What’s more fun and delicious than frosted high altitude sugar cookie bars scattered with rainbow sprinkles? These pretty Funfetti sugar cookie blondies are soft, moist and chewy, with the most decadent buttercream made with brown butter and cream cheese. If you’ve never made browned butter, don’t worry, it’s an easy process that adds the most wonderful depth and nutty flavor to the buttercream. Paired with cream cheese, it’s simply incredible.
Looking for more recipes like this? Don’t miss these hazelnut maple sugar cookie bars, brownie shortbread bars, and chocolate chip oatmeal cookie bars.
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Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Unsalted Butter. Adds richness, moisture and flavor to cookie bars.
- Granulated Sugar. Sweetness and moisture.
- Eggs. Add structure and richness.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts. The combination of vanilla and almond extracts add the most wonderful flavor to frosted sugar cookie bars. The almond is subtle, but feel free to leave it out, if you prefer.
- All-Purpose Flour. Adds structure and thickens the cookie dough batter.
- Baking Powder. Leavens the cookie bars so they puff up as they bake.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
Frosting
- Unsalted Butter + Cream Cheese. Makes the frosting rich, flavorful and creamy.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetness.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sugar.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Gel Food Coloring. Food coloring is optional, but how pretty is that subtle blush color?
- Sprinkles. These frosted sugar cookie bars are so fun with a scattering of rainbow sprinkles! Feel free to use a mix for a variety of sizes and colors.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9×13 baking sheet with a piece of parchment/baking paper and snip the corners so the paper fits down into the pan. Alternatively, you can use aluminum foil, and spray the foil thoroughly with non-stick spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and hand-held electric mixer), beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and mix in the eggs on low, one at a time, just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients and mix the dough on low, just until moistened. The dough will be very thick.
- Pile the dough into the prepared pan. Since the dough is so thick and sticky, it can be a little tricky to spread it out. The best way is to butter your hands or a spatula and just push the dough out to the edges of the pan as evenly as you can.
- Bake the cookie bars on the center oven rack for about 20-22 minutes, just until the edges are set and ever so slightly browned, but the center still looks a little underdone. Be careful not to over-bake these bars, or they will end up dry. They will continue to bake and set in the hot pan after you take them out of the oven. It’s normal for the center of the bars to settle and sink down a little as it cools.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- To make the browned butter, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for several minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until nutty golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan. Immediately remove from the heat and scrape the browned butter into a bowl. Let cool completely at room temperature, until the butter returns to a solid.
- Add the softened cream cheese to the butter, and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and food coloring. Beat for several minutes until very light and fluffy.
- Lift the cooled bars out of the pan by the paper, peel the paper off, and set the bars on a cutting board.
- Spread the frosting over the bars, top with sprinkles, and cut into squares.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make sugar cookie bars with gluten free flour?
Yes, you can make gluten free sugar cookie bars by substituting your favorite measure-for-measure gluten free flour.
What does browning the butter do for the frosting?
Browning butter toasts the milk solids in the butter for a rich, nutty flavor that adds so much depth to baked goods and buttercreams.
Can this recipe be cut in half?
You can certainly make just half the batter, and bake it in an 8×8 pan. The baking time will be about the same, or a minute or two less.
Can I freeze these cookie bars?
If you’re going to eat the cookie bars right away, store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Or you can wrap them well and freeze the cookie bars for 3-6 months.
What color of food coloring did you use in the frosting?
I used soft pink gel food coloring. Just a small drop or two will give the buttercream a lovely, subtle blush color.
What sprinkle mix did you use?
I used an assortment of sprinkles, including pastel sequin confetti sprinkles or quins, rainbow nonpareils, and various sizes of white and pink sugar pearls.
Can I add other flavors of extracts to these cookie bars?
While I love the combination of the vanilla and almond extracts, you can certainly use any flavor you like. Orange or lemon would be delicious. These bars would also be fantastic paired with a flavored buttercream, such as strawberry, raspberry, orange or lemon.
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High Altitude Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
Ingredients
Cookie Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract, optional
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled to a room temperature solid
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 drops soft pink gel food coloring, optional
- 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350F.Line a 9×13 baking sheet with a piece of parchment/baking paper and snip the corners so the paper fits down into the pan. Alternatively, you can use aluminum foil, and spray the foil thoroughly with non-stick spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and hand-held electric mixer), beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and mix in the eggs, one at a time, just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients and mix the dough on low, just until moistened. The dough will be very thick.
- Pile the dough into the prepared pan. Since the dough is so thick and sticky, it can be a little tricky to spread it out. The best way is to butter your hands or a spatula and just push the dough out to the edges of the pan as evenly as you can.
- Bake the cookie bars on the center oven rack for about 20-22 minutes, just until the edges are set and every so slightly browned, but the center still looks a little underdone. Be careful not to over-bake these bars, or they will end up dry. They will continue to bake and set in the hot pan after you take them out of the oven. It's normal for the center of the bars to settle and sink down a little as it cools.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- To make the browned butter, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for several minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until nutty golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan. Immediately remove from the heat and scrape the browned butter into a bowl. Let cool completely at room temperature, until the butter returns to a solid.
- Add the softened cream cheese to the butter, and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and food coloring. Beat for several minutes until very light and fluffy.
- Lift the cooled bars out of the pan by the paper, peel the paper off, and set the bars on a cutting board.
- Spread the frosting over the bars, top with sprinkles, and cut into squares.
Those look fabulous!
Is the recipe the same if not at high altitude?
It should work at any altitude!
These are my go to baked goods to bring to parties! The recipe is super easy and the bars come out great every time.
These are amazing! The directions were very helpful for someone that’s never made cookie bars before. My whole family loved these and I think it’s an easy recipe. Thank you for sharing it!
Wow, these are delicious! My first time making a brown butter frosting- I may never go back. I made the half batch in an 8×8 and it worked great. My one suggestion to anyone baking these would be to brown the butter when you set the other butter and eggs out for room temperature. I did it later and had to wait for it to solidify.
I’m so glad you loved them! Sometimes I speed up the process of cooling the brown butter by putting it in the fridge and stirring it every 5-10 minutes until it’s solid but spreadable.