Christmas Cookie Bars are a delightful holiday treat, featuring a soft and chewy sugar cookie base that is generously iced with a layer of flavorful frosting. These sugar cookie bars are then festively decorated with sanded sugar and sprinkles, making them the perfect Christmas dessert.
These Christmas cookies with a Christmas tree decoration are not only easy to make but make a great addition to cookie swaps.
These fun cookie bars are a great addition to cookie trays and these other Christmas cookies for Christmas will make your next holiday party festive with the addition of the holiday desserts.
- Cut-out sugar cookies are incredibly soft and flavorful cookies perfect for decorating.
- Christmas M&M Cookie Bars are made with sugar cookie dough, white chocolate chips, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Festive Flair: Each adorably festive Christmas cookie bar recipe is individually decorated with a piped Christmas tree and decorated with sprinkles, making them very festive for the holiday season.
- Simplicity: Sugar cookie bars are straightforward to make and these bar cookies are very versatile for seasons and holidays.
- Versatility: Customize the bars with cream cheese frosting if you'd like or use store-bought frosting to make them even easier.
Ingredients in Christmas Cookie Bars
You will need ingredients for the cookie dough and the Russian buttercream.
Ingredients in Christmas bar cookies:
- unsalted butter, room temperature
- cream cheese, room temperature
- granulated sugar
- large egg
- vanilla extract
- salt
- all-purpose flour
Ingredients in Russian buttercream:
- sweetened condensed milk
- unsalted butter, room temperature
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar (to make it stiffer if needed)
How to Make Christmas Cookie Bars
To make the sugar cookie bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper with an overhang for easy removal.
- Combine the softened unsalted butter and cream cheese in a large bowl.
- Beat the granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the spoon and leveled all-purpose flour and the salt.
- Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a soft dough forms.
- Place the cookie dough inside the lined baking dish and spread evenly across the dish. (To make this easier, place parchment paper on top of the dough and use a glass to spread the dough from the center of the dish to the edges.
- Make sure that the dough is evenly spread inside the dish before baking.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges should be a golden brown color and the center set. Check the center of the dish with a toothpick and if desired, bake for a few minutes extra at a time if you want firmer sugar cookie bars.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before lifting the bars out of the dish and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled, slice the bars into 12 bars if decorating with Christmas trees.
To make the Russian buttercream:
Starting with room temperature butter, cream the butter for 7 to 8 minutes.
Slowly beat the sweetened condensed milk into the butter until well incorporated.
Stir in the vanilla extract and slowly beat in the powdered sugar.
Beat until stiff peaks form when the beater is pulled away from the frosting. If needed, add more powdered sugar a little at a time.
Divide the frosting into separate bowls and add food coloring to one bowl.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a small piping tip and decorate each bar as desired.
If making Christmas trees, sprinkle with sanding sugar and add a star sprinkle on top of the tree.
Frost around the tree and decorate with sanding sugar.
Let the frosting harden before storing or stacking to prevent the icing from smearing.
Variations and Substitutions in Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Making your own Christmas cookie bars allows for creativity in flavors and textures. Easy to customize, and easy to get the kids involved.
Mix-Ins and Toppings
- Chocolate: Add some chocolate chips or white chocolate chips to your sugar cookie dough for more texture and flavor. Stirring in some holiday M&M candies also will add some extra color and chocolate flavor to these holiday cookie bars.
- Festive Flavors: Incorporate Christmas colors and themes with red and green M&M candies or Christmas sprinkles atop your bars. To add extra flavor, mix in crushed peppermint candies.
Alternative Flours and Sugars
- Flours: A measure for measure gluten free flour can be easily substituted to make gluten-free Christmas cookie bars. Almond flour or coconut flour can be used but keep in mind that xanthan gum will need to be added.
- Sugars: Swap out granulated sugar for light brown sugar to give a deeper, molasses-like sweetness to your cookie bars.
Tips and Tricks for Making Christmas Cookie Bars
Creating the Dough:
- Spoon and level your flour to ensure you don't have too much, which could result in drier bars.
- Use room-temperature ingredients to make your bars. It will whip the ingredients easier and create a light and fluffy mixture.
- Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl before mixing them into your wet mixture to ensure even distribution.
Baking Your Bars:
- Line your baking dish with parchment paper with a one-inch overhang for simple removal and cleanup.
- Spread the dough evenly in the pan to avoid uneven cooking - place a piece of parchment paper on top of the sugar cookie dough and use it to spread the dough out evenly in the pan.
- Leave a small gap around all sides of the pan to prevent the edges from puffing up higher than the middle of the bars.
- Bake until golden and set. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Piping for Decoration:
- Let your bars cool completely if you plan to decorate with icing.
- If making Christmas trees on each cookie bar, slice the bars before decorating.
Storage Tips
Either way that you store this Christmas cookie bars recipe, make sure to allow the frosting to harden completely before stacking and storing. This will prevent the frosting from getting messed up and smeared.
Store the bars in an airtight container for maximum freshness and if using the Russian Buttercream frosting. It has sweetened condensed milk and should be refrigerated. Layer the bars with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
When storing these cookie bars in the fridge, they will last up to 5 days when stored promptly and correctly.
Freezing and Thawing
To ensure your cookie bars maintain their quality, freeze them in an airtight container or tightly wrap them in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Make sure that the frosting has hardened before storing to prevent the frosting from smearing. When you’re ready to serve, thaw your cookie bars at room temperature before enjoying.
Tools Needed to Make Christmas Cookie Bars
To decorate these sweet treats with cute Christmas trees, you'll need some icing decorating tools.
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer: An electric mixer is helpful when making both the cookie dough and the buttercream frosting.
- Mixing Bowls: You'll need a couple of varying sizes for the sugar cookie dough and the Russian buttercream.
- Baking Pan: A 9x13-inch pan is typically the perfect size for bar cookies and brownies.
- Parchment Paper: Lining your dish with an overhang or parchment paper will make it easy to remove the cookie bars from the dish after baking.
- Piping Bag and Piping Tip: Two piping bags and two piping tips to create the Christmas trees and the background.
- Food Coloring: Gel food coloring to dye the buttercream before piping.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make Christmas cookie bars with a cake mix?
How can you prevent cookie bars from being raw in the middle?
Spread the cookie dough evenly in the pan without the edges of the dough touching the edges of the pan. This will prevent the edges from puffing up higher than the center of the dish. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few crumbs.
When is the best time to start baking cookies for the Christmas season?
A helpful tip is to portion the cookie dough before freezing and set it up on the counter while the oven preheats to warm the dough a bit before baking.
You may need to add a minute or two the the baking time. When stored properly, they will taste just as fresh as the day the cookies were made!
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📖 Recipe
Christmas Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese - room temperature
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
Russian Buttercream
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar - less or more to achieve stiff peaks
Instructions
To make the sugar cookie bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper with an overhang for easy removal.
- Combine the softened unsalted butter and cream cheese in a large bowl.
- Beat the granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the spoon and leveled all-purpose flour and the salt.
- Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a soft dough forms.
- Place the cookie dough inside the lined baking dish and spread evenly across the dish. (To make this easier, place parchment paper on top of the dough and use a glass to spread the dough from the center of the dish to the edges.
- Make sure that the dough is evenly spread inside the dish before baking.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges should be a golden brown color and the center set.
- Check the center of the dish with a toothpick and if desired, bake for a few minutes extra at a time if you want firmer sugar cookie bars.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before lifting the bars out of the dish and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled, slice the bars into 12 bars if decorating with Christmas trees.
To make the Russian buttercream:
- Starting with room temperature butter, cream the butter for 7 to 8 minutes.
- Slowly beat the sweetened condensed milk into the butter until well incorporated.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and slowly beat in the powdered sugar.
- Beat until stiff peaks form when the beater is pulled away from the frosting. If needed, add more powdered sugar a little at a time.
- Divide the frosting into separate bowls and add food coloring to one bowl.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a small piping tip and decorate each bar as desired.
- If making Christmas trees, sprinkle with sanding sugar and add a star sprinkle on top of the tree.
- Frost around the tree and decorate with sanding sugar.
- Let the frosting harden before storing or stacking to prevent the icing from smearing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
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