These adorable santa hat sugar cookie bars are made in a 9x13" pan - no cookie cutters or fancy decorating required!
Why You'll Love These Santa Sugar Cookie Bars
- Less work: Seriously these sugar cookie bars are the easiest, quickest way to make 24 individual cookies. Just mix, spread, bake and cut! The best part? No cookie cutters or chilling required! Perfect for the busy holiday season!
- Soft, thick & chewy: Let's not forget that these are made with the best sugar cookie bar recipe. My family literally begs me to make these whenever I visit!
- Made in my favorite 9x13 pan: These easy sugar cookie bars bake perfectly even in my favorite 9x13 baking pan. Did you know I love this pan so much I wrote an entire cookbook based off of it?
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter in most of my baking but if you only have salted, you can use that and simply omit the salt.
- Extracts: I use both vanilla extract and almond extract. The almond extract gives the cookies an incredible sugar cookie flavor, so I don't recommend omitting it unless you have a nut allergy or aversion to almond extract. It truly makes them so good!
- Baking powder: make sure to use baking powder not baking soda! Also, make sure your baking powder is fresh (opened within the last 3 months). I like to write the date on the top of the can with a sharpie when I open a new one so I can easily keep track of how long it's been open.
- Flour: I always use all-purpose flour for cookie recipes. I have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour but if you give it a try, be sure to report back! Try to measure the flour correctly, using the spoon-and-level method. Adding too much flour can cause dense and dry cookies.
love these?
Make my Christmas trees, too!
Use the same cutting method to make adorable Christmas trees!
How to Make Santa Sugar Cookie Bars
Step 1: Make Dough
- Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream together softened unsalted butter (1 cup, i.e. 2 sticks) and granulated sugar (1 cup) on medium speed for 20-30 seconds. (If butter hasn't been softened, you can place in microwave for 10 seconds to *slightly* soften it.)
- While mixer is on medium speed, add in egg (1 large), vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) and almond extract (1 teaspoon).
- Once mixed, add baking powder (1½ teaspoons), salt (½ teaspoon), and all-purpose flour (2 ¼ cups). (Add flour ½ cup at a time on low speed). Be sure to measure your flour properly using the spoon & level method, as adding too much can result in dry bars.
- Mix until all of the flour mixture disappears, typically 20-30 seconds. You do not need to beat/mix this any longer than it takes to mix in the flour.
Step 2: Press Into Pan & Bake
- Spray a metal 9×13 pan with cooking spray, then line pan with parchment paper (having the grease underneath the paper will help the paper stay down).
- Drop the dough into 1 tablespoon sized chunks into the prepared pan. Use your hands or a spatula to press down the dough until it covers the pan.
- Bake bars at 350°F degrees for 14-16 minutes. The trick to soft sugar cookie bars is to take them out right when you see the TINIEST amount of brown around the edges. The center may look underdone and this is okay; the bars will continue to bake in the hot pan when cooling.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting (you can put the pan in the fridge on a cooling rack to speed this up).
Step 3: Make & Spread Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat unsalted butter (½ cup; i.e. 1 stick) on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment) for 1-2 minutes (until light and creamy).
- Keeping the mixer on medium speed, slowly add in vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), almond extract (½ teaspoon) and powdered sugar (2 cups). Once incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add milk (1 tablespoon) and beat for 30 seconds. Add the remaining milk (1 tablespoon) if frosting seems too thick to spread.
- Then divide your frosting (reserve about ¼ cup of the white frosting so that you use it for the pompoms on Santa's hat and dye remaining frosting red using red gel food coloring.
- Once bars have completely cooled, spread your red frosting completely on top of the cookie bars in an even layer.
Step 4: Cut
- Run a knife along the edges of the bars (that aren't covered with parchment), then carefully lift or slide the cookie bars out of the pan. Use the instructions & photo references below to cut.
- Use a large, straight-edged knife to cut the bars in half horizontally, then cut each half into half again.
- Starting on the bottom quadrant, use a sharp knife to cut into triangles. Continue until all triangles are cut (you should get 24 cookie triangles).
Step 5: Add hat details
Use a piping bar with a star piping tip to add the white frosting to the top and bottom of your triangles to resemble the white on Santa's hat.
Tips & Variations
- Don't overbake! The trick to soft sugar cookie bars is to take them out right when you see the TINIEST amount of brown around the edges. The center may look a little bit underdone and this is okay; the bars will continue to bake in the hot pan when cooling.
- Use a parchment sling: Lining your pan with parchment paper and allowing an overhang on the long sides will allow you to lift the bars out of the pan after they are cooled. This will allow you to get clean, even cuts using a large knife.
- Use different colors of frosting! Want more easy christmas sugar cookie bars? Try these Christmas tree sugar cookie bars. Or, if you're looking for regular sugar cookies you can try these santa face sugar cookies made with my classic sugar cookies recipe.
- Use canned frosting: Even though the homemade buttercream is so delicious, if you're needing to save time, you can totally use premade frosting! I find it helpful to microwave canned frosting for 15-20 seconds to help it spread smoothly (just make sure every piece of the foil seal is off the lid before microwaving!)
- Cream cheese frosting: If you want to make these sugar cookie bars with cream cheese frosting instead of buttercream, make a double-batch of my cream cheese frosting recipe and spread on top.
