These Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars are a delicious and easy-to-make treat recipe! The basic sugar cookie base is topped with a sweet and fluffy buttercream frosting and sprinkles – it’s the perfect kid friendly dessert that the whole family will love!
Looking for more easy and delicious desserts? You’ll LOVE these Lemon Blackberry No Bake Cheesecake Cups, or this absolutely delicious No Bake Snickers Cheesecake!
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You guys, it’s taken me more than 2 years to share these Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars with you and it’s about time!! This was actually the very first recipe I ever tried after joining Pinterest so many years ago. I had a family function to attend, I’d just had a baby a month before and I needed a quick dessert to make. I executed my very first Pinterest search and these Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars were the winner! 
I originally found the recipe on High Heels and Grills but I’ve made it several times throughout the years and put my own spin on it, changing a few of the ingredient amounts to make them even softer and chewier and the frosting just a bit fluffier. And of course, I add sprinkles to mine because when you’re making a dessert with THIS much sugar in it, what’s a few more little balls of sugar on top, am I right?
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Truth be told, I have never actually made these just for fun to keep around the house (I’m not that crazy…) – I’ve only ever made them for parties and gatherings and, of course, for sharing with friends and family. My kids love to help me make these Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars (which is why these ones are pink…I have 2 pink-loving girls) and because you can colour the icing any shade you desire, they’re perfect for any season! Try them in green for St. Patrick’s Day, in red and pink for Valentine’s Day, orange and black for Halloween, or even in Red and Green for Christmas!
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I just love how simple this recipe is – the sugar cookie base is so soft and chewy even after it cools and the frosting is so soft and fluffy, thanks to the addition of a little bit of whipping cream instead of milk. This is in no way a light dessert…make no mistake, these Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars are ultra sweet and indulgent so they’re perfect for parties and special occasions. And they are SO unbelievably delicious you’ll probably have trouble stopping at just one. Trust me!
Looking for more sweet treats like this one? Click here for all my favourite dessert recipes, all in one place!
I really hope you like this Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite family friendly dessert recipe? Please share it with me in the comments!
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Like these Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars? You’ll LOVE the recipes I’ve linked below!
These Best Ever Blueberry Crumb Bars are the best fruit bars I’ve ever tasted with a deliciously tender shortbread crumble! 
My Grandma’s Fudge Brownies go back 3 generations – this recipe is amazing and it’s stood the test of time!
These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars are perfect for school lunches or picnics! And they couldn’t be easier to make!
Kitchen Tools I Recommend:
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Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars
Recipe: Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons full fat sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons whipping cream
- a splash vanilla extract
- a pinch sea salt
- food colouring if desired
- sprinkles if desired
Recipe: Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular baking pan with butter.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed for several minutes until they're creamed together (fluffy and smooth and pale in colour).
- Beat in the sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract until well incorporated.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix on low speed just until combined. The mixture may appear slightly crumbly but this is totally normal.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan with your hands or a flat kitchen object like the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Bake the sugar cookie base at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 16-17 minutes, making sure that no browning occurs on the edges. If the edges start to brown, remove the base from the oven immediately.
- Let the sugar cookie base cool completely to room temperature while you make the frosting.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the butter on high speed until it's ultra smooth and pale in colour.
- Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it's well incorporated.
- While the mixer is running, add the whipping cream in a steady stream until the desired consistency is reached (spreadable, but not too thin). You may only need to add 4 or 5 tablespoons of whipping cream.
- Add the vanilla and sea salt and food colouring and whip on high speed until the frosting becomes light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes).
- Spread the frosting over the completely cooled sugar cookie base and top with sprinkles.
- Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before slicing to allow the icing to set (this will create clean slices).
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
These were not soft and chewy. I almost thought I had left an ingredient out by mistake. But I did not. The frosting was great. The dimensions of the baking pan need to be reduced. The cookies as is are thin and hard, not soft and chewy.
I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience with the recipe. It sounds like there must have been some mistake. I’ve made these SO many times and they’ve always worked perfectly well, and the feedback from my other readers is the same. I’d love to hear more about what went wrong so I can help you troubleshoot. 🙂
Oh my gosh…same here! My daughter and I made these and they didn’t taste good and were just WEIRD. =(
The Frosting was the best part. So frustrating.
So sorry these didn’t work out for you – I’d love to know more about what the texture was like for you so I can help you troubleshoot. I’ve tested this recipe over and over again and it has always worked for me. Hope I can help somehow! 🙂
I just made a double batch, and they are amazing!! Lovely chewy texture and so very easy to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
So glad you loved this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
I made these bars on Thursday evening and everyone loves them. Yes, they are a bit sweet, but very good. I added pure strawberry extract and made pink frosting. Next time I’ll use pistachio extract into green frosting.
The only thing I would change is half butter and half shortening in the frosting. I don’t know why I didn’t do that right away because that’s what I do. :o) I did add more salt to cut the sweetness.
Thank you for sharing!
PS. Is it only me or does anyone else have a really hard time to read things on here. I can barely see my comments as I write them and I can’t read the yellow words well.
Just made these and they smell great and taste just as good! I used a smaller pan to get the bars thicker and they are wonderful! Thanks for the recipe
So glad you loved them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Tried this recipe for Easter. The cookie turned out perfect! Be careful not too over cook! The frosting was was to sweet. Even the kids scraped it off! If I had to do it over, i’d go easy on all the sugar.
Thanks for your comment! Every brand of powdered sugar is different, so perhaps yours was a little sweeter. It’s a good idea to taste as you go!
You use the glass baking dish in the picture? That makes me nervous just because it stays hot so much longer. I just want to make sure.
Yes! 🙂
Came out perfect, I did make a mistake on the frosting though i put too much salt and we didn’t have any wipping cream so i just added a little more butter and some milk because I read that butter and milk can replace wipping cream.
Glad they still turned out delicious!!🙂