Perfect for any occasion from holidays to potlucks, these mouth-watering Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars are slightly firm on the outside, but absolutely crumble and melt in your mouth once you take a bite.

You can make a delightful dessert with the most amazing sugar frosting and melt-in-your-mouth cookies in just under an hour. Here’s the recipe:

- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with extra butter. Set aside.
- Cream the butter. In a bowl cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour and salt. Beat to combine.
- Transfer the dough. Spread the dough into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Cream the butter. In a bowl cream the butter. Add the confectioners’ sugar gradually.
- Add the other ingredients. Add the milk, lemon juice, pinch of salt, vanilla extract and food coloring (if using).
- Beat. Beat to combine.
- Add milk. Add more milk if needed to thin out the mixture.
Spread the frosting on the cookies. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled sugar cookie base.
Decorate. Decorate with sprinkles and M&M candies if using.
Chill. Refrigerate for a minimum 2 hours or until the cookies have fully set.
Serve. Cut into bars and serve.

How to Cream Butter (The Right Way!)

The process of creaming butter is essential to many baking recipes. It helps give structure to recipes, while also adding a level of richness and creaminess that’s unmatched. If you find that some of your recipes ‘break’ or don’t turn out the way you had hoped, it may be because of improperly creamed butter.

Here’s how to properly cream butter to avoid ‘breaking’:

Ensure that your butter is at room temperature. It should be soft enough that it can bend and move without breaking apart.
Add sugar. Add in a bit of sugar (optional) if desired.
Beat well. With your mixer or hand beater, beat on medium-high speed until the butter fully lightens in color and texture. You should also get a creamy and glossy texture with no visible pieces of butter remaining.

Store your freshly baked Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars in an airtight container. Wrapping them tightly in foil or plastic wrap is also a great way to lock in moisture and flavor while they’re still at peak freshness.

Store them in the refrigerator for up to one week, or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.

(You may also like: No-Bake Maple Pecan Praline Cookies)

Frosted Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars

Author: Anna Young
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 20 1x

Scale

For the bars:

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature plus more for greasing the pan
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt

For the frosting:

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
assorted sprinkles, for decorating
green and red M&M candies (optional)
gel food coloring of choice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease 9×13 inch baking pan with extra butter. Set aside.
In a bowl cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
Add the flour and salt.
Beat to combine.
Spread the dough into the prepared baking pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
To make the frosting, in a bowl cream the butter.
Add the confectioners’ sugar gradually.
Add the milk, lemon juice, pinch of salt, vanilla extract and food coloring (if using).
Beat to combine.
Add more milk if needed to thin out the mixture.
Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled sugar cookie base.
Decorate with sprinkles and M&M candies if using.
Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours.
Cut into bars and serve.