Easy Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars with Frosting and Sprinkles

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These easy Christmas sugar cookie bars are soft, chewy, and topped with creamy frosting and festive sprinkles. A simple holiday dessert perfect for parties, cookie trays, or gifting.

There’s just something about Christmas time that makes baking feel even more magical. The kitchen fills with the scent of real butter, vanilla extract, and sugar cookie dough, and suddenly, the holiday season feels officially underway.

These easy Christmas sugar cookie bars are one of my favorite Christmas desserts to make because they give you all the delicious flavor of classic sugar cookies—but in bar form. That means less work, less rolling, and no cookie cutters required! Instead, you get soft sugar cookies baked in a single layer, topped with buttercream frosting and festive sprinkles. Perfect for cookie trays, holiday cookie platters, or even gifting.

And the best part? Unlike traditional sugar cookies that require extra time for rolling and cutting, this sugar cookie bar recipe bakes up in one pan, cools, and then gets frosted and decorated. It’s one of the best cookie recipes to have in your holiday rotation if you love easy bar cookies that deliver a chewy texture and delicious flavor without the fuss.

Soft and chewy, just like your favorite Christmas cookie.
Topped with buttercream frosting or even cream cheese frosting for extra richness.
Made in a baking pan, which means less cleanup and no dry cookie bars.
Easy treat to make ahead and store in an airtight container.
Perfect for Christmas cookie boxes, cookie trays, or gifting alongside candy canes and hot cocoa.

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Key Ingredients

You’ll find the full ingredient list below, but here are a few important notes:

Unsalted butter – Always use real butter at room temperature for best results.Vanilla extract + almond extract – Vanilla adds depth, and almond extract is the secret ingredient that takes these from good to unforgettable.
Heavy cream – Adds richness and whips into the frosting for a fluffy, spreadable texture.
Festive sprinkles – Green sprinkles, red jimmies, or holiday sprinkles give these that Christmas tree sugar cookie bar look.

You can find a full list of ingredients in the recipe card located at the bottom of this post.

Prepare Your Baking Pan—Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang to create a sling. A light spray of cooking oil helps the parchment stick to the pan. This is the best method for lifting out the entire bar later for clean cuts.

Make the Sugar Cookie Dough—In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can use an electric mixer or hand mixer), cream together room temperature butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. This step should take 2–3 minutes. Scrape the butter wrapper along the edges of the bowl for every last bit of butter if you like—nothing goes to waste during the holiday season!

Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and the egg. Mix again until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: purpose flour, a pinch of salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Overmixing can lead to dry cookie bars, so stop once you see no streaks of flour.

Bake—Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan using your hands or measuring cup to smooth the top into a single layer. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Let the baked cookie bars cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.

Make the Frosting—In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt on medium speed until creamy. Sift in the powdered sugar for the best results (this prevents lumps). Add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until your buttercream frosting is light and fluffy. If you’d like, tint it with gel food coloring for red or green frosting. For a twist, try the addition of cream cheese for a cream cheese frosting instead!

Frost & Decorate—Use the parchment sling to remove the cooled cookie bar from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Spread the frosting evenly across the entire bar using an offset spatula. Sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles or even crushed candy canes for a festive look. Chill the bar form briefly to set the frosting, then use a sharp knife to cut into squares for clean cuts.

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Always start with room temperature butter for soft sugar cookies.
Chill bars before slicing for clean cuts.
Wipe your sharp knife between cuts for neat squares.
For best results, don’t overbake—the bars should look just golden brown.

Fun Variations for the Holidays

Color the Frosting – Red and green for Christmas, or try pink with heart sprinkles for Valentine’s Day.
Peppermint Twist – Add peppermint extract to the frosting for a holiday-season favorite.
Royal Icing Look – For a different finish, pipe designs with royal icing using a piping bag.
Switch Up Sprinkles – Christmas tree sugar cookie bars, snowflake sprinkles, or even crumbl cookies-inspired toppings.

Make Ahead & Storage

You can make these bars a day in advance. Simply bake, cool, and frost as directed. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

If stacking, use parchment between layers to prevent sticking. They’re sturdy enough for cookie sheets or cookie trays and hold up beautifully in Christmas cookie boxes.

These delicious cookie bars make such sweet, thoughtful gifts:

Cut into squares, place in cellophane bags, and tie with a ribbon.
Layer in a tin with parchment paper between layers.
Pair with a hot cocoa mix jar for an easy treat gift set.
Check out my Edible Gift Guide for more holiday ideas!

And if you need gift packaging, here’s a link to my favorites on Amazon.

Recipe FAQs

Can I double this sugar cookie recipe

Yes! You can bake it in a sheet pan for larger holiday gatherings.

What if I prefer individual cookies?

Next time, you can roll out this dough with cookie cutters for traditional sugar cookies.

What type of frosting works best?

Buttercream frosting is the classic, but cream cheese frosting is delicious for special occasions.

More Holiday Desserts to Try

Holiday Baking

Baking during the holiday season doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or take extra time—sometimes the simplest recipes bring the most joy. These Christmas sugar cookie bars are proof that you can capture all the delicious flavor of classic sugar cookies with less work and in bar form, perfect for cookie trays, holiday cookie platters, or gifting to friends and family.

Whether you’re making them while Christmas music plays in the background, or you’re cutting them into neat squares for a cookie box, they’re bound to become a favorite Christmas cookie tradition in your home. I hope you give this easy treat a try and that it brings a little bit of sweetness, cheer, and fun into your kitchen this holiday season!

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If you make this recipe, please leave a rating on the recipe card below! I’d also love for you to tag me @autumn.chasingoursimple on Instagram so I can see what you’ve been baking!

Easy Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars with Frosting and Sprinkles

These easy Christmas sugar cookie bars are soft, chewy, and topped with creamy frosting and festive sprinkles. A simple holiday dessert perfect for parties, cookie trays, or gifting

Would you like to save this?

We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

Ingredients

For Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, room temperature
2½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda

For the Frosting

12 tbsp butter, room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp heavy cream
gel food coloring if desired
sprinkles for topping

Instructions

Bake the Bars

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9x13inch pan with parchment paper leaving a little overhand to use as a sling when removing the cookie bars after baking. I also like to add a little cooking spray to the pan to help the paper stick.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium high until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and egg and mix until combined.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl and then add it to the mixer and mix until just combined.
Transfer the dough to the lined baking pan and use your hands to spread it evenly so that it gets to the corners of the pan.
Bake the sugar cookie bars for 20-25 minutes, until they are lightly golden brown on the tops.
Place the pan of cookie bars on a wire rack until the bars are completly cooled.

Make the Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter, vanilla, and salt together.
Sift in the powdered sugar. This prevents lumps in the frosting. Mix on medium until combined.
Add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Add gel food coloring if desired.
Mix on low for 2-3 minutes.

Frost and Decorate

Using the parchment paper sling, remove the cookie bars from the pan and place onto a cutting board.
Frost using an offset spatula and add sprinkles!
Chill the cookie bars until the frosting is set and then cut them with a sharp knife.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.