Sugar cookie bars are becoming one of my favorite quick treats to make. As much as I love rolled and shaped sugar cookies, they take some time and involve a little bit more of a mess to clean up afterwards. With these sugar cookie bars, we still got to enjoy frosting and decorating with some festive sprinkles, but these were done in a fraction of the time as our standard rolled chocolate sugar cookie recipe.
If you want a stronger peppermint flavor, you can adjust the peppermint flavor with a little bit of extra peppermint extract in the frosting to your liking. Sprinkles are optional, unless your kids our like ours, in which case sprinkles are never viewed as optional.
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars with Peppermint Frosting
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 24 bars
Ingredients
- For the cookie bars:
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- For the frosting:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1¾ cups confectioners' sugar
- 30 soft peppermint puff candies, finely crushed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2-4 drops peppermint extract (optional, add to desired peppermint taste)
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy and lightened in color, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to the bowl and mix until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Press dough evenly into prepared pan. Bake 17-20 minutes, until cooked and just barely beginning to brown on edges. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- While bars cool, beat sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar and beat until well incorporated. Add peppermint candies and beat until well mixed. Mix in vanilla, heavy cream, and peppermint extract. Season with a pinch of salt. Beat mixture for another 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Once bars are completely cooled, evenly spread frosting over the top. Cut into 24 bars.
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