Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are perfect for the holidays. They’re chewy and delicious with the best cream cheese frosting and sprinkles!
If you love the Lofthouse-style sugar cookies, you are going to love my Christmas sugar cookie bars. They’re perfectly thick, chewy, and buttery and so superior to scooped cookies!
Table of Contents
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
If you need a last-minute, easy cookie recipe to feed company (or Santa!) during the holidays, these Christmas sugar cookie bars are it!
As much as I love making Christmas cookies like my gingerbread cookie sandwiches or my eggnog snickerdoodle cookies, these cookie bars are my new obsession. I grew up absolutely loving the Lofthouse iced sugar cookies. They were perfectly soft with the perfect amount of icing.
Turning those beloved cookies into bars means every piece is thick and chewy throughout and it’s so easy to make for a crowd.
Sugar cookie bars can obviously be made year-round with different colored frostings and sprinkles, but they’re truly magical at Christmas-time.
For more holiday eats inspiration, check out my holiday recipe collection.
How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are so easy to make and a total crowd pleaser. No fancy equipment required!
Tools Needed
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter. Unsalted butter is best here.
- Cream cheese. Make sure to use full-fat brick cream cheese here, not the tub and not whipped. A bit of cream cheese in the dough makes the bars extra chewy.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar is the play here. You’ll also need powdered sugar for the frosting.
- Egg. One egg and one yolk make these sugar cookie bars rich and chewy.
- Vanilla and almond extract. The combination of the two flavors makes the perfect cookie.
- Flour. All-purpose flour is the way to go. I cannot recommend any flour substitutions.
- Baking powder. A tiny amount of baking powder gives the cookies some rise, while still keeping them chewy and a bit dense.
The Process
- Prep the baking pan. Grease and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. Leave a little overhang so that it’s easy to get the cookie bars out of the pan.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the butter, sugar, and cream cheese together in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla, almond extract, and the egg and yolk and beat until very smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Mix in the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients on low, just until the dough starts to clump. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold the dough until no streaks of flour remain. The dough will be fairly sticky.
- Chill the dough. Transfer the mixing bowl to the fridge for 20 minutes. This will make the dough easier to work with.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan. Spread and press the dough in an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Using a small offset spatula to smooth the dough.
- Bake. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the dough has puffed slightly and the edges are just barely golden brown. The middle should still be soft, but will set as the bars cool. Wait 20 minutes, then remove the bars from the pan and cool completely before frosting.
- Top with frosting and sprinkles. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle in 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream and mix until the frosting is soft and spreadable. Spread on the cooled bars and top with sprinkles. Chill for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.
Tips for Making Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
These Christmas sugar cookie bars are truly so easy to throw together, but there are always tips to make sure your baking goes off without a hitch. Here are my tried and true tips and tricks!
Use room temperature ingredients. Most baking recipes call for this and for good reason! Room temperature ingredients mix more easily and emulsify to create a better texture. Don’t skip this step!
Don’t overmix. Only mix the dry ingredients in until they start to clump together, then switch to a rubber spatula to finish mixing. This ensures that your sugar cookie bars are tender and not overly dense and tough.
Bake in a metal baking pan. Metal distributes the heat more evenly when baking. I do not recommend using a glass baking dish for this recipe. My favorite pans are USA Brand.
Don’t over bake. This is a truly important tip! The tops of the cookie bars should still be pale and the edges only barely starting to look golden brown and the center should still be a bit soft and underbaked. The bars will set as they cool and that’s how you get a perfect chewy texture.
Storage Instructions
Because these bars are topped with a cream cheese buttercream frosting, it’s best to keep them tightly covered in the refrigerator. Properly stored, they’ll last for up to 5 days in the fridge.
To freeze these sugar cookie bars, wrap the chilled bars tightly in plastic wrap and then store in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. This helps prevent frostbite. Defrost the bars overnight in the fridge before serving.
These easy Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are perfect for the holidays! They’re deliciously chewy and flavorful and topped with the best ever cream cheese frosting. If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Gingerbread Cookie Sandwiches
Eggnog Snickerdoodle Cookies
Cranberry Bliss Bars
Slice and Bake Chocolate Pecan Cookies
This post contains affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Bars
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 oz (1/4 cup) full-fat brick cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz full-fat brick cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 oz (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Prep the baking pan. Grease and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. Leave a little overhang so that it's easy to get the cookie bars out of the pan.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the butter, sugar, and cream cheese together in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla, almond extract, and the egg and yolk and beat until very smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Mix in the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients on low, just until the dough starts to clump. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold the dough until no streaks of flour remain. The dough will be fairly sticky.
- Chill the dough. Transfer the mixing bowl to the fridge for 20 minutes. This will make the dough easier to work with.
- Preheat an oven to 350 F.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan. Spread and press the dough in an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Using a small offset spatula to smooth the dough.
- Bake. Bake for 25-27 minutes, until the dough has puffed slightly and the edges are just barely golden brown. The middle should still be soft, but will set as the bars cool. Wait 20 minutes, then remove the bars from the pan and cool completely before frosting.
- Top with frosting and sprinkles. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle in 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream and mix until the frosting is soft and spreadable. Spread on the cooled bars and top with sprinkles. Chill for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.
Rate & Review This Recipe