting recipe is easy to make and complements the bars perfectly! If you want an even easier way to get your cookie fix, try this easy cookie dip!
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what you need to make these frosted cookie bars. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- Butter — I always use salted butter, but unsalted butter will work
- Sugar — granulated sugar for sweetness
- Vanilla — for that classic sugar cookie flavor
- Almond extract — adds so much flavor. I definitely recommend this, but you can leave it out and double the vanilla.
- Eggs — binds the dough
- Flour — regular all purpose flour
- Baking powder — acts as a leavening agent
- Salt — balances out the sweet
- Frosting — powdered sugar, softened butter, food coloring, sprinkles
How to Make Sugar Cookie Bars
First, you cream the butter. Then, add the sugar and cream until fluffy. You can use an electric mixer or stand mixer. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts and eggs. Then mix in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined. Spread in a prepared baking dish, and bake for about 20 minutes. You can whip up the homemade frosting while the bars are cooling, and frost them when completely cooled.
How to Make Frosting for Cookie Bars
First you beat room temperature butter until it’s white, fluffy and doubled in size. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and powdered sugar. Then, add a drop of pink food gel. Spread the frosting onto the cookie bars using an offset spatula and top with rainbow jimmies sprinkles.
Customize sugar cookie bars for every holiday! For Christmas sugar cookie bars, color the buttercream green and use red, green and white sprinkles. For Valentine’s Day cookie bars, use pink frosting and heart sprinkles. For Halloween cookie bars, use orange frosting with purple and green sprinkles. For Easter, use pastel colors.
Storage Tips
Once frosted, slice the cookie bars, and store them in an airtight container in your refrigerator. They stay soft and fresh for 4-5 days. You can also freeze unfrosted and frosted bars for 3 months. You will need to freeze frosted bars in a single layer first. Then, you can stack the bars with parchment paper or wax paper in between layers in an airtight container.
Recipe Tips
Don’t over mix the dough. Over mixing the dough will result in a cakey bar.
Bake until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Make sure not to over bake!
For perfectly cut bars, cut after chilling. Score the cuts first, and wipe the knife after each cut.
More Bar Cookies to Make
Try our cake mix cookie bars or chocolate chip cookie bars or refreshing lemon bars next!
Easy Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookie Bars
- 1 cup butter softened at room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
For the Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 drop pink food coloring
- rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
For the Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat oven to 350℉, and line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with an electric mixer until smooth
- Add in the granulated sugar and mix until just combined, light and fluffy. Should take about 3 minutes
- Mix in the vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs
- Add in the salt, baking powder and half of the flour. Mix well
- Mix in the rest of the flour until everything is just combined
- Evenly spread the dough in prepared baking dish
- Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting
For the Buttercream Frosting
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with an electric mixer on high speed until white, fluffy and doubled in size. Should take 10 minutes
- Beat in vanilla extract and almond extract
- Gradually add in powdered sugar until smooth and all lumps are gone
- Dye frosting with one drop of pink food coloring
- Using an offset spatula, evenly spread the frosting over the cooled sugar cookie bars
- Top with rainbow sprinkles
- Refrigerate until ready to serve, and store in refrigerator
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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