Skip the cake and make these Birthday Cake Cookie Bars for your next party. This birthday cookie cake is crisp on the outside, soft in the middle and loaded with chocolate and sprinkles.
Quick
Easy cleanup
You’ll Learn: Different mix-in customizations
Worth It: It builds a freezer stash for stress-free treats later
Bonus: One-pan approach for easy cleanup
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make, but just as festive as cake – if you aren’t a fan of cake, but want a festive birthday treat, these birthday cake cookies are the perfect option. They are way easier to make than a cake! You can leave them the way they are or add frosting on top.
- Crispy edges with a soft chewy middle – these cookie bars are crisp on the edges, but when you bite into them they have a soft rich middle. The chocolate chips and sprinkles are mixed in so that you get a little bit in each bite. The almond and vanilla extracts are mixed into the dough to give them that nostalgic birthday cake flavor.
- Customize for holidays – use red and green sprinkles for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween or pink for Valentines Day. You can even change the up the chocolate chips or replace them with other chocolate candies.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these at a birthday party or any festive gathering in place of a cake. You can also serve them on a dessert buffet along other baked goods like this chocolate ganache cake and flourless brownies.
Prepare them as a sweet treat for meal prep on Sunday. Cut into 12 squares and enjoy one in your lunch as dessert all week long.
You can serve them as is or make them more like a cookie cake by whipping up a simple buttercream frosting. Pipe the frosting around the edge of the cookies or ice the entire top before cutting into squares.
Looking for a more simple sugar cookie? Try these sprinkle cookies make with a sugar cookie dough and lots of rainbow sprinkles!
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda, baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Semi sweet chocolate chips
- White chocolate chips
- Rainbow sprinkles
Ingredient Substitutions
My favorite mix ins for these birthday cake bars are rainbow sprinkles, chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, but you can mix in anything you like! You can mix in things like mini M&Ms, peanuts, toffee chips and dark chocolate chunks.
Change up the mix ins based on the holiday. I like to make festive Christmas cookie bars with red and green sprinkles, red and green M&Ms and toffee pieces.
Make these cookie bars gluten free by using a 1:1 gluten free flour blend in place of the all purpose flour. You can also easily make them dairy free by using a dairy free butter and dairy free chocolate chips.
How To Make
Step 1: Mix Wet Ingredients
To begin, preheat oven to 325F. Grease or line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper.
Then, place softened butter in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until fully combined and fluffy (Image 1).
Pour the egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract into the bowl. Mix again until batter is smooth.
Step 2: Fold in Dry Ingredients
In a separate bowl mix together the all purpose flour, baking soda and salt (Image 2). Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix again with electric mixer until fully combined
Pour the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and sprinkles into the bowl and fold in with a spatula (Image 3).
Step 3: Bake Cookie Bars
Then, pour the batter into the baking pan and press down into a flat layer (Image 4). Use an extra piece of parchment paper or greased spatula to do this
Finally, bake at 325F for 28-30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares and enjoying. If you cut before they are cool, they are more likely to fall apart.
Can I make them on a baking sheet?
Yes to make a larger cookie cake you can bake this on a baking sheet. Double the recipe so you have enough dough to fill a standard half sheet pan.
Can I make these into a standard cookie recipe?
Yes! Add an extra 1/4 cup of all purpose flour to the batter. Then use a cookie scoop to scoop out 2 tbsp of batter. Roll cookie dough balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes for a chewy cookie.
Storage and Freezing
Once prepared, allow the cookie cake bars to cool completely. Then, store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days. You can also store them in the refrigerator for up to one week.
If you want to keep them for longer, place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to cut them into squares prior to freezing so that I can defrost them one at a time as needed.
Check out these other delicious dessert recipes
If you love this recipe, try these monster cookies next. They are soft and chewy peanut butter cookies loaded with oats, chocolate chips and M&Ms.
Keep reading to find the full recipe and instructions. If you make this cookie bar recipe, please rate and review it in the comments or on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Loaded Birthday Cake Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter ½ cup – softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar – packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg – room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅓ semi sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease or line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper
- Place softened butter in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until fully combined and fluffy.
- Add in the egg and extracts and mix again.
- In a separate bowl mix together the all purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix again with electric mixer until fully combined
- Pour the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and sprinkles into the bowl and fold in with a spatula
- Pour the batter into the baking pan and press down into a flat layer. Use an extra piece of parchment paper or greased spatula to do this
- Bake at 325F for 28-30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares and enjoying. If you cut before they are cool, they are more likely to fall apart.
Recipe Notes
- Use gluten free flour blend in place of all purpose
- Change up the mix ins based on your preferences
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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