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Soft frosted sugar cookie bars, cut into squares, with pale pink frosting and sprinkles.

High Altitude Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Heather Smoke
Soft, moist and chewy frosted sugar cookie bars, with the most decadent buttercream made with brown butter and cream cheese.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 9 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings20

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 9x13 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.

Notes

Leftover sugar cookie bars should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrapped well and frozen for 3-6 months.
Keyword Brown Butter, Cookie Bars, Cream Cheese, Sugar Cookies
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