Sugar Cookie Bars – The fabulousness of sugar cookies without all the rolling, cutting, and decorating. Everyone LOVES these soft and delicious bars!
Bar cookies are such a yummy treat that can be whipped up in just a few minutes. Make sure and check out my Maraschino cherry cookie bars, butterscotch bars, and lemon brownies.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a good homemade sugar cookie. But with all that chilling, rolling, and cutting, they take a fair amount of time to prepare.
These sugar cookie bars can be made in a fraction of the time, and they are just as yummy! They are perfect for feeding a crowd. Every time I serve them I get rave reviews!
I am a huge fan of almond extract, so I add it to both the bars and the frosting. I always get compliments, but if you hate the stuff, you can just substitute additional vanilla.
The base for these bars isn’t overly sweet, so it pairs perfectly with the creamy frosting. I’ve made these with buttercream and cream cheese frosting, and we prefer the cream cheese frosting.
Because really, it can’t be beat, can it? That stuff is incredible! Feel free to eat a couple spoonfuls. I won’t judge.
After you try these fabulous sugar cookie bars, you may never go back to making regular sugar cookies again! I used pink frosting, but you can adapt them to any holiday or event by using white frosting and sprinkles in any color. So fun!
How to make sugar cookie bars:
Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the eggs and extracts. Stir in the dry ingredients
Press the dough into a greased cookie sheet with sides. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes, then cool completely.
When your sugar cookie bars are cool, whip up the frosting. Beat the softened butter and cream cheese till fluffy. Then beat in the remaining ingredients, adding milk if needed.
You can decorate these sugar cookie bars to match any holiday or party. They are a perfect bar cookie for feeding a crowd!
Use white frosting, red & green sprinkles, and you have perfect Christmas sugar cookie bars.
How do I store my sugar cookie bars?
I like to store mine in the pan. I have a handy plastic lid that fits over my cookie sheet, and I LOVE it. I frost the bars, then pop on the lid. They store perfectly at room temperature.
Tip: If you don’t cut the bars till right before you serve them, they won’t dry out as fast.
If I only have a few bars leftover, I put them into a smaller container.
Here are a few more fabulous bar recipes:
Reese’s Peanut Butter Oat Bars
Maraschino Cherry Bars
Snickerdoodle Blondies
Nutella Cheesecake Bars
Oreo Rice Krispie Treats
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Chocolate Chip Blondies
Toffee Bars
Peanut Butter Chip Bars
Pumpkin Blondies
Recipe for Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat till well blended.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and stir till well combined.
Press into a 17" x 12" rimmed baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until barely light brown. Cool completely, then frost.
Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl till smooth. Add powdered sugar, extracts, salt, and food coloring. Beat till smooth and creamy, adding milk as needed. Top with sprinkles if desired.
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The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer. Once the dry ingredients are added, less mixing equals more tender cookies.
You can add citrus zest, cinnamon, or almond extract to the dough. You could also ice them with a tasty frosting and add some nuts or toasted coconut. Every time I make sugar cookies, regardless of the recipe, the dough always turns out way too crumbly to roll into a ball.
Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can produce tough bars. If the recipe doesn't call for an electric mixer, mix in dry ingredients using a wooden spoon. When flour or other dry ingredients are "scooped" into the measuring cup directly from the container, it compresses, or becomes packed.
If you roll them out too thin then they are more likely to over-bake and harden as they cool. No one likes a hard, dry sugar cookies! Don't over-bake them. If you wait to see golden brown along the edges like you would with other types of cookies, they will be overcooked!
Transfer the dough, still between the two pieces of parchment paper, to a baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours to allow the dough to firm up, and up to three days ahead. Proceed with the recipe as written - such as my easy sugar cookie recipe.
Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
Which One Should I Use in Cookies? Basically, cookies made with butter spread more and are flatter and crisper if baked long enough.However, they are more flavorful than cookies made with shortening. Cookies made with shortening bake up taller and are more tender, but aren't as flavorful.
If the baked cookies taste a bit bland (and if the dough is fairly soft and receptive to additions), add salt and/or spices to the remaining dough before baking. If, on the other hand, they're a bit salty for your taste, try rolling the dough balls in sugar before baking.
Add more complex proteins, like malted milk powder and brown butter. Caramelizing the sugar beforehand brings bright notes to your cookies, but you can further expand your dessert's flavor profile by playing with proteins.
Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.
Oven temperature: Check the accuracy of your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. If your oven runs too hot or cold, it can affect the baking time and result in undercooked cookies.
The science is simple: According to the flour authorities over at Bob's Red Mill, cornstarch can help “soften the rigid proteins of the flour, resulting in a light and chewy dessert.” “The cornstarch complements the flour in absorbing the liquids, but won't develop gluten structure like the flour will,” stresses ...
Well, it's not. You really can overmix sugar cookie dough, which then leads to a tougher, chewier cookie. To ensure a light, fluffy cookie every time, mix until your ingredients are just incorporated and then put the mixing spoon down for good.
Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze! If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there's no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing.
In order to add colored sugar to baked cookies, the sugar needs something to adhere to. Icing is the perfect choice. Bake and cool the cookies as directed by the recipe. Ice the very cool cookies with your favorite icing and top with your choice of colored sugar.
Start with a completely dry flooded cookie. This may take several hours or overnight.
Using a second, colored icing, add details and designs by outlining and flooding certain areas, or simply by piping. Use wet icing to adhere decorations such as sugar pearls.
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