Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bars

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 cup butter

  (softened at room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs

  (at room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup butter

  (softened at room temperature)
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract

  (or vanilla extract)
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
• 2¼ cups confectioners sugar
• ¼ cup candy canes

  (crushed)

Instructions

• 1 To get started, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 9x13 baking dish
  with parchment paper. Then, lightly spritz it with some non-stick cooking spray.
• 2 In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the
  butter and sugar until fluffy and smooth.
• 3 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Then, mix in the
  vanilla extract, baking powder, and cornstarch, making sure to scrape down the
  sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
• 4 Gently mix in the all-purpose flour until just combined. Then, pour the batter
  into your prepared baking dish.
• 5 Bake the batter in the preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 14-16 minutes, or
  until the bars have begun to rise and barely darkened. These bars should still
  be very pale in color, as they will finish baking as they cool off. Remove the
  bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely before adding the frosting.
• 6 To prepare the frosting, cream together the room-temperature butter and
  peppermint extract (or vanilla extract) in a large mixing bowl until well
  combined.
• 7 Alternate between adding small increments of the heavy whipping cream and
  powdered sugar, mixing well in between each addition. Continue until you have
  incorporated all of the sugar and cream and the frosting is fluffy.
• 8 Once your cookie bars have cooled, spread the buttercream frosting over the tops
  of the bars in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the top
  before cutting them into squares and serving.

Nutrition Info