Bar Cookie Recipes
Simple, Fast and Fool-Proof!Beyond excellent flavor and nearly infinite variety, these bar cookie recipes are among the easiest to make in large batches. Usually, these recipes are for goodies that are one to three layers thick. The entire batch bakes in the same pan, so they are a real time-saver, especially during the holidays! An added bonus? These Christmas sweets can also be decorated! Plain or fancy, these cookies are sure to please!Most of the bar cookie recipes here have a crust and a topping. This means they will usually have two trips to the oven. These bar cookie recipes are easy to double or triple, but I would avoid trying to decrease them. The reason for this is that they are designed to entirely fill a jelly roll pan (what I call a cookie sheet). It would be a struggle to find a pan that half the recipe would fit in, and yet would bake the same way and offer ease of removal. I also have a selection of super simple, super fast, single layer bar cookie recipes here. They are excellent as is, but are even better with a little decorative icing on top! Special Note: The best hint I can give you for cutting these cookies is to use a clean oven rack as a guide. Simply place it right on top of the pan, score using the bars on the rack. Place it cross-wise, and do the same. This makes a uniform grid, and perfectly shaped cookies, to your desire. Remove the rack, and cut - its that simple! Unfortunately, I'm not currently good enough with html to provide direct links from a list to the bar cookie recipes on the same page - but as soon as I learn that, I will put them in. Until then, I have a list up here for convenience, and the bar cookie recipes are in alphabetical order, simply scroll down the page to find whichever you are interested in. Special Note: Each of these bar cookie recipes has been written specifically for use with Watkins ingredients. If you are using another brand of flavorings or spices, please double the amount used. DO NOT, however, double the baking powder in any recipe. And now - Let the Baking Begin!!! Pat's Favorite Lemon Bars Scandinavian Almond Bars Swedish Dream Bars
These little morsels have a big chocolate flavor! They are simple to make, thin and crunchy, and make a nice bite-sized treat. This is one of the best single layer bar cookie recipes - and will make a big hit - especially if you pipe a little festive frosting decoration on top! ½ cup butter, softened ½ teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 6 tablespoons Watkins baking cocoa 2 tablespoons butter ¾ cup cake flour 2 teaspoons Watkins Original Double-Strength Vanilla With an electric mixer, in a large bowl, cream the ½ cup butter and sugar. Blend in the salt, and add the eggs, one at a time. Beat this mixture until its fluffy. Let sit. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, and blend in the cocoa until mixture is smooth. Slowly add this to the butter mixture in the mixer. Slowly add in the flour, then the vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Place this mixture into a LIGHTLY GREASED 12x18 inch jelly-roll pan. Spread evenly. Bake at 325° for 12 to 15 minutes, or until top looks light and has a sheen like satin. Cut while still warm, and store either on the sheet, or as above for the lemon bars.
The neighbor across the street delivered the most scrumptious lemon bars to us one Christmas. She would never give Mom her recipe... My Mother loved these so much that she developed one of her own bar cookie recipes for them! This is her rendition of the delicious treat. It is actually a three-layer bar cookie recipe, but is really quick and easy. 1 cup sugar 1 cup shortening Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl using a hand-held strainer. Cut in the shortening, until the mixture looks like a pale, coarse corn meal. Turn the mixture into an UNGREASED 10x15 inch jelly-roll pan, and press until it is as even as you can get. If you wish, you can press a little of the dough up the sides of the pan, but this isn't necessary. Bake in a pre-heated 350° oven for approximately 10 minutes, until it just begins to slightly brown. Do not bake until golden! Set pan aside to await filling. 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 egg (large) yolks 2 cups water 1 to 1½ cups shredded coconut In a medium sized sauce pan, mix the first four ingredients together, until pudding is relatively smooth. Stir in remaining water. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove from heat immediately, and spread over the waiting crust layer. Sprinkle coconut to taste over the filling. Bake again at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the coconut is lightly browned. Cut into small squares while still warm. While the cookies should cool still in the pan, they can also be stored there if you are baking these close to when they will be needed. If not, use a spatula to remove them, and store on layers of waxed paper in an air-tight container. You can put the container in the freezer, but the crust will soften if they go in before they are 100% cooled... I usually bake these cookies close enough to Christmas so that I won't need the pan again - and just set them out on our breezeway covered in plastic wrap until needed. If you have no enclosed porch or breezeway, pack them in a container which can be stored in the refrigerator. They will keep for 3 - 4 weeks that way.
