Sugar Cookie Bars are thick, soft-baked and topped with the best cream cheese frosting! Sugar cookie bars bake in a cookie sheet so there is plenty serve a crowd. Change up the frosting color and sprinkles for any event or Holiday.
SUGAR COOKIE BARS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Some of you may recognize this recipe for sugar cookie bars! I first posted them years ago and figured it was about time they got an update.
These are our favorite thing ever! I know I probably say that about everything but for real, these sugar cookie bars are downright amazing and completely irresistible. They bake up so thick and fluffy, super soft-baked, and they have the most amazing flavor with that cream cheese frosting.
The "secret ingredient" for the most amazing frosting on sugar cookies is almond extract! If you have not tried almond extract in a sugar cookie recipe then be sure and do it because it takes these bars to the next level in terms of taste.
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIE BARS IN A SHEET PAN?
- Salted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Heavy Cream
- Sprinkles
- Almond Extract
HOW TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIE BARS
- Start by creaming butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. You want to beat it for 2-3 minutes. At first the dough will be dry and crumbly but as you blend it more and more it will get softer and creamier. This is what you want so be sure and beat it for 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and beating after each egg. Add vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and then add it into the butter mixture. Blend on low speed just until combined.
- Spread the dough into the pan. It might be crumbly but it should still form into the pan as you press it down.
- Bake and then let cool completely before frosting.
- Frost the bars with whatever color frosting you want and sprinkles too! You can change up the color and frostings for whatever event and/or Holiday.
HELFUL TIPS TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
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Does the frosting harden?
- I get asked all the time if the frosting hardens enough so they can be stacked on top of each other. Yes it does! You just want to make sure that when you're making the frosting that you don't add too much heavy cream to it. You want a very thick, barely spreadable frosting to ensure that you don't have a wet and thin frosting. The frosting does not get hard, but it sets up nicely and you can stack the cookie bars or package them up.
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My dough seems crumbly and dry?
- Some people have said that the dough is crumbly. It's not a wet dough so yes it will be drier but it should be still be easy to press it into the pan for baking. I have made these bars when we lived at low altitude (Maryland) and now when we live at high altitude (Utah) and the 5 cups of flour has worked in both locations.
- Make sure you are not packing down the flour into the measuring cup. You should just lightly scoop the flour and then use a table knife to even out the top so the excess flour falls back into the bag or container.
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Should I use salted butter or unsalted butter?
- The recipe has been tested with salted butter. For best results use salted butter in this sugar cookie bar recipe.
- If you use unsalted butter then increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
- Some people have said that these sugar cookie bars 'don't taste like anything' and chances are that unsalted butter was used. Salted butter has so much more flavor to it and it makes baked goods taste better so it's what I always use.
These bars are so fun to make for any Holiday or gathering. We love making these for any Holiday like Valentine's Day with pink frosting and heart sprinkles. Or at Halloween with these fun candy corn sugar cookie bars. They're even great for a summer get together or BBQ with some bright rainbow sprinkles on top.
TRY THESE OTHE BAR RECIPES
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars - Oatmeal, peanut butter, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips make these bars one of our favorites.
Sheet Pan No Flour Monster Cookie Bars - One of the most popular recipes on my site. Soft, thick, chewy bars loaded with all the good stuff and no flour!
Monster Cookie Bars - Made in a 9x13 baking dish so it's a smaller batch.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bars - The best way to use up browned bananas. Banana bars with milk chocolate chips and yogurt in the recipe.
Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Bars - The best carrot cake with a surprising ingredient... carrot baby food! Trust me it works and it's delicious.
Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
sugar cookie bars
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
cream cheese frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- food coloring & sprinkles (if wanted, optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet (12"x17" or 13"x18") by spraying with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand held mixer, cream butter and sugar until light & fluffy. This will take 2-3 minutes. It will look dry and crumbly at first but then come together and get creamy after a couple minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda and stir with a whisk to combine. Add to the wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread onto the prepared cookie sheet. * The dough should spread easily but if needed, drop large spoonful's of it all over the cookie sheet and then spread it out that way.
- Bake for 13-16 min, until edges are just barely light golden brown and the center looks pale & puffy. The center should not look wet at all, but it should still be very pale. Mine usually take the full 15 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blend together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat together until combined.
