Soft Sugar Cookie Bars

Thanks for sharing!

Super soft sugar cookie bars topped with a fluffy layer buttercream are a fun and easy treat. They are so much quicker to make than individual cookies and taste great!

If you like your sugar cookies soft and piled with frosting, these bars are for you! You don’t have to chill, roll or cut the dough, so they are fast and easy. Bake them just until they are barely done for a soft and sumptuous texture. 

We love them topped with chocolate or vanilla buttercream and plenty of festive sprinkles. They are good enough for a party and easy enough for just because.

This recipe was first shared on my site back in the spring of 2018.  But we were getting ready to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday and I needed to bake her a treat.

She loves soft cookies, vanilla and sprinkles.  So these soft and chewy sugar cookie bars came to mind when I was trying to decide what to make.

Last time we put a nice layer of rich chocolate frosting on top.  This time we made a batch of fluffy crusting buttercream to better suit the preferences of the birthday girl.

Little Dude and I worked together to whip up the dough and made a video for you.  He also shows you his sprinkle application technique, so be sure to check that out!

The bars were just as good as we remembered them to be.  The birthday girl’s eyes lit up when she saw them, especially with that crazy cookie to frosting ratio!

We like these cookies a bit underbaked, so they sink a bit when they cool.  So we baked them a couple of minutes shy of the time in the recipe.

If you bake them the full 20 minutes, they should be baked through but maintain that soft texture. It’s really a matter of preference.

You could definitely bake up a tray or two and serve them at Christmas time for a fast and festive treat. They would also be great for potlucks, bbqs, picnics, birthday parties and more!

Original post from 2018:

Sugar cookies are one of my favorite treats to make. My go-to sugar cookies have made an appearance at so many parties. It is my favorite cut-out recipe and makes cute and tasty cookies.

I have also tweaked that recipe to make super fun cinnamon bun cookies that have been served at both my cousin’s bun in the oven shower and my sister’s bridal shower brunch.

But sometimes the chilling, rolling, cutting and baking tray after tray of cookies is a bit much.  That is where cookie bars come in!

All you have to do is whip up some dough, press it in a pan and run!  Plus with no worries about spreading or holding a shape, you get to make softer cookies filled with the good stuff!

I pretty quickly decided to make these cookie bars with a recipe from one of my favorite cookie experts, Big Rigs ‘n Lil’ Cookies.  Hers look so pretty with the pink frosting, but I had chocolate on the brain. So I topped ours with chocolate sweetened condensed milk frosting instead.

I love that recipe! There is so much cocoa powder that it keeps it from getting cloyingly sweet.  I was in a hurry to get these frosted, cut, stacked and packed to leave the house.

So I made the frosting a bit thicker than normal so they would stack immediately. Next time I’m hoping to have more time so I can make nice fluffy frosting. Darn busy schedules!

When I  saw Julie from The Little Kitchen was doing a fundraiser for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, I couldn’t wait to participate. I love the organization and told you about some of the reasons why in my chewy maple cinnamon cookie post.

I love the chance that I get to bake to spread awareness for such a great cause.  I also believe in the cause and was happy to donate.

Thanks to some generous matching sponsors, my donation got matched not once but three times! That means that much more money is going to find cures for the littlest cancer warriors.

If you would like to learn more about the organization or donate yourself, you can find more here.  You can either donate directly or find out about so many other fun ways to help out.

I love cookies and cookie bars for any occasion, but when they are supporting such a worthy cause they are even sweeter.  What are your favorite kinds of cookies?

If you like soft cookies, you may also like cookies and cream gooey butter cookies. They are loaded with cream cheese and those chocolate sandwich cookies we all know and love!

If you love bar cookies and want to try more, check out the recipe for oatmeal cream pie bars. They taste a lot like Little Debbie’s but homemade in cookie bar form!

Soft Sugar Cookie Bars

Carlee

Super soft sugar cookie bars topped with fluffy frosting are a fun, easy and popular treat!

4.95 from 34 ratings

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 36 Servings

Calories 151 kcal

Equipment

• USA Pan Bakeware Jelly Roll Pan 10×15″
• KitchenAid  5-Qt. Stand Mixer 

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature.
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 recipe chocolate sweetened condensed milk buttercream vanilla buttercream or frosting of your choice.

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 10×15" rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and vanilla, beating until combined.
• In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and baking soda.
• Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until just combined. Press into parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about  20 minutes or until the edges just start to take on a golden color.
• Cool completely before frosting.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 151kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 97mgSugar: 11g

Tried this recipe?Mention @carleecooks or tag #cookingwcarlee!

Thanks for sharing!