💕 Valentine’s Day Vanilla Pudding Sugar Cookie Bars are made with a sugar cookie crust topped with creamy vanilla pudding, whipped topping, and sprinkles! A luscious and EASY dessert, it will put everyone in festive spirits!
Why You’ll Love These Vanilla Pudding Sugar Cookie Bars
If you’re in need of a luscious, crowd-pleasing Valentine’s Day dessert, this one is perfect and tastes like a million bucks, but uses plenty of baking shortcuts so it’s super easy to make.
My 12 year-old daughter gave these a 10 out of 10 and I would have to agree. The sugar cookie crust is soft but plenty chewy. It’s a great contrast to the cream cheese and pudding layer, which is squishy, light, and airy with rich vanilla flavor.
- I use sugar cookie mix to keep the ingredients simple and the process easy.
- Soft, chewy, and sweet, these crowd-pleasing bars are ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.
- One batch makes an entire 9×13 pan, meaning these bars are great for parties and gifting!
Looking for more Valentine’s desserts?
My Valentine’s Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars are so much FASTER AND EASIER than making sugar cookies! My Soft M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, thick, and SO delicious! You can also never go wrong with soft and chewy Valentine Peanut Butter M&M Blondies, easy Soft Frosted Valentine Heart Cookies, or my loaded Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Valentine’s Blondies!
Ingredients and Notes
- Sugar Cookie Mix – I use the Betty Crocker mix, but any 17.5-ounce pouch will work. This eliminates the need for a classic flour mixture with lots of ingredients
- Unsalted Butter – Let it soften at room temperature for easy mixing
- Egg
- Cream Cheese – Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese for the best taste and texture. Cream cheese from a tub will not work for this recipe
- Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix – I used regular pudding mix rather than sugar-free, and cannot comment on how these will turn out if you use sugar-free pudding mix. If you don’t have instant pudding mix in your area or don’t want to order it, I’m sorry to say this is probably not the recipe for you, but check out all these other fun and festive Valentine’s Day recipes
- Milk – I highly recommend whole milk for the richest flavor and creamiest consistency, but any milk you have on hand can be used
- Whipped Topping
- Sprinkles – I used these Sweetapolita sprinkles because all of her stuff is just so cute
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Vanilla Pudding Sugar Cookie Bars
- First, stir the sugar cookie crust ingredients by combining a packet of sugar cookie mix with butter, an egg, pressing the cookie dough mixture into a pan, and baking it off. A big tip here is not to overbake the sugar cookie layer, or the finished bars will be overly chewy and hard. Err on the side of underbaking is my recommendation.
- Top the baked sugar cookie crust with a mixture of cream cheese, milk, and instant vanilla pudding mix.
- Chill in the fridge. This allows the pudding to set up so your bars hold their shape!
- Top the bars with whipped topping and sprinkles.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the mixture into bars, running it under hot water and wiping it clean after each cut. Enjoy!
Valentine’s Day Vanilla Pudding Sugar Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 2 Large Bowls
- 1 Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- one 17.5-ounce pouch sugar cookie mix
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- two 3.4-ounce boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
- 3 cups cold whole milk, divided
- one 8-ounce container whipped topping, thawed (I used lite)
- sprinkles, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a 9×13-inch pan with foil for easier cleanup, and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the sugar cookie mix, butter, egg, and mix with a handheld electric mixer to combine. If necessary, mix by hand for the dough to fully come together.
- Turn dough out into prepared pan and pat into a smooth, even, flat layer. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes; do not overbake. Allow crust to cool completely before adding the filling.
- To a large bowl, add the cream cheese and beat until very smooth.
- Add 1 cup milk and beat to incorporate.
- Add the pudding mix and beat to incorporate.
- Add the remaining 2 cups milk and beat to incorporate. Beat for about 5 minutes on high speed to encourage mixture to thicken up.
- Turn mixture out over the sugar cookie crust, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until set. I refrigerated overnight.
- Before serving, evenly top with whipped topping and evenly sprinkle the sprinkles. The bars will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week, noting that some sprinkles may have a tendency to bleed into the whipped topping as time passes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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great
Yum!! I like the creamy pudding-cream cheese layer on top of a sugar cookie crust!