Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars

These soft and tender Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are an easy way to make this classic holiday treat. The sugar cookie dough is topped with our smooth vanilla buttercream frosting and festive holiday sprinkles.

Bar cookies are a great way to bake for a crowd because they require no individual scooping or decorating. Feel free to swap out the sprinkles to make these sugar cookie bars for any holiday or special occasion.

Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars

Especially during the busy holiday season time of year, I love a good bar cookie recipe. These Christmas cookie bars are covered in silky smooth vanilla buttercream, topped with festive holiday sprinkles, and cut into squares. No individual scooping, rolling, or frosting necessary!

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The sugar cookie base is super soft and chewy and easy to add mix-ins like chocolate chip, peanut butter, lemon, and so much more. You can also feel free to top these bar cookies for Christmas with your favorite flavor of frosting.  Eggnog Buttercream, Cinnamon Buttercream, and Orange Creamsicle Buttercream would all be great choices.

Key Recipe Ingredients

• Flour – all-purpose flour works great for these cookie bars.
• Baking Soda – this helps to keep the dough nice and soft and allows the cookies to rise slightly in the oven.
• Butter – your butter should be softened to room temperature before making the dough. If you forget to pull it out ahead of time, microwave gently for about 10 seconds at a time just until soft but not melted butter. You will need some for the cookie dough and some for the buttercream.
• Sugar – you will need white granulated sugar for these cookie bars. If you want, you could substitute a portion with brown sugar.
• Eggs – it helps to have your eggs at room temperature so that they don’t shock the butter when added to the dough. You can run them until warm water if needed.
• Powdered Sugar – it helps to add this in a few batches rather than all at once.
• Milk – this is used adjust the consistency of the buttercream.
• Sprinkles – to keep things festive, use your favorite Christmas sprinkles to top these Christmas bars.

How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars

1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
2. Mix the rest of the sugar cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. Slowly add the eggs, then beat on low until well combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Don’t overmix.
3. Press dough into a baking sheet. Lightly spray a 9″ x 13″ baking sheet with nonstick spray (or line with parchment paper). Press the cookie dough into the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.
4. Bake. Bake in a 325 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes ,or until just barely golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
5. Make the Buttercream Frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and beat using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar on low speed, then increase to medium to combine. Add the milk and vanilla extract.  Mix again until light and fluffy.  Adjust with milk or powdered sugar as needed to get the desired consistency.
6. Assemble the cookie bars. Spread the buttercream frosting evenly over the cooled cookie bars. Top with Christmas themed sprinkles if desired. Cut into bars or squares before serving. Enjoy!