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These decadent red velvet sugar cookie bars with cream cheese frosting are so divine. This is the best of both worlds, all the goodness of red velvet cake in an easy-to-make cookie bar form.
Red velvet is one of my favorite dessert flavors. It’s rich and chocolatey with the best hint of tang! If you love it as much as I do, here are a few more recipes you need to try: red velvet cheesecake, red velvet pound cake, and red velvet white chocolate chip cookies.
Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars
These could quite possibly be the best cookie bars that I have ever made. They’re thick, dense and slightly crisp on the edges. It’s a perfect cross between a cookie and dessert bar. Topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting, these are going to be you new go-to favorites. They’re everything you love about red velvet cake but in a moist, fudgy dessert bar form. Psst- they’re also a great option for Valentine’s Day!
These bars though. They’re so moist and heavenly! The tangy flavor of the cream cheese frosting perfectly complements the sweetness of the red velvet, making every bite a burst of flavor in your mouth. These sugar cookie ebars are so good, you’ll find yourself reaching for another one before you even finish the first! Perfect for a sweet snack, a party dessert, or even as a special breakfast treat, these bars are sure to become a favorite in no time. So go ahead, give them a try and taste the yummy goodness for yourself!
Ingredients for Red Velvet Cookie Bars and Frosting
These red velvet sugar cookies are scrumptious and easy to make. You are going to love how fast both the cookie bars and frosting come together. If you’re looking for exact measurements, they can all be found in the recipe card below.
- Flour: All-purpose flour works great here!
- Unsweetened Cocoa: If you have non-alkalized (also known as Dutch process) cocoa powder, use that!
- Salt: Balances out the sweetness of the cookie bars.
- Baking Powder: A necessary rising agent.
- Butter: Bring the butter to room temperature before using it. This way, you will end up with a smoother batter.
- Sugar: Just regular granulated sugar works fine!
- Eggs: Give the cookies texture and lift.
- Vanilla: Adds a little extra flavor. Use pure vanilla extract if you can!
- Red Food Coloring: For that signature red color.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese: Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature so your frosting ends up nice and smooth.
- Butter: Should also be at room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar: For thickness and sweetness.
- Vanilla: Adds an extra pop of flavor!
How to Make Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars
As easy as cookies but faster and more hands-off. These will be a winner when you’re short on time, but need big flavor and big wow factor. Red velvet makes everything just a bit more special! These sugar cookie bars almost look too good to eat.
- Preheat Oven, Prep Pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have a 9×13 inch pan ready. I like to line mine with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray so that the bars easily lift out and are easy to cut.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Then set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, cream together 1 cup butter softened and sugar until light and creamy. About 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and food coloring until combined.
- Combine and Bake: Add the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Press into the bottom of the 9×13 inch pan. Bake for about 20 minutes until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. Allow to completely cool before frosting.
- Prepare Frosting and Enjoy: To make the cream cheese frosting, Beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat together until smooth. Frost the top of the bars and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
These heavenly red velvet sugar cookie bars are a cinch to make. Here are a few extra tips to keep in mind so they turn out perfectly!
- Prep Your Pan: Line your pan with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray so that the bars easily lift out and are easy to cut.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: The butter and cream cheese should be brought to room temperature naturally, not in the microwave. This will ensure the creamiest texture. The butter and cream cheese will incorporate more evenly.
- Batter Thickness: Don’t panic if the batter is thick, it’s definitely a cookie batter, not a cake batter.
- Press: When you put the cookie bars into the pan use a spatula to press down evenly. It will bake up nice and chewy and amazing!
- Add Toppings: Use your imagination to decorate these red velvet sugar cookie bars! Use sprinkles and candies to make them festive, for whatever holiday or occasion you’re making them for! You can also add a drizzle of chocolate or white chocolate sauce for extra decadence.
Storing Leftovers
Red velvet sugar cookie bars with cream cheese frosting will last for 3-5 days if stored properly. To keep them fresh, it’s best to store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to eat them, simply take the bars out of the refrigerator a few minutes before serving to allow them to reach room temperature. This way, they will be nice and soft and taste as good as they did on the first day!
More Red Velvet Desserts
Not only is red velvet a fantastic dessert flavor, but it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day with its deep red coloring! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, here are a few more delicious treats that you have to add to the dessert lineup! They’re all rich, decadent, and are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. Enjoy!
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Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons red food coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have a 9×13 inch pan ready. I like to line mine with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray so that the bars easily lift out and are easy to cut.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together 1 cup butter softened and sugar until light and creamy. About 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and food coloring until combined.
