This easy Christmas cookie bars recipe transforms my favorite classic sugar cookie bars into a festive treat filled with peppermint crunch and decorated for the holidays. I’ll show you how to bake and frost chewy Christmas cookie bars following my beginner-friendly step-by-step tutorial!
Cookie bars are an easy alternative to classic Christmas sugar cookies, without the need to chill, roll, or cut out cookie dough! If you love the way the bars are decorated, you’ll also love my Christmas cupcakes and my Christmas tree cupcake cake.
While I love making traditional sugar cookies, sometimes, it’s just quicker and easier to bake them as bars in a 9×13-inch pan. These Christmas cookie bars are thick, buttery, and perfectly chewy. They’re loaded with a peppermint crunch and topped with frosting in a festive design that’s perfect for a holiday party.
Instead of traditional Christmas colors, I went with a pink and teal theme, and I just love how these bars turned out. I know you’ll love them, too! I’m sharing all of my tips on how to bake your cookie bars and how to decorate them with homemade buttercream.
About These Easy Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
- Quicker than baking cookies. There’s no need to chill, roll out, or cut out the cookies. Just mix the dough and bake.
- Fun to decorate. These festive peppermint sugar cookie bars are the ultimate blank canvas for frosting and decorating.
- Versatile. Cookie bars are great for holiday parties, bake sales, and Christmas cookie exchanges.
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly. Freezing the unfrosted cookie bars is a great way to get ahead on holiday baking! Simply thaw out the baked cookie bars and frost them when it’s time to serve.
Ingredient Notes
These are my notes on the important ingredients in these homemade Christmas cookie bars. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the complete list with ingredient amounts.
- Peppermint Extract – Make sure you’re using peppermint extract and not mint extract, which isn’t the same flavor. If you don’t like peppermint, you can use vanilla or almond extract, or even lemon or orange zest to flavor the cookie bars.
- Flour – It’s important to measure the flour correctly using a kitchen scale, or the spoon and sweep method, where you spoon the flour from the bag into the measuring cup. Afterward, level the flour off with a knife. Never scoop directly from the bag, as packing the flour in risks overmeasuring.
- Cream of Tartar – Cream of tartar has the same effect in Snickerdoodle cookies, in that it makes these sugar cookie bars extra tender and chewy.
- Peppermint Crunch – I use Andes Peppermint Crunch thins or their baking chips. Any peppermint candy will do.
The Best Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
I frost my Christmas sugar cookie bars with my easy vanilla buttercream recipe. It’s a thick, fluffy, and stable frosting with the best consistency for decorating. I chose to top these sugar cookies with vanilla flavored frosting, but if you love peppermint, you can use peppermint extract in the recipe instead of vanilla.
My recipe starts with cold butter, which allows you to control the consistency of the frosting. You’ll spend more time beating the butter in the beginning until it’s really light and fluffy, but this step is crucial! You’ll repeat this process again when you add the powdered sugar.
How to Make Sugar Cookie Bars
Before we get to frosting and decorating, bake the cookie bars following these steps:
- Make the peppermint sugar cookie dough. First, you’ll cream butter and sugar together, then add the eggs and peppermint extract. Combine the dry ingredients separately, then slowly add them to the wet ingredients, mixing as the dough comes together. Fold in the peppermint crunch last.
- Shape the bars and bake. Now, press the cookie dough evenly into a lined 9×13-inch pan. Bake the cookie bars at 375ºF for 18-20 minutes. Afterward, the bars need to cool completely to room temperature before you can frost them. Lining the pan makes it easy to lift the bars out to cool.
- Make the frosting and decorate. When it’s time to decorate, you’ll prepare a batch of vanilla buttercream and then color the frosting and decorate the bars following the directions below.
Tips for the Best Cookie Bars
- Avoid overmixing. Overmixing the cookie dough will yield dense, tough cookie bars that won’t rise in the oven. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until the dough comes together. You can stir in the peppermint candy when there are still some streaks of flour remaining.
- Don’t overbake. Take your cookie bars out of the oven when they’re golden at the edges and just set (but not gooey) in the center. They’ll continue to set up as they cool down.
- Cool the cookie bars before you frost them. The bars should be at room temperature. Otherwise, the frosting will slide right off the warm cookies.
- Try different add-ins and flavors. You can substitute the base for your Christmas cookie bars with any flavor of cookie you’d like. Try chocolate chip cookie bars or replace the peppermint candies in this recipe with red and green M&Ms, sprinkles, or chopped Peppermint Kisses.
How to Decorate Your Christmas Cookie Bars
I wish I could take sole credit for the adorable tree design shown on my sugar cookie bars, but I follow several very talented cake decorators on Instagram who inspire me so much! You can be as detailed or as simple as you’d like. Decorating these Christmas cookie bars is easier than you think, and it’s loads of fun to do on a cozy afternoon.
To create the Christmas tree design you see here, I printed out a Christmas tree template, then placed it over the cookie bars and secured it in place using toothpicks. If needed, I have in-depth tutorials on how to color buttercream and how to use piping tips to decorate your bars.
Helpful Decorating Tools
- Large piping bags, as well as small piping bags and a coupler for changing out the piping tips (see how to use a piping bag)
- Piping tips 866 (or 864), tip 1M, tip 21, tip 199
- Gel colors to dye the frosting
How to Color Buttercream
- Color 2 ½ cups of frosting pink. To achieve the pink color, I used one drop of pink and the tiniest touch of brown (or black), like the size of the tip of a toothpick. This dulls the frosting just a bit, and to further dull the color, add a tiny bit at a time. Transfer the pink frosting to a large piping bag fitted with piping tip 866.
