Christmas Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
These Christmas Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars are soft, buttery, and topped with a rich vanilla buttercream frosting and festive sprinkles. They’re an easy holiday dessert that’s perfect for parties, cookie exchanges, and gifting.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 24 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract (optional)
- Christmas sprinkles
- Powdered sugar
- Milk or heavy cream
- Red and green sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or lightly greasing it.
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, cream the unsalted butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract and almond extract if using.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms.
- Fold in the Christmas sprinkles.
- Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the center is just set. Do not overbake.
- Cool the bars completely.
- Beat together the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk or heavy cream, and a pinch of salt until smooth and fluffy.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled bars.
- Decorate with red and green sprinkles, slice into squares, and serve.
Notes
- Add peppermint extract to the frosting for a festive flavor.
- Use cream cheese frosting instead of buttercream if desired.
- Decorate with crushed candy canes or different seasonal sprinkles.
- Add white chocolate chips to the cookie dough for extra sweetness.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Freeze frosted or unfrosted bars for up to 3 months and thaw before serving.
- Cool completely before frosting to prevent melting.
- Chill frosted bars for 20 minutes before slicing for cleaner cuts.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
