Super Soft Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe

I LOVE soft sugar cookies with buttercream frosting, but seriously dislike the time it takes to roll out the dough, cut into cute shapes and continue repeating until there is but a scrap of dough left. Then when you are finished doing all of that, which takes quite a bit of time, there is the frosting and finding enough room and plates to lay out all of those cookies so they can set enough to find a place to store them all. Are you still with me?? Seriously the pain is real! 

I was SO excited when I found the recipe for these sugar cookie bars over at Somewhat Simple. While their recipe is fabulous I decided to give it my own little twist.  By the looks of it, this recipe has been tweaked a few times as it has been passed around through Blogland. That is the great thing about recipes, you can make them your own!

Here is what you need:

Sugar Cookie Bar:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened1 cup sugar1 large egg2 heaping TBS sour cream1/2 tsp vanilla extract1/2 tsp lemon extract 

Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar 
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBS heavy cream

Beat butter, slowly adding powdered sugar then add vanilla. Use as much heavy cream as needed to reach desired frosting consistency. BONUS: Taste as you go, to make sure it's to your liking. 

Cookie Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish or pan, set aside. In a mixing bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a different bowl whip together with an electric mixer the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg, sour cream, vanilla and lemon extracts until blended. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet, until combined and form a dough. Gently press the dough onto the parchment paper in the pan so that it covers the bottom. Bake for 15-20 mins until the edges are lightly golden. Cool completely, then frost,  cut into squares and decorate if you like. Note: If you don't have parchment paper you can simply butter the bottom of your baking dish. I like parchment so I can pull the entire cookie out once baked, making it easier to frost and cut. 

I don't think I will ever do cut out sugar cookies again after making these. So easy and it takes such little time to put them together. PLUS, there are so many ways you can decorate these babies, which makes them perfect for any occasion! Give these a try and let me know what you think. 

DFTBA,

Pamela