- Add the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Press into the bottom of the 9×13 inch pan. Bake for about 20 minutes until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. Allow to completely cool before frosting.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, Beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat together until smooth. Frost the top of the bars and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Could you sub marischino cherry juice for the food coloring? Or add in for flavor?????
I’ll be tinting my cream cheese frosting green. That with the red velvet bottom will make a festive Christmas dessert idea.
That’s what I’m thinking about doing and maybe some little silver sugar balls.
It only LOOKS like red velvet. Red Velvet is coco and cherry, not coco and red food coloring.
But, looks and sounds yummy.
Made these for a family gathering last night. They were awful! We couldn’t even stomach them! Went back and double checked the recipe and didn’t miss a thing. Wonder what went wrong? The cake tasted so artificial and the frosting was yuck! So sad! The picture is amazing and I’ve never made a thing from your site that I didn’t love! You’re my go-to site for dinner planning 🙂
I am shocked!! These are one of my favorite bars on my site. And the cream cheese frosting is my favorite part! Everyone I have shared them with has LOVED them. I don’t think I would like something that tasted artificial. Sorry you didn’t like them!
Agree…they were dry and texture was crumbly; frosting way too sweet; very disappointing. And yes, I followed the recipe exactly.
I really am so surprised that people are commenting saying they were dry. These were one of the best cookie bars that I have made. Mine were moist and the people I shared them with loved them as much as we did. I wouldn’t post a dry cookie recipe so I don’t know what is happening… 🙁
red velvet is actually a flavor of buttermilk and cocoa, not just food coloring. But these look good as just a chocolate bar with cream cheese frosting!
Was just wondering about the vanilla… Is it vanilla essence or vanilla the plant? Coming from Australia we use different terms for things!! These look delicious and I am definetly making it!
McCormick’s Vanilla Extract (liquid)
Just made these and they are heavenly! They taste amazing only difference I made was using 1 tbsp of food coloring because thats what I had and it still turned out just as red. Making this again for sure!
Ok so it made these and they didn’t turn out right, they tasted bad and after I added the powder mixture to the liquid mixture it wasn’t red anymore. I was hoping they would maybe come out of the oven red but they didn’t, they turned out brown and didn’t taste very good. But I was very careful so I do t know what happened 🙁
Dang I hate when that happens! This was one of my favorite recipes. I am not sure where it went wrong either…
Haley, the same thing happened to me too. Super dry and tasted like flour. I’m wondering if a touch of confectioners sugar to the dry mix would sweeten them up a bit. I have the same problem with my rolled sugar cookies too, and that’s what I do to sweeten them. Hmm =/
Haley, did you forget to add the red food coloring? Also check your Vanilla Extract it may have expired.
These cookie bars were fairly easy to make, and ever sooo delicious to eat! Loved the contrasting textures and flavors. The frosting was amazing and will be my “go to” for cream cheese frosting. My cookie bars turned out very close to the picture, so I was delighted with that.
Loved the frosting and the idea but my cookie/cake tasted like food coloring 🙁 blah! Next time I’m skipping the red.
Make sure to use the “no taste”red will turn out for you next time and you will still be able to achieve that red colour without the awful taste
Or use beet juice!!
Hi there, I’m looking to make these for a party (along with bunch of other food). I’m wondering how you store these, and how long they will last after making them. I’m hoping to make them ahead of time.
Hi! Do these have to be refrigerated?
These look amazing!!! However I’m trying to stay away from red food coloring seeing as it is a carcinogen (I wouldn’t normally be so picky, but I’m pregnant).. Is the food coloring necessary or is it just for show? Thanks!!
I was wondering about that, too. Food coloring adds no flavor, so why add it? Lots of folks have problems with red dye.
I’ve heard of people using beet juice for coloring. I’ve never tried it, so don’t know how much it would affect the flavor. Maybe just make a half batch to test it out?
I have used beet juice and it works great. In fact, in the original version of RVC from the Waldorf Astoria, they used beet juice.
Gorgeous! IDK how I missed these the first time around. Glad I found them tho!
Ok, I think I’m completely sold on making these for valentines day. Gorgeous pictures! Just to clarify, the recipe calls for 2 8 oz packets of cream cheese, as in 16 oz total?
Thank you!
I was wondering if you could cheat and use box red velvet cake mix to make these? What are your thoughts?
Was there ever a response to using a cake mix?
I wouldn’t recommend using a cake mix. Not sure if it would turn out