Easy Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars (thick & soft!)

Easy frosted sugar cookie bars are made from scratch and so much easier than traditional cut-out sugar cookies! These handheld bars are soft, perfectly sweet, easy to serve, and simple to customize with colorful sprinkles.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m often too lazy to make cut-out classic sugar cookies.

Waiting for the dough to chill, rolling them out, then making multiple batches just sounds like a lot of work.

I often opt for drop cookies like Amish sugar cookies or soft & chewy M&M sugar cookies, or even sugar cookie cups.

But, when you turn sugar cookie dough into easy sugar cookie bars, then you spark my interest.

This recipe takes everything you love about traditional sugar cookies, but puts it into super simple, from scratch, bar form.

Tools you’ll need

• Mixing Bowls – My favorite mixing bowls with the grippy bottoms.
• Electric Mixer – You could also use your stand mixer, but I most often reach for my hand mixer.
• 9 x 13 Pan – I like that this one has a lid for storing leftovers.
• Offset Spatula – This makes frosting the bars in the pan really easy.
• SPRINKLES – There are so many fun combos right on Amazon now.

Ingredients

For the sugar cookie bars

• Butter – Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature so it’s easy to work with.
• Sugar – Granulated white sugar.
• Eggs – Two large eggs, at room temperature.
• Vanilla Extract – Try to use real vanilla extract, even though it’s expensive right now. I buy it in bulk at Sam’s Club or Costco. If you want to switch up the flavor of these bars, you can also opt for almond or lemon extract instead.
• Flour – All purpose white flour.
• Salt – For balance.
• Baking Powder – For rise.

For the buttercream frosting

• Butter – I personally like to use salted butter in frosting to balance the sweetness, but most people opt for unsalted.
• Powdered Sugar – Also referred to as confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar.
• Vanilla Extract – Again, reach for the pure vanilla extract, not imitation, for the best flavor.
• Salt – Pinch of salt. I add another pinch even when I use salted butter, but I don’t like overly sweet things so this is a personal preference.
• Milk – You just need a bit, use what you have on hand. We always have 2%.

How to make soft Sugar Cookie Bars

1. STEP ONE: To a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar into light & fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs and beat in between until incorporated. Mix in the vanilla extract.
   
2. STEP TWO: To a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
   
3. STEP THREE: Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. Don’t overmix.
   
4. STEP FOUR: Press the dough into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the edges are just golden. You don’t want them to brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
   
5. STEP FIVE: While the bars are cooling, make the frosting by beating the softened butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Pour in the powdered sugar and beat. It will look crumbly. Pour in the vanilla, pinch of salt, and 1 Tablespoon of milk. Mix. If it’s soft & spreadable, you’re done. If it looks dry, drizzle in more milk until it’s the consistency you’re after.
   
6. STEP SIX: Lift the bars from the pan and frost. Top with sprinkles then slice into bars.

How to customize them

One of the best parts about this recipe is how easily customizable the bars are.

Making them for Christmas? Throw some red food coloring in the frosting and top with Christmas sprinkles (these are adorable).

Making them for Halloween? Orange food coloring & black & orange sprinkles (& eyeballs!).

Whatever the occasion, these bars are down to help you celebrate.

How many bars does this recipe make?

This sugar cookie bars recipes makes a 9 x 13 pan. How generous you cut them is up to you.

At the very least, it should make 12 bars. If you cut them smaller, you can get 15-20 and still have very nice sized portions.

How to store them

I store these bars covered, at room temperature, for 3-4 days, but they never last that long.

Can you freeze them?

Yep, you can freeze them. They even freeze well frosted. Just wrap them in plastic wrap, drop them into a freezer bag, and freeze for up to a couple months.

To thaw, set them on the counter at room temperature when you’re ready to eat them.

Need more cookie bars recipes? Try these:

Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookie Bars
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cookies & Cream Caramel Layer Bars
Take Five Cookie Bars
Cream Cheese Funfetti Bars
Double Chocolate Chewy Bars

View my full collection of bar and brownie recipes here.

4.72 from 7 votes

Easy Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

Created by Melissa Williams | Persnickety Plates

Servings: 20 bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

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Easy frosted sugar cookie bars are made from scratch and so much easier than traditional cut-out sugar cookies! These handheld bars are soft, perfectly sweet, easy to serve, and simple to customize with colorful sprinkles.

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

For the Sugar Cookie Bars

• ▢ ¾ cup (167 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 ½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the Frosting

• ▢ ½ cup (113 g) butter softened
• ▢ 2 cups (227 g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ pinch salt
• ▢ 1-3 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

To make the Sugar Cookie Bars

• Preheat your oven to 350˚F and line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper & lightly spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
• To a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• One at a time, add the eggs, beating between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add in the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
• To a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
• Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Try to avoid overmixing.
• Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake at 350˚ for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden. You don't want it to brown.
• Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

To make the Buttercream Frosting

• While the bars are cooling, add the softened butter to a large mixing bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
• Add in the powdered sugar and mix. It will look crumbly.
• Add the vanilla, a pinch of salt, and one tablespoon of the milk. Mix. If it still looks dry, drizzle in another tablespoon of milk. Once it is soft & spreadable, you are done.
• Frost the cooled bars with an offset spatula and slice into bars.

Notes

If you’d like to switch up the flavors, substitute the vanilla extract for 1/2 teaspoon of lemon or almond extract. 

Easily switch up the theme of the bars by adding food coloring to the frosting or switching the sprinkles for whichever holiday you’re after. 

Store bars covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. 

Bars will freeze well frosted. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap then store in a freezer bag for up to a month. When ready to use, thaw on the counter at room temperature. 

⭐️ Final Step! Please let me know how you liked this recipe by leaving a review and rating below. Your feedback supports my small business and allows me to continue providing free, high quality recipes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 240IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Originally published October 15, 2020