These frosted sugar cookie bars are soft, chewy, and topped with creamy vanilla buttercream. And sprinkles… of course!
I’ve been dying to make sugar cookie bars with light ‘n sweet frosting for ages now! In all their soft-baked, mile high frosting, sprinkles-to-the-max goodness… I can honestly say that these charming little treats were well worth the wait. I mean, just look at ’em.
The frosting is as thick as the cookie!! Have mercy.
Today’s recipe is as soft as my favorite chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies, as chewy as my favorite candy bar blondies, and as sprinkly as my entire cookbook. You’ll find sprinkles in the cookie bar base AND on top of the frosting. Is there such a thing as too many sprinkles? Because I’m pretty sure we test those limits here on my blog.
To make the frosted sugar cookie bars ultra soft, I add a touch of cornstarch. Trust me on this! Think about it: often used as a thickening agent, cornstarch gives your gravy, pie fillings, soups, and glazes a more bodied and full texture. The same goes for your cookie doughโcornstarch will help your dough remain soft, thick, and puffy during the baking process. The small 1.5 teaspoons used is certainly a heavy lifter in this recipe!
To make the cookie bars ultra chewy, I add an extra egg yolk. I do this with a few of my cookie recipes because that little extra yolk adds so much moisture, tenderness, and chew to the cookie. And it does the same thing to the sugar cookie bar base in this recipe. You’re going to love their rich, tender texture.
What’s great about this recipe is that you don’t have to chill the cookie dough. Just press the dough into the pan and bake right away.ย Bake the bars in a square baking panโan 8-inch square pan or 9-inch square pan is fine. Only about 25 minutes. You want to slightly underbake the cookie bars in order to avoid the edges from getting too crispy and brown.
Allow the bars to cool completely before frosting. This will feel like an eternity.
If you’re the kind of person who eats cake just for the frosting, you’re going to love this recipe. And we would also get along very well.
You’ll use my basic vanilla frosting recipe for these bars. Classic, fluffy, and simple. I like to add a touch of salt to cut the frosting’s sweetness. With the sweet sugar cookie bar underneath, that tiny pinch of salt will help tame a sugar rush. Don’t get me wrong, these bars are still plenty sweet! Don’t bring them to your dentist.
And as you can see, the frosting layer is just as thick as the cookie layer. In some spots, even thickerโthose were the best bites. The frosting recipe as written makes a ton, so don’t be afraid to frost the bars with a heavy hand.
Don’t want that much frosting? It’s ok, I forgive you. Feel free to halve the frosting recipe.
Ordinary ingredients can produce extraordinary desserts. Only simple, straightforward items used in this recipe and yet, the results will blow your mind!
More Cookie Bar Flavors
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Sโmores Cookie Bars
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Magic Cookie Bars
- M&M Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cookie and Brownie Bars
Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These frosted sugar cookie bars are soft, chewy, and topped with creamy vanilla buttercream. And sprinkles… of course!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup (80g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)*
Vanilla Frosting
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 and 1/4 cups (270g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream or half-and-half*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
- optional:ย food coloring (I used 1 drop red for this pink frosting) and extra sprinkles for decorating on top
Instructions
- Makeย the bars: Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, making sure to leave enough overhang on the sides. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough is quite thick. Once combined, gently fold in 1/2 cup sprinkles using a silicone spatula (or by mixing on low speed).
- Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-26 minutes or until very lightly browned on top. You want the cookie bars to be extra soft, so careful not to overbake. Allow the bars to cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature before frosting. The center will slightly sinkโthat’s normal.
- Makeย the frosting: If you don’t want a super thick layer of frosting as pictured, halve the frosting recipe. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. I usually add anywhere between 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Beat in food coloring, if using.
- Remove cooled bars from the baking pan using the aluminum foil overhang on the sides. Frost the bars with a thick layer of frosting and decorate with extra sprinkles if desired. Cut into squares. Use a very sharp knife and wipe off with a paper towel between each cut to make neat, even cuts. Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the refrigerator up to 5.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make these bars and the frosting 1 day in advance– store the bars, covered, at room temperature overnight and store the frosting, covered, in the refrigerator. Frost before cutting and serving. You can also freeze the unfrosted bars for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, frost, cut, and serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links):ย 8-inch Square Pan or 9-inch Square Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Eggs: Room temperature egg and egg yolk preferred. To bring the egg to room temperature quickly, place in a warm glass of water for about 10 minutes as you get the other ingredients ready. Or just set out when you set out the butter to soften 1 hour ahead of time.
- Sprinkles: Use regular sprinkles (aka “jimmies”) in the cookie bar base. Nonpareils (the little balls) will bleed their color and turn the sugar cookie dough green/purple/brown. I order my sprinkles in bulk here.
- Cream: Cream or half-and-half is preferred for creamiest, fluffiest frosting. Keeping that in mind, milk would be an OK substitute if you do not have either on hand.
