Looking for a delicious, festive holiday treat? Look no further than these Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars! They are simple to make and taste amazing.

The soft sugar cookie bar base is topped with a creamy frosting and decorated with festive sprinkles. These bars will be sure to please everyone at your Christmas party!

There’s nothing that gets me more excited for CHRISTMAS than the smell of sugar cookies baking in my oven! I love getting into the Christmas spirit by baking holiday sweets like cookies, cakes, candies, and bread. I bake throughout December because all the delicious smells from my oven make me feel so festive!.

The only downfall of being a baker during the holiday season is…well…can you guess? Making multiple trips to the store. I always try my best to be organized, starting on Sunday with a decked-out grocery list, but I never fail to head back to the store on more than one occasion during the week. I can’t be the only one, am I right?

Making cookie plates for family and friends is one of my highlights during the holiday season. I like to make things that maybe aren’t on everyone else’s holiday treat plate.

These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are one of the treats I like to include. They’re festive and delicious, and the kids love them.

What I love about sugar cookie bars is that they are easy to make. There is no cutting out shapes or waiting for the 4 dozen cookies to make and cool.

Instead, you have these sugar cookie bars that bake all at once. And you end up with these thick, perfectly soft, and topped with an avalanche of frosting cookie bars. They remind me of Lofthouse sugar cookies, which are homemade and easy to make.

Impress your friends and family with these delicious Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars this holiday season. Not only are they easy to make, but they also taste delicious and will get everyone into the festive spirit. I wish you all a very Happy Holiday season. XOXO San

Ingredients for sugar cookie bars

  • Flour
  • Salt
  • Baking soda
  • Salted butter
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Almond extract or clear vanilla extract
  • Green food coloring
  • Red food coloring

Frosting

  • Confectioner’s sugar
  • Butter
  • Milk
  • Optional – Almond extract or clear vanilla extract

How do you make sugar cookie bars?

So let’s get baking; Christmas has never tasted so good!
Baker note: If you want thinner cookie bars, halve the recipe or bake them in a larger pan – remember to adjust the baking time!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 pan with parchment paper.

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl, then set it aside.

Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time.

Slowly add the flour mixture with the mixer on low until it is combined.

Separate the dough into two small bowls. In one, stir in 6 drops of green food coloring. Add more food until it’s mixed in well if you want a darker shade. Repeat with the remaining dough and red food coloring, spreading the colored dough on top of the green dough.

At this point, you can either layer the two colors or make more of a tie-dye look. I layered the dough when I first made this recipe (see below).

We prefer the tie-dye method now. To make a tie-dye effect, place large spoonfuls of dough randomly in the pan (see below).

Once you have added all the dough to the pan, evenly distribute it without over-blending the colors.

Bake for 22-28 minutes. Test at 20 minutes with a toothpick in the center and again at 25 minutes. When the toothpick comes out clean, the sugar cookie bars are done cooking.

Allow the sugar cookie bars to cool completely before frosting.

Cream the confectioners’ sugar and butter until smooth to make the frosting. Spread over cooled sugar cookie bars. Top with sprinkles. Cut, serve, and devour.

Our favorite Christmas treats for the holidays

  • Peanut Butter Toffee Bark – If you love peanut butter, you will go crazy for this Peanut Butter Toffee Bark! It’s ready in 30 minutes or less and is the perfect mix of crispy and buttery. made in heaven!
  • M&M Cookie Recipe – This M&M Cookie Recipe makes the perfect, delicious, soft and chewy cookie.
  • Gingerbread Biscotti – While there are many delicious holiday cookie recipes, my favorite is Gingerbread Biscotti. They boast a delightful crunch and are smothered in white chocolate- making them the perfect coffee partner.
  • Coffee Cake – Our Best Ever Coffee Cake is made with simple, classic ingredients to enjoy a delicious yellow cake with a cinnamon & brown sugar swirl and topping.

