Name: Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup butter (softened); 1 1/4 cup sugar; 2 eggs; 2 tsp vanilla; 1 tsp lemon zest; 2.5 cups flour; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/2 cup butter (softened); 4 oz cream cheese (softened); 1 tsp vanilla; 2 cups powdered sugar; 2 tbsp milk; pinch of salt; red & green sprinkles

These Christmas sugar cookie bars are quick and easy to prep for the holidays. Plus, they’re darn delicious! Made with cream cheese frosting, festive sprinkles, and just a touch of lemon zest, my sugar cookie bars are a fan favorite at any holiday party.

A Quick Look

Recipe Name: Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
Ready In: 45 minutes
Serves: 18 bars
Main Ingredients: butter, ¼ cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, flour, baking soda, baking powder
Why You'll Love It: These Christmas sugar cookie bars are quick and easy to prep for the holidays. Plus, they’re darn delicious! Made with cream cheese frosting, festive sprinkles, and just a touch of lemon zest, my sugar cookie bars are a fan favorite at any holiday party.

I don’t play around when it comes to my holiday treats. Tis’ the season for indulgent bites that are nothing short of delicious.

So today, I’m introducing you to your new favorite cooking recipe – Christmas sugar cookie bars! They’re sweet, buttery, and totally addictive.

I’ve shared a couple of sugar cookie recipes before, like my easy paleo sugar cookies and cut-out sugar cookie recipe. But today’s recipe brings a new twist to a Christmas classic.

I love that they’re made into bars rather than traditional cookies. It saves you the step of forming individual cookies, and it adds a nice variety to a holiday cookie platter.

Dress these sugar cookies up however you’d like, whether you use my cream cheese frosting recipe or try some creative topping ideas. More on that later…

But for now, let’s get baking!

Ingredients needed

These buttery sugar cookie bars include all your baking classics, with a couple of special additions. Here’s a bit on everything I use to make them.

Butter: Any good sugar cookie recipe has a lot of one thing – butter! This recipe calls for 1 cup in the cookie dough, with an additional ½ cup for the cream cheese icing.
Sugar: 1 ¼ cups of sugar make this recipe deliciously sweet.
Eggs: 2 eggs bind our sugar cookie bars, keeping them from becoming a crumbly mess!
Vanilla extract: Ah, my baking favorite. I use 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract in the cookie dough, along with 1 teaspoon in the frosting.
Lemon zest: This recipe has a secret ingredient of 1 teaspoon lemon zest. It’s subtle but super effective.
Flour: You’ll need 2 ½ cups of flour for your cookie dough.
Baking soda and powder: I use ½ teaspoon each of baking powder and soda to leaven our sugar cookie bars.
Salt: A bit of salt can make a big difference! I use ¼ teaspoon in the dough and 1 pinch in the frosting as a flavor enhancer.
Cream cheese: Cream cheese makes for a practically sinful icing. I use 4 oz in this recipe.
Powdered sugar: 2 cups of powdered sugar go into our cream cheese icing. Remember to add it gradually – you may need a little more or less.
Milk: 2 tablespoon of milk helps to thin the cream cheese icing.
Red & green sprinkles: Sprinkles are an easy way to add festive cheer to any holiday cookie recipe! Be generous when decorating your cookie bars.

Kitchen tools required

You’ll also need to gather a few common kitchen tools to complete this confectionery masterpiece!

3 large mixing bowls
Hand or stand mixer
9 x 13 baking dish
Spatula

In addition, gather your measuring cups including 1 cup, ½ cup, ¼ cup, 1 tbsp, 1 tsp, ½ tsp, and ¼ tsp.

Photo of ingredients for Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars with labels.

This holiday cookie recipe comes together super quickly. Here’s how to make it.

To make this sugar cookie bars recipe, start by preheating your oven to 350 F and greasing a 9x13 pan with a bit of butter or cooking oil.

Next, add butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use either a hand mixer or a stand mixer to beat them together until they’re nice and creamy. Then, add eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest to the bowl and beat until smooth.

For your dry mixture, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a separate mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Then, slowly mix the dry mixture into the wet mixture.

Pour your completed batter into the greased baking dish, using a spatula to press into the corners and spread evenly.

Pop your dish into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes; the completed bars will be slightly golden brown. Let your sugar cookie bars cool while you make the icing!

Add butter, cream cheese, and vanilla to a mixing bowl and blend using your hand or stand mixer. Then, slowly add in powdered sugar, milk, and salt.

Spread your creamy icing over the cooled cookie bars, decorate with sprinkles, and cut into even pieces. Bon Appetit!

Recipe tips

Below are some common sugar cookie bar questions. Don’t see the answer you’re looking for? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post!

The beauty of a simple sugar cookie is that it’s a blank canvas just ready to be decorated!

I suggest an easy addition of red and green sprinkles over cream cheese icing… though you can definitely up the ante with any of these decoration ideas:

Pipe holiday designs using royal icing
Include fun fondant toppers of candy canes or Christmas ornaments
Drizzle white chocolate over your finish bars
Sprinkle crushed shortbread cookies over the icing
Use a powdered sugar stencil of a snowflake, star, or Christmas tree

You can absolutely prep this sugar cookie bars recipe ahead of time so that they’re freshly baked for your event.

To do so, prep your dough as instructed then press it onto a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and store for up to three days before baking.

For a long-term option, you can freeze your cookie dough for up to three months.

Then, bake and ice as instructed. Allow for extra baking time if baking from frozen.

Storing leftovers

If you have leftovers of this sugar cookie bars recipe (doubtful), storage is simple.

Just add any leftover bars to an airtight container and refrigerate. Because of the cream cheese icing, these cookie bars are not counter-safe.

For multiple layers, add pieces of parchment paper between cookies to prevent any sticking.

If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!

These are some of my favorite holiday dessert recipes. I highly suggest you try one (or a few!).

All recipes by Erin Morrissey and Photos by Sierra Inn

Erin Antoniak