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Sugar Cookie Bars are all the chewy goodness of your favorite sugar cookies but in an easy-to-make bar form! Top them with sweet buttercream frosting and your favorite sprinkles for a fun dessert everyone will love.
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We are a family of sugar cookie lovers. Chewy sugar cookies, soft sugar cookies, lemon sugar cookies – if it’s a sugar cookie, my family is going to love it.
But I am not always down with the time it actually takes to make sugar cookies, especially cut-out or frosted ones.
But these Sugar Cookie Bars? They hit our sugar cookie sweet spot and they’re quick to make.
I have made these countless times since I first shared this recipe back in the early days of My Baking Addiction and they have remained a favorite. They’re super versatile since you can top them with any seasonal sprinkles you like or color the frosting for everything from Halloween to the 4th of July.
I know your family will love these Sugar Cookie Bars just as much as mine does!
THICK AND CHEWY SUGAR COOKIE BARS
Sugar cookies…if you are like me, you love the taste and texture of them, but are not so keen on the prep work involved.
I have always been a huge fan of sugar cookies and certainly make recipes like my Snowflake Sugar Cookies for special occasions, but sometimes I wish I could whip up a chewy, thick cookie and not have to spend half the afternoon preparing them!
If you feel the same way, consider your wish granted with these Sugar Cookie Bars!
The cookie base of these bars is thick and chewy, with the perfect amount of sweetness. Topped with a simple buttercream frosting, they are absolute heaven.
HOW TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIE BARS
Since the dough for these bars doesn’t have to be chilled or rolled out and cut, they’re super easy to make! This recipe also easily makes 24 nice-sized cookie bars, so it feeds a crowd.
Ingredients you’ll need
For the cookies, you’ll want to grab:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 5 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
If you forget to set your butter out ahead of time, I have a few ways to soften butter quickly.
You’ll also want to know how to measure flour so these bars turn out perfect every time!
Tools you’ll need
Aside from your standard measuring cups, bowls, and a stand mixer, you’ll need to make sure you have the right pan for these cookie bars.
You’ll want to grab a half sheet pan that measures about 13×18 inches. This will make the cookie bars the perfect thickness. It’ll also make it easy to cut them into 24 generously sized bars!
Making this recipe
If you’ve made other bar cookie recipes, such as Monster Cookie Bars or Funfetti Cookie Bars, then you probably already know how easy this is!
In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar. You want them to be fluffy, so don’t try to rush this. Let them mix for at least a few minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition. Then add the vanilla and mix until that is combined.
Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking soda. Add these to the wet ingredients and mix just until the flour is mixed in.
Spread the cookie dough onto your greased half-sheet pan. You can line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper if you’d like.
Bake your giant cookie for 12-17 minutes – it’s done when it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cookie cool completely before frosting and decorating.
FROSTING AND DECORATING
My favorite way to top Sugar Cookie Bars is with a simple buttercream frosting. The sweetness of the frosting pairs so well with the thick and chewy cookie.
I really like the look of white frosting topped with a rainbow of colorful sprinkles, but that’s just me! Feel free to add a few drops of food coloring to your frosting to make it any color (or colors!) that you desire.
You could even turn this into a giant cookie cake by breaking out your piping bags and piping tips and piping on some rosettes or writing a message on the top of the bars.
If you have kids, divide the pan into sections and let each kid decorate their section. It’s a fun way to do a cookie decorating party without spending hours cutting out individual cookies!
STORAGE OPTIONS
These cookie bars will store well in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. I like to place a piece of parchment paper between layers if I have to stack them in the container, just to keep the frosting a bit neater.
You can also freeze Sugar Cookie Bars if you’d like. Here’s how I’d freeze them if making them ahead of time for a party:
- Bake and cool the cookie bar in the pan. Leave the cookie in the pan or remove it in one piece.
- Wrap the cookie bars well in two layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Freeze for up to 1 month.
- Let the cookie thaw at room temperature before frosting and decorating.
- If you’d like to prep the frosting early, make it and freeze it in an airtight container. Let the frosting thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature then whip with a mixer before using.
Leftover frosted cookie bars can be frozen as well. Freeze them in an airtight container, with layers of parchment paper between layers, for up to 1 month.
Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 4-5 tablespoon milk
- food coloring if desired
- Sprinkles if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a half sheet pan (13×18 inches). Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to the wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-17 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.
Make the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add vanilla and salt.
- Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. If desired, add food coloring.
- Spread over cooled cookie. Top with sprinkles. Cut into bars or triangles and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made these last night. I did half the recipe. This was so delicious. I don’t enjoy rolling out cookie dough so this works for me. Will definitely make this again.
I made the bars on a Tuesday, frosted them on Wednesday and the family gobbled them up on Thankgiving Thursday-a definite hit. Few left over on Friday still soft and delicious. I just kept them covered in the pan. Would recommend theses to anyone. Will definitely make again!
So glad everyone enjoyed these, Kathleen! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
Wow! I love these Sugar Cookie Bars and it is very tasty and soft. Thank you so much for doing what you do, and share more recipe
Glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
-Jamie
Have you tried freezing the bars before frosting? I need several desserts for a friend and am trying to bake and freeze. Thanks!
Hi Becky – You could definitely freeze them before you frost them. I outline a few ways to go about freezing the bars within the post. Hope this helps! Happy baking.
-Jamie
those are amazing!
those are amazing
These are good, but very cake-like cookies. More like cookie-cakes than the sugar cookie I was hoping for. If you like that texture, you’ll love these.
Caroline-
Thanks so much for stopping back to share your experience with the recipe! Have a wonderful day and thanks so much for following MBA!
-Jamie
I just wanted to tell you I am HORRIBLE at making sugar cookies so I tried these in a pinch for an emergency bake sale item. All the ingredients were in my pantry, the steps were simple and they turned out perfect! I now have a sugar “cookie” I can present to the world. On a side note, I didn’t have enough powdered sugar to make the frosting so I just sprinkled them with colored sugar prior to baking, not nearly as eye catching as yours, but still tasty and bake sale worthy :) Thanks for sharing this.
Courtney-
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for stopping by and providing your feedback – have a great day!
-Jamie
*pinned*
These are great!
First time making them… Do I use salted butter or unsalted butter? I bought salted but then wondered which one should I have gotten. Can I use salted butter and omit the 1 tsp of salt or do I still add it in? Thanks in advance!
Christina-
I typically use unsalted butter in all my baking, this is an older recipe, which is why it isn’t specified. You can definitely use the salted though and just omit the salt. Hope this helps.
-jamie
I know this is an old question, but just in case anyone else runs into the same problem, i learned recently while reading a recipe from david lebovitz that 1 stick of salted butter has 1/4 tsp salt. So for this recipe, using 2 sticks of salted butter, you would just reduce the salt by 1/2 tsp.