These easy sugar cookie bars are soft, chewy and incredibly delicious! You get all the best flavors of regular sugar cookies but with half the work! They’re perfect for large gatherings and can easily be made ahead.

Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe

Sugar cookies are such a delicious treat, but they can be a little time consuming. Instead of making individual cookies, I decided to turn them into a bar to save on time and it’s the best thing I’ve done! You still get the same delicious flavors of a traditional sugar cookie, but you seriously save yourself so much time and work.

Whenever I am making a dessert to take to a large gathering, I usually make these sugar cookie bars. They are easy and can feed a crowd. You can make them plain or add some festive sprinkles to make them fun!

The Cowboys’ Rating: 10/10

Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!

What Ingredients are in Sugar Cookie Bars?

All-Purpose Flour
Butter – I used salted butter for this recipe.
White Sugar
Eggs
Baking Soda -Baking powder is a leavening agent. This is important in this recipe to achieve the soft, chewy texture.
Baking Powder – Baking powder is also a leavening agent that allows cookies to be light and fluffy and achieve the light and airy texture.
Salt – Salt enhances the flavor of the bars.
Vanilla – I prefer to use pure vanilla rather than vanilla extract. It has a richer flavor rather than the flavor you get with vanilla extract.
Almond Extract

Frosting Ingredients

Powdered Sugar
Almond Extract
Heavy Whipping Cream
Cream Cheese

Tools You’ll Need

Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer and Mixing Bowl
Spatula
Measuring Cups & Spoons
Baking Sheet

Recipe for Sugar Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
Add in vanilla, eggs and almond extract and mix until well combined.
Scrape the sides and add in dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
Spoon the dough onto the baking sheet.
Using a spatula or your hands, press dough evenly into the baking sheet until it completely covers the baking sheet.
Bake for 20-22 minutes until the dough is slightly puffed.
Immediately remove from oven and let cool.
While sugar cookie bars are cooling, in a large mixing bowl, add together frosting ingredients.
Beat on medium high for 3-5 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
When sugar cookie bars are fully cooled, spread frosting evenly over the top of the sugar cookie bars.
Serve and enjoy!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Bars

This recipe can be adapted to make it gluten free by switching out the flour. Here is what I use to make these sugar cookie bars gluten free:

Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour

Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour

How to Store Sugar Cookie Bars

Store the sugar cookie bars in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. I like to use sheet pan covers to store these bars. You can find those here.

Try More of My Easy Recipes

dinner

beef recipes

pork recipes

chicken recipes

bread

breakfast

sides

dessert

Easy Sugar Cookie Bars

These easy sugar cookie bars are soft, chewy and incredibly delicious! You get all the best flavors of regular sugar cookies but with half the work! They're perfect for large gatherings and can easily be made ahead.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Serving Size bars

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter, (softened)
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Frosting

1/2 cup salted butter, (softened)
4 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/4 tsp almond extract
4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
Add in vanilla, eggs and almond extract and mix until well combined.
Scrape the sides and add in dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
Spoon the dough onto the baking sheet.
Using a spatula or your hands, press dough evenly into the baking sheet until it completely covers the baking sheet.
Bake for 20-22 minutes until the dough is slightly puffed.
Immediately remove from oven and let cool.
While sugar cookie bars are cooling, in a large mixing bowl, add together frosting ingredients.
Beat on medium high for 3-5 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
When sugar cookie bars are fully cooled, spread frosting evenly over the top of the sugar cookie bars.
Serve and enjoy!