These EASY sugar cookie bars are baked in a pan and topped with a delicious fluffy frosting and sprinkles. Perfect for all celebrations!
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I love a good cookie bar recipe and these frosted sugar cookie bars are probably my fave! Just like my popular M&M cookie bars, I love that we can use all types of sprinkles to celebrate any occasion. Use red and green for Christmas, orange and purple for Halloween, rainbow colors for a birthday, pastels for a baby shower, the list goes on and on!
📋 Grocery List
This recipe is a basic sugar cookie dough pressed into a 9x13 baking pan, then topped with my favorite fluffy vanilla frosting. If you bake often, you probably have everything you need on hand.
Gather these ingredients:
- Unsalted butter (2 cups)
- Granulated sugar (1 cup)
- Egg (1 large)
- Vanilla extract (4 teaspoons)
- Flour (3 cups)
- Baking powder (2 teaspoons)
- Baking soda (1 teaspoon)
- Salt (1/2 teaspoon)
- Powdered sugar (3 cups)
- Milk (3 tablespoons)
- Sprinkles (optional, but recommended)
- food coloring (optional)
The food coloring is only needed if you plan to make either the dough or the frosting (or both!) another color. I highly recommend finishing the frosting off with colorful sprinkles, but it's not super necessary. You can also mix sprinkles into the cookie dough for a fun effect!
👩🏽🍳 How to Make Sugar Cookies Bars
These cookie bars are soft and dense, so they're sturdy enough to cut into squares. They are SUPER EASY to make and less time consuming than individual round cookies. Follow these simple steps:
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Stir in flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda until dough forms.
- Press dough into a 9x13-inch pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, do not over bake.
- Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Make the frosting and spread on top of cooled cookie dough.
- Top with sprinkles, cut into squares and serve.
Click here for full recipe ingredients and instructions.
🍪 Cookie Bars for All Occasions
The best thing about these sugar cookie bars (besides their awesome taste and amazing fluffy frosting) is you can make so many different variations and serve them for any celebration. Both kids and adults love these so they seriously are perfect for every party!
For fancier cookies, try almond extract in the cookie dough instead of vanilla, or a little of both. Topped with delicate sprinkles like these or these, they would be beautiful for a wedding shower. Or how about these sprinkles for a baby shower or gender reveal party?
Imagine any birthday party theme, just color the frosting a matching color and find the right sprinkles! During Christmas, use peppermint extract and red coloring in the frosting topped with crushed candy canes! OH, I think I'll have to make that soon!
📖 More Cookie Bar Recipes
- S'mores Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
- Magic Cookie Bars
- Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars
- Roasted Marshmallow M&M Cookie Bars
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⭐Recipe Card
Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 9x13 baking dish
- Stand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
- 1 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the fluffy vanilla frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Continue to mix on low speed just until dough forms. Do not over mix.
- Evenly press dough into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until just golden and baked through. Time may vary but do not over bake! Remove from oven and let cool completely.
For the fluffy vanilla frosting:
- In large bowl, beat butter until light and creamy about 2 minutes. With mixer on low speed, stir in the sugar, milk and vanilla. Increase speed to high and beat 3 minutes until fluffy. Add more milk or sugar as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Spread frosting over cooled cookie dough in pan. Top immediately with optional sprinkles. Cut into squares and serve.
- Store covered in pan on countertop for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If refrigerated, remove from fridge 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Add sprinkles for any occasion!
- Baking time may vary depending on your oven and the type of baking dish you use. This recipe reflects using a nonstick metal baking pan. If you use a glass pan, you may need to bake longer.
shelly says
Do you have to use unsalted butter?
Nikki Gladd says
For the cookie dough, if you use salted butter, cut the salt listed in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon. You can most definitely use the salted butter for the frosting.