If you love soft frosted sugar cookies but don’t love rolling, cutting, and decorating dozens of individual cookies, these sugar cookie bars are the answer. They’re buttery, extra soft, wonderfully chewy, and topped with a thick layer of creamy vanilla buttercream and colorful sprinkles. Best of all, there’s no cookie dough chilling required, making them a quick and easy dessert for birthdays, holidays, and celebrations year-round.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since updated it with new photos, a video tutorial, and additional success tips.
If you’re a fan of super-soft frosted sugar cookies, and love the chewy texture of sprinkle-filled chewy drop sugar cookies, these frosted sugar cookie bars combine the best of both!
Why You’ll Love These Sugar Cookie Bars
- No dough chilling required
- Thick, soft, and chewy centers
- Rich, buttery sugar cookie flavor
- Thick, fluffy vanilla buttercream
- Easy to customize with your favorite flavor of frosting and color of sprinkles
- Perfect for holidays and celebrations year-round
- Freezes beautifully
One reader, S, commented: “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. ★★★★★“
Sugar Cookie Bar Ingredients
You only need a handful of basic baking ingredients for the cookie bars: flour, baking powder + baking soda, cornstarch, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla + almond extracts. Plus rainbow sprinkles, of course!
These aren’t simply sugar cookies baked in a pan. Each ingredient is carefully chosen to create an exceptionally soft, tender texture that stays fresh for days.
A few notes about some of the key ingredients:
- Cornstarch: Just a small amount of cornstarch helps create an exceptionally tender sugar cookie bar. It keeps the cookie bars soft without making them cakey. It has the same job in chewy chocolate chip cookies.
- Butter: Be sure to start with proper room-temperature butter, which is still cool to the touch. If you’re a baking beginner, this post + video tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar together is a great place to start!
- Extra Egg Yolk: 1 egg binds everything together and 1 additional egg yolk adds richness, moisture, and chewiness. It’s one of my favorite tricks whenever I want cookies to stay soft for several days. Same story with these chocolate chip cookie bars.
- Sprinkles: Use jimmies-style sprinkles (the strands) in the dough, because nonpareils (the tiny balls) tend to bleed their color. Nonpareils are great for decorating the frosted bars, as pictured here with confetti quins (the flat discs).
Let’s Make Sugar Cookie Bars
This is an easy, straightforward recipe that’s wonderful for beginner bakers. Simply whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl, then use a second bowl and an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar. Mix in the remaining wet ingredients, add in the dry, and combine.
Expect a very sticky, thick dough:
What’s great about this recipe is that you don’t have to chill the cookie dough. Just press the dough into a lined pan and bake right away.
Success Tip: Flour your hands to help press the sticky dough into the pan. I used an offset spatula here, but floured hands work like a charm!
The key to soft sugar cookie bars is not overbaking them.
Bake until the edges are lightly golden and the center still looks a little underdone. This usually takes around 25 minutes. The bars will continue setting as they cool, giving you a soft, chewy texture instead of a dry one.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
We’re topping these bars with my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting recipe, only slightly scaled down. It’s sweet and fluffy, and I tinted it pink with a small drop of red gel food coloring. Tinting the frosting is completely optional.
As you can see, the frosting layer is just as thick as the cookie layer. In some spots, even thicker… and those 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.
Top with rainbow sprinkles, or use different colored sprinkles to match a holiday theme.
Success Tips Summarized:
- Measure flour correctly by spooning and leveling or weighing with a kitchen scale.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Room-temperature butter and egg incorporate more easily into the dough and create a more even texture.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper—makes cutting the bars much easier.
- Flour your hands to press the dough into the pan. It’s a sticky dough, and floured hands are the best tool for the job!
- Do not overbake. Pull the bars from the oven when the edges are lightly golden but the center still looks slightly underdone. They’ll continue setting as they cool, giving you perfectly soft bars instead of crumbly, fluffy ones. Think: the dense and chewy texture of brownies!
- The center of the bars will sink down a bit as they cool; that’s expected. If you’d like, you can gently press down the edges with the back of a spoon as soon as the bars come out of the oven, to make things a little more level.
- Wipe your knife clean between slices for neat squares.
Yes. Double all the ingredient amounts and bake in a lined 9×13-inch pan.
No. The dough is designed to bake immediately, making these much faster than traditional cut-out sugar cookies.
Yes. It simply adds that classic bakery-style sugar cookie flavor, but the bars are still delicious without it.
The most common reasons are too much flour or baking a few minutes too long. Measure your flour carefully and remove the bars from the oven while the center still looks underbaked.
Absolutely. The unfrosted cookie bars stay soft for a full day at room temperature before frosting. You can also: refrigerate frosted bars for up to 5 days; freeze unfrosted bars for up to 3 months; freeze individual frosted bars for quick treats.
These easy sugar cookie bars are perfect for birthdays, baby showers, holidays, bake sales, classroom parties, or anytime you’re craving that nostalgic bakery-style sugar cookie taste.
