....frosted...
....with sprinkles.
The idea of frosting all of those cookies seemed daunting.
Buying store bought cookies wasn't an option. (At least for me.)
These cookies were the perfect solution. They're easy to make and will feed a big crowd of hungry kids.
Sugar Cookie Bars
(Recipe source: Unknown)
((Printable Version))
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3. Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
4. Add the vanilla to the creamed mixture and then slowly add the dry ingredients.
5. Press into a greased 13 x 18 inch pan and bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes. (You can use another shaped pan that is similar in size, but a 9x13 will be too small.)
6. Cool and frost (see directions below).
Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 tablespoons of milk
food coloring (optional)
sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, beat the shortening and butter until creamy.
2. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar.
3. Gradually add the 5 tablespoons of milk until you reach your desired constancy.
4. For the sprinkles, I found that they rolled all over the place. To help this, place a sheet of plastic wrap over the frosted sugar cookies and gently press the sprinkles into the frosting.
5. Chill and cut.
(These cut beautifully with a pizza wheel cutter.)
*Trouble shooting:
- Yes, you may make the frosting with all butter. They turn out great!
- Yes, the recipe calls for 5 cups of flour. This is not a mistake. They make a lot.
- Do not try and make these in a 9x13 pan. They will end up very thick if you do.
- Do not over bake these. Over baking and using and/or using an incorrect size pan will result in a dry sugar cookie bar.
Linked to: Sweet As Sugar Cookies
Girl - these look insanely good! That is an excellent idea. Does your 13x18 pan have high sides? I'm trying to figure out if I can make these in my cookie sheet or if I should cut the recipe down to fit into my 13x9 cake pan. I really HAVE to make these. :)
ReplyDeleteUse 2 9 x 13 pans. They would be the same as 18 x 13.
DeleteThe sides of my pan were about an inch high. I've fudged on the pan size before. I think the one I used this time was an inch shorter on one end. I've used a larger pan and the bars were slightly thinner and it worked fine. 13x9 you would definitely need to cut the batter down. But any jelly roll/rimmed cookie sheet pan should work fine.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mama! I can't wait to make these. I know lots of little folks (and big ones) who would love these!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great idea for cookies without a lot of time and work. I bet she was pleased. I have a linky party on my blog every week called "Sweets for a Saturday" and I'd like to invite you to stop by this weekend and link this up.
ReplyDeleteI saw these on Sweets for a Saturday. They look so great. I always think white icing with sprinkles looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious. My husband is a math teacher and I bake a lot of things for his classes. This is the perfect solution to the daunting hours I've spent frosting sugar cookies in the past. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteSaw these on Sweets for a Saturday - they look so yummy! I love sugar cookies and will have to try these :)
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by from Sweets for Saturday. I have a recipe for pan sugar cookies that use cream cheese. They are a little tricky to spread in the pan. I'm definately going to try these. I love sugar cookies but don't love the time they take!
ReplyDeleteSugar cookies with cream cheese sound yummy too! Would you mind sharing that recipe?
DeleteBtw, I have the recipe above in the oven right now.... Smells heavenly!
Found this on Pinterest and made them today.....yummy! My family loved them and my 4 year old really enjoyed helping me make them.
ReplyDeleteHolli,
ReplyDeleteThat is so great to hear... thanks for sharing! :)
~Mama J
this is the BEST idea!!!! The only cookies my mom made at Christmas were cutout/decorated-sugar cookies. I used to make 6 or 7 batches a year up until about a year ago... this year I'm not doing much baking for various reasons, but the sugar cookies are so traditional... this just saved me! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI saw this on Pintrest... they are in the oven as I type! Anxious to share them at Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Do you know how these delicious bars freeze?
ReplyDeleteI have not frozen these bars before. However, I do freeze my other bars and cookies all the time and they freeze beautifully. Make sure you chill the bars after they are frosted to allow the frosting to firm up. Then I would recommend freezing one layer in a freezer bag or container before you add another layer of bars on top. Also, add a layer of wax paper in between each layer of bars as you stack them.
ReplyDelete~Mama J
Found these on Pinterest and couldn't help but make them. They were delish. thanks for sharing your recipes. Feel free to check out my blog including your sugar cookie bars :) http://inherchucks.com/2012/01/06/sugar-cookie-bars/
ReplyDeleteI've already make these twice in 2012! Just blogged about them here: http://sundaytreats.blogspot.com/2012/01/hey-chickadees-happy-new-year-its-been.html Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteThese are so pretty. What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteSaw these on Pinterest. Made them tonight (while the kids were in bed). So good! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked them, Jenny! :)
ReplyDeleteJust made these tonight and they were delicious!! Almost made me feel like a professional in the kitchen and not just a once a month cook. Yum-me!!
ReplyDeleteYum, Yum...can't wait to make these!
ReplyDeleteMaybe a stupid question - is it 5 cups of all purpose flour or self-rising? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAll purpose flour.
DeleteThanks so much!
