These Sugar Cookie Bars are our go-to when we need a crowd-pleasing dessert without the extra work. You get all the bakery-style goodness without the hassle of scooping or batches - just one pan of perfectly tender cookie topped with a thick layer of the fluffiest vanilla frosting. They slice up beautifully, travel well, and can be left simple or dressed up with sprinkles to match any theme or occasion.
It might be tempting to grab some sugar cookie bars from a store, but we promise these are worthy of the time it takes to whip up a batch, but also the time to wash the dishes. We have a better version that skips the artificial flavors for a truly perfect dessert.
This one gets rave reviews thanks to all the recipe testing that it took to get the flavor, texture, and frosting just right. Just like our Crumbl sugar cookie recipe, we use a little cornstarch for an incredibly tender crumb, plus a touch of cream cheese in the frosting to cut the sweetness, which keeps it perfectly balanced.
Best of all we start with cold butter! No need to think ahead and soften the butter. Every detail has been tested and perfected, but if the thick frosting isn't your style, feel free to cut it in half. And if you are in the mood for more, be sure to check out our Easter recipes.
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Why this recipe made the cut
Every recipe on Borrowed Bites gets tested, re-tested, and tasted by several groups to ensure it's something you can be proud to serve! Here's why this one earned its spot:
- No fuss: No chilling, no scooping, no rolling, no cutting, no need to soften butter. Sounds pretty perfect to me!
- Best texture: Both the cookie bar and the frosting have few special tweaks that make them better than anything you can buy.
- Flavor: You can change things up with different flavors, but that classic, clean sugar cookie flavor comes from real ingredients like butter and sugar. You probably already have all the ingredients on hand (except for the cake flour which is worth the effort) to whip these up in no time!
Sugar cookie bar ingredients
It is the combination of simple, real ingredients that make these so delicious. Here are tips for each ingredient, but exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Flours: A mix of all-purpose flour as well as cake flour are used, and it really matters, so don't swap one for the other.
- Cornstarch: Along with the cake flour, this is the secret for the softest and most tender texture.
- Sugars: White granulated sugar is used in the cookie bar itself while powdered sugar (aka confectioners sugar) is used in both the cookie dough batter and the frosting.
- Butter: Our go-to is salted butter for its rich flavor, but if using unsalted just add an extra pinch of salt.
- Oil: Any neutral oil works here. Its job is to keep the bars moist, not flavor them.
- Eggs: Three large eggs add moisture and a bit of richness.
- Baking soda: This keeps the bars from being flat. Be sure to use fresh (opened in the last 6 months) for best results.
- Salt: Kosher salt is the one we use.
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese is our secret for keeping the frosting rich but not overly cloying. It adds just a little tang.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract adds a soft layer of flavor.
- Heavy cream: This lightens the frosting, helping give it the fluffy texture.
Helpful kitchen tools
How to make sugar cookie bars
These bars are made the classic way by creaming butter and sugar then adding in eggs before adding in the dry ingredients. As a bonus, the butter does not need to be softened before making the cookie bars.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the cold butter cubes, oil, and both sugars and beat until well creamed. The mixture will be light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs one at time. In between each egg, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula. After the eggs have been incorporated, mix in the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together until combined. Then add the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture, mixing on low speed until everything just comes together.
The dough will be quite moist. Scrape down the bowl one last time and give a final stir by hand if needed.
The easiest way to spread the dough evenly is to drop large dollops across a sheet pan.
In this case we didn't use parchment paper because we were going to serve them straight from the sheet pan, but if you want to lift them out before serving, be sure to line it with a parchment sling.
Using the flat bottom of a measuring cup or clean hands spread the dough into an even layer. This is important because it will bake exactly how you place it, so if you want it flat be sure to spend an extra minute here working on that.
Bake for 13-15 minutes in a 375º oven. To know the sugar cookie bars are done, look for golden brown edges, a slightly set center, and a toothpick coming out clean from the center.
Set the whole pan on a cooling rack and allow to cool all the way to room temperature.
While the bars are cooling, make the frosting. Combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla on low speed until combined, then on medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add in the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Beat for 2 more minutes. Add more cream as needed to make the frosting spreadable.
Spread frosting across the top of the sheet pan and decorate as desired. See the ideas below for several fun ideas.
Hint: These can be made with a hand held mixer but a stand maker does make this easier, so if you have one be sure to get it out for this. But if you don't have one, don't be discouraged. Just spend an extra minute or two when beating the butter and the eggs to make sure it is light and fluffy.
Decorating Ideas
These are great for large groups: holidays, game days, potlucks, sports parties, or birthdays. Basically, anytime you need an easy guaranteed hit.
