Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
Soft, chewy sugar cookie base made in one bowl topped with fluffy strawberry frosting. Easier than most baking recipes, these Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars are great to bake with kids. They are also allergy-friendly and easy to make vegan and gluten-free. Freeze dried strawberries make the frosting naturally bright pink and perfect for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion.
Kids in the Kitchen:
- Measure: You can make this recipes super quick and easy to bake with kids by remeasuring some or all of the ingredients. It’s also great to leave one or two things that young kids can measure. That way they can learn to measure and level properly.
- Mix: Kids can easily dump and stir the ingredients together. Just make sure to use a larger bowl than you think so everything stays inside.
- Flour: Mixing in the flour in this recipe can be a little tricky. If having kids participate, I suggest adding a half a cup at a time and mixing a little before adding more.
- Frosting: Have kids add the ingredients to the food processor and help work the buttons.
- Sprinkle: Kids will love to add whatever toppings you use. Have them crush up the extra strawberries or layer on some colorful sprinkles.
Subs and Tips for Making Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars:
- Gluten free: Use a cup-for-cup style gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. It’s an easy swap!
- Egg free: You could use a flax egg, but that will change the look of the sugar cookie bar, making it darker and with little flecks. However, you could also add an additional 3 tablespoons of applesauce and another 1/4 tsp of baking powder. That should add the additional moisture needed and lifted needed.
- Dairy free: You can use a vegan stick butter and a diary-free cream cheese.
- Strawberries: Freeze-dried strawberries make the frosting pink and taste vibrantly like strawberries. You can get them at many stores, but Trader Joe’s and Costco have them for the best price.
- Helpful equipment:Parchment paper sheets and cookie scoops are some essential baking tools that I couldn’t live without. See those and others on my Baking Essentials Amazon list HERE.
Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
An easy, sweet treat to bake with kids!
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg or 3 Tbsp applesauce plus 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract optional
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cornstarch optional, keeps bars softer
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
Easy Strawberry Frosting
- 2 cups freeze-dried strawberries
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3 to 4 Tbsp maple syrup, honey, or powdered sugar
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Cut the butter into 8 pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds to partially melt/soften the butter. (Alternately, you can leave the butter out to soften for an hour or so.)
- Add the sugar and whisk until well combined and there aren't any pieces of butter still visible.
- Whisk in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract, if using. The mixture might look a little curdled but that's ok.
- Stir in the baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. Use a large spoon or rubber spatula to stir in the flour until it's just mixed in.
- Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan. Bake until very light golden brown around the edges, 14 to 16 minutes. The bars are best slightly under baked, so make sure to not let them get too brown.
- Allow the sugar cookie to fully cool before pulling out of the pan. Spread the frosting evenly over the surface of the sugar cookie then sprinkle over some additional crushed strawberries or sprinkles.
- Cut the sugar cookie into 16 bars. Serve or store, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature for a few hours or in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Easy Strawberry Frosting
- Add the freeze-dried strawberries to a food processor. Grind the strawberries into a fine powder.
- Add the butter and cream cheese and process until they are whipped together with the strawberry powder.
- Add the sweetener to your taste. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor and process the frosting again to make sure everything is whipped together. Use the frosting as instructed above.
Check out Valentine’s Day Recipes to Cook with Kids for more fun ideas!