DeleteI am putting these on the menu for one of my friend's baby showers! Delicious and adorable, too!
ReplyDeleteI made mine in two 9x13 pans and they turned out great except for the frosting. It tasted like crisco and was very bland :(
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using two 9x13s! I know not everyone has those larger sheet pans.
DeleteI'm sorry you did not like the frosting. This is the first frosting recipe I have ever made that uses Crisco. I'm used to all butter. Maybe next time try it with two sticks of butter instead of the crisco to have an "all butter" buttercream on top of the sugar cookie bars. A little extra vanilla might boost the flavor for you too. Butter makes everything better! :)
I was disappointed in the frosting, because it does not harden up, or dry much. I was making these for an event at church, and needed to put them in zip-lock bags. Unfortunately, they won't stay very pretty with that soft frosting.
DeleteAre these cake like cookies (like Lofthouse - if you're familiar with that brand) or are they more chewy? Sugar cookies are my favorite and I'm trying to find the perfect recipe for chewy ones...thanks!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure what Lofthouse cookies were but after Googling them I know I've had something like them. I am not crazy about those "cake-like" bakery sugar cookies. I find those kind of light, fluffy, and crumbly. I would say these are more on the thick and chewy side. But since they are such a thick sugar cookie, they are not "chewy" like a normal cookie would be. (If that makes sense.) I'd say they are more in-between cake and chewy leaning more to the chewy side. Hopefully haven't been too ambiguous! :)
DeleteThese look so good!!! Do you think I could put these on a skewer for a Chocolate fondue fountain? Or would they most likely fall apart?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I'm trying to think if this would work or not. They cut nice and thick so I think they would hold up on a skewer and not crumble apart. As long as you are careful not to over cook them so they don't dry out they should remain tender enough to get on a skewer. I'm just wondering if once you dip them down into the chocolate they might slide off. I'm not sure.
DeleteI found this recipe via Pinterest and pinned it to one of my boards. I was craving sugar cookies and since I didn't have sour cream to try a lofthouse style sugar cookie recipe I decided to go with yours, which I had been eyeing anyway. I just made these this afternoon, and they are fab! The one change I made was that I used my go-to buttercream recipe that I use for much of my cake decorating, which is all shortening (think grocery store bakery cakes), and I did that just because I was short on butter. I will definitely make these again! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked them, Jaay! Thank you for stopping by and telling me. :)
DeleteI made these yesterday, they are so simple, fast and amazing! thank you for sharing, my family is in love with them. They are definately a Keeper Recipe!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked them! :)
DeleteThis is the perfect recipe I have been searching for! I need a cookie recipe for a bake sale and have a busy day before the sale - these will be perfect to make the night before and box up to send with my son for the sale! My only hope is that we get some before they sell out!
ReplyDeleteThese are TOTALLY perfect for a bake sale! Trim the edges to get a nice clean square and save the "scraps" for you to eat. (At least, that's what I do.) ;)
DeleteIs a 13X18 pan like a large cookie sheet???
ReplyDeleteI can't remember where the original source was of this recipe, but that is the size they said. I had to actually get out a ruler and measure what I had. I know someone tried to do it in a 9x13 inch pan and they turned out way too thick. I would describe it as a large, oversized, rimmed jellyroll pan. Mine measures about 11x17 and that worked well for me.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteOK... YUUMMM!!!! Just finished making these with my kids, niece & nephew.. What a hit!! My 8yr old asked me to make these for her birthday party next week! thanks
ReplyDeleteSorry to be slow in replying. I'm so glad everyone liked them! :)
Deletefound you on pinterest and am pinning... after reading through the comments I couldn't help but comment myself and thank you for following up on all the questions and such... I always hate to find a yummy-looking recipe only to find a blogger who doesn't answer any feedback leaving me or others stuck... will be scanning the rest of your site now...
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Stephanie... and for your comment. I hope you like what you see. :)
Deletemade these tonight, just ate my first one, they were.... MIND BLOWING. bookmarked the recipe to make for EVERYTHING from now on! I thank you but my thighs do not...
ReplyDeleteI know!! I'm making them again today. I'm so glad you liked them! :)
DeleteI am making these for my friends shower this weekend, Is it ok if I use 2 regular sized glass Pyrex pans or should I use metal pans?
ReplyDeleteAshley,
DeleteI have not tried this recipe using glass Pyrex. However, I do make lots of other bars in glass and they turn out just fine.
I made these to take to a picnic. I cut the recipe in half & baked them in a 9x13. they turned out terribly dry, I wonder if I did something wrong? they looked soooo good!
ReplyDeleteMine turned out dry once and it's because I accidentally over cooked them by a few minutes. I've made these bars dozens of times and that was the only time I made that mistake. I have never tried making them in a 9x13 pan. I'm wondering if the cooking time needed to be reduce slightly because of the smaller pan.
