Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars
The same thick and pillowy soft sugar cookie bar that you know and love but with a rich chocolatey flavor and a decadent chocolate frosting.
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bar Recipe
I do not know why it took me so long to share these Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars with you. Truly, my bad. I don’t say this lightly, THESE ARE EVERYTHING. The texture is perfectly soft and delightfully melt-in-your-mouthy. The chocolate flavor is spot on in the bar and in the frosting. You’re going to love them. And possibly need a ton of self control to keep you from shoving the whole pan straight into your mouth.
Ingredients
*You can find instructions and exact quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
- Salted butter – I always, always use salted butter. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use unsalted and add an extra pinch of salt to the dough.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract – This helps give a subtle depth of flavor to the cookie bars that is so good!
- All-purpose flour
- Dutch processed cocoa powder – The star of the delicious chocolatey show.
- Powdered sugar – The powdered sugar gives the cookie bars such a soft, melt-in-your mouth texture that you’re going to love!
- Corn starch – The corn starch also helps the cookie bars be ultra soft.
- Baking powder
- Salt
Fudge Frosting
- Salted butter, softened – Again, unsalted butter will also work here.
- Cream cheese, softened – Be sure to use the regular cube of cream cheese. Do not try to use the spreadable tub cream cheese.
- Dutch processed cocoa powder
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk to thin, if needed
- Colored sprinkles – Customize these cookie bars for any holiday or event by switching out the sprinkle colors! Pro tip: you can find any color you want at your grocery store’s bakery section for a good price!
How to Make Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and granulated sugar, mixing until completely combined.
- Next, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Lastly, add the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Press the finished dough into the prepared 9×13 pan.
- Bake at 350° F for 18-23 minutes. When it is done, the entire pan will rise slightly, and the top should no longer look wet, but will be shiny and almost ‘flakey’. The center of the bars should pass the toothpick test when they are ready to come out of the oven.
- Allow the cookie bars to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, start by whipping the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until it is combined before adding another cup.
- Add in the cocoa powder and the vanilla.
- Finally, add the milk 1 tsp at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
- Frost the cooled cookie bars and top with sprinkles. Chill prior to cutting for perfect cuts. Enjoy!
Chocolate Cookie Bar Storage
Once cooled, store your cookie bars in an airtight container. These can be stored in the fridge and served chilled or stored on the counter. Best when enjoyed within 3 days!
These will also freeze well so long as they are used within 3 months.
How to Cut Cookie Bars
If you want really crisp edges on your cookie bars, I recommend chilling the cookie bar before cutting. Once chilled, make sure to use a large knife and wipe it off between cuts.
Karli’s Kitchen Faves
Here are a few of my favorite kitchen tools that I used to make this recipe!
- Kitchenaid Mixer – I really love this thing. It’s not necessary for making good cookies, but I love the size of the bowl and the power. A Hand Mixer is also an excellent option for when you don’t want to mix things by hand.
- Spatula – I love these silicone spatulas for scraping down the sides of the mixer, for spreading the dough into the pan and spreading the frosting on top.
- 9×13 pan – This is one of my fave pans for making cookie bars.
- Parchment paper – You can use this to line the pan (with sides of the paper sticking up and out of the pan) to make it easier to remove the baked cookie bars.
Favorite Cookie Bars
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars
The same thick and pillowy soft sugar cookie bar that you know and love but with a rich chocolatey flavor and a decadent chocolate frosting.
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Servings: 24 bars
Calories: 152kcal
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (333g) salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (173g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups (456g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (60g) cocoa powder
- 1 cup (107g) powdered sugar (heaping)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
Fudge Frosting
- 1/2 cup (111g) salted butter, softened
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup (79g) dutch processed cocoa powder
- 2 2/3 cups (284g) powdered sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- milk to thin, if needed
- Colored sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and granulated sugar, mixing until completely combined.
- Next, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Lastly, add the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Press the finished dough into the prepared 9×13 pan.
- Bake at 350° F for 18-23 minutes. When it is done, the entire pan will rise slightly, and the top should no longer look wet, but will be shiny and almost ‘flakey’. The center of the bars should pass the toothpick test when they are ready to come out of the oven.
- Allow the cookie bars to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, start by whipping the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until it is combined before adding another cup.
- Add in the cocoa powder and the vanilla.
- Finally, add the milk 1 tsp at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
- Frost the cooled cookie bars and top with sprinkles. Chill prior to cutting for perfect cuts. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 106mg | Potassium: 87mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Yummy 😋
These look amazing. How would you describe how they differ from brownies in texture. Thank you.
Hi! Rather than being thick and fudgy like a brownie, these will have a softer, chewier crumb like you would expect in a sugar cookie.
These bars look amazing delicious. My question is. Can i use regular baking cocoa instead of the Dutch process kind. which i don’t have on hand and rarely buy.
Yes, you can totally use regular cocoa here!