These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are a delicious, soft holiday treat. They are simple to make while being both tasty and festive.
Check out my list of 50 of the Best Holiday Cookies.
It was a pleasure collaborating with General Mills on this post for Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars. All opinions expressed are my own.
I love baking over the holidays, who else is with me? My favorite baked goods to make are, of course, sweets. From cookies, cakes, candies, and bread, I love baking throughout the entire month of December. Primarily because of all the delicious sweets exiting my oven. Don’t get me wrong, I love savory dishes as well, but it is my sweet tooth that takes control around Christmas.
The only downfall of being a baker during the holiday season is… well… can you guess? Running to the store three times a day. I’ve had to make multiple trips to and from our local Walmart to grab additional flour, eggs, or milk. I loved it when I found that this year items I usually use more of all baking season now come in a larger size, such as baking soda and flour.
These Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars require both of those. While this recipe only needs a 1/2 teaspoon of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, I use it for more than just these cookies, so picking up a 2 lb. box was perfect.
From cookies and cakes to cleaning up spills or eliminating odors, I love having Arm & Hammer baking soda on hand.
This holiday season bake up a storm with these Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars. They are so easy, yet taste delicious and add a festive touch to any kitchen. Bakers, these are thick sugar cookie bars. If you are looking for something thinner, halve the recipe or bake in the larger pan. This will require you to adjust the baking time. Happy Holidays friends. XOXO San
How do you make sugar cookie bars?
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Line a 13 x 9 in 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. Add more food coloring until you’ve reached the desired color. Spread the dough to the prepared pan.
- Repeat with the remaining dough and red food coloring, spreading the colored dough on top of the green dough.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Test at 20 minutes with a toothpick in the center, and again at 25 minutes. When toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, cream together the confectioners’ 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.
Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
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Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
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!
Notes
Nutrition
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Love the colored layers!! So pretty without the work of cutting sugar cookies!
These are so fun! I love them!
So fun and festive! Love these!
These colors are SO fun! My kids would love them!
These bars look so delicious and perfect for the holidays!
This is such a pretty cake, so perfect for Christmas!
So festive and fun! So creative!
Can you freeze these cookies frosted?
I think I’ll make the layers blue and orange and decorate with candy olafs. My family is sensitive to red food coloring.
Do you use salted butter or unsalted?
This is really colorful cake :). I will keep it in mind for my upcoming birthday
My kids will love these!! They look like so much fun!
I love the bold color on these! These are so great for any holiday party!
I am always a fan of a fun and festive treat! Even better when they taste great!
These bars are absolutely wonderful!!
I can’t wait to try these!! They look SO good!! YUM!
These are darling! I had a neighbor growing up who made something a lot like this. Thanks for sharing!
https://t.co/yBpt5yj7N9
I love the bold colors in these bars! These will be the perfect for my cookie exchange this year.
Thank you! They are perfect gifts. Enjoy!
Adding these to my baking line up for the holidays! Look too delicious to pass up, indeed!
Cookie bars are so easy to make! This is a really cute idea too. I would love to try these.
Thank you, enjoy!
These bars are so festive! Will be fun making them!
Enjoy!
Love the red & green cookie base! SO CUTE!
Thank you Cathy!
These look so good! What a fun twist on a classic! It would be fun to make with kids!
Thank you! The kids definitely love these. Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
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!
These are gorgeous and look fun to make for Christmas!
Thank you!
Can you freeze these, unfrosted? How long would they keep?
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!
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?
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?
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
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!