Combines the soft, buttery texture of classic sugar cookies in easy to make bar form for Independence Day!

The Best 4th of July Sugar Cookie Bars

My office is downstairs and I take pictures of the recipes I share upstairs. I make many, many, MANY trips up and down the stairs in a day. I have a tray that I use to help me carry as much as I can at once. I couldn’t decide what to grab when it came time to decorating these and I wasn’t in the mood for multiple trips, so I just grabbed everything that jumped out at me!

I started putting on the M&M’s and got a little carried away… then I thought I would add some sprinkles to ‘help…’ then I figured I should use the star sprinkles, too… by then these 4th of July Sugar Cookie Bars were really loaded up with red, white, and blue decorations!

To make myself feel better about over decorating, I thought about how big fireworks are! They take up the entire viewing area of the sky! They are huge and loud and really make a scene! So why not make sure the food we eat to celebrate our independence does the same?! I’m convinced. HA!

If you need more patriotic ideas, try making 4th of July Chocolate Chip Cookies , Patriotic Dipped Rice Krispie Treats , 4th of July Sprinkle Cake Mix Cookies , or 4th of July Ice Cream Sandwiches , too!

What You’ll Need for the Bars

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 cup Sugar

2 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1/4 tsp Almond Extract

2 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

3 tbsp Cornstarch

1/4 tsp Salt

And the Frosting

4 tbsp Butter, Softened

1 tsp Vanilla

3 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream

1 cup Powdered Sugar

Red, White & Blue Sprinkles and/or M&M’s

How to Make 4th of July Sugar Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 x 8 pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp brown sugar until smooth. Add in 1 egg, 1/4 tsp almond extract, and 2 tsp vanilla and mix until combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 3 tbsp cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp salt. Pour into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. They won’t look done, but don’t worry, they will keep baking to perfection in the pan as they sit.

In the meantime, make the frosting by beating together 4 tbsp softened butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream, and 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth.

When the cookie base is cooled, spread frosting evenly on top.

Sprinkle with red, white, and blue sprinkles and/or M&M’s