- December 16, 2025
- Desserts
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
These Christmas sugar cookie bars are thick, soft, and ultra-chewy, baked into one easy pan with all the cozy flavor of classic sugar cookies. Finished with a fluffy homemade buttercream frosting and festive holiday sprinkles, they’re the perfect make-ahead treat for cookie trays, parties, and gifting.
When the holiday season hits, classic sugar cookies always make an appearance. But let’s be honest—rolling dough, flouring counters, and pulling out cookie cutters takes time. These Christmas sugar cookie bars give you everything you love about a classic cookie in an easy bar form, using less time and fewer dishes.
They’re soft, buttery, and topped with a festive buttercream frosting that’s perfect for holiday parties, cookie exchanges, and Christmas Eve dessert trays.
Why You’ll Love These Christmas Sugar Cookies
These bars are designed for busy bakers who still want bakery-style results.
- Soft and chewy with a tender center and lightly golden brown edges
- No rolling, no cookie cutters, and no trays of cookies to rotate
- Made in one baking pan, perfect for slicing into small pieces
- Easy to decorate with festive sprinkles or food coloring
- A great recipe for holiday parties, cookie trays, and Christmas morning
This method delivers the flavor of classic sugar cookies with far less effort.
Christmas Sugar Cookie Ingredients
This sugar cookie recipe uses simple pantry staples and real butter for the best flavor.
Sugar Cookie Dough
- Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs and egg yolk
- Vanilla extract (or a little bit of almond extract for variation)
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk or cream, as needed
- Holiday sprinkles or Christmas sprinkles
Optional Add-Ins & Swaps
- Add a touch of cream cheese to the frosting for tang
- Swap vanilla for almond extract
- Use festive food coloring for a Christmas party look
How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookies
These Christmas cookie bars come together quickly using an electric mixer or stand mixer.
- Prep the Pan: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Cream the Butter and Sugar: In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until thick and glossy, about 1–2 minutes.
- Add Eggs: Mix in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour mixture—flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine: Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until fully combined. The sugar cookie dough will be dense and slightly sticky.
- Press into Pan: Transfer the dough to the pan and press evenly across the entire bar. Don’t over-smooth—texture helps trap moisture.
- Chill Briefly: Chill the pan for 15 minutes.
- Bake: Bake for 25–30 minutes until lightly golden. The center should still look soft.
- Cool completely: Let cool before frosting with buttercream frosting.
Do You Need to Chill Sugar Cookie Dough?
Traditional classic sugar cookies often need chilling, but for bars, only a short chill is necessary. This quick chill helps the dough bake evenly in glass pans or metal pans without spreading or drying out. I tested it both ways and found chilling for 15 min in the pan ahead of time is the way to go!
How to Keep Sugar Cookies Soft
Soft sugar cookies come down to technique and timing.
- Use real butter, not margarine
- Avoid overbaking—the center should look slightly underdone
- Let bars cool fully before slicing
- Store in an airtight container once cooled
These steps keep your Christmas sugar cookie bars tender even days later.
How to Decorate Christmas Sugar Cookies
Decorating is where these bars shine.
- Spread frosting evenly across the entire bar for ease or pipe it on for a fun, festive design, individually to each pre-cut cookie bar
- Top with festive sprinkles or holiday sprinkles
- Add food coloring for a Christmas theme
- Let kids help—it’s mess-friendly and fun
Perfect for cookie exchanges and holiday parties.
How to Store Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Store unfrosted bars at room temperature in an airtight container
- Frosted bars can stay at room temperature for 4 hours, but need to be refrigerated if there is milk in the frosting.
- Refrigerate if using cream cheese frosting
Bring to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
Can You Freeze Sugar Cookies?
Yes, these Christmas cookie bars freeze beautifully.
- Freeze unfrosted bars wrapped tightly
- Freeze dough pressed into the pan for later baking
- Avoid freezing frosted bars unless needed
Thaw overnight before serving.
Common Sugar Cookie Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
- Dry bars: Baked too long—pull earlier next time
- Spreading: Butter too warm or skipped chilling
- Burned bottoms: Pan too dark or rack too low
- Dense texture: Overmixed dough
This method helps avoid those issues while delivering a classic cookie flavor.
More Recipes To Try
Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- 2 sticks Butter softened
- 1.25 cups Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar packed
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tbsp Vanilla
- 3 cups Flour
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Buttercream Frosting
- 2 sticks Butter softened to room temperature
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar sifted
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2-4 tbsp Milk or until you get desired thickness
- Holiday Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Making the Sugar Cookie Bars
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 325 F, and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until glossy and thick, about 1–2 minutes. Slowly add in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix until combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Bring the Dough Together: Add the mixed dry ingredients to the wet and beat until combined. The dough will be very dense and fairly sticky.
- Press into Pan: Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Use damp hands or an offset spatula to press it into an even layer. For an extra chewy center, don’t over-smooth—texture traps moisture.
- Chill the Dough: Place the pan into the fridge for 15 minutes. This helps the sides and center to bake evenly and stay chewy.
- Baking: Bake at 325 F. for 25-30 minutes. Check the center for doneness. The top should be lightly golden brown, and the center may still look semi-soft. Do not overbake, or they will not be as chewy.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool fully before frosting.
Making the Buttercream Frosting
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter on medium speed for 3–4 minutes until pale, smooth, and fluffy.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
- Slowly add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired thickness and spreadability.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip for 1–2 minutes until light and creamy before spreading or piping.
- Spread the frosting onto the cookie bars or pipe it onto individual cookies. Top with sprinkles and enjoy.