Easter Sugar Cookie Bars (Printable)

Soft sugar cookie bars with creamy pastel frosting and sprinkles, ready in 40 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ For the Cookie Base

01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
04 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1 cup granulated sugar
06 - 2 large eggs
07 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
08 - 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

→ For the Frosting

09 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
10 - 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
11 - 2-3 tablespoons whole milk or cream
12 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
13 - Food coloring in pastel tones (pink, yellow, green, purple)

→ For Decoration

14 - Festive Easter sprinkles

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended.
03 - In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract and almond extract if using.
04 - Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined. Avoid overmixing to maintain tenderness.
05 - Press dough evenly into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 18-20 minutes until edges are barely golden and center is set. Cool completely in the pan.
06 - Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk. Beat until smooth and fluffy, adding more milk if needed for spreadable consistency. Divide and tint portions with pastel food coloring if desired.
07 - Spread frosting evenly over cooled cookie base. Sprinkle with Easter decorations immediately.
08 - Lift bars from pan using parchment overhang. Cut into squares and serve, or store in an airtight container.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They're incredibly forgiving, which means even little hands can help spread the frosting without ruining anything
  • The bar format saves so much time compared to rolling and cutting individual cookies, leaving more room for the fun part
  • That tender, buttery base stays soft for days, unlike cut-out cookies that can get hard as rocks
02 -
  • Overbaking is the enemy; these bars continue cooking as they cool in the pan, so pull them out when they still look slightly underdone in the center
  • Room temperature ingredients are not optional here; cold butter creates lumpy dough and cold eggs can cause the mixture to seize up
  • Gel food coloring is infinitely better than liquid drops, which can thin out your frosting and change its consistency entirely
03 -
  • Chill the frosted bars for 30 minutes before cutting to get those perfectly clean, professional-looking edges
  • Press sprinkles gently into the frosting with your palm immediately after decorating to ensure they stick and don't shower everyone who takes a bite

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