Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

I don't know about you, but I LOVE sugar cookies. 

But.....I don't love the hassle of waiting for the dough to chill, then rolling out the dough & dealing with cookie cutters. And, whenever I make sugar cookies, I always want them to be thicker & chewier.

Enter Sugar Cookie Bars.

I've been working on this recipe for a bit with some trial and error and they have finally been perfected....thick, chewy, soft & delicious.

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you guys....especially because today is National Cookie Day!

 Here is what you need:

 For the bars:

• 1 stick of butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (if you don't like almond extract, leave it out, but the almond extract adds a wonderful touch)
• 1 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:

• 1 stick of butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons milk
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Food coloring
• Sprinkles

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. When it's smooth,  add the sugar on medium speed. Beat in egg, egg yolk, almond & vanilla.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder & baking soda. 

Slowly add the dry ingredient & mix until combined:

 Line a 9x9 pan with foli & spray with cooking spray:

 Press the dough evenly into the pan:

 Bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes...DO NOT OVERBAKE!

 When the dough is cooled, lift it out of the pan:

 Now it's time to make the frosting.

Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about  1 minute. Add powdered sugar, milk, salt and vanilla extract & mix until combined. Mix in food coloring (I added 2 drops of green)

 *Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more milk if frosting is too thick*

 Then, spread onto cookie:

 Add sprinkles....sprinkles make everything better :)

 Cut into bars. This recipe made 16 bars:

 I made these for our court Holiday Party, so I wanted them to look "pretty".

 I trimmed the edges off the bars & when I cut them, I would wipe my knife with a paper towel between each cut so that the frosting wouldn't get messy.

 These bars could be made anytime of year....Valentine's Day, Easter, Birthdays, Halloween.

 Just change the frosting color & sprinkles to match the holiday/event.

 These are a big hit and SO much easier to make than regular sugar cookies.

Plus, I think they taste better because they are thick & chewy (like brownies) but in sugar cookie form.

If you need more Christmas Cookie or Treat ideas, here are some of our favorites:

Candy Cane Kisses {Recipe HERE}

Fudge {Recipe HERE} 

Ultimate Ginger Cookie {Recipe HERE} 

Christmas Monster Cookies {Recipe HERE}

Cranberry Cookie Bars {Recipe HERE} 

Snickerdoodles {Recipe HERE} 

 Peanut Butter Blossoms {Recipe HERE}

 Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies {Recipe HERE}

Preztel Hugs {Recipe HERE}

 Ritzies {Recipe HERE} 

 Christmas Cookies in a Jar (and free printable) 

Get the instructions & printable {HERE}

What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Mine are the Candy Cane Kisses and the Peanut Butter Ritzies :)

But, I also really love these Sugar Cookie Bars!

Enjoy!