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These soft and chewy Christmas sugar cookie bars are so simple to prep and require no chilling, no rolling dough, but can still be made into cute holiday themed shapes! Cut into triangles and pipe frosting for festive trees or frost and spread with frosting. You choose–but these are so delicious and are sure to be a favorite every holiday season!
Frosted sugar cookies are one of my favorites when it comes to Christmas treat recipes. However, I am not a fan of all the work so these Christmas sugar cookie bars have become my new favorite way to enjoy them!
Try some of our other favorite holiday recipes: Peppermint Mocha Cookies, Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ginger Cream Cookies, or these Eggless Sugar Cookies!
Why We Love These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
I have a very energetic little one who wants to do all the cookie decorating during Christmas cookie season. We have done the cutouts but honestly that is soooo much work and he doesn’t really care that much about anything but putting icing and sprinkles on the cookies.
Cutout sugar cookies tend to be dry in my opinion and I want an iced cookie thats soft and chewy and full of flavor. I decided to work on some fun and festive Christmas sugar cookie bars and these Christmas trees have been a huge hit for us!
These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars:
- are so simple to prep
- require no chilling, no rolling, and minimal wait time for frosting
- have the perfect sugar cookie flavor and are so soft and chewy
- are so fun for the kids and the kids at heart!
- can be prepped and frozen for later
We cannot get enough of these and hope you love these as much as we do!
Ingredient Notes
- I have recently become OBSESSED with vanilla bean paste. It adds a vanilla flavor that is so much more than extract. You can use vanilla extract if you don’t have any, but if you do, I highly recommend using it!
- All-purpose flour is what was used in this recipe. Gluten free flour has not been tested yet.
- Use full fat cream cheese when making this cookie bars for the best flavor and texture.
Ways To Vary This Recipe
- add 2-3 tablespoons of sprinkles into the cookie bar dough
- swap the almond extract for peppermint extract
- add white chocolate chips to the sugar cookie dough
- vary the colors of frosting and have a cookie bar decorating party!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a small bowl and whisk. Add the softened butter and sugar to a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).
Step 2: Add the eggs, vanilla bean paste, almond extract and cream cheese. Beat to fully incorporate.
Step 3: Slowly add the dry ingredients and and beat in to incorporate—but only until no streaks of flour are seen.
Step 4: Don’t over mix at this time.
Step 5: Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment. Press the cookie dough evenly into the pan. The dough will be a bit sticky. I sprayed my hands lightly with oil to help with this. Laying a piece of parchment over it helps as well.
Step 6: Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the center is set and no longer wet. The edges tend to a bit less gooey than the center, like a brownie would be, and it’s ok if the center still seems a touch under done because as it cools, it sets up nice. Cool completely before frosting.
Step 7: To make the frosting, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, sea salt and almond extract and mix to incorporate. Slowly add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the cream, one tablespoon at a time and beat until creamy and fluffy.
Step 8: Add green food coloring (about 5 drops green gel was used for the green in photos) and mix to incorporate. If making the trees, you may need to add a touch extra cream too.
Step 9: For classic cookie bars: Frost the cookie bars and add extra sprinkles over top. Allow the buttercream to set before cutting. For Christmas tree bars: Remove the fully cooled cookie bars from the pan by pulling out using the excess parchment as tabs. Slice off the ends and then slice a row of bars, then cut back and forth at a diagonal to create triangle pieces.
Step 10: Add the buttercream to a piping bag or plastic bag with desired piping tip and decorate by piping in rows or get creative!
Recipe Tips
Room temperature butter and cream cheese is still a bit cool to touch–it’s not greasy or melted at all. Each will make a slight impression when touched but it won’t fully give. Internal temperature would be about 65°F-67°F–so a bit cooler than you may think.
Weigh your ingredients for best results. Measuring flour by scooping or spooning it can result in very different amounts which can cause cookie bars to be very dry or if not enough flour, super greasy.
You can add sprinkles to the cookie bars. Naturally dyed sprinkles will often bleed into the cookies a lot. Also, be careful the colors you choose. When I was testing, I used some silver and gold and the silver looked almost like mold in the cookies.
Storage
Store these sugar cookie bars at room temperature in an airtight container for about 3-4 days. They actually become a bit softer the second day I noticed. You can refrigerate them and they will last about 5-6 days but let them sit out for about 15 minutes before serving.
To freeze, it’s ideal to freeze them unfrosted, in a freezer safe container for about 3 months. They can be frozen after frosted, but freeze them in a single layer for about an hour before layering at all–use parchment paper between each layer.
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Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Bars:
- 2¾ cup flour, 343 g
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ – ½ tsp salt
- 1 ⅓ cup sugar, 267 g
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, 226 g
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1½ tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
Frosting:
- ½ cup butter, softened, **see below if making trees!
- 2 cups powdered sugar, more for thicker frosting
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract , you can use peppermint extract instead if desired
- pinch of sea salt
- 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream, more as desired
- green gel food coloring
- holiday sprinkles for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Make the Cookie Bars: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a small bowl and whisk.
- Add the softened butter and sugar to a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).
- Add the eggs, vanilla bean paste, almond extract and cream cheese. Beat to fully incorporate. Slowly add the dry ingredients and and beat in to incorporate—but only until no streaks of flour are seen. If you want sprinkles in your cookie bars, add the sprinkles with the last bit of dry ingredients. Don’t over mix at this time.
- Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment. Press the cookie dough evenly into the pan. The dough will be a bit sticky. I sprayed my hands lightly with oil to help with this. Laying a piece of parchment over it helps as well.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the center is set and no longer wet. The edges tend to a bit less gooey than the center, like a brownie would be, and it’s ok if the center still seems a touch under done because as it cools, it sets up nice. Allow to cool completely.
- Make the Frosting: (If you plan to make the Christmas trees, double the frosting ingredients)To make the frosting, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, sea salt and almond extract and mix to incorporate. Slowly add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the cream, one tablespoon at a time and beat until creamy and fluffy. Add green food coloring (about 5 drops was used for the green in photos) and mix to incorporate. If making the trees, you may need to add a touch extra cream too.
- For classic cookie bars: Frost the cookie bars and add extra sprinkles over top. Allow the buttercream to set before cutting.
- For Christmas tree bars: Remove the fully cooled cookie bars from the pan by pulling out using the excess parchment as tabs. Slice off the ends and then slice a row of bars, then cut back and forth at a diagonal to create triangle pieces.
- Add the buttercream to a piping bag or plastic bag with desired piping tip and decorate by piping in rows or get creative! Allow frosting to set and serve!
Notes
- 2 sticks butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 4-5 Tbsp heavy cream
- pinch sea salt
- green food coloring (about 10 drops)
- sprinkles
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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