October 24, 2023
Review RecipeChristmas Bar Cookies
These Christmas bar cookies will be guaranteed family favorites with their soft, chewy texture and bright festive colors.
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Christmas bar cookies are the best way to celebrate the holidays! Warm, gooey, and delicious, they feature a soft, brownie-like texture and are bursting with chocolate chips, bright and festive holiday sprinkles, and chocolatey candy.
Christmas Cookie Bars Ingredients
These sweet treats are made from classic ingredients such as butter, flour, sugar, and vanilla. Of course, you can’t forget to add the chocolate chips and festive M&Ms for bursts of chocolatey goodness.
For these holiday bars, you’ll need:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup red and green M&M’s candy
- ¼ cup Christmas jimmies
- additional Christmas sprinkles for sprinkling over the baked cookie bars, if desired
Substitutions And Additions
SPRINKLES: Jimmies are the best choice for adding to the batter as the dye will not bleed.
Other sprinkles should only be added to the top of the cookies; if stirred in, they will turn the batter a greenish-brown color.
CHOCOLATE CHIPS: Swap the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, milk chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips in this great recipe.
NUTS: Add chopped walnuts or other chopped nuts to these sweet treats for a bit of extra crunch.
TOPPING: Add a drizzle of caramel sauce to make these classic cookie bars extra sweet.
How To Make This Christmas Bar Cookies Recipe
To make these bars, all you need to do is whip up the cookie base with basic pantry staples. Then you can customize the bars with your favorite sprinkles, M&M candy, and chocolate chips.
Baked in the oven until golden brown, Christmas bar cookies come out soft and chewy, with a slightly crisp exterior.
OUR RECIPE DEVELOPER SAYS
These cookie bars freeze well. Make a double batch and keep them in the freezer for a homemade holiday gift during the festive season.
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush an 8×8-inch square baking pan with a bit of the melted butter and line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
PRO TIP:
Adding the overhanging parchment paper will allow you to lift the bars out of the pan for easy transfer to a cutting board so you can slice the bars.
STEP TWO: In a large bowl, whisk the remaining butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.
STEP THREE: Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients and mix just until moistened. Do not over-mix.
PRO TIP:
Stir the batter together gently to keep the cookies soft and chewy; overmixing can cause the bars to be crumbly and tough.
STEP FOUR: Fold in ½ cup of chocolate chips, ⅓ cup of the M&M’s, and jimmies.
PRO TIP:
You can adjust the chocolate chips, M&M’s, and sprinkles amounts however you’d like. The quantities given here produce a chewy bar with lots of chocolate and sprinkle flavor.
STEP FIVE: Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the top with the remaining M&M’s.
STEP SIX: Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is a golden brown color and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
PRO TIP:
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your cookie bars as the suggested baking time approaches.
STEP SEVEN: Set the pan on a wire rack and sprinkle the top of the bars with additional sprinkles, as desired. Cool completely.
Using the parchment overhang, lift the bars from the pan and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into squares.
How To Serve
Christmas bar cookies are a holiday classic that can easily be dressed up to take your Christmas feast to the next level.
To provide an additional layer of flavor, try serving with freshly whipped cream subtly sweetened with vanilla extract; tea or coffee brewed with mulling spices; sweetened condensed milk drizzled over each bar; or a scoop of gingerbread or vanilla ice cream for those feeling extra festive.
These delicious treats will also be a big hit at a cookie exchange or on a cookie plate at your Christmas celebrations.
Our Snickerdoodle cheesecake bars and coconut cream bars are two more easy recipes for irresistible dessert bars.
MORE COOKIE BAR RECIPES
Storage
ON THE COUNTER: Store the holiday cookie bars in an airtight container on the counter for up to five days.
IN THE FRIDGE: If you want to keep them for longer, this easy cookie bars recipe can be stored in the fridge for a week.
Wrap the bars tightly with plastic wrap to keep the air from getting in and drying them out.
IN THE FREEZER: Store these chewy bars in the freezer for up to three months in a labeled container with the date, so that you can enjoy them while they are the freshest.
Thaw holiday bars on the counter when you are ready to serve them. You can eat them cold; however, pop them in the microwave in 15-second increments to make them soft and delicious once again.
This festive Christmas bar cookies recipe is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. Loaded with sugar, spice, and everything nice, they are sure to make your taste buds happy. Warning: these may be too addicting to resist!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these chocolate chip cookie bars in a larger pan?
If you would like to make these in a larger pan, such as a 9-inch baking pan, you certainly can, but keep in mind you’d have to adjust the baking time since the bars would be thinner and bake quicker.
Can I freeze Christmas bar cookies?
Wrap your Christmas magic cookie bars well and pop them in the freezer for up to three months.
Do I have to refrigerate the M&M Christmas cookie bars?
These Christmas M&M cookie bars are perfectly fine kept on the counter in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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Christmas Bar Cookies
These Christmas bar cookies will be guaranteed family favorites with their soft, chewy texture and bright festive colors.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 9
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup red and green M&M’s
- ¼ cup Christmas jimmies
- Christmas sprinkles, for sprinkling over the baked cookie bars if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush an 8×8-inch square baking pan with a bit of the melted butter and line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
- In a large bowl, whisk the remaining butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.
- Add flour and salt and mix just until moistened (do not over-mix).
- Fold in ½ cup chocolate chips, ⅓ cup of the M&Ms, and jimmies.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the top with the remaining M&M’s.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a wire rack and sprinkle with additional sprinkles, as desired. Cool completely. Using the parchment overhang, lift the blondies from the pan and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into squares.
Video
Notes
- These cookie bars freeze well. Make a double batch and keep them in the freezer for a homemade holiday gift during the festive season.
- Adding the overhanging parchment paper will allow you to lift the bars out of the pan for easy transfer to a cutting board so you can slice the bars.
- Stir the batter together gently to keep the cookies soft and chewy; overmixing can cause the bars to be crumbly and tough.
- You can adjust the chocolate chips, M&M’s, and sprinkles amounts however you’d like. The quantities given here produce a chewy blondie with lots of chocolate and sprinkle flavor.
- Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your cookie bars as the suggested baking time approaches.
Nutrition
Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 376IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg
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Even More Recipes for Christmas
- Soft Sugar Cookies
- Christmas Mints
- Christmas Sugar Cookie Dip
- Reindeer Food
- Cherry Wink Cookies
- Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Reindeer Brownies
- Cinnamon Ornaments
- Snickerdoodle Cookie
- Blueberry Pie Bars
- Christmas Crunch
Comments
Eileen E says
These look wonderful. I’m imagining these with a mint chocolate chip ad drizzled with Chocolate glaze, yumm..
Shaunda Snider says
These look amazing!
No I wouldn’t use any other kind of chips in the bars, only chocolate!
Angie Winn says
These bars are fantastic! I made a batch to see if they should go in my Christmas cookie gifts and Yes! They should! Next time I might leave out the chocolate chips and double up on M&Ms.
Joanne says
These look delicious!
Sew Crafty Crochet says
This looks like such a yummy treat! Pinning to make later! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Grace says
I noticed you used a metal or aluminum pan. Do these bake well in a glass baking pan? I only have glass baking pans. Thank you.
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Grace – a glass baking pan will work too, enjoy!
Grace says
Followed the recipe exactly and they came out great! The family loved them! I used a steel baking pan to make this. Curious if anyone has had luck baking this in a glass baking dish as I have heard they don’t cook well in glass.
Winnie says
What are Christmas Jimmies?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Winnie – they’re a type of sprinkle, you’ll find them in the baking aisle, enjoy!