Description
These Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars are thick, chewy, and topped with a creamy vanilla buttercream frosting and festive sprinkles. A simple twist on classic frosted sugar cookies.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup shortening
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (or use vanilla if preferred)
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (for frosting)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or milk/half-and-half)
- 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla)
- Festive sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line an 8×8″ pan with parchment paper, letting some hang over the edge.
- Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in almond extract with the second egg.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then mix into wet ingredients until just combined.
- Press dough evenly into the pan and bake 25–30 minutes, until edges are lightly golden. Don’t over-bake. Cool completely.
- Spread frosting over cooled bars, add sprinkles, slice, and enjoy.
Notes
- Swap sprinkles to match any holiday (e.g., red & green for Christmas).
- Tint the frosting with gel food coloring for a personalized touch.
- For a tangier twist, use cream cheese frosting instead of vanilla buttercream.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 30g
- Sodium: 160mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