- Add powdered sugar and heavy cream and blend on low speed (to avoid powdered sugar going everywhere) and eventually increase the speed as needed. Spread over cooled cookie bars.* I have never used more than 2 tablespoons heavy cream. You want the frosting as thick as possible but still spreadable. I have found that 2 tablespoons is perfect. If you use a lower fat milk you will need much less milk so start at 1 tablespoon with any milk besides heavy cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Do these cookie bars have to be kept refrigerated due to the cream cheese in the frosting?
They're actually really good cold. If you are serving them for an event or gathering, I would take them out of the fridge like 15 minutes or so before serving so that they can soften up a bit. I've never stored them in the fridge cause I usually just leave them on a plate covered in plastic wrap. But if you know that there will be lots of extra then yes, I would probably store them in the fridge as they might last several days. They can certainly be stored there if you're worried about the cream cheese. I hope that helps!
made 2 1/2 sheet pans of these ( 12x18 ) for my kids to take to work with them, not a single cookie left, and i cut into 9x6 so it would go around , i am going to make another round in green and lime for st pattys day , best cookies on all of creation , thank you
Hi Kathi! Thanks so much for your comment. So happy to hear that they were loved by all. My kids, and my husband & I, can't control ourselves around these either, lol 🙂 I love your St Patricks Day idea. That's one of my favorite things about these bars is that you can customize them for whatever holiday you want.
Hi you had said they are lighter because they are made with powdered sugar but in the recipe it calls for granulated sugar. Which type of sugar should I use?
Hey Gila! So sorry for the confusion. The recipe as written is correct. Use granulated sugar. In my post I was referring to the other sugar cookie bars that are on my blog (these ones ---> https://togetherasfamily.com/2015/08/sugar-cookie-bars/ ) Those ones are made with powdered sugar. Texture is a bit different. I actually prefer these cookie sheet ones over the other ones. I still make both and love both, but these ones are my favorite! I hope you enjoy.
Loved this recipe, but the frosting was very dry, and I had to change it 3 or 4 times before I got it to a decent consistency. Any advice on how to avoid that in the future?
Not sure what you mean by hard but it is supposed to be a thicker frosting so that way it sets up nicely on the bars. It is not supposed to be a soft, cupcake-like frosting (if that's what you mean by it's hard). As with any frosting recipe, just add less powdered sugar or more milk if you want a soft frosting that does not set up. Hopefully that helps 🙂 Happy to hear you liked the bars. They are one of our favorites!
Made these last night, they were so dry and crumbley. The recipe calls for 5 cups of flour. Way to much for a sugar cookie or bar. The icing was pretty awful. It tasted like sweet butter. And not in a good way. I love frosting!! My favorite part of any dessert.The half stick of butter was not needed in the frosting. Great idea, but didn't taste good.
Sorry to hear these did not work out for you. If they were dry & crumbly it sounds like you probably over baked them. They should come out of the oven still looking pale and slightly underdone in the middle. As far as the flour that is the correct amount. I've made these dozens of times and they turn out great with the recipe as is. As far as the frosting, it is a buttercream frosting which does taste like sweet butter 🙂 I add the cream cheese to cut back on the sweetness. The frosting is sweet but most frostings are. Thanks for coming back to comment with your suggestions.
I made these last night and they were perfect. I followed the directions and ingredients as is. I agree- if they were dry and crumbly you most likely overbaked them or your oven temp is off. As for the frosting it’s like a buttercream. They key to a good buttercream is really whipping/mixing the butter first thing. You want it to almost be white before you add anything else. If you don’t do this- it won’t be as good and it will just taste like butter. I added 3or 4Tbsp of the heavy whipping cream. I love to bake. I bake all the time and always try new recipes. This is a recipe I will make again. A few things I do to ensure things come out correctly any time I bake - I have my own oven thermometer and anytime I try a new recipe I set my timer for 5 minutes before anything should be done. That way- I never overbake anything.
Awesome! Thank you so much for your tips.
These turned out DIVINE! My family loves them and they were so easy to whip up! There weren't many positive reviews, so I was kind of nervous, but I'm so glad I went with my gut (literally haha) and made them. My new favorite crowd pleasing dessert! Followed the recipe and they turned out like your pictures. Thanks for sharing!
