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Easy Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting

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This easy cream cheese sugar cookie bar with frosting recipe is a fun dessert to make because you get the best of both worlds in a cookie and a bar.

Plus, they are the perfect treat for any holiday. You can add sprinkles for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, or any occasion. 

Cookie bars on a counter

This cookie bar recipe, with frosting and sprinkles, turns out moist with the addition of cream cheese. The Funfetti cookie bars recipe is super simple and creates a treat that is perfect for any party.

This recipe and post were created for #SummerDessertWeek! Sponsor companies sent me samples, but as always, opinions are 100% mine.

Cookie bars on a counter

I love cookie bars, and this recipe is really top-notch.ย I like this recipe so much because it’s made with cream cheese, which gives it a more creamy flavor and keeps the bars moist.ย 

I recently made these for a church potluck, and I love them because they are so easy to make. Plus, they make quite a few and are rich, so the sugar cookie bars go a long way and are the perfect bar cookies for a crowd.

Cookie Bars

  • Butter, softened
  • Cream cheese softened
  • Sugar
  • Egg
  • Vanilla extract
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Sprinkles

Frosting

  • Butter, softened
  • Powdered sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Heavy cream (more if needed)
  • Sprinkles

Full recipe and printable instructions listed below

For best results, use an electric hand mixer with both the cookies and frosting.

Softened butter in a glass bowl

Start by adding the softened butter to a mixing bowl.ย 

Don’t stress too much if you don’t set your butter out to soften. I say this all the time because I forget to set the butter out all the time. 

If your microwave has a setting for softening, you can use that to soften the butter, or you can put the setting on about 10% and run the microwave for a few seconds at a time.ย 

Cream cheese and butter in a glass bowl

Add the softened cream cheese to the bowl.ย 

Softened butter and cream cheese will help mix the two together more easily, as will the sugar.ย 

Sugar, butter, and cream cheese mixed together in a bowl

Now, add the sugar to the bowl.ย For this recipe, I used Dixie Crystals.ย 

Butter, sugar, cream cheese, and an egg in a bowl

Next, add the egg to the bowl.

Butter, sugar, eggs, cream cheese, and vanilla in a bowl

Add the vanilla extract and mix the ingredients together.ย 

For this cookie recipe, I used Adams Best Vanilla Extract. Just taking the lid off and smelling the vanilla brings back so many good memories of helping my grandmother bake in her kitchen.ย 

A butter mixture with flour, baking powder, and baking soda

Next, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix everything together.ย 

Sugar sprinkles in a small bowl

Gather up your sprinkles. These sprinkles, from Sweets & Treats, added a bit of crunch to the cookie bars recipe and plenty of sparkle and fun.ย 

Sprinkles in a cookie bar mix

Add the sprinkles to the cookie batter and mix it together.ย 

Cookie bar dough spread out into a cake pan

Spread the cookie dough into a greased 13″ x 9″ baking dish.

For this recipe, I used the cake from Wilton. One side has colorful circles and triangles for a fun decorated cake pan.ย You can also use a glass pan for this recipe if that’s all you have.

A baked cookie bar in a cake pan.

Bake the sugar cookie bars for about 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes before making the frosting.

Sprinkles in a bag next to baked cookie bars

Easy Frosting Recipe

This great recipe turns out a thick layer of frosting to top the cookies.

You can add sprinkles, Valentine’s Day hearts, Christmas sprinkles, or even drizzle a little chocolate syrup over the top for even more great taste!

Softened butter in a glass bowl

Start by adding the softened butter to the bowl.ย 

Butter and powdered sugar in a bowl

Next, add the powdered sugar to the bowl.ย 

Buttermilk, powdered sugar, and butter in a bowl

Now, add the heavy cream.ย 

Powdered sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and butter in a bowl

And finally, add the vanilla extract to the bowl. Stir everything together until it’s well blended and all the lumps are gone.ย 

Cookie bars in a cake pan with frosting and sprinkles

Spread the frosting on top and follow with the sprinkles. I don’t have the most steady hand, but it turned out great.ย 

Adams Best Vanilla Extract in a box next to cookie bars
Dixie Sugar crystals bad with cookie bars

You can store the cookie bars in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap. I would keep them refrigerated. They will last for at least a week in the fridge, if you don’t eat them all first.

The easiest way to test a cookie bar is to insert a cake tester, toothpick, or a thin knife into the batter. If it comes out clean, your cookie bar is done baking. If there’s still batter on the tester, you need to bake it longer. 

Cookie bars on a counter

A bar cookie is typically denser than cake and similar to a cookie, but thicker. It’s usually cut into squares and frosted.ย 

How Do You Cut Bar Cookies?

Allow them to cool before cutting. Once they cool, use a knife to cut the cookies.

If you line the cookie pan with parchment paper, you can lift the cookies out of the pan after they cool and cut them.

Sponsored Items Used In This Recipe:

Be sure to try the cookie bar recipe below. It might just become your favorite sugar cookie recipe.

Cookie bars on a counter

Cookie Bars Recipe

4.59 from 12 votes
Julie Pollitt
Cookie bars with frosting and sprinkles are a fun dessert and the best thing to make. The funfetti cookie bar is perfect for a bake sale, the holidays, or any time in between.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Servings 36 cookies
Calories 221 kcal

Ingredients
  

Cookie Bars

  • 2 sticks 1 cup butter, softened
  • 8 ounces of cream cheese softened
  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/4 cup sprinkles

Frosting

  • 1-1/2 sticks 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 3 Tablespoons heavy cream more if needed
  • 1/4 cup sprinkles

Instructions
 

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease a 13" x 9" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

  • Bar cookies
  • Start by adding the butter and cream cheese to a large bowl. Cream together with a hand mixer.
  • Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and mix together until well blended.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well.
  • Mix the sprinkles into the batter.
  • Press into the baking dish.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
  • Allow the bars to cool for about 30 minutes before frosting.
  • Vanilla Frosting
  • Add the butter to a medium-sized bowl.
  • Next, add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Mix everything together and spread on top of the cookie bars.
  • Sprinkle the sprinkles over the top and cut the bars.

Video

Notes

For best results, use an electric mixer for both the cookie bars and frosting.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 221kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 2gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 124mgSugar: 19g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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4.59 from 12 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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2 Comments

  1. Iโ€™m making these right now!! I love sprinkles!!

    1. Julie Pollitt says:

      Yay! I hope you love them. I love sprinkles, too. ๐Ÿ™‚