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.
Christmas 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.
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Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Especially during the busy holiday season time of year, I love a good bar cookie recipe. These Christmas Bar Cookies are covered in silky smooth vanilla buttercream, topped with festive holiday sprinkles, and cut into squares. No individual scooping, rolling, or frosting necessary!
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.
Christmas Bar Cookie 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.
- Salt - salt helps balance all of the flavors.
- 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.
- Sugar - you will need white granulated sugar for these cookie bars. If you want, you could substitute a portion with brown sugar.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract has the best flavor.
- 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.
Buttercream Frosting
- Butter - you can use either salted or unsalted butter, depending on the flavor profile you like. Either way, your butter needs to be soft. You can pull it out at room temperature or warm slowly in the microwave for about 10 seconds at a time just until soft.
- Powdered Sugar - it helps to add this in a few batches rather than all at once.
- Milk - I always prefer whole milk but 2% milk will work just fine.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract has the best flavor.
- Sprinkles - to keep things festive, use your favorite Christmas sprinkles to top these Christmas bars.
How to Make Christmas Bar Cookies
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bar Variation Ideas
Here are a few ideas of ways to adapt this recipe to create different festive flavors and decorations:
- Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bars: Add crushed peppermint candies or candy canes to the cookie dough and top with peppermint-flavored frosting and crushed candy canes for decoration.
- Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Bars: Incorporate ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into the cookie dough for a classic gingerbread flavor, and decorate with festive sprinkles and candies.
- Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars: Use red food coloring to tint the cookie dough red, and top with cream cheese frosting and holiday sprinkles.
- Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bars: Mix cocoa powder into the cookie dough for a chocolatey twist, and top with peppermint-flavored frosting and crushed candy canes.
- Eggnog Sugar Cookie Bars: Use eggnog instead of milk in the cookie dough for a rich and creamy flavor, and top with eggnog-flavored frosting and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.
- Candy Cane Swirl Sugar Cookie Bars: Divide the cookie dough in half and tint one half red with food coloring. Roll out both halves and then swirl together before baking to create a candy cane effect. Top with vanilla frosting and crushed candy canes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Store in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 1 month in the freezer if they are frosted, or 2 months if they are not frosted. They actually also taste great straight out of the freezer.
Because these cookie bars have buttercream frosting, they should be stored in the fridge. They can sit out, however, for quite some time before needing to be refrigerated so they are perfect for serving at holiday parties.
For this recipe, I suggest baking in a 9โ x 13โ baking dish. For thicker cookie bars you could bake them in an 8โ or 9โ square pan, or for thinner cookies bake in a 13โ x 17โ baking sheet.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Refrigerator: store cookie bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: frosted cookie bars can be stored frozen for up to 1 month. Unfrosted cookie bars can be stored for up to 2 months.
Christmas Bar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 2 ยผ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Butter
- 1 ยฝ cups Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 large Eggs
Buttercream Frosting
- 8 oz Butter room temperature
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
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.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Add the milk and powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated.ย Add the vanilla extract 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 to adjust the consistency.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting over the top of the cooled Sugar Cookie Bars. Garnish the tops with your favorite Christmas Sprinkles. Cut into 20 square cookie bars. 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 Christmas Bar Cookies
- No Bake Cheesecake Bars
- Milk Chocolate No Bake Cheesecake Bars
- Pumpkin Pie Bars
- White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookie Bars
- Best Chewy Fudge Brownies
- Butterscotch Bars
- Lemon Bars
- More Dessert Bars
- More Easy Dessert Recipes
These festive Christmas Bar Cookies are an easy and delicious cookie to make during the holidays. They've got a soft and chewy sugar cookie base and are topped with homemade buttercream frosting and Christmas sprinkles.
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