These red, white and blue cookie bars are the perfect patriotic dessert! You can try this recipe for your sugar cookie base or use your favorite prepared cookie dough.
Recipe courtesy of Your Cup of Cake.
Makes 24 slices
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup sprinkles (optional)
Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 inch casserole dish with parchment paper. Lightly grease the sides of the pan. (I use parchment paper to easily lift my cookie bars out after they have cooled.)
- Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla and almond extract. Mix again. (To get room temperature eggs fast, place eggs in a bowl of warm-hot water for a few minutes.)
- In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Slowly add in dry ingredients to wet, then add sprinkles and mix only until combined. Dump into prepared pan and press flat.
- Bake for 16 to 20 minutes. The edges will just barely start to turn golden. Take out of oven and place the pan on a cooking rack.
Frosting:
- Beat butter, vanilla and 2 cups powdered sugar. Continue to add powdered sugar until you like the sweetness level. The frosting should still be soft enough to easily spread on your bars with a knife. If it gets too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk.
- Once your bars have cooled, lift up the parchment paper to remove them from the pan. Frost and top with strawberries and blueberries for a red, white and blue look. If you want to add sprinkles instead, immediately add sprinkles after frosting (if you wait, they won't stick!), and then cut into bars.
To share your recipe, please email Delia at ballantyne@strollmag.com.
This recipe appears in the July 2026 issue of Stroll Ballantyne Country Club. Read the full edition here.