- Color 2 ½ cups of frosting teal. To achieve the teal, I used a combination of AmeriColor teal and Turquoise. To dull the color, you can also add a touch of black or brown. Transfer 2 cups of teal frosting to a large piping bag without a tip. I recommend using a double bag method for this color so you can easily change out the tips. Prepare a second piping bag fitted with 1M tip, but do not fill with frosting. Instead, place the filled piping bag inside the other bag.
- Transfer the remaining ½ cup of teal frosting to a small piping bag. This should be fitted with a coupler and either tip 21 or tip 199.
Decorate the Bars
- Pipe the edges. With your template secured to the cookie bars, begin by piping pink frosting around the outside edge of the Christmas tree. Continue until the outside is completely covered. If you have smaller areas to fill in, I recommend using a tip 199 or tip 21.
- Carefully remove the paper cutout. It is helpful if you have a knife or an angled spatula to help gently lift the paper from the bars. You can carefully slide it out from under your buttercream.
- Decorate the tree. To decorate the tree, start by piping the teal frosting in large and small rosettes with the 1M tip.
- Fill in the tree. Next, change the tip to 866 and fill in the other areas inside the tree. Adjusting the pressure of the bag will alter the size and shape of the frosting.
- Fill in any gaps. Next, fill in any remaining gaps, alternating between a tip 21 and a tip 199 to make smaller rosettes in between the larger rosettes.
- Create a garland with sprinkles. Finally, use various-sized bead sprinkles to create a garland design over the frosted tree. Garnish the bars with additional sprinkles. I used a combination of Sweetapolita sprinkles, which are my favorites!
How to Store Christmas Cookie Bars
- Keep these cookie bars airtight. Store your Christmas sugar cookie bars at room temperature in an airtight container. If you don’t need to slice them all at once, then just slice off what you need and store the rest uncut for best results.
- Freeze. I recommend freezing the uncut cookie bars before they’re decorated. Cool the baked bars completely, and then tightly wrap them in parchment paper and plastic wrap. Thaw the cookie bars on the counter overnight before frosting and serving.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
Christmas Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus additional time for decorating)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 18 bars
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Christmas cookie bars are soft and chewy sugar cookie bars filled with peppermint crunch and decorated with vanilla buttercream in a festive Christmas tree design.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (380g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) peppermint extract
- 3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup (60g) chopped Andes Peppermint Crunch thins or baking chips
For the Frosting
- 2 cups (454g) unsalted butter, cold
- 5 cups (650g) powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons (30-45ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1–2 teaspoon (5-10ml) vanilla extract to taste
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Prepare a 9-inch by 13-inch pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
- Combine butter with sugar and beat on medium speed until well creamed together.
- Add the eggs and peppermint extract. Mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add slowly, beating on medium-low speed until the dough starts to come together. Then add the peppermint candy and beat until combined. Press the dough into the prepared pan.
- Bake at 375°F 18-20 minutes. Allow the cookie bars to cool completely.
For the Frosting
- Cut butter into pieces, about 1 tablespoon size. Using the paddle attachment, whip butter for 5-7 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until the butter looks light in color.
- Alternate adding 2 cups of powdered sugar at a time with the liquid ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated into the butter, then beat on high for 60 seconds before adding additional powdered sugar. Ensure the frosting is whipped and spreadable before coloring.
To Decorate the Bars
- Color 2 ½ cups of frosting for the pink and fill a large piping bag fitted with piping tip 866.
- Color 2 ½ cups of frosting for the teal. Fill a large piping bag with 2 cups of teal frosting. I recommend using a double-bag method for this color so you can easily change out the tips. Prepare a second piping bag with a 1M tip, but do not fill with frosting; instead, place the filled bag inside the other.
- Take the remaining ½ cup of teal frosting and fill a small piping bag fitted with a couple and either tip 21 or tip 199.
- Start by piping the pink around the outside edge of the Christmas tree until completely covered, then carefully remove the paper cutout.
- First pipe large and small rosettes with the 1M tip.
- Then change the tip to 866 and fill in other areas around the tree.
- Then fill in the remaining holes alternating between tip 21 and tip 199
- Use various-sized bead sprinkles to make the garland and then garnish with additional sprinkles.
Notes
- Frosting amounts: If you are not planning to decorate these bars the way I have, you don’t need to make this much frosting. You’ll need 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter/ 3 ½ cups (455g) powdered sugar / 1 tablespoons (15ml) heavy whipping cream / 1 teaspoon (15ml) vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- Freezing these bars: If you’re looking to get ahead on your holiday baking, I recommend freezing the cookie, uncut. Cool it completely, and then tightly wrap in parchment paper and plastic wrap. Thaw overnight prior to frosting.
- How to store these bars:Whether you store this whole or as cut bars, it’s best kept at room temperature in an airtight container.If you don’t need to slice them all at once, then just slice off what you need and store the rest uncut for the best results.
- Additional details for decorating and equipment are listed in the blog post
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 606
- Sugar: 58g
- Sodium: 48mg
- Fat: 34g
- Carbohydrates: 75g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 103mg
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