Hi. I am so HAPPY to hear that you love these. I personally am shocked at the bad reviews because I have made these no less than dozens of times and never had a problem. Thank you for letting me know. It made my day to hear this 🙂
Hi, I'm not an experienced baker but I really want to try these!! Is the butter suppose to be salted or unsalted? Thank you!
I always use salted butter when baking. I think it adds much more flavor. You could use unsalted butter but you may need to add more salt. If you don't have a lot of experience baking then I would for sure use salted butter and follow the recipe because that's what I use. I hope that helps. Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions. I'd love to help.
This definitely is a keeper. These sugar cookie bars are fabulous, and very addicting, and yes I like them better cold as well. Good either way,I've made these like 5or6 times now and will continue making them. Thank you for such a good recipe, I'm so glad I found it pn Pinterest. Everyone should pin this they're that good !
SINCERELY,Jamie
YAY! So glad to hear you love these. Easily these bars are one of my very favorite recipes on my blog. I love changing up the color of frosting and sprinkles. Thanks so much for letting me know.
I made these for my son’s birthday today-(even though he’s 18). He loves sugar cookies so this pan variety was perfect for our family get together (and they’re ALL good cooks...no pressure right?) Almost cooked them too long, I added a few minutes, next time I won’t. In the fridge to chill before serving and added custom coloring to the frosting=great dessert! Also - accidentally added almond flavoring to the batter instead of the frosting but it was really tasty. Will definitely do that again. Can’t wait to have another cookie tomorrow with tea. Love that delicate almond flavoring, perfect! Thank you so much for this recipe!
You're so welcome! So happy to hear they were a hit. Yes, these bars are tricky because I am always tempted to leave them in the oven because they always look so pale but that's a good thing! They come together nicely while cooling. Good to know about the butter, thanks! I always bake with salted so it's good to know the changes with unsalted.
Also - I only had unsalted butter so I added 1/4 tsp salt for each 1/2cup stick (1/2 tsp salt total) while mixing the sugar and butter.
I'm in 7th grade and my social studies teacher made these and they were amazing and I just wanted more thank you!
Thank you so much! Makes me happy to hear you all enjoyed these ☺️
Hi, do you use brown or white sugar?
White granulated sugar
this maybe a silly question but wouldn't you put them in a pan with sides so they don't spread out to thin?
Not a silly question at all! You'll want a cookie sheet with sides on it. If you use a flat cookie sheet then yes it would spread and spill all over the place. I'll clarify that in the recipe ?
Hi, if you leave out the almond extract do you double the vanilla? Or just leave out the almond?
Sorry for my late response! Just use additional vanilla extract if you're not using the almond. Enjoy!
Made these this afternoon and I'm soo glad I did! I did make a couple of changes, one out of necessity - I cut the recipe in half and baked in a 9 x 13 pan. I thought I had more sugar than I did - only to discover there wasn't much left in the bin. (just went grocery shopping yesterday too for crying out loud lol). The other change was, I dissolved a teaspoon of instant coffee in the vanilla for a coffee flavor cookie, and did the same with the frosting as well. I also added some cocoa to the frosting and BAM...mocha coffee cookie bars 🙂 I can see myself making these over and over again, maybe as per the recipe next time or some other flavor combination I'm in the mood for at the time lol
I love your coffee cookie bars idea. So smart! And yes, I know all too well the woes of forgetting things at the store. I am pretty much at a grocery store every single day, haha 🙂 Story of my life. So glad to hear you loved these bars. They are definitely one of my family's favorites.
These are WONDERFUL. They went so fast I'm going to make them again today. The recipe was perfect and they turned out just like the picture. I have one question. Could you use this recipe to roll out and cut into individual shapes? Obviously the cooking time would be different but they just taste soooo good I want to try this also.
Awesome! We LOVE these too 🙂 I have never tried making these into cut out sugar cookies so I honestly have no clue. Wish I could actually be of help. Happy to hear these were a hit. I love making these for the different Holidays and just change up the frosting color and sprinkles!
I cut them out after baking with larger cookie cutters and it worked well.
What can I use in place of the cream cheese? My husband really dislikes cream cheese. Thank you!
