It’s raining sprinkles! I made a giant sprinkle mess in my kitchen while decorating these, and I couldn’t get enough. I went a little overboard and bought three jumbo jars of sprinkles for this recipe. That was unnecessary, and now two oversized containers sit on my counter because they won’t fit in my cabinet. Lesson learned — but completely worth it for extra-sprinkly, soft, buttery cookie bars.
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One of my favorite rainy-day activities is making sugar cookies with the kids. We spend ages rolling out dough, cutting shapes, and decorating. If you have children, you know how important it is to keep them busy before cabin fever sets in. Sugar cookies have saved me more than once.
These Funfetti cookie bars offer all that fun without the work of chilling and rolling dough. The batter comes together quickly, you press it into a pan, bake, frost, and soon you have a panful of colorful bars to feed a crowd of sprinkle-lovers.
The hardest part is waiting for the bars to cool so you can frost them and take your first bite. If you have room in the fridge (I rarely do, but I did this time), you can lift the cooled pan out using foil overhangs, place it on a cutting board, and chill for 30 minutes to firm them up for easier slicing. Life is grand when that works.
Use whatever sprinkles you prefer — different shapes and sizes all work. I don’t recommend mixing nonpareils (the tiny round ones) into the batter, since they can bleed color and discolor the dough; save those for sprinkling on top after frosting.
About the frosting: almond extract gives a lovely flavor, but vanilla works just as well if you prefer it. The recipe yields a good amount of frosting for these bars, but if you love a thick layer, increase the frosting by 1 1/2x or double it and refrigerate the extra for another treat.
Enjoy!
Printable recipe below.
Funfetti Cookie Bars
Nichole
15 mins
30 mins
45 mins
24
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tsp baking powder
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- 1 Cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 2 Tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup rainbow sprinkles
- FROSTING:
- 2 Sticks butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 Cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream (or half & half or milk)
- 1/4 Tsp almond or vanilla extract
- 1/8 Tsp salt (tiny pinch)
- Food coloring of choice (optional)
- Additional sprinkles for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal, and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar and vanilla on medium speed until fluffy (2–3 minutes). Beat in the eggs.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until combined.
- Fold 1/2 cup of sprinkles into the batter by hand.
- Spread and press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake 25–30 minutes, until the edges are set and the top is very lightly golden. Do not overbake.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before frosting and slicing. For easier slicing, chill the pan briefly in the refrigerator if desired.
- For the frosting: Beat softened butter until smooth and creamy (1–2 minutes). With the mixer on low, add powdered sugar, cream (or milk), extract, and salt. Increase speed to high and beat 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in food coloring if using.
- Frost the cooled bars and top with extra sprinkles. Slice into squares and serve.