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Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars-soft and chewy lemon sugar cookie bars topped with lemon cream cheese frosting! Perfect bars for parties and entertaining!
I don’t know about you, but our summers are always filled with BBQ’s, picnics, and pool parties! Most of these events are potluck style and our friends and family usually ask me to bring a dessert. I think the word has gotten out that I like to bake:) One of my favorite desserts to take to summer potlucks are Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. They are easy to make and feed a crowd! Plus, they are always a hit! I never have cookie bars to bring home…which is good and bad. Good so I won’t eat them and bad because I want to eat them:)
The sugar cookie dough is easy to mix up and the best part? You don’t have to get out the cookie cutters! There is no chilling, rolling, or cutting involved! You just press the cookie dough into a 9×13 pan and put them in the oven to bake. These bars are super simple to make!
The sugar cookie bars are soft and chewy with a hint of lemon. I put lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the cookie dough. When the bars are cooled, I frost them with a sweet lemon cream cheese frosting that really brings out the lemon flavor. If you are a lemon lover, these bars will make you do a happy dance! They are delightful!
I like to add colored yellow sugar or sprinkles to decorate the bars. It helps cover up my poor frosting skills:) I cut the bars into squares, put them on a big platter and my work is done! Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars are my “go to” summer dessert recipe!
If you are looking for a fool proof dessert recipe to take to your summer potlucks, you have to try our Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. I promise they will be the talk of the party. Well, maybe people won’t be talking about them because they will be too busy eating them…and we all know it isn’t polite to talk with your mouth full of cookies:)
Vegetarian
Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting are one of my "go to" dessert recipes! They are perfect for parties and potlucks!
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 14 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Ingredients
For the lemon cream cheese frosting:
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 pan (I use a glass Pyrex dish) with cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and and lemon sugar mixture together until combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
Evenly spread the cookie dough into the prepared pan with a spatula. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the bars are slightly set in the middle. You don't want the bars to brown. Remove from the oven and let the bars cool completely.
While the bars are cooling, make the lemon cream cheese frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Mix until smooth.
Frost the cooled cookie bars with lemon cream cheese frosting. I always have a little frosting leftover, but use as much as you like! Decorate with colored sugar or sprinkles, if desired. Cut the bars into squares and serve.
Note-store bars in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Have you tried this recipe?
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FAQs
If you're making your own sugar cookie dough, try a different extract — like almond, peppermint, or citrus — instead of vanilla for a flavor change. You can even add finely grated fresh citrus zest for flecks of beautiful color and a nice pop of flavor.
Can you use store bought cookie dough with cookie cutters? ›
Simple metal cookie cutters can transform store-bought slice-and-bake dough into the most festive holiday dessert. For these Christmas cut-outs, all you need is a 16.5-ounce roll of Pillsbury sugar-cookie dough, some flour, and an oven (elbow grease not included).
What can I add to sugar cookie mix to make it better? ›
Why buy ready-to-bake when it is really easy to make sugar cookies? You can add citrus zest, cinnamon, or almond extract to the dough. You could also ice them with a tasty frosting and add some nuts or toasted coconut.
How do you make cookie mix taste better? ›
A teaspoon or two of extracts will noticeably boost flavor when blended into your sugar cookie mix. Vanilla is the obvious choice. For a more intriguing flavor, add both vanilla and almond extracts. Rum, maple and anise are other delicious varieties to consider.
What happens when you add extra sugar to cookies? ›
This is a common baking mistake, and it's easily fixable. Adding too much sugar to cookie dough can result in a number of issues, such as making the dough too sticky, causing it to spread too much during baking, and making the final product overly sweet.
How do you make store-bought sugar cookie dough not spread? ›
To make sugar cookies keep their shape, follow these tips:
- Chill the dough: After mixing the cookie dough, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. ...
- Use the right temperature: Make sure the dough is at the right temperature when rolling it out. ...
- Don't overw.
Work with half of dough at a time, refrigerating remaining dough until needed. On floured work surface, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured 2 1/2- to 3-inch holiday-shaped cookie cutters; place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
What makes sugar cookies puff up? ›
Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder puffs the cookies up. If your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Caution: This could result in an unwanted flavor shift.
Can you over mix sugar cookie dough? ›
Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want. The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer.
What is the secret to a good cookie? ›
The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
- Always use butter.
- Choose the right sugar.
- Choose the right flour.
- Check your flour is in date.
- Choose the right kind of chocolate.
- Cream the butter and sugar.
- Beat in the eggs.
- Fold in the flour.
Butter is key for most cookies. Not only does it provide flavor, it's the main reason your cookies will spread. As the butter warms in the oven, the dough slackens and gradually spreads out over the baking sheet. It's important to mix your butter well to ensure it's evenly mixed throughout the dough.
What brings out the flavor in cookies? ›
Add more complex proteins, like malted milk powder and brown butter. Caramelizing the sugar beforehand brings bright notes to your cookies, but you can further expand your dessert's flavor profile by playing with proteins.
How do you make store-bought sugar cookie mix taste better? ›
Throw a little sour cream into your sugar cookie mix
According to Taste of Home, the key to taking your store-bought sugar cookie mix to the next level is to add a little sour cream into the batter. The outlet reports sour cream works so well in sugar cookies thanks to science.
How do you enhance store-bought sugar cookie dough? ›
14 Ways To Upgrade Store-Bought Cookie Dough
- Sprinkle salt on the cookies before baking. ...
- Add instant pudding mix to the cookie dough batter. ...
- Bake the cookies in a muffin tin for evenly-browned sides. ...
- Use cayenne pepper for a bit of heat. ...
- Add a few drops of extract to flavor your cookies. ...
- Look into your snack drawer for ideas.
Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.
How do you beat cookie mix? ›
Add the ingredients to the bowl, and begin beating using a metal whisk. Hold the whisk at an angle (roughly 45 degrees) to the bowl and spin your wrist in a circular motion, lifting the whisk up and out of the mixture then bringing it back down to the bottom of the bowl.
