If you love anything cake batter flavored, these Cake Batter Sugar Cookie Bars are going to be your new favorite. They’re soft and chewy, loaded with pastel confetti sprinkles and topped with the creamiest cake batter buttercream. Basically everything you love about a frosted sugar cookie with a fun birthday cake twist!
These bars are based on my classic Sugar Cookie Bars, which have been one of my favorite easy desserts for years. I wanted to make a version that felt a little more fun and nostalgic, so I added cake batter extract to both the cookie dough and frosting and mixed pastel confetti quins throughout the bars.
The combination of vanilla and cake batter extract gives these that classic birthday cake flavor without being overpowering. Then, of course, there are the sprinkles. Lots and lots of sprinkles!
I finished the bars with a thick layer of buttercream, piped an extra border of frosting around the edges and covered the border with even more pastel confetti quins. They’re so fun, so easy and would be perfect for birthdays, showers, Easter or honestly any day that could use more sprinkles.
Why You’ll Love These Cake Batter Sugar Cookie Bars
If you love sugar cookies but don’t love rolling out dough and cutting individual cookies, cookie bars are the answer. You press all of the dough into one pan, bake it and frost the whole thing at once.
These bars are soft and chewy in the center with slightly golden edges, and the cake batter extract gives them that nostalgic boxed birthday cake flavor. The confetti quins add little pops of color throughout without changing the texture of the bars too much.
And while I love the pastel sprinkles here, you can easily switch up the colors to make these work for just about any holiday or celebration.
Cake Batter Extract
The key to getting that unmistakable birthday cake flavor is cake batter extract. I still like to use vanilla extract because I don’t want to lose that classic sugar cookie flavor completely. For the cookie dough, I use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon cake batter extract. For the frosting, I use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon cake batter extract.
Cake batter extract is pretty strong, so a little goes a long way. Using both extracts gives you that cake batter flavor without making the bars taste overly artificial. I linked one but found it in my baking aisle at my local grocery store!
The Best Sprinkles to Use
For these bars I used pastel confetti quins and I loveeee how they turned out. Confetti quins are the flat, round sprinkles and they’re one of my favorite sprinkles to actually bake into cookies and bars because they hold their shape and color really well.
You can also use classic jimmies if that’s what you have on hand.
I would avoid mixing nonpareils into the dough. They’re great for decorating, but because they’re so small, the colors tend to bleed when they’re mixed into dough or batter.
Recipe Tips
Use a metal baking pan. I highly recommend baking these in a metal 9×13 pan instead of glass. Metal conducts heat more evenly and helps the bars bake consistently from the edges to the center.
Cornstarch. The cornstarch is important but not required! It helps create that really soft, tender and chewy sugar cookie texture but I have had people say they’re allergic or don’t have it. You can either omit or replace with arrow root powder.
Don’t overbake them. This is probably the most important tip. The edges should be lightly golden, but the center may still look slightly underdone when you pull the pan from the oven. That’s what you want. They’ll continue to set as they cool in the pan. Mine typically take around 22 minutes.
Let them cool completely. Don’t try to frost warm cookie bars or you’ll end up with a melted buttercream situation. Let them cool completely in the pan before decorating.
Expect them to rise and sink a little. These bars will rise while they’re baking and then sink slightly as they cool. That’s completely normal. If you want perfectly even bars, chill them after they’ve cooled, remove the entire bar from the pan using the parchment paper and trim any higher edges with a sharp serrated knife before frosting.
Have fun with the sprinkles. I used pastel confetti quins, but this recipe is really easy to customize. Use rainbow sprinkles for a classic birthday cake look or switch up the colors for different holidays.
How to Decorate Cake Batter Sugar Cookie Bars
Once the bars are completely cool, spread most of the cake batter buttercream over the top in an even layer.
I like to reserve some of the buttercream and transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Pipe a border all the way around the outside of the bars and then add more confetti quins over the piped frosting.
The border makes these look a little more special without requiring any complicated decorating, and obviously I’m never going to say no to an excuse for more frosting and sprinkles.
You can decorate the bars directly in the pan or remove the entire thing using the parchment paper and decorate it on a serving board before slicing.
How to Store Cake Batter Sugar Cookie Bars
Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. You can also keep them covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you refrigerate them, I recommend letting them sit at room temperature for a little bit before serving so the cookie and buttercream have a chance to soften.
These Cake Batter Sugar Cookie Bars are soft, chewy, buttery and packed with that nostalgic birthday cake flavor. Between the cake batter buttercream and all of those pastel sprinkles, they’re basically a celebration in cookie bar form. If you make them, be sure to leave a rating and review and let me know what you think!
Cake Batter Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature. you can use unsalted if you prefer!
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cake batter extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 2 tsp corn starch
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅓ cup confetti quins or any sprinkles you prefer!
For the frosting:
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature. you can use unsalted if you prefer!
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cake batter extract
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 2-3 tbsp heavy cream or milk room temperature
- additional confetti quins for decorating
Instructions
For the bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a metal 9×13 baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and granulated sugar and mix until combined. Add the vanilla extract, cake batter extract, egg and egg yolk and mix until incorporated. With the mixer on low, add the flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and cornstarch. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in the pastel confetti quins.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and use a spatula or lightly wet hands to evenly press it into the pan. Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before frosting.
For the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract, cake batter extract, salt and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Beat until smooth. Add additional heavy cream or milk as needed until you reach your preferred consistency.
To assemble:
- Once the cookie bars have completely cooled, spread a thin, even layer of the frosting over the top. If you're adding a border, transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with your preferred piping tip and pipe a border around the outside of the bars. Top the piped border with additional pastel confetti quins. Slice and enjoy!