Sugar Cookie Bars
These Sugar Cookie Bars are chewy and soft. They’re topped with a cream cheese frosting. No rolling out and cutting into shapes, these cookie bars are so easy! Make these for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, or Christmas cookies.
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EASY SUGAR COOKIE BARS
I’ve made a version of these, no joke probably 20 times. The texture wasn’t ever satisfactory to me. Here’s what I discovered.
A lot of people use their classic Sugar Cookie recipe and press it into a casserole dish. The problem is they usually just taste like flour because the surface area of bars isn’t the same as a cookie.
You need way less flour when a cookie is in bar form and if you don’t measure your flour properly you’ll have dry cookie bars. Do not use too much flour!
HOW TO PROPERLY MEASURE FLOUR
In order to properly measure flour, fluff the flour so it’s not packed down and spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Level off the flour with a knife. If you scoop the flour with the measuring cup it packs down the flour and causes you to add too much to the dough.
HOW TO MAKE THESE
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
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For the bars: In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
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Add the egg, vanilla, almond extract and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until combined.
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Press sugar cookie dough into the baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to have a touch of golden brown. Do not overbake! Remove from oven and let the bars cool in the pan.
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For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond and beat until creamy. The mixture may seem dry at first but will become creamy after being beat for a while. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time until the frosting reaches the consistency you desire. Stir in a few drops of food if desired. Frost cooled bars with a rubber spatula. Let set and cut into bars.
If you want a thinner cookie bar, you could use a half sheet pan. These are always a huge hit when you need to take a sweet treat to a get together.
FROSTING RECIPE:
My frosting recipe is tried and true. It’s the perfect blend of cream cheese and butter. If your prefer a simple buttercream frosting, you can definitely use that. If you want a super thick layer of frosting you can double the recipe.
OTHER COOKIES RECIPE
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Monster Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Soft and Fluffy Sugar Cookies
- Almond Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
BARS:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, (see note on how to measure properly)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
FROSTING:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- milk as needed
- food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- For the bars: In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, almond extract and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until combined.
- Press dough into the baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to have a touch of golden brown. Do not overbake! Remove from oven and let the bars cool in the pan.
- For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond and beat until creamy. The mixture may seem dry at first but will become creamy after being beat for a while. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time until the frosting reaches the consistency you desire. Add a few drops of food if desired. Frost cooled bars. Let set and cut into bars. Store frosted sugar cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
HOW TO PROPERLY MEASURE FLOUR
In order to properly measure flour, fluff the flour so it’s not packed down and spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Level off the flour with a knife. If you scoop the flour with the measuring cup it packs down the flour and causes you to add too much to the dough.
