These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are soft, chewy, and taste exactly like a sugar cookie (but in bar form). They’re easy to make, easy to decorate, and you’ll get 2 shapes – Christmas trees and classic squares!
My recipe bakes in a 13×9 and makes up to 30 bars which is great for holiday parties, cookie trays, and gifting to friends and family.
We all love good sugar cookies at Christmas. but there isn’t always time to make them. Let’s be honest, they are a little labor intensive… the mixing, refrigerating, rolling, cutting, baking, more mixing, decorating, and drying. It’s a lot!
My Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are the exact opposite. Just mix, press, bake, decorate, and cut! And if you love sugar cookies, you’ve got to try my Edible Sugar Cookie Dough!
Ingredients in Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Here’s everything you will need to make these sugar cookie bars, and a few important notes. Keep reading!
- All-Purpose Flour: I use unbleached all-purpose flour. And be sure to use the spoon and level method when measuring your flour. Gluten free flour has not been tested in this recipe.
- Corn Starch: Don’t leave this out! It makes super soft cookie bars.
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter: Softened to room temperature. You can swap it out for salted butter, just omit the added salt above.
- Granulated Sugar
- Egg: Brought to room temperature.
- Extract: We will use a balance of vanilla and almond. This makes the perfect sugar cookie taste.
- Frosting: You’ll need unsalted butter, powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar), corn syrup for texture, both extracts, a pinch of salt, and green food coloring.
- Sprinkles: Use any festive sprinkles you would like. If you opt out of the frosting, you can put your sprinkles in the cookie dough instead.
You’ll also need a 9×13 baking pan, hand mixer or stand-mixer, and offset or silicone spatula for spreading your frosting.
How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
1. Make and bake the sugar cookie bars. Cream together the butter and sugar, add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and combine until they’re absorbed. Press the sugar cookie dough into your lined and greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the center no longer glistens.
2. Whip up some frosting while the bars cool. Beat together unsalted butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt and powdered sugar. Slowly add the corn syrup while beating the frosting. Once finished, dye half of it green for the trees and keep plain for the squares.
3. Frost, cut, and serve. Cut the cooled 9×13 cookie bar in 2 equal pieces. Spread the green frosting over one half and plain over the other half. Immediately decorate with sprinkles and cut into desired number of servings (see more in next section).
Cutting Your Bars & Number of Servings
There’s a few different ways you can cut these bars to get as many servings as you need. See the pictures below to choose which is best for you. There’s an option for 19 squares (left), 24 squares (middle), and 30 squares (right).
When you are cutting your bars, be sure to have a sharp and long knife. You’ll also want to wipe off the blade between cuts for clean lines.
Storing and Freezing Information
Your Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars should be stored in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag to keep them from drying out. If you are stacking the cookie bars place waxed paper between the layers to separate them. Don’t worry, they will not stick together once the icing has crusted.
At room temperature these will last up to 5 days, refrigerated up to 7 days, and frozen for up to 3 months. If you choose to freeze these sugar cookie bars you can thaw them at room temperature for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight. Please note that some types of sprinkles will “run” when thawed due to the condensation.
Options for Making Your Cookie Bars Ahead of Time
These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are great for prepping during the holiday season, and you can do it one of two ways. One, you can bake them and store in the freezer as directed above.
Two, you can bake them and heat seal a couple in cellophane baggies. This is what I do for Christmas cookie boxes because it keeps the cookie bars fresh at room temperature for weeks!
2 Tips from Elizabeth
Here are a few things that will make these bars even easier to make and tastier too!
1. Properly measure the flour for a perfect texture sugar cookie bars. You’ll want to use the spoon and level method or they become dense and super dry.
2. A few things to make pressing the dough into your baking pan easier. First of all, save your butter wrappers and use them to press the sugar cookie dough into the baking pan. Second, use binder clips to hold the parchment paper in place so it won’t slip around. Three, if the dough gets too tacky and difficult to press into the baking pan, chill it in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes.
More Christmas Recipes You Might Enjoy
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
EQUIPMENT
- stand mixer or hand mixer - with paddle attachment
- 9×13 baking pan - light colored metal
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature, cubed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg - room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour - measure using the spoon and level method
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Decorating (Frosting & Sprinkles)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature, cubed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 drop green food coloring
- ¼ cup festive sprinkles
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar for 2 to 3 minutes. It should be pale in color and fluffy in texture.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat together until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat together until the dry mixture is absorbed. This takes around 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Pour the sugar cookie dough into baking pan and lightly press (using your butter wrappers or waxed paper) until it evenly covers the pan.ELIZABETH'S NOTE: If the cookie dough gets sticky, place it in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes and try again.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the edges are very light brown and the center no longer glistens. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Beat together the softened unsalted butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar in 3 increments, allowing it to fully absorb between each addition. Slowly add the corn syrup and continue to beat until it is fully incorporated, about 2 minutes.
- Remove half of the frosting and fold in 1 drop of green food coloring, set aside.
- Cut the cooled 9×13 sugar cookie bar in half. Frost the first piece with green frosting and decorate with sprinkles. Frost the second piece with white frosting and decorate with sprinkles.
- Cut the green bar into Christmas trees and the white bar in squares (see recipe notes for diagrams). Serve!
RECIPE NOTES
STORING INFORMATION
- Room temperature, in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag, for up to 5 days. Heat seal them in cellophane baggies for up to 2 weeks of room temperature storage.
- Refrigerator, in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag, for up to 7 days.
- Frozen, in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag, for up to 3 months.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