Storage & Freezing
- Storing: These bars do not need to be refrigerated but are so delicious chilled! Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days (they last longer but will start to dry out).
- Freezing: These sugar cookie bars freeze really well and are actually so good straight from the freezer! To avoid smearing the icing, freeze the frosted bars in a single layer for 1-2 hours. Once frozen, you can stack them in between pieces of parchment paper and place in an airtight container. When ready to thaw, be sure to unstack them before thawing so that the frosting doesn't smear.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I make red frosting?
The Wilton Color Right Set is my favorite for gel food coloring, but you can use regular food coloring too. Red is a frosting color that will darken as it sits, so don't worry about getting a super vibrant red as it will darken after you frost the cookies.
When using the Wilton colors, I use the Wilton Red with a drop or two of Wilton Crimson.
What type of pan should I use for these cookie bars?
I highly suggest using a parchment-lined, light-metal 9x13 pan for these. Light metal will allow your bars (and any baked good!) to bake more evenly and prevent the over-browning that dark metal or glass pans can cause.
How do I get clean cuts?
The tricks are to (a) make sure the frosting is chilled & firm, (b) make sure you use a parchment sling so that you can easily lift the bars out of the pan for cutting, and (c) wipe your knife off between cuts. The parchment sling will allow you to lift the bars out and use a large knife and cut across without the pan getting in the way. Wiping the knife off on a warm, wet cloth in between each cut (or whenever the frosting is sticking to the knife) will prevent smearing and crumbs.
You can also use the parchment sling overhang to help press down the edges to avoid crispy pieces.
Looking for more easy Christmas cookie recipes?
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Santa Sugar Cookie Bars
Makes: 24 hats
These santa hat sugar cookie bars are made in a 9x13" pan - no cookie cutters or fancy decorating required
Ingredients
⭐️ Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor afterwards and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. If butter hasn't been softened you can place in microwave for 10 seconds to *slightly* soften it.
- In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) and 1 cup granulated sugar on medium speed for 20-30 seconds. While mixer is still on medium speed, add in 1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon almond extract.
- Once mixed, add in 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and all-purpose flour* (2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour total); adding flour ½ cup at a time on low speed.*Be sure to measure your flour properly using the spoon & level method, as adding too much can result in dry bars.
- Mix until all flour disappears, typically 20-30 seconds. You do not need to beat/mix this any longer than it takes to mix in the flour. When pinched between your fingers, dough should be similar to a playdoh consistency and not be very sticky. Refer to photo above in post for how dough should look.
- Spray a light-colored metal 9×13 pan with cooking spray, then line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on each long side so that you will be able to lift the bars out of the pan (photo reference in FAQ section above).
- Drop the dough into 1-tablespoon sized chunks into the prepared pan. Use your hands or a spatula to press down the dough until it covers the pan.Tip: If the dough is sticky, you can place another piece of parchment paper on top and continue pressing down. To get clean edges, you can fold down the sides of the parchment paper and press like shown in the FAQ section above.
- Bake bars at 350°F for 14-16 minutes. The trick to soft sugar cookie bars is to take them out right when you see the TINIEST amount of brown around the edges. The center may look underdone and this is okay; the bars will continue to bake in the hot pan when cooling.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting (you can put the pan in the fridge on a cooling rack to speed this up).
To Make Frosting:
- In a large bowl, beat ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment) for 1-2 minutes, until light and creamy.
- Keeping the mixer on medium speed, slowly add in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, and 2 cups powdered sugar.Once incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add milk (1 tablespoon) and beat for 30 seconds. Add the remaining milk (1 tablespoon) if frosting seems too thick to spread.
- Then divide your frosting (reserve about ¼ cup of the white frosting so that you use it for the pompoms on Santa's hat) and add red food coloring and mix until combined. Note: Red food coloring gets darker as it dries so be sure not to over add color when making your frosting!
- Once bars have completely cooled, spread your red frosting completely on top of the cookie bars in an even layer
Cutting
- Run a knife along the edges of the bars (that aren't covered with parchment), then carefully lift or slide the cookie bars out of the pan. Use the instructions & photo references above to cut.
- Use a large, straight-edged knife to cut the bars in half horizontally, then cut each half into half again.
- Starting on the bottom quadrant, use a sharp knife to cut into triangles. Continue until all triangles are cut (you should get 24 cookie triangles).To keep clean edges, wipe the knife off on a warm, wet cloth in between each cut (or whenever the frosting is sticking to the knife).
- Use a piping bar with a star piping tip to add the white frosting to the top and bottom of your triangles to resemble the white on Santa's hat.
Notes from Melissa
Storing: If not eating same day or within 3-4 hours, place in an airtight container to stay fresh. These bars can sit out for a few days due to the sugar in the frosting keeping the milk stable. These bars are also amazing chilled or frozen for 1-2 months (any longer and they tend to dry out).
Freezing: These sugar cookie bars freeze really well and are actually so good straight from the freezer! To avoid smearing the icing, freeze the frosted bars in a single layer for 1-2 hours. Once frozen, you can stack them in between pieces of parchment paper and place them in an airtight container. When ready to thaw, be sure to unstack them before thawing so that the frosting doesn't smear.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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