They’re simply everything you love about sugar cookies with none of the fuss: no dough chilling, no rolling, no individual cookie cutters, no special decorating skills or tools needed. 🙂
More Cookie Bar Flavors
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- S’mores Cookie Bars
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Magic Cookie Bars
- M&M Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cookie and Brownie Bars
Sugar Cookie Bar Tools
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, buttery, and topped with a thick layer of creamy vanilla buttercream frosting and colorful sprinkles. No dough chilling, rolling pin, or cookie cutters required.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 6 Tablespoons (60g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)*
Vanilla Buttercream
- 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
- pinch of salt, to taste
- optional: gel food coloring (I used 1 drop red) and extra sprinkles
Instructions
- Make the bars: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9-inch square pan or an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, making sure to leave enough overhang on the sides. I use and prefer a 9-inch square pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract (if using). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until mostly incorporated, then increase to medium-high speed and beat until completely combined. The dough is thick and sticky. Finally, beat in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared baking pan as best you can. Use a spatula or lightly floured hands to press evenly; it will seem like a thin layer of dough.
- Bake for 25–26 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges. The center will still look very soft, that’s OK; the bars will continue to set as they cool. Do not over-bake.
- Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan set on a cooling rack. The center will slightly sink—that’s expected.
- Make the frosting: 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 and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Taste; beat in a pinch of salt if the frosting is too sweet. Beat in food coloring, if using.
- Lift the cooled bars out of the pan by gripping the parchment paper overhang; transfer to a cutting board. Spread the frosting over the bars and decorate with extra sprinkles if desired. Cut into squares. Use a very sharp knife and wipe the knife between each cut for neat slices. Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead 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. Bring the frosting to room temperature and give it a quick mix before using.
- Freezing Instructions: You can also freeze the frosted or unfrosted bars for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, frost if needed, cut, and serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Pan (preferred) or 8-inch Square Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Cornstarch: Just a small amount of cornstarch helps create an exceptionally tender sugar cookie bar. It keeps the cookie bars soft without making them cakey. If you don’t have any, you can simply leave it out.
- Extra Egg Yolk: 1 egg binds everything together and 1 additional egg yolk adds richness, moisture, and chewiness. Do not skip.
- Sprinkles: Use regular rainbow sprinkles (aka “jimmies”) in the cookie bar base. Nonpareils (the little balls) will bleed their color in the dough. Save those for the topping, if desired.
- Cream: Cream or half-and-half makes for the creamiest, fluffiest frosting, but whole milk also works.
- Larger Batch: You can double this recipe and bake in a 9×13-inch pan; the bake time is about 35–40 minutes.
- Update in 2026: This recipe used to call for 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda but over the years, I have found that is simply too much. Use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda as instructed above, plus the 1 teaspoon baking powder. We also reduced the sprinkles from 1/2 cup (80g) to 6 Tablespoons (60g), and updated the bake time to help ensure the bars turn out soft and chewy, rather than dry.
Reader Comments and Reviews
i just did a double batch of these for my daughter’s first birthday party.. and made a small batch of frosting to test out the whole thing. they are AMAZING. i used a glass 9 by 13 pan and cooked them for 35 minutes. i might take them out around 28 minutes next time, they rose almost like a cake but they are still SO chewy and delicious. the frosting is OUT of this world, best homemade frosting recipe i have ever made… thank you so much for this gorgeous recipe!!
Hi Sally, I’m planning on making a double batch of these for a party this weekend and I was just wondering if I would be able to stack the bars on top of each other like in that top photo? Or would the frosting on the bottom bar get messed up and I should just keep them in one layer? I need to transport these and I want them to be as pretty as yours!
Hi Lee. The frosting would get a little messed up after traveling– stacking isn’t ideal for a long period of time.
I made these for a party this past weekend and used Halloween sprinkles and tinted the icing green, orange and purple. They were so good. I think my 4 year-old would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I let her! thanks for another great recipe.
thank you! These were absolutely delicious!
These were delish! I added just a touch of raspberry extract to the frosting and it was delightful! I will be making these again for sure! Thank you for sharing!
Love, love, love these!! Absolutely a perfect recipe. The cookie dough has perfect texture with the wonderful icing. My husband and boys are very happy. I also made your chocolate chip muffins. Those are also delicious. The chocolate chips kept they shape and didn’t melt, just like the bakery. I’m a big fan of your recipes and can trust that whatever I make will be wonderful. I also love sprinkles!!!
These are soooo good! I have made these twice now for 100 (sorority) gals both times and have had great success!
This time around I ran out of vanilla so I substituted maple syrup in the batter and maple extract in the icing, I threw a little cream cheese in there too.
AND I tripled the batch so I could do it in a 13×9 (I made 3 of those) and they all turned out so awesome! Super thick which I love but will make note it only need 2.5x instead of 3 and the time was 32 minutes .
I did the same color icing and had these adorable star sprinkles and they were so fun/cute and delicious so thankyou !
