Sugar Cookie Bars — Columbia Table Kitchen

all the loveliness of sugar cookies without the damn mess. oh and the dough doesn’t require chilling.

mix, bake, frost. perfection.

SUGAR COOKIE BARS

1 c. butter-room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract -I’ve left this out if I didn’t have it.
5 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add vanilla and almond extracts to creamed mixture, then slowly add dry ingredients. Press into a 13x18 greased pan. Bake 10-15 minutes. I’ve never had to bake mine over 13 minutes. Cool and frost.
SUGAR COOKIE FROSTING
1 Cup shortening, such as Crisco
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 large bag powdered sugar (2lbs, about 8 cups)
1/2 heavy cream or whole milk (more if needed to reach desired consistency)
Food coloring, if desired
Sprinkles
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl for use with your handheld electric mixer, place shortening and extracts. Beat until creamy ( at least 1 minute)
Begin adding powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
When the mixture starts to become dry start adding cream a little bit at a time alternating with the powdered sugar.
Beat for at least 3 minutes.
Add food coloring if desired.
This recipe makes plenty of frosting. If you decide not to use it all for the bars it freezes really well.

anna loves sugar cookies, may just be her favorite cookie. it’s for sure our brothers favorite. anna knew right away this would be a recipe made over and over.

These are a very thick cookie base with an equally as thick frosting top. As we make this recipe more and more, we would like to experiment with the pan size. Pretty sure we could nearly double the quantity of bars, and thin the cookie part out a bit for the perfect piece every time.

Another fun option would be to bake and frost these, and then use cookie cutters to get some cute shapes. But with half the work of frosting each individual cookie!

We’ve also included our favorite sugar cookie frosting! The secret is using butter, shortening, and milk or heavy cream. Then allow the frosting to be mixed for a couple minutes. It’s so light, fluffy, and so easy to spread.