Organic Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting
Learn how to make Organic Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting and no artificial colors that taste just like the nostalgic treats you know and love! Soft, chewy, and topped with naturally colored pink frosting, you'll love these sugar cookie bars without artificial colors.
If you love sugar cookies, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like Eggless Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies, Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting, or Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Organic Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting
- Ready In: 40 minutes
- Makes: 9 bars
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, cane sugar, all purpose flour, powdered sugar
- Flavor Profile: sweet vanilla with buttercream frosting
- Dietary Info: no seed oils, gluten free swap available
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: easy sugar cookie bars without artificial colors
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Nostalgic: If you love thick sugar cookies with frosting, you’ll love these Organic Sugar Cookie Bars with Frosting! These are so popular with both kids and adults!
- Soft and Chewy: These sugar cookie bars are soft and chewy, just like the classic cookies.
- No Artificial Colors: While most sugar cookie bars use artificial colors in the frosting and sprinkles, I use plant based dyes so you can feel good about indulging in a nostalgic treat when your craving hits. These are sugar cookie bars with no artificial colors, just like this Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake.
- Quick & Easy: These are simple to make and don't take much time. The perfect weekend bake that will result in a homemade sweet treat that everyone will devour!
Ingredients
- Butter: I use organic salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer. Just add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dough and you can add a pinch of salt to taste into the frosting. Be sure to check out Best Salted Butter for Baking for my top picks on butter!
- Powdered Sugar: I love combining powdered sugar with cane sugar for sugar cookies as I think it really gives them the best texture, especially if you prefer the thick and chewy sugar cookies, like these!
- Vanilla Bean Paste: This adds more depth of flavor even just plain vanilla extract, though you can use vanilla extract if you don’t have organic vanilla bean paste. You can also use organic ground vanilla bean, which is my usual go to, but I was gifted some vanilla bean paste recently and have been using it!
- Sour Cream: Organic sour cream gives these a soft and pillowy texture. If you don’t have sour cream, Greek yogurt is a great substitute.
- All Purpose Flour: My favorite is Cairnspring Mills.
- Baking Powder: Use baking powder, not soda. Be sure to check out my post the Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder for more info on leavening agents.
- Cinnamon: I use organic Korintje cinnamon, which is my favorite variety. Read more about the different kinds of cinnamon in my post the Best Cinnamon to Bake With.
- Beet Powder: I use organic beet powder to dye the frosting pink, naturally! This is optional, you can skip this step or also use another natural dye like blue spirulina or matcha powder. You can find all my top picks for other natural color options in my post The Best Natural Food Dyes & Sprinkles.
- Rainbow Sprinkles: I have a soft spot for pretty sprinkles, but I will not use artificial colors. So, I use India Tree Nature’s Colors Nonpareils, which are plant based. Sprinkles are optional and you can use any sprinkles that you like though. Find them in my Amazon Shop.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker’s Tips
- Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- I use my stand mixer for ease, but if you want to use a hand mixer, that also works.
- Make sure your butter is soft. I prefer to leave it out on the counter to soften naturally. If you need to microwave it, only do 10 second intervals to ensure it doesn’t melt.
- You can color these another color by using another color. For blue use blue spirulina, for green use matcha, and for orange use India Tree Nature’s Colors Orange.
- If you prefer to use a cream cheese frosting, make Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting (10 Flavor Options) instead!
- You don’t need to pipe the frosting, this is totally optional. You can just add all the frosting on top with a spatula and spread out evenly.
- If you want to use different sprinkles you can do that too!
- Gluten Free — Replace the all purpose flour with 269 grams (1 ¾ cups) gluten free flour blend.
- High Altitude — Bake for 23 to 25 minutes or until the middle looks set and the edges look lightly golden brown.
How to Make Organic Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste.
- Mix on low until combined and there are no butter chunks.
- Add the egg and sour cream and mix on low for a few rotations. Then add the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Mix to combine into a cookie dough.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and spread it out evenly, either using a spatula or your hands.
- Bake for 25 to 27 minutes or until a the middle looks set and the edges look lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely in the baking pan.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and beet powder.
- Mix on low and add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk as needed to create a smooth and creamy frosting. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl party way through mixing to ensure everything is combined.
- Transfer the frosting to two piping bags, one with Ateco tip #846 and the other with Ateco tip #21.
- Pipe rosettes on the top of the bars with Ateco tip #846.
- Fill in with rosettes and dollops with Ateco tip #21.
- Top with nonpareils.
- Cut into 9 bars.
Organic Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting FAQ’s
Sugar cookie bars are soft and chewy.
Sour cream makes these sugar cookie bars extra soft and tender. If you don't have sour cream, plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute.
Yes, there’s a simple adjustment for gluten free in the Notes at the bottom of the recipe.
No, the piping is totally optional. Feel free to just spread it on top with a spatula as well.
