For more fun, easy, tasty desserts, try my popular recipes for Best Easy Sugar Cookies, No Bake Churro Krispie Bars, and Cream Cheese Lemon Bars. I’m not even sure where to begin with these. As I write this post, I’m tempted to stop and go whip up another batch because the first one I made didn’t last long. What you don’t see right on the outside of this photo are three little sets of hands (and two larger ones, if I’m being honest) ready to snatch up every last bite of these sugar cookie bars. They’re everything you want in a sugar cookie, but in ooey, gooey, buttery bar form with a generous amount of buttercream icing, plus some pretty sprinkles for texture and…okay that’s it, I’ll be right back, have to go feed my sugar cookie craving…
Why This Recipe Works
Basic ingredients — Absolutely nothing fancy needed here, just your basic sugar cookie dough ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, etc.) is all it takes to make these sugar cookie bars. 9×13 Baking Pan— Most sugar cookie bar recipes I’ve come across call for an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan. When I make sugar cookie bars I want a BIG batch (more than a dozen) so this recipe is written for a 9×13 inch pan so you get enough bars to feed a crowd OR larger bars (because really, who says no to a larger sugar cookie bar??). Buttercream frosting — If I was making regular cut-out sugar cookies, I might use a thinner icing that’s easier for decorating. But these are bars and they deserve a mighty layer of delicious butter frosting on top. The frosting to cookie layer ration is just perfect in these tall bars. Delicious at any temperature — You can eat these right out of the oven with some melted frosting on them, at room temperature or chilled right out of the fridge, all ways are amazingly delicious! If I had to choose one favorite though, I’d say cold from the fridge. Seriously, next level deliciousness.
Here’s How You Make It
Making the sugar cookie bars Making the frosting
Should You Put Sprinkles on Sugar Cookies Before or After Baking?
Since I almost always put sprinkles on top of my icing, I sprinkle after baking (and icing). I like to add sprinkles right after icing the sugar cookie bars because they’ll stick much better to the wet icing than if you try to put them on when the icing has dried. If you want to put sprinkles right onto the cookie bars without icing, then what I recommend is to brush an egg or milk wash on top of the dough first, then sprinkle, then bake. The egg/milk wash will help it stick. You can also mix 1/4 cup of sprinkles into the dough just before pressing into your pan for a funfetti cookie base!
Expert Tips
If you have a hard time cutting through the bars, the first thing I recommend is taking them out of the pan, and putting them on a cutting surface. This is why you line the pan with parchment instead of greasing the pan with cooking spray or butter! (You can choose to ice them after pulling them out of the pan too if that’s easier.) Make sure you have a sharp knife, and either spray the knife with cooking spray and wipe off or run the knife under hot water, then wipe off to make it easier to slice through the bars and achieve a perfect edge to your bars. If all you have is a glass pan for baking these in, that’s no problem, just only set your temperature for 325 but the baking time remains the same. Use a ruler as a guide for perfectly sized sugar cookie bars. Score where you’ll cut as you measure, then cut all the way though at equal intervals. Do NOT over bake the dough. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out with a few loose crumbs. Please, for the love of sugar cookies, error on the side of under-baking. It is the KEY to these being the actual best ever sugar cookie bars to ever exist – perfectly moist, never dry or crumbly. They’ll continue to bake a bit more as they cool in the pan so just trust me on this one.
More Delicious Bar Recipes You need to Try
Raspberry Crumb Bars Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Bars Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting No Bake Peanut Butter Bars Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Did you try this Sugar Cookie Bars recipe? FANTASTIC! Please rate the recipe below!