- Christmas: Cut the bars into squares or triangles (first cut squares then cut each square in half diagonally to form a Christmas tree shape) and decorate as desired. These green and white, holly leaves and berries, or classic red and green mix would all look festive sprinkled around the outer edge.
- Valentine's Day: These Pretty In Pink offer a soft color palette. For fun vibe add a few Sweethearts Candies around the edges.
- St. Patrick's Day: A fun mix of shamrocks and yellow jimmies makes for a festive and fun look.
- Easter: Try light pink or yellow frosting with pastel colors.
- Patriotic: Whether Fourth of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day or all summer long these red, white, blue and sparkly stars will be the perfect American vibe.
- Halloween: These fun colors with candy eyeballs is a little spooky and a little fun.
- Thanksgiving: A gentle sprinkle of these fall colors along the edge would make for a really cute cookie bar.
- Birthday: For a birthday look go with these classic birthday sprinkles.
Variations
These are great as they are, but also lend themselves to variations:
- Almond: Add a little almond extract along with the vanilla.
- Lemon: Add a little lemon zest to the cookie dough and use the frosting from this lemon cake.
- Frosting: If you want to mix up the frostings try: brown butter cream cheese frosting (great in the fall!), chocolate fudge frosting, or use the cream cheese frosting from these fruit pizza cookies.
Storage and freezer instructions
Store: If you are storing these for more than a day, or if your kitchen is warm, put them in the refrigerator as soon as possible. I often cover the sheet pan with a convenient cover, but if you are storing for longer than 24 hours, transfer to an airtight container and layer parchment or wax paper in between.
Freeze: We love freezing these! For best results, after the bars are frosted and cut, place them on a clean sheet pan with a little space between each one and freeze for a couple hours or until solid. Set a timer so they don't dry out by being in there too long.
Once frozen, quickly wrap each piece in plastic wrap, then place in an airtight container or freezer bags. This will make sure they stay fresh for 3-4 months.
FAQs
Yes! Just cut the recipe in half. It might take a couple minutes less to bake, so keep an eye on them closer to the 12 minute mark. Don't forget to cut the frosting recipe in half as well.
No! For this recipe no chilling is required. After baking, the dough should cool to room temperature before frosting, but no chilling is required before baking.
That said, some people love these straight from the fridge once they are frosted. Try it! You just might love it.
Tips & tricks
- The frosting can be made with cold butter and cream cheese, but it will take a few extra minutes to beat. At first it looks chunky and then like it is separating, but keep going! It will come together and get light and fluffy.
- The dough will rise just to the edge of the pan while baking but will drop as they cool.
- Make sure the cookie bars are completely cooled before adding the frosting on top.
- If this is too much frosting for your liking, feel free to cut the recipe in half.
More recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand held mixer
Ingredients
Cookie Bars
- 18 tablespoons butter 2 whole sticks + 2 tablespoons, cold and cut in small cubes
- ⅓ canola oil
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting
- 1 ½ cups butter 3 sticks, softened
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 6 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Prepare a 13x18 cookie sheet by spraying with baking spray.
- In a stand mixer or a large bowl with hand beaters, beat the cold butter, oil, and sugars on low for 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl, then increase to medium speed for another 30 seconds, then high speed for 30 seconds, or until very light and fluffy.18 tablespoons butter , ⅓ canola oil, 1 ½ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup powdered sugar
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping after each one. Add the vanilla. Scrape well.3 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla
- In a medium bowl, combine the cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cake flour, and all-purpose flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine on low until just combined. The dough should be very moist. Scrape the bowl well.1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 ¼ cups cake flour, 3 cups all-purpose flour
- Place dollops of dough around the sheet pan. Use clean hands or the back of a rubber spatula to press the dough evenly across the pan. Take your time because if it is uneven then the final product will be uneven.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes. The edges should be very light golden brown and the center looks set. A toothpick will come out clean.
- Once fully baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Once the cookies have cooled, make the frosting by placing the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar into a stand mixer. Mix on low to combine then increase to medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.1 ½ cups butter, 3 ounces cream cheese, 6 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add vanilla and 1 tablespoon of cream. Beat for 2 more minutes or until light and fluffy. Add additional cream if needed until the frosting is loose enough to spread, but still hold its shape.3 teaspoon vanilla, 1-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Spread frosting over the top of the cooled cookies and decorate as desired.Sprinkles
Notes
- The frosting can be made with cold butter and cream cheese, but it will take a few extra minutes to beat. At first it looks chunky and then like it is separating, but keep going! It will come together and get light and fluffy.
- The dough will rise just to the edge of the pan while baking but will drop as they cool.
- Make sure the cookie bars are completely cooled before adding the frosting on top.
- If this is too much frosting for your liking, feel free to cut the recipe in half.
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Misty says
This recipe is simpler than regular cookies but just as delicious!