Holiday Classics
If you’ve been tagging along for a while or have read my blog post for Christmas Sugar Cookies, then you’d know that sugar cookies are the first thing I made when I started becoming interested in cooking. Long story short, one year in middle school I wanted to bake sugar cookies for the holidays. I was on a mission to find the best recipe, so I tested out multiple recipes until I found the one. From then on, I started becoming more and more interested in cooking and baking. Because of this, sugar cookies always have a special place in my heart. They’re so simple yet they have their own distinct flavor. For this holiday season, I created Sugar Cookie Bars! It has all the familiar aspects of a sugar cookie, but it’s turned into something new. This festive treat has layers of sugar cookie dough with a cream cheese filling, topped with icing and sprinkles!
Build A Bar
First, we’re going to start with the cream cheese filling. It’s a simple combination of cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract mixed together. Set it aside, and we’ll start working on the sugar cookie dough.
Next, add the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt into a bowl. Whisk the ingredients together until combined. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour in the bowl of dry ingredients and fold everything together until you get a dough.
Add half of the dough into a parchment the lined 8×8 inch baking pan. Lightly flour your hands and press the dough out into an even layer so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cookie dough. Then add the remaining half of the cookie dough on top and use floured hands to gently spread the dough out into an even layer, completely covering the cream cheese. You want to try to be gentle during this process so that you do not disturb the layer of cream cheese.
Bake it in the oven for about 38 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the sugar cookie bars from the oven and allow it to cool completely to room temperature.
Sweet and Simple
In the meantime, mix together the powdered sugar and milk in a bowl to make the icing. When the sugar cookie bar has cooled, pour the icing over top. Be sure to add on the sprinkles quickly before the icing dries. Allow the icing to set then cut the Sugar Cookie Bar into into squares and enjoy!
I absolutely love these Sugar Cookie Bars because it’s essentially a sugar cookie but with some extra oomph! You get the same soft yet chewy texture from the sugar cookie dough, and now there’s an additional creamy element inside. If you are a sugar cookie lover or enjoy a simple flavored treat, these Sugar Cookie Bars will hit the spot!
Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Sugar Cookie Dough:
- 2¼ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- ¾ cup Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
- 1½ cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Icing:
- 1½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 tbsp Milk
- Sprinkles of Choice (for decorating)
Instructions
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- Add of of the ingredients into a bowl. Mix the cream cheese and sugar together until combined. Set it aside.
For the Sugar Cookie Dough:
- Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt into a bowl. Whisk the ingredients together until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour in the bowl of dry ingredients and fold everything together until you get a dough.
- Add half of the dough into the lined baking pan. Lightly flour your hands and press the dough out into an even layer, covering the bottom of the pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top. Add the remaining half of the cookie dough on top and use floured hands to gently spread the dough into an even layer, completely covering the cream cheese. Try to be gentle so you do not disturb the cream cheese layer.
- Bake it in the oven for about 38 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the sugar cookie bars from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan.
For the Icing:
- While it cools, mix together the powdered sugar and milk in a bowl to make the icing. When the sugar cookie bar has cooled completely, pour the icing over top. Add on the sprinkles before the icing dries. Allow the icing to set then cut it into squares and enjoy!
