Sugar Cookie Bars

If you’re reading this, the holidays are here and it’s time to get your ovens and whisks ready to bake this Christmas. This is a sweet Christmas Dessert you’ll love, sugar cookie bars! I baked these a few years ago and they were a hit in my house. This buttery treat was a delight every bite. Each bite was buttery and had the perfect amount of sprinkles on it. And to top it off, I made a homemade cream cheese frosting to scoop onto the bars.

This low effort sugar cookie bars dessert is an easy one to tackle if you’re a baker. Over the last few years, I’ve become more comfortable with baking and I used to think a recipe like this was overwhelming. If you properly measure your ingredients and have all of your equipment prepped and ready, you shouldn’t have any issue making this. This is for sure an easy Christmas baking idea! Now let's make some sugar cookie bars! Keep reading to get the recipe for this delicious Christmas dessert.

Sugar Cookie Bars

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 4 people

Equipment

• 1 square 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan I use the gold touch Williams Sonoma pans

Ingredients

  

• ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon  salt

Frosting

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 2 oz cream cheese
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• holiday sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a 9x13 inch pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease, or line with parchment paper. I used a small square pan from Williams Sonoma
• In a large bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
•  Beat in the vanilla extract, andeggs on medium speed until combined.
• In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
• Carefully beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture about ½ at a time. Then spoon the batter into the prepared pan, and with lightly greased hands press it into the pan to form an even layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until the top is set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the bars completely, leaving them in the pan as they cool.

Frosting

• Beat the butter until soft, then mix in the 2oz cream cheese.
• Add in the salt and vanilla extract (use maple syrup as a substitute if you don't have vanilla extract)
• With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, until your desired sweetness and thickness is reached. I kept mixing for about 2-3 minutes.
• Frost the cooled cookie bars, then sprinkle with holiday sprinkles of your choice.

Keyword christmas baking, christmas desserts, holiday baking, holiday desserts, holiday sweets

Tips for these sugar cookie bars:

1. Always use a toothpick to poke the middle to see if the dessert is fully baked through. Even though I tested this bake time on my oven, each oven temperature is different depending on make and model.
2. Wait until the bars are COOLED down before you spread cream cheese frosting on. If you’re in a rush, pop them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes,
3. Sprinkles are optional but they look great in photos.

Equipment:

1. Williams Sonoma gold touch 8 inch square pan was used here. Line the bottom the pan with parchment paper so it’s easier to slide the bars out.
2. Sharp knife to cut the bars. It HAS to be sharp for clean slices.
3. Spatula to scoop out the bars. I like a wide spatula, they just fit better! I love to use a wide one for brownies.