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These easy Sugar Cookie Bars are soft, chewy and topped with a perfect whipped vanilla frosting. They’re buttery, dense cookie bars that are perfect when you don’t feel like going through all the hassle to make cut out sugar cookies.
If you love sugar cookies recipes you should also try my Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars and my recipe for Easy Sugar Cookies!
Sugar cookies are a staple in every baker’s household. Some of my fondest memories as a child was frosting sugar cookies. The only thing that has changed is that they’re a little prettier now than they used to be!
However, I don’t love spending hours decorating and cleaning up all the time. This my friend is where these Sugar Cookie Bars come in handy.
These easy Sugar Cookie Bars are buttery and dense, but still soft and chewy in middle. They’re topped with a batch of my perfectly whipped vanilla frosting and sprinkles of course.
They’re two distinct differences between my cut out cookies and these sugar cookie bars.
My cutout sugar cookie recipe is different. It’s airier and lighter, not overly sweet and best for rolling and cutting out shapes.
These sugar cookie bars are a different recipe, they’re thicker and denser but still soft and chewy in the middle. The recipe originally started as Snickerdoodles, we just eliminated the cinnamon and sugar and added the vanilla frosting.
I did test my original cutout sugar cookie recipe as bar, and I did not like the results. They were drier, and too airy for what I wanted in a sugar cookie bar.
One thing to note, once baked, these bars will sink in the middle since you pull them out of the oven when they’re slightly under baked. The edges bake much faster than the middle, but that’s okay because I cut away the edges of the bars when I slice them anyway.
- First cream together the butter and sugar. I’ll admit I am lazy and don’t soften my butter. I throw in the microwave for 10 seconds then slice it up and then spend a little more time creaming the butter and sugar together.
- Then add the eggs and vanilla, give your bowl a good scrape down and beat them until they’re incorporated.
- Finally, add the dry ingredients. There is a lot of flour in this recipe, so I suggest adding slowly and then beating until the dough starts to form in the mixing bowl.
- Press the dough into a 9×13 inch pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Use a spatula to press the dough evenly across the top
- Bake and cool complexly before adding the frosting.
- If you don’t know how to make buttercream, I am here to help! Click on that link, it’s PACKED with information. Homemade buttercream is worth it.
The best part about these bars is that they can be adapted into so many flavors. I original made them as Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars, but almond, orange, peppermint are all good options.
These bars are topped with Sweetapolita Sprinkle .There’s so many mixes to choose from, I spend hours deciding what to get!
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- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 15 bars
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Pin RecipeDescription
These easy Sugar Cookie Bars are soft and chewy and topped with a perfect whipped vanilla frosting. They’re buttery, dense and so delicious!
Ingredients
For the cookie bars:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (380g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
For the frosting:
- 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
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 375° F
- Combine butter with sugar and beat on medium speed until well creamed together.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix into the butter and sugar until the eggs are well beaten.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Slowly add it into batter and beat on medium low speed until well combined and dough forms.
- Press the cookie dough into a 9-inch by 13-inch pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 375°F 18-20 minutes. Allow the cookie bars to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Cut butter into pieces. Using the paddle attachment, whip butter for 5-7 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until butter look light in color.
- Add 2 cups powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated into butter.
- Next Add the heavy whipping cream and mix to combine.
- Finally add the remaining powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste and whip it on high for at least 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
- Spread over cooled cookie bars, slice and enjoy.
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: sugar cookie bars, recipe for sugar cookie bars, sugar cookie bars recipe, cookie bars recipe, recipe for cookie bars, easy cookie bars, sugar cookie recipe, sugar cookies with frosting
More Sugar Cookie Recipes You Might Like:
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Sugar Cookies
Tips for Decorating Sugar Cookies with Buttercream
I want to make the sugar cookie bars but need twice this many. Can I double the recipe and use a 10×15 sheet pan?
I haven’t baked with a pan that size, so I don’t have a clear answer. If you’d like you can also just bake two 9×13 inch pans
I made these and the cookie bar is perfect. Slight crisp on the outside, dense slightly chewy inside. Don’t change a thing. I took the author’s recommendation on flavoring and did 1/2 tsp almond extract with 1/2 tsp vanilla. Delicious.
However, you should 1/2 the frosting recipe. This is a great buttercream recipe, and I LOVE buttercream. But the frosting layer is equally as thick as the cookie bar. The frosting overpowers the cookie. After having a couple, I scraped 1/2 the frosting off and it’s much better. I never thought I could think of something as having too much frosting, but this does. Trust me, 1/2 the recipe will be plenty.
★★★★★
Thank you Jamie for the feedback! I am so glad you enjoyed these!
Very good! Yummy! And easy to make.
★★★★★
THANK YOU SO MUCH JANE!
How much heavy whipping cream? The ingredients list says 1 tbsp and then the directions say more, but doesn’t specify how much.
Hi there, I can see how this would be confusing. It’s one tablespoons total but I am adding it 1 teaspoon at a time. It could be more clear and I will fix that. thanks.
These look very tasty, Julianne! I also like to cut the edges off of my bar desserts, because they look much prettier that way. And the fact that you’re then left with a whole bunch of delicious edges to snack on as you clean up is a very appealing bonus… 😉