Easter Cookie Bars Recipe

This Easter Cookie Bars recipe transforms simple ingredients into a spectacular holiday treat that will delight everyone at your spring gathering. With a soft, buttery cookie base topped with creamy coconut frosting and festive decorations, these bars strike the perfect balance between homemade charm and eye-catching presentation. Best of all, they come together quickly, making them an ideal project when you’re juggling other holiday preparations.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Ingredients You’ll Need

• All-purpose flour: Forms the structure of your cookie bars, giving them that perfect chewy-yet-soft texture.
• Baking powder and baking soda: These leavening agents help the bars rise slightly while baking, preventing them from becoming too dense.
• Butter: Use unsalted so you can control the salt content. The butter needs to be softened to properly cream with the sugar.
• Granulated sugar: Provides sweetness and helps create that slightly crisp exterior on the cookie bars.
• Eggs: Bind everything together and add moisture to the cookie dough.
• Vanilla extract: Adds that classic warm flavor that enhances everything else.
• Almond extract: Optional but adds a subtle complexity that makes people wonder what your secret ingredient is!
• Confetti sprinkles: Mixed into the dough for bursts of color and fun in every bite.
• Cream of coconut: The star of the frosting, bringing authentic coconut flavor rather than just extract alone.
• Powdered sugar: Creates that smooth, sweet frosting texture.
• Coconut flakes: Transformed into “Easter grass” with some green food coloring.
• Easter candies: Peeps, jelly beans, or any Easter-themed treats add the perfect festive touch.

Variations

Different Flavor Directions

• Lemon Twist: Add lemon zest to the cookie dough and replace the coconut frosting with lemon buttercream for a bright, spring flavor.
• Chocolate Lover’s Version: Mix mini chocolate chips into the cookie dough and swap the coconut frosting for chocolate frosting.
• Berry Fresh: Add freeze-dried strawberries (crushed into powder) to the frosting for a natural pink color and fruity flavor.

Decoration Alternatives

• Pastel Paradise: Use pastel-colored candies like M&Ms or chocolate eggs instead of jelly beans.
• Chocolate Nest: Create little nests with chocolate shavings instead of green coconut, then add small egg candies.
• Bunny Theme: Use bunny-shaped sprinkles and cookies instead of Peeps for a coordinated theme.

How to Make Easter Cookie Bars

Step 1: Prepare the Cookie Base

Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper, giving it a light spray of cooking oil. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until well combined. In a separate bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy – don’t rush this step! This creaming process creates air pockets that give your bars a better texture.

Step 2: Create the Cookie Dough

Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. The mixture should look smooth and glossy. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts for that wonderful aroma. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined – overmixing will make your bars tough! Gently fold in those colorful sprinkles, which will create little bursts of color throughout your bars.

Step 3: Bake to Perfection

Press the dough evenly into your prepared pan, taking a moment to smooth the top for even baking. Bake for 20-24 minutes until the edges turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. The bars might seem slightly underdone in the center, but they’ll continue cooking as they cool. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Step 4: Whip Up the Coconut Frosting

While the bars cool, make the creamy coconut frosting. Whip the softened butter until smooth, then gradually add powdered sugar. The mixture will look thick at first, but don’t worry! Add cream of coconut, vanilla, coconut extract, and a pinch of salt, then whip for 3 minutes until fluffy and light. This frosting strikes the perfect balance between buttery and coconutty.

Step 5: Create the Festive Topping

Transform regular coconut flakes into spring “grass” by placing them in a zip-top bag with a few drops of green food coloring. Seal the bag and massage the color through the coconut until you achieve your desired shade of green. Cut your cooled cookie bars first, then top with frosting and the green coconut “grass” for cleaner slices and easier serving.

Step 6: Add the Final Easter Touch

Arrange Peeps, jelly beans, or your favorite Easter candies on top of each bar. The colorful candies against the green “grass” create that perfect Easter basket look that makes these bars so special!

How to Serve

These Easter Cookie Bars are versatile enough to fit into any spring celebration:

Holiday Dessert Table

Place these bars as the colorful centerpiece of your Easter dessert spread. Their festive appearance will draw everyone’s attention.

After Easter Egg Hunt

Serve these as a special treat after the kids have finished their Easter egg hunt – they’ll love the continuation of the colorful theme.

Springtime Gift

Package individual bars in clear cellophane bags tied with pastel ribbons for a thoughtful homemade gift for neighbors, teachers, or friends.

Make Ahead and Storage

Storing Leftovers

Store the cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Place a piece of parchment paper between layers if you need to stack them to prevent the frosting from getting smashed.

Freezing

These bars freeze beautifully! Freeze unfrosted bars for up to 3 months, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature before frosting and decorating.

Make-Ahead Options

You can make the cookie bar base up to 2 days ahead and store it tightly wrapped at room temperature. The frosting can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator – just bring it to room temperature and re-whip before spreading.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

These Easter Cookie Bars bring together the best of both worlds – the chewy satisfaction of a freshly baked cookie with the festive decoration opportunities of a cake. They strike that perfect balance between impressive presentation and actually being doable when you’ve got a million other things on your holiday to-do list. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just looking for a special treat to mark the season, these bars are guaranteed to bring smiles to your Easter celebration!

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