These yummy sugar cookie bars with a buttercream frosting are a delicious to any treat plate! Just whip up the bars and the frosting then decorate with sprinkles and other toppings for a fun holiday or everyday treat!
I think I’ve mentioned it before but my oldest doesn’t like chocolate (the younger one loves everything). What he does love are sugar cookies. Sugar cookies and snickerdoodles.
But I hate making the same cut out sugar cookies year after year. I’ve played around with different sugar cookie recipes before – tried these cream cheese sugar cookies and even these melted snowman cookies – but eventually all sugar cookies start tasting the same.
So I decided this year I wanted to try something new with these sugar cookie bars with buttercream frosting on top. I know he likes sugar cookies and buttercream frosting so figured I’d give it a shot!
He loved them! And I hope you do too!
These Christmas sugar cookie bars at the perfect Christmas treat. They’re chewy, sweet, and topped with a not so sweet buttercream frosting.
Add your favorite sprinkles or Christmas decorations – decorate them however you want – for a treat that’s guaranteed to be the hit of your next holiday party!
Plus, they’re super easy to make and cut – no need to grab the cookie cutters, just cut in squares! If you’re more a chocolate chip cookie person, make sure to check out these cookie Oreo bars!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy – if you’ve ever made sugar cookies before, you’ll be able to make these. If you haven’t, you’ll still be able to make them!
- No-chill recipe – unlike many sugar cookies that require you to chill the dough before cutting and baking, you just make the dough for these sugar cookie bars and bake right away!
- Decorate how you want – whether you wan to use sprinkles, edible glitter, or even turn it into something like a cake with a holiday message, you totally can! Just decorate the top however you want before you start cutting!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Butter – you’ll need unsalted butter for both the sugar cookie bars and the frosting and the butter should be nice and soft. Take it out of the fridge for about an hour before you’re ready to start baking. If you only have salted butter, omit the salt from the cookie bars and the frosting.
- Sprinkles – you can really use any sort of Christmas sprinkles you want or forget Christmas and use this sugar cookie bars recipe to make a treat for any other holiday with whatever sprinkles you want!
- Eggs – you’ll need one whole egg and one egg yolk.
How to make sugar cookie bars
Making these sugar cookie bars is as easy as making cookies – just mixing and baking! It’s one of the reasons I love this recipe so much!
1 – make the sugar cookie Dough
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F and lining a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper.
You could technically skip the parchment paper and just spray the pan with non-stick spray, but I really like being able to use the parchment paper to pull the sugar cookie bars out of the pan to cut into nice even squares.
Next you’re going to make your dough by creaming together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. You typically want to do this for a few minutes until the color of the mixture turns pale.
Then add in your egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract and mix in all ingredients are well incorporated.
Next, slowly add in all of your dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
Once dough forms, add half the red sprinkles and half the green sprinkles to the dough and stir in with a spatula or wooden spoon until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
I don’t recommend using the stand mixer to mix this in or else you may end up with sprinkles bleeding into the bars and changing the color of the dough.
This is where typically you’d chill the dough so that you could roll it out for cookies but luckily, no need with these sugar cookie bars! We’re just going to get right to baking!
2 – Bake the Sugar Cookie Bars
Place dough into the prepared baking dish and spread down gently with a spatula to create an even layer in the bake.
Bake the sugar cookie bars for 20-25 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Make sure to watch them carefully once they get to 20 minutes because you don’t want them to burn.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan completely.
3 – Make the Buttercream Frosting
While the bars are cooling in the pan, it’s time to make your buttercream frosting.
All you need to do is combine the softened butter, vanilla extract, salt (as long as you’re using unsalted butter), and powdered sugar in a mixer and mix on high until the frosting becomes smooth and creamy.
After bars are completely cooled, lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Then use a rubber spatula to frost the sugar cookie bars.
Decorate with sprinkles, colored icing, or whatever you want to turn these into Christmas sugar cookie bars.
Once they’re decorated, cut into squares or serve. Or if you’d rather, you can cut beforehand and let people decorate their own sugar cookie bars, just like you would with regular sugar cookies – just in squares, not shapes!
Expert Tips
Make sure the bars are completely cooled before frosting so the frosting will set and not just melt all over the place.
Store sugar cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
Change up the sprinkles in the cookie dough and as decorations to turn these into Halloween cookie bars, Easter bars, etc.
Recipe FAQs
These sugar cookie bars freeze great. Cut into squares, wrap each individual square in plastic wrap, then put all of the individual bars into a freezer safe container or zipper bag. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw bars individually to room temperature before eating.
More Easy Christmas Treats
If you like these Christmas sugar cookies, you’ll love these other yummy Christmas recipes!
- Christmas muddy buddies – these hot chocolate flavored muddy buddies are the perfect addition to any holiday treat plate!
- Christmas tree cookies – the prettiest Christmas tree cookies, made with just a simple frosting technique!
- Christmas tree cake dip – Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes combine with two other ingredients in this simply delicious dip!
- Grinch sugar cookies – a quick and easy cookie that’s inspired by the leaning trees in the Grinch movie!
- Red velvet cookies – these red cookies are great to go with a holiday that’s all red and green!
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Bars
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 TBS Christmas sprinkles any kind, divided
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted buter (softened)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Cookie Bars
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lining a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Then add in your egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract and mix in all ingredients are well incorporated.1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp almond extract
- Next, slowly add in all of your dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt
- Once dough forms, add half Christmas sprinkles and stir in until evenly distributed throughout dough.4 TBS Christmas sprinkles
- Place dough into the prepared baking dish and spread down gently with a spatula to create an even layer in the bake. Bake the sugar cookie bars for 20-25 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- After bars are completely cooled, lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Then use a rubber spatula to frost the sugar cookie bars.
- Decorate with the rest of the sprinkles.4 TBS Christmas sprinkles
- Cut into squares and serve.
Frosting
- Combine the butter, vanilla extract, salt, and powdered sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.1/2 cup unsalted buter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
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