Dessertscambreabakes5.0
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Baked in a sheet pan, dipped in royal icing, and decorated with festive sprinkles, these soft and chewy Christmas sugar cookie bars are your favorite classic sugar cookies in bar form!
👥 36 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 3h 18m⏳ Prep: 3h🔥 Cook: 18 min👤 Cambrea Gordon📖 cambreabakes
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- pan
- oven
- bowl
- whisk
- spatula
- cutting board
- mixing bowl
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Before you start. Line a metal 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
2
Whisk the butter and sugar. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and granulated sugar until well combined.
3
Whisk in the wet ingredients. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.
large eggs (room temperature)2vanilla extract1 tbsptsp clear vanilla extract1/4
4
Fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the flour, cornstarch, and salt until just combined.
cornstarch2 tsp
5
Press the dough into the pan. Press the sugar cookie dough into the pan, using lightly greased hands, then use an offset spatula to smooth the top and evenly spread it to fill the pan.
6
Bake the cookie bars. Bake in the preheated oven for ⏱️ 18-25 minutes, or until the cookie dough is set and the edges near the pan are barely golden brown. Baking them past this point will result in more crispy/less soft cookie bars. Let the pan cool on a wire cooling rack completely.
7
Cut the bars. Flip the cookie bars onto a cutting board so that the bottom is now the top. Cut into rectangles, squares, or triangles (for Christmas trees). See notes below for specific measurements! Transfer the cut bars to a wire rack with a sheet pan underneath. It's best to distribute them amongst 2 pans to keep them from crowding.
8
Make the royal icing. Combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla extract, and water in a stand mixing bowl. Whisk on medium speed for ⏱️ 3 minutes until fluffy. At this point, you can set aside a few tablespoons of the icing for piping. You won't need much unless you plan on more intricate designs. If the icing is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it's thick but pipeable.
vanilla extract1 tbsptsp clear vanilla extract1/4
9
Color the icing. Split the rest of the icing into thirds, scooping each portion into its own bowl and immediately covering the top with plastic wrap. Working with one bowl at a time, add about 2-3 teaspoons of water to the icing and use a spoon to mix it in well. It should have a consistency of runny peanut butter! Add red and green food coloring to two bowls, leaving the last one white.
10
Decorate the sugar cookie bars. Dip the flat side of the bars into the icing, using your finger to gently scrape off any excess glaze. Place the frosted bar back onto the wire rack. Decorate with sprinkles. If using the thick icing, you can color it or keep it white. Fill it into a piping bag with a very small round tip and use it to pipe on the frosted tops.
11
Allow to set before packaging. Allow the cookies to be fully set before boxing or packaging them, otherwise, it will ruin the icing. Depending on the humidity in your kitchen, this can take about ⏱️ 1-2 hours.
12
Store leftover cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. The frosted cookies should not be frozen, however, they can be frozen and defrosted before decorating!
Nutrition Facts
calories
156 kcal
fat Content
5 g
serving Size
1 serving
fiber Content
0.3 g
sugar Content
17 g
sodium Content
69 mg
protein Content
2 g
trans Fat Content
0.2 g
cholesterol Content
23 mg
carbohydrate Content
25 g
saturated Fat Content
3 g
unsaturated Fat Content
1.3 g
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