Will they still turn out without using sprinkles? I haven’t been able to find any “soft” sprinkles. I cannot stand the crunchy ones 🙁
You may leave out the sprinkles
Just made these tonight for my daughter’s 4th birthday and holy yum! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
These came out amazing! I was nervous mine were to under-baked but as I let them cool the texture became dense gooey and crazy addicting! I am a frosting fanatic so I obviously was in love, but even my brother who hates frosting commented on how good the frosting was! Your blog is so fun and your recipes are amazing! Thank you so much!
These were delicious! After cooling, mine sunk everywhere except for the edges… What could i have done wrong to cause this to happen ?
Hi Ruthie! That’s completely normal. Mine do as well. Cut and frost the bars and no one notices!
Oh my gosh! These are amazing. I made them for Christmas day and they were a big hit. They practically melt in your mouth! Love all your recipes.
Best sweets recipe ever. These have single-handedly improved the quality of my life.
These were so good! I love how all of your recipes still work even though I am at high altitude. The bars were very sweet and the frosting was amazing. I didn’t end up using the whole batch of frosting because honestly, these bars are so good you wouldn’t even need the frosting for them to be a hit!
Hey Sally. These look delicious and I’m going to make them today for my daughters 4th birthday party tomorrow, but I do not have an air tight container big enough to store these in. So I was curious would just putting tin foil over my cake pans and refrigerating them that way be fine?
Hi Kasha – yep tin foil (tightly sealed around the edges) on top of the pan is just fine.
Made these for a meeting at school a while back and everybody loved them!
I doubled the recipe and made these into a 9×13 flag cookie cake for my in-law’s 4th of July party. They were absolutely TO-DIE-FOR. It was the first dessert to disappear from a table FULL of other desserts and the last piece was actually fought over. As you warned, the center sunk pretty significantly, but I just cut the edges off (and may or may not have eaten them ALL myself) so I could have a level cookie cake. Thank you so much for the recipe.
I made these bars last night for my co-worker. OMG they are one of the most amazing desserts I’ve ever made. Totally better than the Lofthouse kind! Thank you so very much for your wonderful recipes and the launch of your new book 🙂 Keep it up girl!
I made these for my son’s preschool’s potluck and they were GONE in 10 minutes. Of course, brightly colored frosting and sprinkles are like beacons for 4-year-olds! I used half the frosting and that was still more than enough. My son asked me to please make them again. 🙂
I made these for Easter, they were delish!
I have a question…every time I’ve made some sort of light colored bar, like these, the candy bar blondies, white chocolate chip blondies, etc, the middle sinks in when cooling. Any way to prevent this? It always tastes great, but it’s not so pretty! 🙂
No way to avoid it – mine do as well! You can try to bake for longer, but then the bars won’t be as soft.
Is it okay if I use a baking glass pan? or is the dark pan better for this recipie? If I do end up going with the baking glass pan how much should I put the heat up to and for how long?
Hi Sonia, I have used both glass and dark metal pans with this recipe and the baking times are similar.
I just wanted to pop in really quick to say that these sugar cookie bars ARE LIKE CRACK!! I’m not even a frosting fan normally….I do cut the frosting in half for these…but I’m about to make them for the THIRD time in as many weeks! Your recipes should really come with a warning label….;-)
Made these this morning and they are FANTASTIC!! Thank you 🙂
I’m a doctoral student and baking is one of my stress relievers. I made these for a class and of course, had to try them to make sure they passed the test. To be honest, they almost didn’t make it to my classmates they were so amazing! These are some of the best frosted cookies I’ve ever eaten, thank you so much for posting this recipe!
I made these for Teacher Appreciation Week. My cookie bars turned out as beautiful as the pictures (that NEVER happens!!!) You truly have a gift and provide such attention to detail in your recipes that make a world of difference in the end result. Cleaning your knife in between cuts…who knew?!! I always wondered why my bars always came out so ugly, lol. Thanks! I’m a subscriber now!!
I made these yummy, festive bars for our Easter celebration for my entire family. Even the “sugar skeptics” that don’t like too much frosting, ate them up. Thank you,Sally, for all you helpful hints when baking. It has really given me more confidence with my baking. My kids and I love to bake your recipes together.
Sally-
I made these today for my son’s birthday treats at school. They are wonderful!
How big were your bars? They look pretty big in the picture, but I only managed to get 20 bars and I doubled the recipe!
Glad they were enjoyed! I didn’t measure the bars, but I got about 16 from the batch – one of the end rows was a little smaller.
Oh. My. Gosh. I just made these and they are AMAZING!! I got so many complements you would not believe it! Thanks so much Sally! (p.s congrats on your tv appearance, you totally deserve it!!!)
I made these last night and shared with staff today, and they were a hit. I made mine with light green frosting and put butterfly sprinkles on top! Perfect for spring!
I made these fun sprinkly bars with my niece’s today as soon as I saw this recipe! They were delicious and easy and gobbled up very quickly! We loved them 🙂 Thanks for all of your yummy recipes!