Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having a fun, festive day full of food! Now that I’m done with my baking for the day, I’m off to a pool-side barbecue with these patriotic treats in hand. I made these cookie bars last year and they were such a hit that I decided to make them again today! It’s a recipe you can use throughout the year, too, just switch up the decorations and/or frosting.
Ingredients:
Cookie Bars
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 5 cups flour
- 1 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Cream Cheese Frosting + Decorations
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-3 tsp. milk
- blueberries
- strawberries
How to:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10″x15″ jelly roll pan. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract.
- In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture. Stir until combined.
- Press dough into pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool.
- To make the frosting: beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla until combined. Mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add milk until it is a good consistency for spreading. Spread over cooled cookies, still in the pan.
- Cut into squares and decorate with fruit, sprinkles or more frosting! I used strawberries and blueberries for a patriotic look.
*You might also like my 4th of July brownie bites!