Christmas Bar Cookies

5 from 3 votes

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Christmas bar cookies are one of Santa’s favorite treats. But that’s just one great thing about this easy holiday dessert.

These are perfect for your holiday cookie exchange, and you can make them in just 35 minutes!

A festive plate of Christmas cookie bars with red ornaments.
Our kids love making these Christmas bars – another bonus to this recipe!

What are these?

These Christmas cookie bars are a jazzed-up holiday version of chocolate chip cookies in bar form. It’s amazing what some holiday colors and a little powdered sugar can do to dress things up!

A Christmas bar cookie on a plate with a cup of coffee.
These freeze well so you can get a head-start on your Christmas cookie exchange.

Like these yummy M&M Christmas cookie bars, this recipe features just a handful of ordinary ingredients and they go together really fast. Once they’re in a baking pan, they take only 30 minutes to bake!

Ingredients and notes

Butter, flour, chocolate chips and other baking ingredients.

These are nothing more than chocolate chip cookie bars, with a holiday twist!

  • Chocolate Chips – For convenience sake, I use a bag of the Nestle Toll House Holiday semi-sweet chips. They are a combination of red, green, and chocolate colored chocolate chips.
  • Eggs – I like to use large eggs. And make sure your eggs are at room temperature before baking. This helps the cookie bars to bake more evenly (and faster.) Here’s a great tip on how to quickly bring eggs to room temperature.
  • Butter – Make sure it is at room temperature before mixing with the other ingredients. Some people prefer to use 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening. This can give you a chewier cookie bar. I often make this substitution.
  • Flour – All-purpose flour is fine for making these Christmas bars.
  • Brown Sugar – I prefer using light brown sugar for its lighter color and flavor tones, when making these recipe. If all you have is the dark variety, that will still work.

Variations

Easily make these into M&M cookie bars by using holiday colored M&M’s. Other yummy substitutions can be:

How to make them

There are only a few steps for making these Christmas bar cookies, which which is why the go together so fast.

Mixing dough and baking it for chocolate chip cookie bars.
  1. Mix the cookie batter but only use 1/2 of the chocolate chips. You’ll use the other half in the next step.
  2. Evenly spread the batter in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Using an off-set spatula is a great way to do this. When you have the batter in the pan, evenly distribute the remaining chocolate chips over the top. Use the palms of your hand to gently press them into the batter.
  3. Bake these Christmas bars at 350° for 30 minutes. Always preheat your oven!
  4. Let these cool on a rack, in the pan, before cutting.
A Christmas cookie bar with and without powdered sugar.
You can add some holiday flare to anything with a light sprinkling of powdered sugar.

At this point, these Christmas cookie bars are ready for anything!

  • Add them to your holiday cookie exchange.
  • Dunk in your favorite hot beverage or cold glass of milk.
  • Give some to your mail carrier, friend, or neighbor.

Common recipe questions

How long will Christmas bars stay good?

These should be good to eat for up to 7 days. Store them at room temperature in a sealed container such as a zip-lock bag or a tupperware-like container.

Can I freeze these Christmas bar cookies?

Yes! These bars freeze well in an air-tight zip-lock bag, for up to 3 months. Simply thaw to room temperature before serving.

I’m hoping that these holiday dessert bars will help put you in your happy place. As I learned from my dad so many years ago, it doesn’t hurt a person to be there every once in a while.

Happy holidays to you and yours and thanks for reading Platter Talk. It means the world to us. 

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Christmas Bar Cookies

5 from 3 votes
Fast and simple to make, these holiday dessert bars are perfect for Santa Claus and his crew as they make their journey to and from the North Pole.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Yield: 24

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Using a stand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat until creamy, about 2 minutes.
  • Gradually add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined.
  • Add one half chocolate chips and stir until well incorporated.
  • Evenly spread batter in an ungreased 9×13 inch baking dish. Evenly distribute reserved chocolate chips on top of batter and use palm of one hand to gently push chips into batter.
  • Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean, after being inserted into center of pan. Allow to cool thoroughly on a baking rack before cutting and serving.

Video

Notes

  • You can use 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening for this recipe.
  • Substitute the chocolate chips for M&M’s and you can turn these into holiday M&M cookie bars.
  • Be sure your eggs are at room temperature before adding them to the batter.

Nutrition

Calories: 258kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 127mg, Potassium: 137mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 265IU, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 1.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Holidays
Tried this recipe?Mention @plattertalk or tag #plattertalk!


Meet the Platter Talk Guys

Dan & Scott split their time between Wisconsin and Southwest Florida and are dads to six boys. Good food runs through their veins, and they love showing others how to cook easy recipes.

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5 Comments

    1. We love a variety of holiday cookies, Christmas cookies, and holiday treats. Thanks so much for you comments and for dropping by our food blog called Platter Talk.

  1. 5 stars
    I love cookie bars that way I can eat only one…a big one! These bars look amazing too. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!