Sugar Cookie Bars With Berries

By Yossy Arefi

Published June 19, 2025

  • Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
About 1 hour, plus cooling
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
5(175)
Comments
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Draped in frosting and adorned with festive berries, these sheet-pan cookie bars are fit for a party. Browned butter and cream cheese give the cookie depth and richness, plus a pleasantly chewy texture. The fluffy vanilla frosting is a canvas for whichever berries look best at the market. If you like, dust the fruit with a bit of powdered sugar just before serving for a little extra flair. The cookie and frosting can both be prepared the day before your celebration, but you’ll want to assemble and dress with the berries the day you plan to enjoy this dessert. For the cleanest slices, use a long, sharp knife and gently cut through the berries and cookie base.

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Ingredients

Yield:24 bars

FOR THE COOKIE BARS

  • 1 cup/226 grams unsalted butter, plus more for greasing

  • ½ cup/120 grams cream cheese, softened to room temperature

  • 2 cups/400 grams granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs, cold from the fridge

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

  • 1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour

  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

FOR THE FROSTING AND TOPPING

  • 2 ½ cups/300 grams powdered sugar

  • ¾ cup/190 grams unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more if needed

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

  • 4 cups/680 grams assorted fresh berries

  • Powdered sugar (optional), for decorating

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

41 grams carbs; 60 milligrams cholesterol; 320 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 17 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 150 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 33 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the cookie bars: Heat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan. Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper that hangs over two of the long sides.

  2. Step 2

    Melt the butter in a small skillet set over medium heat. (Use a pan with a light interior, if possible, so you can easily see the milk solids change color.) Cook the butter for a few minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the milk solids off the bottom and sides of the pan as needed, until the milk solids turn golden brown and smell toasty, about 4 minutes. Immediately pour the hot butter into a large bowl.

  3. Step 3

    Add the cream cheese and granulated sugar to the bowl and whisk until smooth, then add the eggs, vanilla and salt, and whisk until smooth and well blended.

  4. Step 4

    Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl and fold with a flexible spatula just until no streaks remain. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake the cookie for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set and light brown around the edges. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.

  5. Step 5

    While the cookie bar cools, make the frosting: In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter, cream, vanilla extract and salt. Mix with an electric mixer on low speed until the sugar is moistened, then turn the mixer up to medium-high and mix until the frosting is light and fluffy, adding 1 more tablespoon of cream if the frosting is stiff, about 5 minutes. Use a flexible spatula to stir the frosting a few times to knock out any large air bubbles.

  6. Step 6

    Transfer the cooled cookie to a serving plate or board, if desired. Smooth the frosting over the top of the cooled cookie and decorate with berries and powdered sugar as desired. (To make ahead, store the cookie, well-wrapped, at room temperature and refrigerate the frosting up to 2 days in advance; assemble when ready to serve.)

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Ratings

5 out of 5
175 user ratings
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Comments

Caroline

This recipe is a keeper! As the base is very buttery, I decided to use a mascarpone-based icing (4 oz mascarpone, generous 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/8 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, all whipped together) instead of the butter-based frosting listed, to create more of a contrast. I was bringing this to a large crowd, so after icing I cut this into about 50 very small squares, then put a single raspberry on top of each one. They were a hit!

JTP

I thought the frosting and the sugar cookie bar were both too sweet. I think the bars would be better if a cream cheese frosting was used instead of the sugar and butter frosting included in the recipe. The tartness of a cream cheese frosting would help lower the sweetness level of the recipe.

heidi clark

This is basically the old Fruit Pizza recipe from Pillsbury using the prepared sugar cookie dough. It called for an orange marmalade drizzle on top. A huge summer favorite for decades!

Kaya

One of the best desserts I’ve ever made! Everyone asked for the recipe and begged me to make it again. I tweaked the frosting, using half butter and half softened cream cheese, which made it tangier and less sweet. I also used about half the powdered sugar, added around 5 tbsp of cream, then mixed in a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar until it reached the right consistency. The frosting turned out light, creamy, tangy, and not too sweet. Since it’s a cookie, the frosting doesn’t need to be stiff

Deborah T

Big hit at 4th of July barbecue. I needed to up the marscapone (in the alternative frosting recommended) to 8 oz. Using only 4 oz created a watery icing that looked to be more suited to drizzling.

Catherine

This is basically the old fruit pizza, and as such, is just too sweet for us, plus a little greasy. I subbed a double recipe of Smitten Kitchen’s cream cheese frosting, which brought down the sweetness level. Taste = 3 stars plus 1 more star because it looked great. Still looking for the perfect Independence Day bars.

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