These delicious Sugar Cookie Bars are soft and chewy with a thick layer of blood orange cream cheese frosting and a candied blood orange on top. They’re a perfect dessert for special occasions and easy enough for an everyday treat.
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Sugar Cookie Bars with Blood Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
These Sugar Cookie Bars are thick and chewy, tender and oh-so-easy. Plus, they require virtually half the effort of individual cookies since you press the dough into a single pan and frost the entire sheet at once.
Our favorite time to make this cookie bar recipe is from about December through May, when blood oranges are in season. Blood oranges make the most beautiful, delicious cream cheese orange frosting for these simple Sugar Cookie Bars. If you don't have access to blood oranges, you can easily make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, Creamsicle Cream Cheese Frosting or my favorite, Classic Cream Cheese Frosting.
If you really want to gussy them up, check out my simple tutorial for making your own candied blood oranges. Do not be scared - it’s so easy and makes a stunning finishing touch. Otherwise, colorful sprinkles do the trick.
Ingredients in Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
Sugar Cookie Dough
- Flour - all-purpose flour works great.
- Baking Soda - this helps the cookies to rise and keeps them super soft.
- Salt - sea salt or kosher salt work great.
- Butter - you could use either salted or unsalted butter for the dough.
- Sugar - this cookie dough calls for granulated sugar.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract tastes best.
- Eggs - any type of large eggs will work great.
Blood Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- Butter - for the frosting, you’ll want to use unsalted butter.
- Cream Cheese - full fat cream cheese works the best. You’ll also want to be sure that it’s softened before trying to mix with the room temperature butter.
- Powdered Sugar - we like to use powdered sugar rather than granulated for the cream cheese frosting recipe so that there is no grittiness.
- Vanilla Extract - if you can find orange extract you can use that instead.
- Lemon Juice - this rounds out the flavor of the frosting.
- Blood Oranges - you should be able to find fresh blood oranges in larger grocery stores from around December through May. Otherwise, you can substitute regular oranges.
How to Make Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Make the sugar cookie dough. Add the butter, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk well, then add to the butter and egg mixture. Beat on low speed until well incorporated and no streaks of butter remain, but do not overmix.
- Press dough into a baking dish. Line a 9" x 13" baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Press the cookie dough into the prepared baking pan, covering the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until just barely golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Make the blood orange cream cheese frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter and cream cheese using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, blood orange juice and zest and mix again on low until incorporated. Increase speed and beat until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable.
- Frost the bars. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting over the top of the cooled Sugar Cookie Bars. Garnish the tops with candied blood oranges or colorful sprinkles as desired.
- Cut into bars and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can make and bake the bars a day ahead of time. Wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store at room temperature overnight. You can also make the blood orange cream cheese frosting the day before, then store in an airtight container in the fridge overnight. The next day, frost before cutting and serving.
You sure can. Both the baked and unbaked cookie bar dough freezes great. For both, you’ll need to thaw in the fridge overnight. Then if you still need to bake the cookie bars, pull the pan out of the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow it to come to room temperature while you preheat the oven.
The season for blood oranges is December through May. During that time, most large grocery stores will carry them. If you aren’t having any luck, you can substitute regular oranges. Your frosting will still taste delicious - it just won’t have that beautiful pink color.
Storing and Freezing Sugar Cookie Bars
- Fridge: store in an airtight container in single layers separated by parchment paper in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: you can freeze both the unfrosted baked cookie bars and the unbaked cookie dough. As long as the cookies are stored in an airtight container or freezer bags, they will last for up to 2 months.
- To thaw: thaw in the fridge overnight. If you still need to bake the cookie bars, pull the pan out of the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow it to come to room temperature while you preheat the oven.
Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 2 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Butter
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 large Eggs
Blood Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz Butter room temperature
- 8 oz Cream Cheese room temperature
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract or orange
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice fresh
- 2-3 Tablespoons Blood Orange Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Blood Orange Zest
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add the butter, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk well, then add to the butter and egg mixture.
- Beat on low speed until well incorporated and no streaks of butter remain, but do not overmix.
- Line a 9" x 13" baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Press the cookie dough into the prepared baking pan, covering the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until just barely golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Blood Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter and cream cheese using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, blood orange juice and zest and mix again on low until incorporated. Increase speed and beat until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable. Note: you may need to add a bit more powdered sugar or lemon juice to adjust the consistency.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting over the top of the cooled Sugar Cookie Bars. Garnish the tops with candied blood oranges or sprinkles as desired. Cut into bars and enjoy!
Notes
- If the blood oranges aren't as red as you might like, add a drop or two of red food coloring to your frosting.
Nutrition
More of the Best Cookie Bar Recipes
- Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
- Caramel Peanut Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookie Bars
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Orange Dreamsicle Sugar Cookie Bars
- S'Mores Cookie Bars
- Coconut Lime Cookie Bars with Buttercream Frosting
- More Cookie Bars
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If you love sugar cookies, these thick and chewy Sugar Cookie Bars are for you. They take half the effort and are covered in a delicious blood orange cream cheese frosting.
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