Springtime Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting — Sugar cookies in bar form with SPRINKLES galore!! FAST, EASY and yummy! Great for springtime, Easter, Mother’s Day, showers, and parties!!
Easiest Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
Hello springtime! Or something like that. Hopefully it’s getting warmer where you live.
It’s hard to believe that Easter and Mother’s Day are right around the corner, and these bars are perfect for celebrating. Or make them for anything from bridal and baby showers to girls-night-in parties.
They’re faster and easier than making sugar cookies because there’s no dough to chill and no dough to scoop out individually. Just press the dough into a pan, bake, and you’re done.
I made a similar recipe before Christmas that was a huge hit with readers. The bars are buttery soft in the middle with a bit of chewiness around the edges and have nice texture from the baked-in sprinkles.
To finish them off, I frosted the bars with cream cheese frosting and added more sprinkles. I couldn’t resist.
What’s in the Sugar Cookie Bars?
To make the sugar cookie bars recipe, you’ll need:
- Boxed vanilla sugar cookie mix
- Egg
- Unsalted butter
- Sprinkles
- Cream cheese
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
Simply combine the butter, cookie mix, and egg and stir to combine. Fold in the sprinkles, then turn the dough into a greased 8×8-inch baking dish.
Bake the bars until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs but no batter.
Let the bars cool completely. While they cool, whip up the cream cheese frosting!
Can I Use Another Type of Frosting?
Of course! Sugar cookie bars pair well with practically any frosting. Chocolate, peanut butter, vanilla or funfetti frosting could all be used instead of cream cheese frosting.
Tips for Making Bar Cookies
To make this recipe even easier, I used a box of vanilla sugar cookie mix that I doctored up with sprinkles. I’m sure a pouch of sugar cookie mix would work although I haven’t personally tested this mix.
You can cheat and use a tub of store-bought cream cheese frosting if you’re in a rush. No one will notice. They’ll be focusing on all those glorious sprinkles.
I made these into springtime cookie bars, but you can make them for any holiday or occasion by switching out the color of the sprinkles.
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Springtime Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Bars
- one 14-ounce box vanilla sugar cookie mix
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup springtime-colored sprinkles
Frosting
- one tub storebought whipped cream cheese frosting
- OR
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened (lite okay)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons springtime-colored sprinkles, pastels, pinks, yellows, etc.
Instructions
Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350F, line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl add the cookie mix, butter, egg, and mix or stir to combine.
- Stir in 1/4 cup sprinkles.
- Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and bake for about 23 to 27 minutes, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter.
- Set aside to cool completely on a wire rack while you prepare the frosting.
Frosting:
- Use storebought frosting OR to a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, salt, and beat with an electric mixer (or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer) on high power until smooth and fluffy.
- Turn frosting out over bars in an even, smooth flat layer.
- Evenly sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sprinkles before slicing and serving the bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Bar Cookies:
Almond Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars — There’s a buttery shortbread crust that’s topped with a cream cheese and almond extract-based filling before frosting the bars and adding slivered almonds.
Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores Bars — Between layers of super soft chocolate chip cookie dough there’s chocolate, marshmallows, and graham cracker crumbs for the most DECADENT smores ever!! So EASY and just 4 main ingredients!!
M&M’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — Soft buttery bars loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips are a guaranteed hit!! Fast, easy, foolproof, no mixer recipe that’s so much simpler than making cookies!!
Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — A FAST and EASY dessert that is on the HEALTHIER side with only 1/4 cup butter and no oil!! Bold banana flavor, chewiness from the oats, and plenty of chocolate in every bite!!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars — These peanut butter chocolate bars are loaded with chocolate chips and creamy peanut butter. This is a one-bowl dessert you’re bound to love!
Fudgy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars — Chewy oatmeal cookie bars with a thick layer of fudge in the middle! Whoa, hello chocolate overload!!
Loaded M&M’s Oreo Bars — Stuffed to the max with M&M’s and Oreos! These Oreo cookie bars are an easy, no-mixer recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes. Always a hit at parties!
great
This recipe is so lovely! I made them using packaged Pillsbury sugar cookie mix (it was a 17.5 oz package that I used 14 oz of per the recipe proportions), and they came out really good! I checked at 20 min and they were just about ready. The frosting is excellent too! Very straightforward and simple; you will not have a hard time making these. Thank you for the recipe!
This recipe is so lovely! I made them using packaged Pillsbury sugar cookie mix (it was a 17.5 oz package that I used 14 oz of per the recipe proportions), and they came out really good! I checked at 20 min and they were just about ready. The frosting is excellent too! Very straightforward and simple; you will not have a hard time making these. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad these came out lovely for you. Perfect time of year to make them!
great
Averie, these were so good. I like so many of your recipes. Thanks for helping this grandma out. Every time I make something of yours it is a hit. Have a great day!
Thanks for trying this recipe so soon after I posted it and I’m glad it came out great for you! And I’m glad my recipes are working well for you, thanks for the compliments!
I love those sprinkles! They totally pop. Sprinkles make me so happy.
Thank you!
hey girl- these look amazing!
Thank you!
Hmm, I want to make these today and I actually have a larger box (bag) of sugar cookie mix (Betty Crocker). I’m thinking I’m going to try it in maybe a larger pan. Stay tuned – I’ll let you know!! Love all your goodies -never fails to tempt me off of my ‘no sugar’ regime!!
Keep me posted how it goes and thanks for the compliments that you love my recipes!
Oh yum, those pictures look so good, like I could just grab one off my computer screen and eat it. I wish! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the compliments!
Oh, yeah! These are some of my favorite kind of treats to enjoy this time of year!
Those sprinkles are beautiful!! Cream cheese frosting sounds wonderful on a sugar cookie bar. It also sounds wonderful on your carrot banana quick bread too!!
Yes that frosting would be good on pretty much anything I am thinking :)
And I love the sprinkles too!