Sugar Cookie Bars are soft, chewy, and topped with sweet buttercream or cream cheese frosting and sprinkles!
Sugar Cookie Bars
I love a good chewy, soft sugar cookie, but too many sugar cookie bars I’ve tried are tasteless, dry, and overly thick. This recipe changes that!
These bars have the perfect frosting-to-bar amount, with thinner bars for an ultra-chewy texture and no strong flour flavor. Fully melted butter and an extra egg yolk add richness, and they’re topped with sweet vanilla buttercream and sprinkles.
They’re easy to make, perfect for parties, and can be customized with different frosting colors and sprinkles for any holiday or event!
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: Cool butter to room temp to prevent greasy bars.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens and helps create a soft, chewy texture.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: Use extra egg white in Meringue Cookies or Egg Wraps.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances flavor. Add almond extract for a fun flavor twist.
- Baking Powder: Adds lightness and prevents dense bars.
- Fine Sea Salt: Balances sweetness and enhances flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: Spoon and level flour to avoid dense bars.
- Frosting: I included a recipe for both buttercream and cream cheese!
Quick Tip
Parchment paper hard to handle? Wad it up, smooth it out, and it’ll fit the pan easily.
How To Make Sugar Cookie Bars
- Prep the pan: Line a pan with parchment paper, leaving extra for easy removal.
- Wet ingredients: Melt butter, then whisk with sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Dry ingredients: Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined.
- Bake: Press dough into the pan and bake until the top is set.
- Cool and frost: Let bars cool completely, then spread frosting on top.
Tips for Making Sugar Cookie Bars
- Watch baking time: Remove bars as soon as the top is no longer glossy and edges are lightly browned to keep them soft and chewy.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Too much mixing makes the bars tough.
- Try vanilla bean paste: It’s a great way to enhance the vanilla flavor.
- Let butter soften for smooth frosting: Avoid melted butter—it won’t whip up properly.
- Cool bars before frosting: Warm bars melt frosting and mess up the texture.
- Line the pan with parchment: Leave extra parchment to lift bars out easily. Don’t use foil or wax paper.
- Use a sharp knife for clean cuts: Warm it with water, dry it, and repeat for neat slices.
Variations
Switch Things Up
- Tropical: Mix in coconut extract, add coconut frosting, and top with toasted coconut flakes.
- Try different frosting: Use cream cheese frosting or chocolate buttercream.
- Fruity: Add citrus zest with a little orange or lemon extract.
- Sprinkles: Add sprinkles for holidays and dye the frosting to match.
- No frosting: Leave off frosting or add white chocolate chips or M&Ms.
Storage
Leftover Sugar Cookie Bars?
Store leftover bars in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
To keep longer, freeze unfrosted bars in a single layer, then move to a container or bag. They last 3 months.
More Dessert Recipes
- Carmelitas chewy bars with oats, caramel, and chocolate
- 7 Layer Bars with a graham cracker crust
- Apple Crumble Bars topped with salted caramel
- Snickerdoodle Blondies soft bars with cinnamon and white chocolate
- Cookie Bars soft, gooey cookie squares
Sugar Cookie Bars
Soft and chewy Sugar Cookie Bars are topped with sweet buttercream and sprinkles! You can also switch it up with a delicious cream cheese frosting.
Equipment
- Baking dish 9 x 13-inch
- Parchment paper
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt see note 1
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour see note 2
- Optional flavorings see note 3
Frosting—See Note 4
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 to 3 tablespoons sprinkles optional, to top bars
Instructions
- Lightly spritz a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray (this helps the parchment paper stick nicely), then line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal. Lightly spray parchment paper with cooking spray and set aside. Melt butter in the microwave and set aside for about 5–7 minutes to cool to room temperature. (If it is hot, it will melt the sugar and cause greasy cookie bars.) Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C).
- Once butter is cooled to room temperature, add granulated sugar. Vigorously whisk until sugar and butter are incorporated, about 2 minutes. (It may seem like they won’t incorporate, but whisk until a smooth mixture forms.) Add 1 egg and whisk until combined. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. If using an optional flavoring, add in here: either add 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract (what I typically use) or the almond extract and lemon zest, or the clementine zest and 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom. Whisk to combine.
- Add baking powder, salt, and spooned and leveled flour (see note 3). Mix until just combined, being careful to not overmix (which will result in dense bars). Use a spatula to transfer dough to the prepared pan. It’s sticky, so lightly spritz your hands with cooking spray and press the dough firmly into an even layer.
- Bake 23–28 minutes or until the top of the bars are no longer glossy and edges are a very light golden color. Be careful to not overbake; the bars will not be as soft and flavorful. Remove from oven and let pan cool on a wire cooling rack until bars reach room temperature.
- In a large bowl, add room-temperature butter. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, or until completely smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Add vanilla, cream, and salt; beat to combine. Add powdered sugar and beat (on low speed) to combine. Once combined, increase mixer speed and beat until frosting is very light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. It should turn a brighter white. Add a few drops of food coloring (dye frosting to your desired color intensity) Beat on low speed for about 15–20 seconds, just to color the frosting.
- Use the parchment paper overhang to remove bars, then use a table knife to spread on the completely cooled bars. Immediately top with sprinkles if using. Cut into bars and enjoy!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Fine sea salt is not the same as table salt. If using table salt reduce to 1/4 teaspoon.
Note 2: To spoon and level flour, spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour, you will pack in way too much flour, which will yield thick and flavorless cookie bars.
Note 3: Optional flavorings include 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom and 2 teaspoons zest of clementines or 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract and 2 teaspoons zest of lemon
Note 4: If you like cream cheese frosting better, here’s the cream cheese frosting we tested for these bars:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Tiny pinch of salt
- Red food coloring
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 186kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 326IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my. I need every last one of those, please.
Well, you have to know I’m all over this!! I’m in LOVE!
I love these Chelsea! Not only are they colorful, fun and festive, but I love the ingredients.
Thanks Kristi! 🙂
Oh goodnessssss. So pretty!! I would stuff my face with these. And not share with anyone!
Those bars look so good!
I totally agree! 🙂
These look super delish!