- Larger Batch: You can double this recipe and bake in a 9×13-inch pan; the bake time is about 35 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made two double-batches for a school bake sale today! Not sure why, but my base puffed up quite a bit; had the height of a brownie (even after cooling) and definitely not like a cookie bar. The texture was way more cake-y than the picture. They sure are pretty though! I’m going to call them Pink Pony Bars or Cotton Candy Bars and I’m sure they’ll be sold out tomorrow ๐ Any advice on how to get it less cake-y and more sugar-cookie-y?
Hi JC, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t overmeasured, which can cause the cookies to become more cakey. We hope they’re still a hit!
Was a bit skeptical with some reviews saying their bars turned out dry, so I opted to add the full 2 eggs instead of one + just a yolk. Mine are definitely not dry, and taste great. I underbaked them a bit (that’s on me, I think I pulled them out a bit too soon and at the very low end of the bake time listed) but fortunately, I like a gooey bar. I did 3/4 recipe for the frosting and it was plenty for a 9×9 pan. I love frosting but the full recipe might even be a bit much for my taste. The bars poofed up quite a bit in the oven and sunk when pulled leaving a tall edge- something I don’t personally mind, since everyone has preferences for edges, middles, and corners so it’s best of all worlds. I would make this again- they were exactly what I wanted in a sugar cookie bar!
I was sceptical after reading a few comments to say it turned out dry.
The photos looked so could I just had to try for myself.
I followed the instructions to a T and even put in extra butter.. I can confirm that it still came out dry and I could taste the egg despite using small ones.
Did the flour as mentioned so I dont think I used to much.
Perhaps I need to add a bit of milk next time.
Turned out super dry so I had to toss them. The frosting turned out fine.
After years of making cupcakes, pies, cookies etc. for my friends, this is unanimously the favorite recipe of anything I’ve made. Each bite transports me back to being a child and having those youthful first experiences of sweets and birthday parties.
Hello!
I was wondering if there is a video for this recipe?
Hi Maria! There is not a video for this recipe at this time.
Thank you so much for your quick response!
Do you think it would be possible to cut these into heart shapes? Or would that squish the cookie/be too hard to frost?
Hi Jessica, you could cut these into heart shapes, sure!
These look great! Could this be adapted to cupcakes? Or do you have any sugar cookie cupcake recipes?
Hi Sheena, you could bake these in a cupcake tin for cookie cups.
How would you adjust the baking time for cookie cupcakes? And how much would you fill each one? Thanks!
Holy moly these are amazing! Perfectly moist, great crunch on the edges, and nice and even after cooling. I double the recipe and baked in a half a sheet and they came out perfect!
These are SO GOOD! Seriously, huge hit! Thank you for the recipe!
These are so good! And easy to make. I did double the recipe. But…I’m pretty sure I forgot to put the baking soda in. The interesting thing is that they didn’t sink down in the center. They were level from the edges to the center. I love that these have a tender bite, but hold together well. Thank you for the recipe! (The icing had a lovely texture, as well.)
Sadly these were a total miss I bake A LOT and have been using your recipes for years. This is the first one that missed the mark for me. I did a double batch in a 9×13, weighed all the ingredients, followed the instructions, baked for 29 minutes and they’re soooo dry and crumbly.
Iโm not sure why, but I didnโt like the taste of these. The mix also rose more than expected in the oven and the texture was cake like. Perhaps I slightly over-baked but I donโt think this recipe is for me.
Not really sure what went wrong with these, the cookie part came out dry and very crumb-y. I followed the recipe to a T and even baked them a few minutes under the suggested time.
Hi Cr! How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
These came out so cute but I was so nervous about overcooking them that Iโm pretty sure theyโre completely raw :-/ cooked for 27 min at 350.
can these be made in a half sheet pan?
Hi Lily, you can double the recipe for a 9×13-inch pan. We haven’t tried scaling them for a half sheet pan, but let us know if you do.
do you have any good bars recipes that you can make in a half sheet pan?
Hi Lily, our cake pan sizes and conversions guide will be helpful for scaling recipes to a half sheet pan.
These bars are so cute and they taste awesome. Making them again today for my great grandsons. Your recipes have consistently turned out well for me. Thank you.
Best sugar cookies bars!
Hi Sally,
Love ALL your recipes. You used to have a similar recipe to the sugar cookie bar on your site – it was a pan sugar cookie but it had lemon zest in it. I cannot find the recipe anywhere and need to make for my daughter. Can you help? Thank you!
Hi Anne! We wish we could help more, but we haven’t archived an older recipe like you described. Perhaps it could have been from a different recipe website? We hope you find it!
This recipe is a keeper !! I don’t usually leave reviews but It is easy to follow and easy to make… And so many compliments !! Yummy !! Thanks for sharing