Pin this to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 24 cookie bars
Calories: 352 kcal
These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are a delicious, soft holiday treat. They are simple to make while being both tasty and festive.

Ingredients
 

  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons clear almond extract or clear vanilla extract
  • 6 drops green food coloring
  • 6 drops red food coloring

Frosting

  • 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter room temp
  • 5 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract or clear vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 13″ x 9″ pan with parchment paper.
  • In a small mixing bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
  • Using an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in almond extract.
  • Then with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
  • Evenly divide dough into two small mixing bowls.
  • In one bowl add 6 drops of green food coloring, stir to mix in the coloring. Continue to mix in more green food coloring until you get the color you desire.
  • In the other bowl add 6 drops of red food coloring, stir to mix in the coloring. Continue to mix in more red food coloring until you get the color you desire.
  • Spread the dough to the prepared pan, I added the green first but you could do either one. Then add the remaining dough on top and spread, this was red for me.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes. Test at 20 minutes with a toothpick to check the baking process, then recheck at 25 minutes. Tester should come out clean when bars are done baking. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

  • In a large bowl, cream together the confectioner’s sugar and butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and almond or vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Spread over cookie bars. 
  • Top with sprinkles. Cut, serve, and devour. Happy Holidays!

Video

Calories: 352kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 3gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 233mgPotassium: 44mgSugar: 36gVitamin A: 400IUCalcium: 15mgIron: 1.4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

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63 Comments

  1. I think I’ll make the layers blue and orange and decorate with candy olafs. My family is sensitive to red food coloring.

    1. Of course! Once you cut and frost them they will be best if eaten within 3 days. If you leave them whole until ready to serve and frost right before serving they will last about a week in a tight container, or up to 3 months in the freezer. Enjoy!

    1. I’d say they will keep up to 3 months in the freezer. If you wait to cut them they will last longer as well. They may dry out a little bit if you cut them before storing. Make sure they are well-sealed to prevent them from drying out. Enjoy!

  2. I made these sugar cookie bars for Christmas.. I thought I followed directions exactly.. The dough was so thick I had trouble mixing in food coloring and spreading it in pan.. I made them anyway and iced them. They didn’t taste bad actually I liked them but I know something was wrong.. Any suggestions? My only thought is was 5 cups of flower right?

    1. Hi Sally! The dough should be thick enough to hold its shape, like roll-out sugar cookie dough. If it was much thicker than that, I would check ingredients or make sure you didn’t overmix the dough. 5 cups of flour is correct, did you add all 4 eggs and 2 sticks of butter?

      1. Thank you so much for answering. I’m pretty sure I added the right amounts. Maybe I over mixed. I will definitely try this recipe again. Thanks again

        1. Of course! It should definitely be thicker, almost like play-doh consistency but not quite. To spread in the pan just press it down with your fingers. Let us know how it turns out next time!

  3. 5 stars
    Sugar cookie bars sound like a delightful twist on the classic sugar cookies! The ease of baking these in bar form while still enjoying that wonderful sugar cookie taste is genius!

  4. I made these today..I cut the almond extract in half and it is plenty I was afraid 2 teaspoons would be too much..vanilla yes but almond extract is so much stronger..I checked at 20 definitely not done went 25 min and seemed perfect. After frosting them I cut in to them to serve them ,they seemed dry..I ended up cutting and throwing all of the edges out..just curious if anyone else had the problem with them being dry? But great recipe!! fun to make thank you for sharing!

    1. Agreed. I’m not sure what happened. I have made these three years in a row. The first year moist and yummy. Like a cookie. Added to my must have recipes. Last year turned out very dry. Was disappointed. Tried again this year and the same thing. Was going to the comments for help here. I’m not sure what is happening. Exact ingredients and didn’t over mix. I did a 9×13 pan each year. Please help. Thank you!

      1. Oh goodness, so it worked and then didn’t work. How are you measuring your flour? What was the temp (soft? melted? hard?) of the butter?

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