These Valentine sugar cookie bar cookies are irresistibly sweet, chewy, and buttery, with a delicious frosting and festive heart sprinkles. The best Valentine's Day treat recipe!
These sugar cookie bars are irresistibly sweet, chewy, and buttery with a hint of vanilla.
Topped with frosting and decorated with sprinkles -they're the perfect Valentine’s treats!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It makes a cute Valentine's Day treat. This sweet treat tastes fantastic with a cup of coffee, tea, or a cold glass of milk!
- Freezer friendly. Save time by making a double (or triple!) batch of sugar cookie dough at one time. It freezes well, baked or unbaked, for up to 4 months!
- An easy homemade dessert. Just about everyone appreciates getting homemade goodies for Valentine's Day! Wrap up the Valentine bar cookies in a pretty tin or festive cellophane bags tied with ribbon. They're perfect treats for a school or office party!
These bars are so much easier to do compared to sugar cookie cutouts- they're a must try! Plus, they're made with basic pantry staples you already have on hand!
Ingredients
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
To make this easy Valentine's Day cookie recipe, you'll need:
- salted butter: If you can afford it, I recommend using European butter rather than American-made. The extra butterfat content adds more flavor to the cookie bars.
- white granulated sugar
- large eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- leaveners: You'll need baking powder for this recipe. If you haven't used it in a while, it's best to test it for freshness. If it's expired, it won't produce the gas bubbles needed to cause the dessert to rise in the oven.
- vanilla frosting & sprinkles - I think these Valentine sprinkles and these Heart Sprinkles are both so cute!
📖 Time-Saving Tip - Testing Baking Soda or Baking Powder for Freshness
This simple little test can save you time and money, because if your leavener is expired, whatever you're baking wont rise in the oven! This test works for baking soda and baking powder:
- Add about ½ teaspoon of baking soda or powder to a small bowl. Stir in an equal amount of an acidic ingredient, like vinegar or citrus juice.
- If the solution doesn't start to bubble immediately, it's time to replace your leavener.
Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- butter: If you need or want to use unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon of coarse kosher or sea salt when you add the flour and baking powder. Although I haven't tested it, plant-based (dairy-free) butter will probably work.
- egg: The egg yolk is important for creating moist, soft cookie bars, so I haven't tested any egg substitutes with this recipe. If you want to do some testing on your own, feel free! For tips and suggestions, read my article, Egg Substitutions for Baking.
- white granulated sugar: To reduce the calories of this Valentine dessert, you can substitute with a cup-for-cup granulated sugar substitute. Monkfruit sugar is a good option.
- baking powder: For this recipe, you need baking powder, which is much different than baking soda. Do not substitute one for the other.
- all-purpose flour: If you'd like to make the Valentine sugar cookie bar cookies gluten-free, substitute the AP flour with a 1:1 variety of gluten-free all-purpose flour. Two popular brands are Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour. Almond flour and coconut flour are not suitable substitutes for the all-purpose flour in this recipe.
- frosting: If you would like to use a different flavor of frosting, you certainly can! Any flavor of store-bought or homemade buttercream, icing, or chocolate ganache will work. The cream cheese frosting I use on carrot cake cupcakes is another delicious option!
You can also use the frosting from my classic frosted sugar cookie bars recipe.
How to Make Sugar Cookie Bar Cookies
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Cream butter and sugar together on high speed.
- Add egg and vanilla extract on medium speed.
- Incorporate flour and baking soda on low speed.
- Press sugar cookie dough into the baking pan.
- Bake sugar cookie bar cookies in preheated 350°F. oven until set and golden brown. Generally, it takes about 20 minutes for the cookie bars to bake through.
- Cool completely, then frost and decorate.
Liz's Tips for Making Sugar Cookie Bars
- Avoid over mixing the cookie dough, which can cause the cookie bars to be dry. It's okay if there are a few streaks of flour visible.
- Wait until the bars are completely cool before topping them with frosting. If you frost the dessert when it's still warm, the frosting is likely to melt.
- Use different frosting and sprinkles for other holidays. For example, you can make Christmas sugar cookie bars with green or red frosting.
Storing and Freezing
Storing: You can store the chewy sugar cookie bars for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature or a week in the refrigerator. These make for a great treat in a lunchbox, alongside one of these Valentine's Kids Snacks.
Freezing: You can freeze unfrosted sugar cookie bar cookies for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe airtight container. Thaw completely in the fridge or at room temperature before enjoying.
I do not recommend freezing frosted cookie bars. The consistency of the frosting gets loose and runny during the freezing/thawing process.
Other Valentine Desserts To Make
Valentine's Day Sugar Cookie Bar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For Decorating
- 1 cup vanilla frosting
- ¼ cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease an 8x8 or 9x13-inch baking pan and set aside. For thicker bars, use an 8x8 pan (recommended). For thinner bars, use a 9x13 pan.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer (or use an electric hand mixer and large bowl), add butter and sugar. Mix on high speed to combine, until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on medium speed until fully incorporated.
- Add the flour and baking powder, and mix on low speed until flour is just incorporated. *Avoid overmixing, which can cause the cookie bars to be dry.
- Transfer the dough into prepared baking dish. Press down on dough to flatten into an even layer. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out dry, or with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove pan from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack. Let the sugar cookie bars cool completely before frosting, at least 20 minutes.
- Spread frosting over cool bars. If desired, decorate with the heart sprinkles. Slice into squares for serving.
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- Avoid over mixing the cookie dough, which can cause the cookie bars to be dry. It's okay if there are a few streaks of flour visible.
- It's important to wait until the bars are completely cool before topping them with frosting. If you frost the dessert when it's still warm, the frosting is likely to melt.
Indya | The Small Adventurer
These are GORGEOUS! Sugar cookie bars seem so much easier than shaped sugar cookies too, I should really try them some time 🙌💕