A fun festive treat for Christmas!

I used my recipe for sugar cookie bars that I make for holidays throughout the year and substituted Candy Cane Kisses for sprinkles, as well as peppermint extract for vanilla. For an extra festive touch, these Christmas bars are topped with a sprinkling of chopped Candy Cane Kisses. Super easy dessert recipe to make your season merry and bright!

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

1 cup flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ cup butter, softened (1 stick)
½ tsp almond extract
½ tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 cup Candy Cane Kisses, chopped

For the frosting:

½ cup butter, softened (1 stick)
2 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
½ cup Candy Cane Kisses, chopped (for topping)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom of a square 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough on two sides to pull out of pan when finished baking.
Cream together softened butter and granulated sugar. Add egg, almond and peppermint extracts. Beat until combined. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and mix until combined and a soft dough forms. Fold in 1 cup of chopped Candy Cane Kisses.
Spread dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until golden brown around the edges or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Do not overbake! The bars should be slightly underbaked in the middle). Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
In a small separate bowl, prepare the frosting by combining softened butter, sugar, vanilla and milk. Spread frosting evenly over top of cooled bars. Top with ½ cup chopped Candy Cane Kisses. Chill in the fridge for an hour to help set the frosting. Cut into 2-inch bars for serving. This recipe makes 16 bars! Enjoy!

Notes

If you’re running low on time or energy, substitute homemade frosting with a Duncan Hines tub of frosting.

Store bars in an airtight container at room temp.

Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bars