Holiday Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting — Sugar cookies in bar form with SPRINKLES baked in and on top!! So much faster than making cookies and a great holiday baking SHORTCUT!!
Easy Christmas Cookie Bars
Sugar cookies are such a classic holiday treat. But sometimes around the holidays I’m so busy I don’t even have time to bake cookies. Enter: a pan of Christmas cookie bars.
I love making bars because they’re faster and easier than cookies, there’s no dough to chill, and no need to form individual cookies with a cookie scoop. Just press the dough into a pan, bake, and you’re set.
To make this recipe even easier, I used a box of Krusteaz Butter Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix that I doctored up with sprinkles.
The Christmas sugar cookie bars are buttery soft in the middle with a bit of chewiness around the edges and have nice texture from the baked-in sprinkles.
After baking, I frosted the bars with cream cheese frosting. Everything is better with cream cheese frosting. And more sprinkles.
What’s in Sugar Cookie Bars?
To make these easy bar cookies, you’ll need:
- Krusteaz Butter Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix
- Egg
- Butter
- Holiday sprinkles
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
How to Make Sugar Cookie Bars
Stir together the cookie mix, egg, and butter. Gently fold in the sprinkles. Turn the dough into a greased 8×8-inch pan. Bake until center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Once the Christmas cookie bars have cooled completely, whip up the cream cheese frosting and spread over top. Top with additional sprinkles!
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes! Simply double the ingredients and bake in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Can I Freeze These Bars?
Yes, but wait to frost them until AFTER they’ve been thawed.
Tips for Making Christmas Cookie Bars
Use flat sprinkles (jimmies) because they’re nice and soft.
You can cheat and use a tub of store- bought cream cheese frosting if you’re extra pressed for time. Aren’t we all around the holidays?
Want to make these for another holiday? Switch out the red and green sprinkles for another color combo!
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Holiday Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Bars
- one package Krusteaz Butter Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup red, green, and white holiday flat sprinkles (jimmies)
Frosting* (See Notes)
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened (lite okay)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons red, green, and white holiday sprinkles (jimmies or your favorite)
Instructions
Bars:
- Heat oven to 350F, line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl aedd the packet of cookie mix, butter, egg, and mix or stir to combine.
- Add the sprinkles and stir to combine.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until done. Cool completely before frosting
- Frosting - To a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, butter, and beat on high to combine.
- Slowly add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt, and beat to incorporate.
- Evenly spread the frosting over the cooled bars.
- Evenly sprinkle the sprinkles over the top and serve. Bars will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Bar Cookies:
Loaded M&M Oreo Cookie Holiday Bars — Stuffed to the max with M&M’s and Oreos! Easy, no-mixer recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes!
Tagalong Cookie Bars — Say hello to year-round Girl Scout cookie season with these delish bars! All the flavors of the classic cookies in easy bar form!!
Fudgy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — Chewy oatmeal cookie bars with a thick layer of fudge in the middle! Whoa, hello chocolate overload!!
Snickerdoodle Bars — These soft and chewy bars taste just like snickerdoodle cookies minus the work of dragging out your mixer to cream ingredients, chilling dough, or making individual cookies.
Post is brought to you by Krusteaz. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.
great
can you just use any kind of sugar cookie powder cookie mix?
I’ve only used the Krusteaz mix so can’t say for sure how others would work.
I put the sprinkles in the batter and mixed with beater. It turned the cookie batter green! Maybe I should have not used electric mixer. I combined red and green sprinkles but batter is green. Still Christmas looking!.
That is why you have to STIR them in, not mix them in with a mixer. Mixers tend to pulverize, hence the green batter. Also some brands of sprinkles have dye that just bleeds more. Hey, they still look Christmasy and I’m sure taste great but yes stir in next time :)
Looks yummy. Can you use cookie cutters to cut the bars?
Sounds like a fun idea to me!
These look YUMMY YUMMY!
Do you know if they can be frozen?
Yes. I mean fresh is best BUT if you want/need to freeze that’s fine. But frost them AFTER you take out and they’ve thawed.
I could eat that frosting with a spoon! Loving this fun way to jazz up a ready mix!
I could eat it with a spoon too :)
I’ve been craving sugar cookies like crazy but haven’t sat down and made any! Perfect timing finding this delicious recipe!
hey girl these look amazing! Yummy!
Can’t stand it when not all the recipe is included and you have to go somewhere else to get it completed . Makes no since to me at all. Why not put it all so cant print it all at one time .Sorry just the truth.
I can understand your frustration and I have spoken with Krusteaz about possibly letting me post the recipe on my site as well. I am not sure yet what they will decide. Thanks for your patience and continuing to visit my site.
Wow, love how festive and gorgeous these bars are. I’m definitely gonna try and make these during the holidays!
These are so pretty! And I love that mix so much.
I think I remember you talking about this one!
Wowza. These look like soft sugary squares of perfection… probably because they are!! Need these in my life ASAP!
Thanks my friend! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Brilliant! Too bad the kids want to make cut out cookies–I hate that job!
Me too…with a vengeance!
These are so festive and delicious looking!
I love the cream cheese frosting on these and the sprinkles look so festive!
So festive, this really is the best time of the year. And yes to cream cheese frosting making everything better!