Yes, you can make these the night before. I would leave them in the pan, as this will help keep them soft as the pan and frosting will seal in the cookie bars. Then remove and cut right before the party.
Since these are colored light pink, I use organic beet powder. This powder is tasteless and it creates a beautiful pink color with minimal effort. If you want a darker or brighter pink, you can just use more, you won't taste it!
Yes, you can also use blue spirulina to make the frosting blue, matcha powder to make the frosting green, or you can also use a naturally colored food dye from India Tree's Nature's Colors line if you want a more traditional liquid food dye application.
Yes, just double the recipe (using the 2x in the recipe card) and use a 9×13-inch baking pan. Always ensure the bars are done by testing with a toothpick. You may need a few extra minutes in the oven.
This recipe does make thick sugar cookie bars. But, a trick to ensure they are thick is to chill bars before cutting. This allows you to get nice clean cuts and doesn't press the bars down from the weight of knife as you slice them.
Over baking or incorrect measuring. Be sure to use a digital food scale to ensure you get accurate measurements. And, don't over bake.
Yes, these will be soft immediately after coming out of the oven. Don't try to remove them unless they are completely cooled as you will break them.
This will happen if you don't bake them long enough.
Look for golden brown edges and a dry center. You can see a photo in my process shots and also watch the video to see how they look.
Store in an airtight container so they don’t dry out. If you need to stack them, you’ll need to add a piece of parchment paper in between each one to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Too much liquid. You can easily fix this by adding more sifted powdered sugar in until you get the desired consistency.
Let the bars cool completely, then remove from the pan, and then you can frost them.
Because these are made with milk in the frosting, they are best stored in the refrigerator. Be sure to store in an airtight container so they stay soft and chewy. You can place a piece of parchment paper in between each layer to ensure they don't stick together.
Yes, just wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze. Or, you can layer in a tuppeware with parchment paper so the frosting doesn't stick to the bar below it. Just thaw them in the fridge for 24 hours and they are ready to enjoy.
More Ways to Decorate Naturally
If you love decorating, but don't love artificial colors then check out some of my other recipes and tutorials that allow you to decorate naturally!
I love Vegan Blueberry Bars With Frosting for a quick and easy bake that uses freeze dried wild blueberry powder for color! Check out How to Make a Flower Cake With Buttercream for a beautifully colorful cake and practice your piping skills! Decorate a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake or Raspberry Lemon Snack Cake that uses a similar technique as these cookie bars! Also, try Strawberry Snack Cake for another naturally pink dessert that's free of artificial colors.
More Naturally Colored Desserts
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Organic Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- 8×8-inch Baking Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Piping Bags (optional)
- Ateco Tip #846 (optional)
- Ateco Tip #21 (optional)
Ingredients
Dough
- 113 grams salted butter (softened)
- 113 grams cane sugar
- 71 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 large egg
- 57 grams sour cream
- 255 grams all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 170 grams salted butter (softened)
- 284 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon beet powder (optional)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- India Tree Nature's Colors Nonpareils
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Mix on low until combined and there are no butter chunks.
- Add the egg and sour cream and mix on low for a few rotations. Add the egg and sour cream and mix on low for a few rotations. Then add the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and mix to combine into a cookie dough.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and spread it out evenly, either using a spatula or your hands.
- Bake for 25 to 27 minutes or until a the middle looks set and the edges look lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely in the baking pan.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and beet powder. Mix on low and add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk as needed to create a smooth and creamy frosting. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl party way through mixing to ensure everything is combined.
- Transfer the frosting to two piping bags, one with Ateco tip #846 and the other with Ateco tip #21.
- Pipe rosettes on the top of the bars with Ateco tip #846. Fill in with rosettes and dollops with Ateco tip #21. Top with nonpareils.
- Cut into 9 bars and enjoy. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- I use my stand mixer for ease, but if you want to use a hand mixer, that also works.
- Make sure your butter is soft. I prefer to leave it out on the counter to soften naturally. If you need to microwave it, only do 10 second intervals to ensure it doesn’t melt.
- You can color these another color by using another color. For blue use blue spirulina, for green use matcha, and for orange use India Tree Nature’s Colors Orange.
- If you prefer to use a cream cheese frosting, make Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting (10 Flavor Options) instead!
- You don’t need to pipe the frosting, this is totally optional. You can just add all the frosting on top with a spatula and spread out evenly.
- If you want to use different sprinkles you can do that too!
- Gluten Free — Replace the all purpose flour with 269 grams (1 ¾ cups) gluten free flour blend.
- High Altitude — Bake for 23 to 25 minutes or until the middle looks set and the edges look lightly golden brown.
Nutrition
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These organic sugar cookie bars are soft, sweet, and absolutely delicious. The clean, quality ingredients make them a treat you can feel good about—perfect for Easter or spring gatherings!
Thank you Teresa!!