Stars and Stripes Sugar Cookie Bars – The Perfect Patriotic Treat
Lets celebrate America with these yummy, patriotic sugar cookie bars! The best sugar cookie recipe made into a bar, frosted with lots of delicious buttercream, and decorated with simple store-bought gel frosting, these cookie bars will be the hit of your July 4th picnic this summer!
Summer always brings many opportunities for back yard BBQ’s, cookouts, pot-lucks and get-togethers. For the last several years our neighborhood does a July 4th cookout that is always top-notch! Each family brings a dish or two to share, along with lots of burgers and dogs on the grill. We always have plenty of food, friends, beer, yard games, kids running around, and at the end of the night we light our own fireworks. It’s an all-American neighborhood cookout at its best! The perfect way to end this day is with some amazing Stars and Stripes Sugar Cookie Bars.
As we celebrate America’s birthday, we can always use a yummy red, white and blue treat perfect for the dessert table at our July 4th picnics and pot-lucks. These delicious sugar cookie bars are AMAZING! Similar to my Funfetti Frosted Sugar Cookie bars, these Stars and Stripes Sugar Cookie Bars not only taste amazing, but are really easy to make!
How to Make:
The recipe starts with my easy Sugar Cookie recipe. To add a patriotic flare, I’ve added these pretty red, white and blue star sprinkles to the batter. Instead of spending time rolling out the dough, and cutting with cookie cutters, this simple and delicious dough is pressed into a 9×13″ pan and baked. The dough is so simple, it’s typically ready to go before the oven is done preheating!
Once the bars are out of the oven and have cooled, I then frost with a thick, delicious layer of butter cream frosting. To me, this frosting makes the bars extra special! To go along with the patriotic theme, I picked up some store-bought sparkle gel frosting in red and blue. I added alternating lines of the gel to the top of the frosting, about 1/2″ apart, and then used a toothpick to drag through, making the cool design on top.
These bars are really hard to resist! The cookie layer is soft and chewy and the thick layer of frosting makes them amazing! I really love the addition of almond extract to my sugar cookies, which many people love. However, if you don’t prefer the almond extract flavor, simply omit, and replace with vanilla extract.
Here’s a quick-reference shopping list for the ingredients you’ll need to make these fantastic sugar cookie bars:
- Butter – 1 lb.
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Almond Extract
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Sprinkles – red white and blue
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
- Gel Frosting – red and blue
Here’s the recipe for these amazing Stars and Stripes Sugar Cookie Bars:
Erin Indahl-Fink
Yields 20 bars
Lets celebrate America with these yummy, patriotic sugar cookie bars! The best sugar cookie recipe made into a bar, frosted with lots of delicious buttercream, and decorated with simple store-bought gel frosting, these cookie bars will be the hit of your July 4th picnic this summer!
20 minPrep Time
22 minCook Time
42 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 11/4 c. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 11/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 3 c. flour
- 11/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 c. patriotic sprinkles or jimmies
- For Frosting:
- 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 11/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 4 c. powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp. milk
- Red Sparkle Gel frosting in a tube (like Wilton Brand)
- Blue Sparkle Gel frosting in a tube (like Wilton Brand)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13" cake pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- For the cookie dough: With a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients (about 1 cup at a time) to the wet ingredients, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Dough will be thick and slightly stiff. Fold in the sprinkles to the dough.
- Using your hands, press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 19-23 minutes until just golden brown. Do your best not to overcook, as the bars will become hard and overly crisp. (20 minutes seems to be the ideal time.) Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.
- For the Frosting: With a hand or stand mixer, cream the room temperature butter along with the vanilla and almond extract. Gradually begin adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl. As the frosting gets stiffer, add the milk one Tbsp. at a time as needed. Spread the frosting over the cooled bars. Add alternating lines of the red and blue gel frosting, about 1/2" apart. Using a toothpick, drag through the lines of gen to create a herringbone design.
- For easy cutting, refrigerate the bars until just before cutting and serving.
I hope you get to enjoy a batch of these patriotic treats with your friends and family this summer. They’re the perfect treat for your next summer get-together! Have a happy, safe and fun July 4th, everyone! ~Erin
If you loved these sugar cookie bars, check out some of my other fun sugar cookie treats:
Funfetti Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookie Bars
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Spiders
Ready for some more Red, White and Blue? I teamed up with some of my fellow bloggers and we put together a fantastic collection of everything Red, White and Blue – perfect for celebrating America!
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