Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Published Nov 18, 2019
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Save time this holiday season with this easy Christmas sugar cookie bars. They’re extra soft with a thick layer of frosting, and way less work than sugar cookies!
I love sugar cookies. But the reality is that they take a lot of time and effort to make:
- Making the dough
- Chilling it for 4+ hours
- Rolling it out
- Cutting out each individual cookie
- Decorating
- And soooooo much cleanup after my kitchen table is covered with powdered sugar and sprinkles from decorating.
So if you love sugar cookies, but are short on time, then these Christmas sugar cookie bars are for you. There’s no chilling, no rolling out the dough, and no decorating skills needed.
Instead, you end up with sugar cookie bars that are extra thick, perfectly soft, and topped with a thick layer of frosting. They’re reminiscent of Lofthouse sugar cookies, but completely homemade and very easy to make.
Secret Ingredients for Perfect Sugar Cookie Bars
For the sugar cookie bars – there are a few key ingredients:
- We’re using a combination of butter and cream cheese. The cream cheese makes the bars extra soft.
- A little cornstach makes them chewier.
- And just the right amount of flour. Too much flour, and they’ll be too dry. Be careful measuring the flour.
Baking Tips & Tricks
- To make a smaller batch, half all the ingredients and make the bars in an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan. The bake time will be about the same. I’ve written out the details on halving the recipe in the recipe notes at the bottom of the recipe card.
- The butter and cream cheese should be softened to room temperature, but not melted. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before getting started.
- Pressing the cookie dough into the prepared pan before baking is sometimes a little tricky. Lightly grease your hands with non-stick cooking spray, then press the dough into the pan. This way it won’t stick to your fingers.
- The bars should be fully cooled before frosting, otherwise the frosting will melt.
- I like to add a little cream cheese to the frosting so it isn’t as sweet. Feel free to replace the cream cheese with more butter if you prefer a classic buttercream frosting.
Or for more, easy holiday baking – be sure to try:
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Save time this holiday season with this easy Christmas sugar cookie bars. They're extra soft with a thick layer of frosting, and way less work than sugar cookies!
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, optional
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 - 3 cups powdered sugar
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Line a 9x13 inch pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease, or line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in the vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
- Carefully beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture about 1/2 at a time.
- 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 cream cheese.
- Add in the salt and vanilla extract
- With the mixer on low speed beat in the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached.
- Frost the cooled cookie bars, then sprinkle with holiday sprinkles.
Notes
Storage & Make-ahead Tips
Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Unfrosted bars can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.Making a Smaller Batch
Recipe can be halved and made in an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan. The bake time will be about the same. For the Bars- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Nutrition
Calories: 437kcal, Carbohydrates: 69g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 73mg, Sodium: 128mg, Potassium: 73mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 53g, Vitamin A: 571IU, Calcium: 33mg, Iron: 1mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
The cookie portion was too dry for my taste. If I were to make these again, I’d reduce the flour and baking time. The frosting is yummy, though!
I’ve baked this recipe twice and love it!
The one thing I haven’t done since its eaten straight after, can I refrigerate these bars a couple of hours before serving? Asking since its cream cheese-based frosting.
These were the worst cookie bars . They were dry and the frosting tasted horrible
what does this mean:
Frost the cooled cookie bars, then sprinkle with holiday sprinkles.
??
Spread the frosting onto the cookie bars once they have fully cooled (ie they shouldn’t be warm anymore or they will melt the froting). Then decorate with sprinkles.
Could you make these in a disposable 9 x 13 pan? Would you still line with parchment paper or make any other adjustments?
I think that would be fine, but the bottom may be a little more brown since a disposable pan is thinner. You wouldn’t need to make any adjustments, but I’d just start checking to see if they’re done a little earlier as they may not take as long to bake.
Love this recipe – easy to make and delicious! Made them for the first time 2 years ago and they were a hit! Last Christmas I got my niece in the kitchen with me and we made several batches to share with family and friends! She had an idea to add food coloring to the icing – we had great fun experimenting!
Oh my gosh, I couldn’t stop sneaking bites of these. SO GOOD! And so much faster than cutouts. My new favorite holiday cookies
This is truly a delicious recipe, I made it last year for the first time with a scattering of dried cranberries, in addition to festive sprinkles on top. Making again this year and every year from here on…family favourite!
I am addicted to almond flavoring and was wondering if I could add a little, perhaps 1/2 a tsp., to the frosting.
Definitely – I’d start with 1/4 teaspoon and add a little more as needed. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can these be cut into Christmas shapes with cookie cutters instead of bars?
If you mean rolling out the dough and cutting into shapes before baking, unfortunately this recipe would not work for that. I’d recommend this recipe instead: Soft-batch Frosted Sugar Cookies However, if you mean cutting the baked bars into shapes, I think that would be fine. They would be quite thick.