Soft and chewy Sugar Cookie Bars topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. The easiest, tastiest sugar cookies ever!
VIDEO below!
Is there anything better than a sugar cookie? Yes, there is. It’s a SUGAR COOKIE BAR topped with buttercream frosting and lots of sprinkles.
These bars are delicious and easy; approximately one billion times easier than rolling out cookie dough and making a big ol’ mess on your countertop.
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I love, love, love cookie bars.
Peanut Butter Cookie Bars – Chai Spice Cookie Bars – Coconut Cookie Bars – Nutella Cookie Bars
I just can’t get enough!
Here’s how simple this recipe is:
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Make a quick homemade sugar cookie dough
- Press it into a pan and bake
- Top with frosting and sprinkles (any colors)
This recipe is so simple, it’s practically foolproof. My number one tip for this recipe (and all my cookie recipes, for that matter) is: Do NOT overbake these. Underbake them just slightly so that they’re nice and soft.
I flavor the cookies and the frosting with a combination of both vanilla extract and almond extract. I think this gives the bars the absolute best flavor. That hint of almond really takes them from good to great.
Have fun and get creative with the decorations for these Sugar Cookie Bars. Make them for special occasions: Valentine’s Day! Christmas! 4th of July! Birthdays!
Switch up the frosting and sprinkles to make this a festive treat for any occasion.
You might also like: Sprinkle Sugar Cookies – Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts – Easy Sugar Cookies – Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
Soft Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the bars:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 heaping cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk, half and half or cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- a few drops of food coloring, optional
- sprinkles, M&M's or chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
For the bars:
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil and grease it.
- Beat butter and sugar for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg, sour cream and extracts and beat until thoroughly combined. The mixture might look slightly curdled.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. With your mixer on low, add flour to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined.
- Dump the dough into the prepared pan and use your fingers to evenly press it into the pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the top appears dry and the edges are just starting to turn light brown. I rotate the pan halfway through the baking time. Make sure not to over bake these, as they will continue to cook a little after you remove them from the oven. Cool the bars completely before frosting them.
For the frosting:
- Beat butter and powdered sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add milk, extracts and food coloring (if using) and beat for several more minutes. Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread the frosting over the cooled bars. Top with sprinkles and slice into squares.
Liz
My kids love these! Easy to make. Great recipe.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by!
Elle Picton
Hi Not sure if im being silly here… Id like to follow this recipe but is it sour cream or soured cream? I see soured cream comes in a large pot and sour cream in a small squeezy tube for a topping on savoury foods?
Celebrating Sweets
Likely the squeeze tube, it should be similar in consistency to a thick yogurt. NOT soured cream, which is likely buttermilk. Enjoy!
olivia
Hi I do not have sour cream is there anythingI can substitute? Can I leave it out?
Allison
You can substitute plain or vanilla yogurt. If you don’t have that you can try using milk.
Terri
This is very similar to an old family recipe that we’ve had for generations. Instead of sour cream, we use a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar in it. It’s definitely a good substitute and works very well. Love this recipe easy and quick!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Grace
I love it !?
Oliver
The recipe was easy to follow, but the end product was disappointing. The bars had absolutely no flavor on their own, so it just tasted like frosting. Unfortunate, but I had fun trying it out.