Just a regular buttercream frosting will work. Although, the point of the cream cheese is to cut down the sweetness of the frosting, so if you use a buttercream frosting then just know it may be really sweet. Which is not the worst thing in the world 🙂
Your blog mentions that these are lighter in texture because you use powdered sugar in the cookie, yet your recipe calls for granulated sugar. Which is it?
I was just referencing another sugar cookie bar recipe that I have on my blog (in my text). I even linked to it so people would know I was talking about that one. The recipe for these cookie sheet sugar cookie bars is correct and uses the granulated sugar 🙂
Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure I misread your post.
Wow!!!! So amazing! Best cookie ever! And I don’t even have good luck baking cookies! So tasty!
I had to make a quick pan of bars for a church function tonight. The bars are cooling, and the frosting is in the fridge as I type. I tasted the batter and the frosting, and I just know that this will be an excellent recipe. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with the world!! I won't be there tonight to try the finished product, but I plan on making another pan of these tomorrow for the family. Been baking for 20 plus years, and I know that this will be a hit! Thanks again!
That's so good to hear! I make these all the time for church functions as well...… and like every Holiday decorated with coordinating icing color and sprinkles. We love these bars. Thanks for your sweet comment and hope everyone loved them.
These were great! I made them for a church event with purple frosting and start sprinkles and they were a hit. My only advice would be to add the dry ingredients in two parts - I added it all at once and had a very messy counter top by the end of it!
Ah, yes. Good point about adding the flour in two parts. I usually just have to mix it in at the lowest speed but I guess there are still some flour poofs from that even. I'll make note of that in the recipe. Thank you for coming back to leave your comment.
Can the frosting be made without cream cheese by any chance?
Yes you can. You may need more powdered sugar and it will be much sweeter than the cream cheese version, but yes it can made without it 🙂
These were such a hit!!! Made them for a bake sale and they sold like hot cakes!
Do they freeze well? Looking to make them this weekend for the holidays.
They never last long enough for me test out freezing them, lol 🙂 I think it would be ok but I can't say for sure.
Hi, thank you for the recipe! Do you know if these can be frozen?
My daughter made these for a cookie exchange. It was the perfect recipe to make for the large quantity she needed. They turned out perfect. The frosting is sweet but the sugar cookie balanced it out. Loved the soft chewiness. 5 star recipe. Thank you!
When I mixed the dry into the wet it got really clumpy and crumbled when I put it in the pan to bake. Is this normal?
The dough is more crumbly, but if you pinch some of it with your fingers it should come together. And as you press it into the pan it should not be dry but should stick together so you're able to form it into the pan. I hope that helps.
These were SO GOOD!!! I halved the recipe and used an 8x8 glass pan, they came out thick and perfectly cooked at the same temp and time listed. All the sugar cookie taste with half the effort (all that rolling out and time decorating!) My only regret is making them before getting sprinkles for that frosted animal cookie look. This recipe deserves way more praise than it has been getting, I will definitely make these again!
Thank you! That's good to know the half recipe worked in the 8x8. Thank you for coming back and leaving your comment. So glad you loved these!
Mine turned out more like cake and less like sugar cookies... any idea what I did wrong?
It sounds like they were over cooked. So sorry!
It sounds like you just cooked them for too long. Try cooking for 1-3 minutes less and see how they turn out 🙂
These are amazing! I made 2 batches aook these to a dinner party for about 80 couples. They were gone before all of the other desserts! My family loves them as well. Thanks for sharing! Kim
Just made this as a trial run for my sons 3rd Birthday and they are a hit. I started with a timer of 10 minutes and they didn’t look done so I added 5 minutes and now I think they are over baked a bit since they have the texture of a shortbread cookie. I will probably try a 12 minute total for next time but the overall flavore is amazing!
These bars always look underdone when I pull them out too. I'm always tempted to leave them in longer 🙂 I think 10-12 is a good time because as they cool on the cookie sheet they will finish up baking and come together nicely.
I’ve made them twice now- once refrigerated, as overly suggested, and room temp. I must disagree at them being delicious refrigerated- they taste stale. At room temperature they’re fine. Nothing special- a basic sugar cookie with basic frosting. ??♀️
These are AMAZING! Thank you for sharing!
I love the recipe! It's so handy to make up a bunch of bars to bring for holidays or for church. Thanks!
