High Altitude Pop Tart Cookie Bars
Soft, moist and chewy sugar cookie bars, sandwiched around a layer of raspberry jam, and finished with vanilla icing and sprinkles.
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
- 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)
- ⅔ cup raspberry or strawberry jam
Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 3 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9x9 baking pan with a piece of parchment/baking paper and snip the corners so the paper fits down into the pan.
- 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 extract, 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 thick.
- Divide the dough in half, and press/spread half of the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan. Since the dough is sticky, I prefer to do this with a small off-set spatula.
- Spread the jam over the bottom layer of dough, then set the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will help to chill the jam so that it's easier to add the top layer of cookie dough.
- After chilling the jam layer, add the remaining half of the cookie dough on top of the jam, by using a spoon to place small dollops of dough all over the jam. Now use a small off-set spatula to very gently connect all the dollops of dough into an even layer, trying not to push the jam around as you do this.
- Bake the cookie bars on the center oven rack for about 40-43 minutes, until the top is golden brown and set in the center. If the edges are slightly puffed above the middle, I like to gently press them down with the bottom of a spatula while the bars are hot, so that the surface of the cookie bars is flat and even all the way across.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool for one hour before adding the icing.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the milk and vanilla and stir until smooth.
- Pour the icing over the cookie bars, then use a small offset spatula to spread it out into a thin, even layer.
- Before the icing sets and crusts over, add the sprinkles on top.
- Set the pan in the refrigerator and chill for another hour, or until the bars are completely cooled and the frosting is set.
Cutting and Serving
- To cut the bars, remove the entire slab of cookie bars from the pan by lifting up the edges of the parchment paper. Set the bars on a cutting board.
- Use a long, sharp, non-serrated knife to cut the bars into 3rds, then 5ths, for 15 rectangular shaped bars.
Notes
Leftover sugar cookie bars should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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