DeleteIs this a moist sugar cookie bar? I just tried another bar recipe this morning for the 4th of July and threw it away because it was so dry, not what I was looking for. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI find it to be moist but I over cooked them once and they were dry. Keep an eye on your timer. I always air on the side of under baking. There is nothing worse than a dry cookie! :)
DeleteMaybe that's what I did?? I made these last weekend and my whole family loved the frosting but thought the bar part was really dry. The cookie/bar part didn't seem over-baked though. Any other thoughts?
DeleteThis is a dense cookie bar. Over baking is the only thing I can think of... unless you were expecting something different. Mine are dense, but moist. (Except for the one time I over baked them.)
DeleteI love these bars. Their texture is kind of similar to a brownie in density, which is the best part because I'm allergic to chocolate and always looking to replicate that texture. I also love the frosting. These are one of my new favorite treats. I posted about them on my blog and would love if you'd take a look. Here's the link: http://piesandplots.net/sugar-cookie-bars/
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Deletei just made these bars and YUMMY!! me and my daughter really enjoyed spending the time to make them and the frosting together. i did however just use butter and make a regular buttercream frosting and of course it had to be PINK! thank you for the recipe
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed the bars and had some quality time in the kitchen with your daughter. I love cooking with my kids! I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and tell me this. :)
DeleteI'm really wanting to make these...tonight...but all I have is salted butter...can that be used instead?
ReplyDeleteThat will work fine, just leave out the pinch of salt called for in the recipe.
DeleteI am excited to try this recipe. I am curious for planning purposes, how long do they keep and how do you recommend storing them? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'd say a 5-7 days in an airtight container. I like to keep them in the refrigerator and bring them up to room temperature before serving. I have not tried it with this particular cookie/bar, but I usually have good success freezing cookies too in order to keep them fresh a little longer.
DeleteMine turned out very dry also!! Think I also used the wrong size pan because they did not rise very much!
ReplyDeleteI just made these for a party and they were a hit. I halved the recipe and baked them in a ceramic type 9x13. Worked fine. I lowered the heat because my oven seems to heat hot. I also cooked them a full 15 minutes. Mine weren't too thick, but maybe half an inch or so. Will definitely make these again. :) Got quite a few compliments. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you liked them! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know. :)
DeleteI made these the other night! You said you used a 13x18 inch pan... I tried the largest one I had which was about an inch or two shorter on each side and found it was still too big; I couldn't get the dough to stretch that much! Also, my dough was incredibly thick and dry. Not sure what I did wrong there- I double checked all instructions! So even though I ended up using a smaller pan, about 9x12ish, my bars turned out wayyyy thinner than yours. Not sure how THAT happened either. Don't worry... I WILL be trying this again!!! Yummy regardless. :)
ReplyDeleteWe made these for our church's youth group Sunday evening. We've been trying to get in the habit of sending a treat for everyone (20 or so kids) each time, and usually my kids come home with leftovers. NOT THIS TIME!! These were snapped up immediately and not a crumb was left. I'd given a sample to my 8 - soon to be 9 year old after I frosted them and he said "I want THIS instead of a birthday cake!" No problem!
ReplyDeleteI love that your son wants these instead of a cake! I'm making them this weekend for a church event that I need a lot of dessert for. They are perfect. AND, you can cut them any size you want to work with the number you need. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know how they worked for you. :)
DeleteI made these and they taste wonderful! I had to cook them longer though because it was still raw at 15 minutes. Are they supposed to still look pale and raw when you take it out? I cooked for double the time, maybe slightly longer until the edges started to just show color and then I took them out. Are mine going to be dryer than it should be now? They are drier around the edges. Just wondering if I was supposed to take them out at the 15 mark whether they looked cooked or not. I did use the jelly roll pan which is the 13 X 18 or whatever. IF nothing else they were very pretty and tasted good!
ReplyDeleteThe picture makes these look so good only to be so disappointed. I checked them at 10 minutes and no way were they done, then at 15 I think they are way too dry. Not only that they just don't taste good. Common sense should of kicked in. Five cups of flour and two cups of sugar, they just aren't sweet enough. I was testing them to make for a baby shower, looks like I am back to the drawing board.
ReplyDeleteKids will love this, Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteA pizza cutter to cut them. Ingenious!
ReplyDeleteI make mine in disposable pizza pans ( 3-$2 at the dollar tree). Great for bringing to cookouts, ect
ReplyDeleteThanks. These came out great.
ReplyDeletehttp://whatthedogate.blogspot.com/2014/10/sugar-cookie-bars.html
I made these in a 9x13 the first time I made them. I thought they were fantastic. they were thick but everyone loved them. I also used my Wilton's frosting with all shortening, but I cut it in 1/2 for the 9x13 pan. It was perfect.
ReplyDeleteI just got my 2nd batch out of the oven. These I made in a 17.25x 11.5 pan. So we will see...
Loved the recipe, thanks so much
Thank you for helping people get the information they need. Great stuff as usual. Keep up the great work!!! sugar paste for waxing
ReplyDelete