Can these be frozen ??
I believe they can, not sure why freezing them would not turn out well. I've personally never frozen them so I can't say for sure but I think it would work great!
I have to bring these on a tray to serve. Can I stack them on a platter without sticking together?
Yes they will stack on a plate on top of each other but make sure that the bars are cold before you stack them. If the bars are soft and the frosting is not hardened then they will turn into a big mess. So refrigerate the bars and then stack them and you'll be fine 🙂
Have you ever made the cookie portion the night before and frosted the next day? Would that work? Excited to try these but not sure I have time to complete them tonight.
Yes! I do that all the time. Cook and cool the cookie bars and then cover them. Next day, make the frosting and frost the bars. I like these bars cold so I always refrigerate them after I frost them. But either way works fine, cold or room temperature.
Can these be cut with cookie cutters AFTER they are baked, then frost them?
Yes! I have actually done that before. It worked great when I did it.
Thanks for a wonderful looking recipe. I am excited to try it. I saw your response regarding using cookie cutters after the bars are baked. Can you please tell me if you cut them out while they were still a bit warm, or cooled completely? I appreciate your response as I want to make them heart shaped for Valentine's Day. Thank you!
I would do the cookie cutters after the bars are completely cooled. You can either do them after you frost the bars OR frost each individual cookie shape that you cut. Enjoy!
Can I freeze these?
Yes you can freeze these. I don't like freezing anything just because I think dairy freezes weird sometimes and the texture after they have thawed is weird to me. But that's just me and I am probably too picky 🙂
My husband loves sugar cookies & so I had to try these. They are now a family favorite! We all love almond flavoring, so I add some to the bar/dough portion of the recipe as well as to the frosting. Delicious!
The almond is so yummy in sugar cookie bars. So glad these were a hit!
Too dry
Delicious. Thanks for sharing. Will be making again!
These were really good! Except I think the frosting to bar ratio is a little off - the bars are really thick and a bit dry, I would maybe halve or make 2/3rds of the cookie batter. But easy and they were a hit with our college aged daughter and her girlfriends!
Came out perfect! Thanks for a fantastic recipe! Icing was delicious. This is the only way we will bake sugar cookies from now on.
An easy, quick sugar cookie. Prefer a rolled sugar cookie, firmer. Like the cookie frosting ratio better.
Probably won't make again. I used a 12 x 17 inch pan and it just seemed like the cookie was too thick.
I agree. The cookie was way to thick to cut out as a cookie. This is more like a snack cake. It is a very tasty recipe, though!
Thanks for this recipe. Can the bars be frozen with the cream cheese icing?
Yes you could freeze these frosted.
Thanks.
Thanks for the recipe!best bar cookies I’ve had. ??☺️
Extremely dry unfortunately. I followed the recipe exactly, and I know they aren't over baked. They taste like flour. Even when mixing the dough, my mixer was having a hard time. I finally finished mixing with my hands and it was a very stiff dry dough, like playdoh. My two toddlers don't seem to even want to eat them.
I did however use my own old fashioned almond frosting that I normally use on my rolled out sugar cookies.
I was so excited to make these, and I'm super disappointed. Sorry.
We really liked these. I used GF 1:1 flour so I'm not sure if that changed my texture somehow. Mine came out really thick so they were a little dry but the frosting still made them great. Will try baking a little less next time and perhaps 1/2 for a 9x13 to see if I like the thickness better. We topped with colored sugar and red hots. Love the crunch combo and can't wait to try someone's idea about cocoa mocha! I'm sure this will become a staple in our home. Open to any other thoughts you might have on the GF difference. Thanks!
Hi there, the dough tasted amazing. It was quite thick and I had to press quite firmly to get it round the pan. Also didn't cook quite right - was a bit doughy. Reading the reviews i think it should be more crumbly?Any suggestions welcome. The flavour was so good I am keen to get them right.
It sounds like you may not have cooked them long enough?? If they turned out doughy that just means they did not cook all the way. The bars should not be dry/crumbly, but rather soft-baked. I would try again and then let it cook for longer. Make sure the middle section of the bars don't look wet or raw when you pull it out. The edges should be slightly golden while the center should be dry looking but still pale in color. Hopefully that helps. Let me know!
Nahhh, they taste like flour :// but icing is good