Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sugar Cookie Bars


Happy Halloween! I'm so excited it's Halloween this weekend!! My favourite holiday and time of year. I've wanted to make Halloween sugar cookies and decorate them for years but this year was the first I actually did it! It was fun but stressful because I have never worked with royal icing really. I made some of the "flooding" icing too thin so it had air bubbles and didn't harden properly. But I've learned some things that will make next time easier. I was really wanting to make these creepy coffin cookies but I didn't plan very well and thinned my white icing before I had the chance to draw out skeletons. Next time! Anyway I just wanted to share a photo of these with you to spread some Halloween cheer.


I also want to share this other sugar cookie bar recipe with you. I'm sure many of you have seen it around on other blogs and there's a reason for it. It's really good and so easy to make. The cookie part is really thick and soft, not like a regular sugar cookie that's thinner and more crisp/hard. The frosting is good but very messy. Well messy in the sense of if you want to travel somewhere with these, you can't just throw them all into a container, you have to carefully layer them with parchment. But it's worth it! The most exciting part for me was definitely buying animal sprinkles to put on top.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars
Cream Cheese Swirl Blondies
Snickerdoodle Blondies
Peanut Butter Squares with Milk Chocolate and Oats

Sugar Cookie Bars
Adapted from Anissa's Kitchen

I would omit the milk in the frosting next time - it made it look kind of weird (though it tasted fine).

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.

Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp milk
food coloring (if desired)

For frosting cream butter until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Add food coloring, if desired. Spread over cooled cookies.

12 comments:

Hannah said...

Eek, cute Halloween cookies! :) And I'm also a fan of the sugar cookie bar concept, seems much easier than rolling out and cutting or even just rolling individual balls.

Big Sis said...

You know, I wasn't really enticed until I saw the picture of what you made - I really like the look of them, and the color you made the frosting. Thanks, and good job!

Joanne said...

I've seen these around before but the recipe always called for shortening, which gave me shivers (and not in a good way). I'm so glad to see this version! They look delicious.

Johanna GGG said...

those sugar cookies look fantastic - I am less sure of the cookie bars but I suspect I would love them

Lotuspixie said...

I'm gonna be that person that disses this recipe. It's been floating around the food blogs for so long now, and honestly, this was the most underwhelming baked good I've ever made. I followed the recipe to a T, and, well, being charitable, it tasted like stale bread covered in frosting.
blech.
they look pretty, but just don't taste very good.

Anonymous said...

Those cookies are so cute! Very thematic. Hmmm...I'm thinking now that maybe I should have baked something for last weekend as well...

jodye @ 'scend food said...

I've made sugar cookie bars before, though not from this recipe. I loved how easy and quick they were for a spur of the moment treat. I covered mine with a chocolate ganache for a variation!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Very cute :). Hope you had a fun Halloween.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Good job decorating the cookies! I hope you had a fun Halloween.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Love your dessert and the cookies. I love Halloween.

fresh365 said...

How cute are these? I hope you had a fun holiday! I am still on my sugar kick!

Unknown said...

Very nicely decorating job, I must say. They look great :)