Halloween Sugar Cookie Bars are chewy, marbled cookie bars topped with purple buttercream frosting & spooky sprinkles! A festive treat perfect for Halloween get togethers!
These delicious Halloween sugar cookies are a twist on traditional sugar cookies, and they’re perfect for Halloween parties or just a fun baking project with family and friends. You can experiment with different colors, shapes, and decorations to make this sugar cookie bar recipe perfectly unique!
The Fun of Making Halloween Cookie Bars
Halloween is a time for spooky decorations, costumes, and of course, delicious treats! One of the most popular Halloween treats is sugar cookies, and what better way to enjoy them than in the form of cookie bars? Making Halloween sugar cookie bars is fun for all ages, it is a great way to get your kids involved in the baking fun!
Use frosting, candy, and other decorations to create fun and spooky designs on top of the bars. This is a great activity to do with the kids in your life, as they can get creative and make their own unique designs. With a little creativity and some delicious ingredients, anyone can make a tasty and visually appealing treat that is sure to impress!
Why You’ll Love This Halloween Cookie Recipe
- Festive and Fun: The colorful sprinkles and festive Halloween decorations make these cookie bars a hit with kids and adults alike.
- Versatile: You can customize this recipe to suit your taste by adding different flavors of extract or food coloring to the dough.
- Perfect for Sharing: These cookie bars are great for sharing with friends and family at your Halloween party or as a fun treat for your co-workers.
Halloween Cookie Bar Ingredients
Butter: You will need 1 cup of butter, softened, to make the cookie bars rich and moist.
Sugar: Add in 1 ½ cups of sugar for perfectly sweet and chewy treats.
Cream cheese: Using 3-oz of cream cheese, softened, gives these cookies a wonderful soft texture.
Eggs: Help bind the ingredients together by adding in 2 eggs.
Vanilla extract: Enhance the amazing flavors in this cookie recipe by using 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
Almond extract: For more great taste, add in 1 tsp of almond extract.
Baking powder: Use 2 tsp of baking powder to help these cookie bars puff up as they bake.
Flour: You need 4 cups of flour for the structural base of this cookie dough recipe.
Food coloring: Use a few drops of each green and orange food coloring to dye the cookie dough a festive Halloween theme.
Frosting
Butter: For a delightful rich flavor, use ½ cup of butter, softened, for this frosting recipe.
Powder sugar: Using 3 cups of powdered sugar will make this topping perfectly sweet and thick.
Vanilla extract: Flavor this frosting by adding in 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
Almond extract: You need ½ tsp of almond extract to compliment all the wonderful flavors in this frosting recipe.
Food coloring: Use a couple drops of purple food coloring for even more festive Halloween cheer!
Sprinkles: Halloween sprinkles are a perfect addition to these tasty cookie bars.
How to make Spooky Halloween Sugar Cookie Bars
Prep
Begin with getting the oven preheating to 350°F. Also, line a quarter baker’s sheet pan with parchment paper and set it aside. (You can also use a 9×13 pan.)
Cookie batter
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together the butter, sugar and cream cheese until the mixture is fluffy.
Then add in the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract, mix on medium speed to combine.
Next, stir in the baking powder and the flour, until just combined.
After that, separate the dough into 2 bowls and use the food coloring to dye one bowl green and one bowl orange.
Continue to place dollops of each dough onto the parchment lined pan and then swirl together.
Bake
Place the dough into the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until it is just baked through and lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Frosting
In a medium size mixing bowl using an electric mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract and purple food coloring. Whip ingredients until smooth and well combined.
Once the frosting is whipped and fluffy, spread it over the cooled cookie bars.
Proceed to sprinkle the Halloween sprinkles all over the top.
Slice, serve and enjoy!
Variations of Halloween Sugar Cookie Bars
There are many ways to customize Halloween Sugar Cookie Bars to fit your personal taste and style. Here are a few ideas for variations you can try:
- Candy Corn Cookie Bars: Add a layer of candy corn on top of the cookie dough before baking for a fun and festive twist on the classic sugar cookie bar.
- Pumpkin Spice Cookie Bars: Add pumpkin pie spice to the cookie dough for a warm and cozy fall flavor. Top with cream cheese frosting for extra indulgence.
- Monster Mash Cookie Bars: Add colorful candy eyeballs and sprinkles to the cookie dough before baking for a spooky and fun Halloween treat.
- Spiderweb Cookie Bars: Use black food coloring to dye the cookie dough and then use white icing to create a spiderweb design on top.
Tips for preventing Halloween sugar cookie bars from cracking
To prevent Halloween sugar cookie bars from cracking, it is important to not overmix the dough and to make sure that the dough is evenly spread out in the baking pan. It is also recommended to let the bars cool completely before cutting them into squares.
How long do Halloween sugar cookie bars stay fresh?
Halloween sugar cookie bars can stay fresh for up to 3-4 days when stored properly at room temperature in an airtight container. However, it is recommended to consume them within the first 2 days for the best taste and texture.
How do you store Halloween sugar cookie bars?
Halloween sugar cookie bars should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If you want to store them for a longer period of time, you can freeze them for up to 2-3 months. It is recommended to wrap them in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe container.
Common mistakes to avoid when making sugar cookie bars
Some common mistakes to avoid when making Halloween sugar cookie bars include overmixing the dough, not using room temperature ingredients, using too much flour, not measuring ingredients accurately, and not letting the bars cool completely before cutting them. It is also important to not overbake the bars, as this can result in a dry and hard texture.
Need more Halloween treat ideas? Try these tasty recipes:
- HALLOWEEN SPRINKLE COOKIES
- M&M HALLOWEEN COOKIES
- HALLOWEEN COBWEB COOKIES
- CARAMEL APPLE SNICKERDOODLES
- PUMPKIN PUDDING COOKIES
- HALLOWEEN FUNFETTI COOKIES
- ICED PUMPKIN COOKIES
- SPICED APPLE COOKIES
- PUMPKIN SNICKERDOODLES
- PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE GINGER COOKIES
- APPLE PIE COOKIES
Halloween Sugar Cookie Bars are a great way to get creative in the kitchen. The rich purple buttercream frosting and colorful festive sprinkles are a hit with adults and kids alike.
Mike says
What size sheet pan?
Jessica says
I’ll go back and add that info! I use a quarter bakers sheet pan, or a 9×13.