These Coconut Lime Cookies Bars are soft, chewy, and covered with coconut lime buttercream frosting. They'll soon be a family favorite, perfect for any time of year and all sorts of occasions.
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Coconut Lime Sugar Cookie Bars
These Coconut Lime Cookies are the absolute best sugar cookie bars. They are dense and chewy rather, than crunchy and cakey, and covered in a whipped buttercream frosting made with the incredible flavor combo of coconut and lime.
Bar cookies are great because you can make a lot of them quickly - no need to individually portion before baking. Once finished, you just slice and serve. This makes them perfect for an after-school snack, potluck, or bake sale.
If more of the best cookie bar recipes is what you need, we've got you covered.
Ingredients You Will Need
- 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.
- Sugar - you will need white granulated sugar for these cookie bars.
- 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.
Coconut Lime Buttercream
- Butter - make sure your butter is soft for the buttercream, too.
- Powdered Sugar - I like to use powdered sugar as a sweetener for frosting because it doesn't have any grittiness.
- Fresh Limes - you will need both the juice and zest from fresh limes.
- Coconut Extract - this adds lots of coconut flavor with very little liquid.
How To Make Coconut Lime Cookie Bars
- 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 12" x 17" 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 Coconut Lime Buttercream. 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 lime juice, lime zest, and coconut extract. Mix again until light and fluffy. Add a drop or two of green food coloring if desired.
- Assemble the cookie bars. Spread the buttercream frosting evenly over the cooled cookie bars. Cut into bars or squares before serving. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! If you would rather bake these as individual sugar cookies, just roll into 1" balls and place about 1-2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake as directed in this recipe, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time if necessary.
Because these cookie bars have a 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 parties.
Storing and Freezing
- Room Temperature - If you want to store the baked cookie bars before frosting them, just place them in a container with a lid or a ziplock bag. They will stay fresh for a few days.
- Refrigerator: store frosted cookie bars in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- Freezer- If you haven’t tried this method, you’re missing out. Cookie bars freeze really well and are so fun to grab out of the freezer and enjoy. Let them thaw for a few minutes and you’ll have an extra chewy cookie bar to enjoy. Cookies can remain in the freezer, in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- Thaw- If you want to make them ahead of time, you can bake them in the cookie sheet, cover in a double layer of plastic wrap, and then pull them out of the freezer a couple of hours before you need them. If you're using frosting, it's best to frost the cookie bars when they are frozen, after you pull them out of the freezer.
Coconut Lime Cookie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coconut Lime Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 2½-3 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, beat again until mixed, then add the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined.
- Press the dough into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Cover the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible with the cookie dough.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, or until just barely golden. Take out of the oven and let cool.
- Meanwhile, add the butter and lime zest to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream until light and fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on low speed at first and then increase the speed to medium until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Slowly add the lime juice and the coconut extract, then beat until the frosting is light and fluffy before adding the rest of the powdered sugar and beating until the entire frosting is fluffy and forms stiff peaks.
- Spread the coconut lime buttercream frosting on your cooled, cookie bars and top with sprinkles if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Here are some of the Best Cookie Bar Recipes
- Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
- Coconut Cookie Bars
- White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookie Bars
- Orange Dreamsicle Cookie Bars
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Coconut Cookie Bars
- Reeses Peanut Butter Cereal Bars
- Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
- Cadbury Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies
- More Cookie Bars Recipes
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IF you're looking for the best bar cookie...This Coconut Lime Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe is outta this world with this amazing coconut lime frosting. It's a variation of the best buttercream frosting recipe made with the incredible flavor combo of lime and coconut. This makes the best bar cookies complete with this homemade buttercream frosting.
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