Soft Sugar Cookie Bars

Sugar cookie bars have all the delicious traits of classic vanilla cookies, but in a cookie bar! These easy frosted sugar cookie bars can be made for any occasion, and are finished with a simple buttercream frosting.

Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for these super easy sugar cookie bars! These soft and chewy frosted sugar cookie bars are made a cookie bar version of my classic vanilla cookies.

I love making bar cookies - I have a bunch of cookie bar recipes on my site. They have all the taste of a classic vanilla drop cookie, but pressed into a pan, it makes the whole process super easy. Cookie bars work great with chocolate chip cookie recipes too (my chocolate chip cookie bars are some of my faves).

These super simple sugar cookie bars are finished with a super simple buttercream frosting and sprinkles, to make them perfect to suit any occasion.

How to convert a cookie recipe into a bar recipe

This sugar cookie bar recipe is super simple - it is essentially a batch of classic vanilla cookie dough pressed into a pan and baked rather than being baked into individual drop cookies.

Baking a cookie bar into a pan not only saves you time but gives you a whole different textural experience - the middle pieces stay soft and chewy, while the outside edges get nice and crinkly, so you can choose what piece you get.

I often convert my homemade cookie recipes into cookie bar recipes - usually the only tweak I need to make is reducing the leavening agent a little to stop them being as puffy, and deciding what pan to use. Here is how I typically decide pan size (for my recipes at least)

• If it is a larger cookie recipe such as my vanilla cookies, I will choose a 9x13" pan. I tried this sized batch in a 9" square pan and it did not go well.
• If it is a smaller batch recipe like my brown butter chocolate chip cookies or my M&M cookies, I will put it either into a 9" pan or an 8" pan (see my chocolate chip cookie bars and my M&M cookie bars). I tend to go for 8" for recipes like this as I like them slightly thicker, but if you want them thinner and a little crispier, go for a 9" pan.

Adding in extracts and flavoring

If you would like to add additional extracts to your cookie bars go ahead! I don't personally like almond extract but I know a lot of people do, so if that's your thing, then go for it. You could also rub some lemon zest into the sugar before starting to make the cookie bars, which would give them a lovely subtle lemon flavor.

You could also add sprinkles to the mix like I did with my funfetti cookies - now that I think about it i'm bummed I didn't do it earlier, and now need to try this asap.

Frosting for Sugar Cookie Bars

I finished the cooled cookie bars off with a super simple American buttercream frosting (butter, powdered sugar etc) - this is totally an optional step, but I will never turn down the opportunity to do some frosting swooping.

I tinted the buttercream with a little gel food coloring and finished the cookie bars off with sprinkles. You can really choose your own adventure here and do what you like. If you wanted a nostalgic chocolate frosting you could use my brownie frosting recipe (you may have to scale it up a little). You could also add on a cream cheese frosting if you wanted, or add some freeze dried raspberry powder like I did for this funfetti cake. You do you here.

If you don't want to frost the sugar cookie bars you can leave them plain and they are also delicious - just give the surface of the sugar cookie batter a generous sprinkle with granulated sugar before it goes into the oven. I like to do this regardless of if I am frosting them or not. You could also frost half of them and leave half of them plain, I cannot stress enough that this is a choose your own adventure situation.

How to get clean cuts on a cookie bar

I have a few tricks to doing this which I use for my brownie recipes especially. If you don't care about clean cuts on your baking then you do you here, but here is how I get nice clean cuts on my baked goods:

• Chill the cookie bars slightly. Yes, I also chill my cookie bars, just a little bit. This gives the frosting time to set and to also crust over, which gives a nice clean cut. You can also leave it at room temperature uncovered for a little to help it crust, but chilled will give you the cleanest cut here.
• Use a ruler. This is the only way I find to get nice even cuts - otherwise no matter how well I think I have done at eyeballing it, my cookie bars come out wonky.
• Use a sharp knife. I use a chef's knife that has a huge 12" blade on it which means I can do cuts all in one go. Having a super sharp knife helps a lot too though.
• Wipe the blade between cuts. This seems super annoying but I promise to get a nice clean cut on your sugar cookie bars, wiping the blade between each cut will help a lot here.

How to make sugar cookie bars ahead of time

These sugar cookie bars are great because you can make them ahead of time and store in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge, depending on how cool your kitchen is.

I haven't tried freezing the cookie bars themselves, but you could probably freeze the baked cookie bars before you frost them in an airtight container - I tend to not freeze frosting once it has been applied as it is better if you can re whip it before it goes onto the bars.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page

Which pan did you use?
I bake my sugar cookie bars in a 9x13" (20x30cm) nonstick baking pan, lined with parchment paper to ensure that the cookie bars are easy to remove when they are baked.

How do you store sugar cookie bars?
Store your sugar cookie bars in an airtight container in the fridge. They will also keep at room temperature if your kitchen is cooler - make sure that the cookie frosting does not melt.

Can I use salted butter?
Yes, if you only have salted butter that is fine - I use unsalted butter in my recipes as I have a global audience and butter is salted differently worldwide. Just omit the salt in the recipe if you are using salted butter.

For more bar recipes, check out:

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