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These Valentine’s Day sugar cookie bars are soft, buttery, and topped with fluffy pink buttercream, all without chilling, rolling, or cutting individual cookies. They’re baked in an 8×8 pan, frosted, sprinkled, and ready in a fraction of the time traditional sugar cookies take.
If you love classic sugar cookies but don’t want the extra work, these cookie bars are the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert. They stay soft for days, slice cleanly, and are ideal for gifting, parties, or baking with kids.
Sicne you are here, you have to check out these Valentine’s day muddy buddies, Valentine’s day red velvet blossom cookies, and this Valentine’s day smoothie.
Why You’ll Love These Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookie Bars
- No chilling or rolling, just spread and bake
- Soft, buttery sugar cookie texture (never dry)
- Thick pink buttercream frosting
- Perfect Valentine’s Day dessert for kids & gifting
- Easier than traditional cut-out sugar cookies
- Stays soft for days in the fridge
Let’s Chit Chat!
I’ve made a lot of Valentine’s Day desserts over the years, but sugar cookie bars are always one of my favorites. They give you that classic vanilla sugar cookie flavor without the stress of rolling dough or chilling cookie cutters.
I especially love making these when I want something festive but low effort, everything bakes in one pan, and the decorating is the fun part. Plus, letting kids help with frosting and sprinkles turns this into a really sweet Valentine’s Day baking activity without things getting too messy.
Ingredients for this Valentine’s day sugar cookie bar recipe.
Table of Contents
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this super cute treat. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed ingredient measurements.
- Butter– Make sure to use softened butter, salted or unsalted both work
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar- The mixture of sugars will make your cookie bars extra soft.
- Egg– Make sure that the egg is at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract- The vanilla extract will take these bars to the next level.
- Flour– All-purpose flour works great for this recipe.
- Baking powder– This is our leavening agent.
- Salt– Always add a little salt to your baked goods.
- Powdered sugar– This is to sweeten our frosting.
- Heavy cream– Make sure to use extra cold heavy cream to create a light and fluffy frosting.
- Festive sprinkles– Pick your favorites and decorate as you please!
- Pink & purple gel food coloring– This is to decorate the frosting.
How to make the tastiest pink sugar cookie bars?
This is how you can make the best pink sugar cookie bars. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed instructions!
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until creamy.
- Add in the egg and the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt until soft dough forms
- spread into the prepared pan, and bake in the preheated oven.
- Don’t worry if your bars look underdone, for the best results we are baking them a bit less to keep them soft.
- Let the cookies cool down before frosting.
MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add in the vanilla extract and the heavy cream and whip until fluffy again.
- Mix in some pink gel food coloring until you reach your desired color.
- Frost the sugar cookie bars and sprinkle with Valentine’s day sprinkles, chill to allow the frosting to set, slice, and enjoy!
You can make these cookies with a paddle attachment and a stand mixer, a hand mixer or even by hand! You’ll just have to put in some extra elbow grease to make your frosting extra fluffy!
Tips for Perfect Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookie Bars
- Use gel food coloring, not liquid, for vibrant pink frosting.
- Don’t overbake: The bars should look slightly underdone in the center for a soft texture.
- Use room temperature butter and egg for even mixing.
- Cool completely before frosting or the buttercream will melt.
- Chill after frosting for clean slices and sharper edges.
Frequently asked questions – FAQ
You can store these sugar cookie bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. I like to have them chilled but if you prefer them a little softer, let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes to get the frosting to soften up a bit more.
These soft frosted sugar cookie bars freeze so well even after being frosted. I like to flash freeze mine on a baking sheet or a flat surface before transferring them to an airtight container and freezing them for later. Just make sure that you are placing wax paper or parchment paper between each layer of cookie bars to keep the frosting and decorations intact.
Absolutely! I didn’t color mine because I like the contrast between light cookie bar and pink buttercream but you can definitely play around with coloring your base as well. Add your food coloring when you add in the egg and the vanilla extract.
Yes! These sugar cookie bars are perfect for making 1–2 days ahead. Store them in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
You can, but the frosting is what makes them feel like Valentine’s Day sugar cookie bars. I highly recommend sticking with the frosting since it will help keep the flavors balanced as well.
Yes, double and bake in a 9×13 pan. Start checking at the same bake time and adjust as needed.
Valentine’s day sugar cookie bars
Ingredients
Cookie base
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
Frosting
- 4 tbsp butter salted or unsalted, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla exract
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Valentine's day srinkles
- Pink gel food coloring optional
- Purple gel food coloring optional
Instructions
Cookie layer
- Preheat the oven to 350F then line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Set side.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add in the egg, and the vanilla extract, and mix to combine.1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 large egg, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt just until the flour mixture barely disappears. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. The center will still look raw but don't worry these bars will continue baking as they cool down.1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp salt
Frosting
- In a large bowl, whip the softened butter, and powdered sugar together until combined. Add in the heavy cream and vanilla and whip until light and fluffy.4 tbsp butter, 1 tsp vanilla exract, 2 tbsp heavy cream, 1 cup powdered sugar
- If you want to give these the same marbled look as mine, divide he frosting into two bowls and color one with the pink gel food coloring and the second one with the purple food coloring.
- Frost the sugar cookie bars with dollops of purple frosting and dollops of pink frosting, then top with sprinkles. slice and serve if you prefer your frosting on the softer side or chill them a bit to allow the frosting to set before enjoying.Valentine's day srinkles
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