This is another of the single layer bar cookie recipes - sort of. Only one layer is baked, but there is icing on top. I've included the icing recipe here, as well as on the Frosting recipes page. I tried this for the first time last year, and brought it to the family Christmas party. Since I had to write out this bar cookie recipe several times for family members, I figured it would fit right in here! 3 large eggs 1½ teaspoons Watkins almond extract 3 tablespoons milk 6 cups all-purpose flour 3 cups sugar 3 tablespoons Watkins baking powder ¾ teaspoon salt Make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature before you start. Combine all of the ingredients except the milk in a large bowl, and knead until a smooth, thick dough results. It should easily form a ball, and not stick to your fingers. Press into a LIGHTLY GREASED 12x18 inche jelly-roll pan. Make it as even as possible. Brush lightly with the milk, and sprinkle the almonds evenly. Bake at 350° for 10 - 15 minutes, or until almonds are just starting to brown. They should be a healthy golden color on the edges. Cookie will be lightly golden as well, and should feel firm. Cut straight out of the oven, while still hot. OR, score before baking, and cut while warm. Cool in the pan, and ice. 1 teaspoon Watkins almond extract ¼ to ½ cup milk Beat these together until smooth. Start with ¼ cup milk, and add a few drops at a time if the mix is too thick. The mixture should be nearly as thick as cool maple syrup. Though you can use a pastry bag to pipe the icing onto the cookies, I find that a small freezer bag is easier and works better. Fill the bag, squeeze icing down to one corner, and snip a tiny bit off of the corner. Pipe icing onto cookies in the pan, on the diagonal, making sweeping motions to get a good stripe on it.
It doesn't matter if the cookies are still warm while you pipe, but the cooler they are, the quicker the icing will set, and it won't spread as much. Store these cookies in an airtight container, between layers of waxed paper. They will keep for about 3 weeks, longer if kept cool.
Another one of Mom's favorite bar cookie recipes, this is also one of the richest bar cookie recipes. It will delight the most discriminating palate. It is best if these are the last cookies baked for the season, because they are much simpler to deal with if stored right in the pan they baked in. This is a deceptively light, yet rich two layer confection. It is one of the more... involved... bar cookie recipes that will be found here, but it is well worth the effort! 1 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 cup shortening Blend the flour and brown sugar together to mix. If sugar is lumpy, press through a hand-held strainer, into a large bowl. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Pour into an UNGREASED 10x15 inch jelly-roll pan, and press evenly. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside. 1 teaspoon Watkins baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 6 egg whites 2 cups light brown sugar 1½ teaspoons Watkins vanilla extract 1½ cups pecans, chopped 2 cups shredded coconut In a large bowl, sift all dry ingredients together through a hand-held strainer. Set aside, near mixer. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Blend in the brown sugar gradually, and beat until mixture forms peaks. Add the vanilla, and remove bowl from mixer stand. Fold in the sifted dry ingredients. Gently blend in the pecans, and then the coconut. Spread mixture over crust layer, and return to the oven for 25 to 30 minutes more. You will know they are done when the top layer has a slightly shiny film layer on the top. Don't worry about uniformity - it will crack in the oven, and even more as it cools. Cut the bars while still very warm. Cool completely, cover entire pan with plastic wrap and store in a cool, dry place. Though in my family, these seem to last forever, I would give them about a 3 to 4 week life span, longer if kept chilled.
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