October 19, 2023
Review RecipeChristmas Sugar Cookie Bars
These soft Christmas sugar cookie bars have a sweet and delicious flavor and buttercream frosting that will melt in your mouth as soon as you take a bite.
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These Christmas sugar cookie bars are perfect for celebrating the holiday season! They’re soft, chewy, and loaded with sugar cookie flavor; plus, they’re topped with a delicious sweet buttercream frosting and festive sprinkles.
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars Ingredients
You’ll need:
For The Sugar Cookie Bars:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- ¾ cup of salted sweet cream butter, softened
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of almond extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons red, green, and white Christmas nonpareil sprinkles
For The Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup of salted sweet cream butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon of clear vanilla flavoring
- ½ teaspoon of almond extract
- 2½ cups of powdered sugar
- 4-5 tablespoons of heavy cream
- Red, green, and white Christmas nonpareil sprinkles
Substitutions And Additions
SPRINKLES: You can substitute any color sprinkles for the red, green, and white Christmas sprinkles.
FROSTING: You can substitute the buttercream frosting with canned frosting in this easy recipe.
CHOCOLATE CHIPS: Add your favorite flavor of chocolate chips, such as semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or white chocolate, for little bursts of sweetness in your holiday sugar cookie bars.
FOOD COLORING: Add a few drops of color to your frosting to tint it a festive color.
How To Make This Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
Sugar Cookie Bars
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with a parchment paper “sling”. Spray with baking spray (Baker’s Joy or generic version). Set it aside.
OUR RECIPE DEVELOPER SAYS
You do not have to use the parchment paper sling, but it does make it easier to lift the bars out of the pan.
STEP TWO: Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in a small mixing bowl. Set the flour mixture aside.
PRO TIP:
Don’t skip the cornstarch; it’s the secret ingredient that makes the bars extra soft.
STEP THREE: Using a medium-sized mixing bowl and a hand mixer on high speed, beat the softened butter for 1 minute.
STEP FOUR: Add the granulated sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and continue beating for 1 to 1½ minutes until fluffy.
STEP FIVE: Lower the mixer speed to low, and add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each egg.
STEP SIX: Increase the mixer speed to medium-low. Add the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time, beating well after each cup just until well incorporated.
STEP SEVEN: Add the red, white, and green sprinkles, and mix just until combined.
STEP EIGHT: Evenly spread the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until just golden and a toothpick inserted comes away clean.
PRO TIP:
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your cookie bars at the lower end of the recommended baking time.
STEP NINE: Allow the cookie bars to cool completely.
Buttercream Frosting
STEP ONE: Using a medium bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat the softened butter, clear vanilla, and almond extract for 1 minute.
STEP TWO: Lower the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, alternating with the heavy cream.
Once all powdered sugar and cream are added, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and mix for 1 to 1½ minutes until smooth.
STEP THREE: Once the sugar cookie bars are completely cooled, use the parchment paper sling to remove the sugar cookie bars from the baking dish.
STEP FOUR: Use a silicone spatula or offset spatula to evenly spread the frosting over the sugar cookie base.
STEP FIVE: Evenly sprinkle the holiday sprinkles over the frosting. Slice the bars 1½ x 3-inch slices.
How To Serve
These mouthwatering sugar cookie bars will be a welcome addition to all of your holiday festivities.
Add them to a cookie tray of tasty treats, including our Christmas pinwheels and peppermint snowball cookies.
If you’d like to try a more traditional sugar cookie recipe, our lemon sugar cookies and Christmas sugar cookies are a great place to start.
MORE COOKIE BAR RECIPES
Storage
ON THE COUNTER: Store any leftovers of these Christmas cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
IN THE FRIDGE: You can also keep these sweet bars in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
IN THE FREEZER: You can freeze the un-frosted sugar cookie bars for up to 2 months. Wrap the bars in plastic wrap, then in foil.
Allow the bars to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting and slicing.
These Christmas sugar cookie bars are the perfect soft and chewy texture, with a delicious buttery crust and lots of festive fun sprinkles on top. Even better than classic sugar cookies, these take that favorite cookie flavor and turn it into something extra special.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you store frosted sugar cookie bars?
Store the sugar cookie bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How do I freeze sugar cookie bars?
You can make and freeze the sugar cookie bar base for up to one month, wrapped well. Then thaw and frost when you are ready to serve them.
What holidays can I make these sugar cookie bars for?
You can make these cookie bars for any holiday and change the sprinkles and frosting color to match the occasion. Red and blue for the Fourth of July, orange and black for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, and pink and red for Valentine’s Day.
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Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
These soft Christmas sugar cookie bars have a sweet and delicious flavor and buttercream frosting that will melt in your mouth as soon as you take a bite.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 15
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup salted sweet cream butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons Christmas nonpareil sprinkles (red, green and white)
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup salted sweet cream butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla flavoring
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 4 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream
- Christmas nonpareil sprinkles (red, green and white)
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 baking dish with a parchment paper “sling”. Spray with baking spray (Baker’s Joy or generic version). Set it aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Set it aside.
- Using a medium-sized mixing bowl and a handheld mixer at high speed, beat the softened butter for 1 minute.
- Add the granulated sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and continue beating for 1 to 1½ minutes until fluffy.
- Lower the mixer speed to low, and add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each egg.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium-low. Add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, beating well after each cup just until well incorporated.
- Add in the sprinkles, and mix just until combined.
- Evenly spread the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until just golden and a toothpick inserted comes away clean.
- Allow the cookie bars to completely cool.
Buttercream Frosting
- Using a medium-sized mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat the softened butter, clear vanilla, and almond extract for 1 minute.
- Lower the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, alternating with the heavy cream. Once all powdered sugar and cream are added, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and mix for 1 to 1½ minutes until smooth.
- Once the sugar cookie bars are completely cooled, use the parchment paper sling to remove the sugar cookie bars from the baking dish.
- Use a silicone spatula or offset spatula to evenly spread the frosting.
- Evenly sprinkle the holiday sprinkles over the frosting. Slice the bars 1½ x 3-inch slices.
Video
Notes
- You do not have to use the parchment paper sling, but it does make it easier to lift the bars out of the pan.
- Don’t skip the cornstarch; it’s the secret ingredient that makes the bars extra soft.
- Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your cookie bars at the lower end of the recommended baking time.
Nutrition
Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 182mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 757IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
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Comments
Brittany says
What can I use in place of almond extract? We have nut allergies in our household.
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Brittany – I would just omit then. Enjoy!
Yoop says
You could try using imitation almond extract.
Barbara says
I got artificial almond for our grandson’s tree nut allergy. I read that many professional bakers use it to avoid any allergy problems. This will be the first I’ll be using the imitation. I’ve used the Clear imitation vanilla for real white icing in the past.
Randi MacGillivray says
What is sweet cream butter? Can I use regular butter?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Randi – it would be fine to use regular butter, enjoy!