Soft, chewy sugar cookie bars are frosted with a bold, raspberry buttercream. These bars are simple and full of fresh summer flavors. Everybody loves them.
Last summer our good friends took a long Great American Road Trip and were gone for raspberry season. While they were enjoying their travels, they generously invited me to make myself at home in their rather substantial raspberry patch.
I did just that and with gusto! Jonathan and I picked pounds and pounds and pounds of raspberries and ate the bounty all summer.
Raspberry buttercream frosting on sugar cookie bars
One of my favorite new treats was raspberry buttercream frosting! It just bursts with raspberry flavor and smacks of summer no matter what you slather it on.
I made cakes, cookies, brownies, you name it, with various versions of this raspberry treat and shared them around at gatherings. The responses were ecstatic!
While there are several methods to making a raspberry frosting, I found that just mixing fresh berries into the frosting made a very wet buttercream. It was yummy but always sloppy.
These chewy sugar cookie bars are frosted with a simple raspberry reduction . It has the advantage of a bolder raspberry flavor and no seeds!
These would be perfect for Mother’s Day or a Memorial Day BBQ or just for dessert tonight because it is Friday. Really there is no bad day for sugar cookie bars – particularly the kind frosted in sweet, fruity buttercream!
More Raspberry Recipes to Love
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Dip
- Raspberry Shortcake
- Sugar Cookie Bars With Raspberry Buttercream
- Anne of Green Gables Raspberry Cordial
- 10 Minute Raspberry Jam
- Peach Melba Jam (Raspberry Peach Jam)
- Fruit Salad in Raspberry Sauce
Sugar Cookie Bars With Raspberry Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- sprinkles optional
For the Frosting
- 12 oz raspberries fresh or frozen
- 1 cup butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp. salt
Instructions
- To Make the Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Beat butter and sugar together in a stand mixer on high for 90 seconds. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Beat again on medium until fully incorporated.
- Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium until everything is combined.
- Press dough evenly into a 9"x14" pan with hands (easier than a spoon).
- Bake in preheated oven 25-28 minutes or until cookies are brown at edges and fully set. Do not overbake or cookies will not remain chewy and moist.
- While cookies are cooking, start preparing the frosting.
- To Make the Frosting: Put raspberries in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Keep berries at a low boil for up to 10 minutes until they have fully disintegrated.
- Use the back of a large spoon to press the raspberries through a sieve and collect most of the juice. Discard seeds.
- Place juice back in the pan and simmer on medium until the juice is reduced by about half.
- Cool juice completely before making frosting.
- In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat together butter and powdered sugar until crumbly. Add half of the cooled raspberry reduction, the vanilla and the salt. Beat on high until combined.
- Taste. If stronger raspberry flavor is desired, add the rest of the raspberry reduction. Beat on high for several minutes to ensure fluffy texture. (If frosting thickens it can be thinned with a tablespoon or two of cream or milk.)
- Spread frosting on cooled cookie bars. Shake on sprinkles if desired. Cut and serve.
- Any leftover raspberry reduction is amazing added to drinks, stirred into yogurt or sweetened and spooned over ice cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
MirlandrasKitchen.com is written to share great recipes. While we do our best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline, we are not registered dietitians and the values provided here should be considered estimates – not exact scientific data.
I read each and every comment and I try to respond to questions asap, so ask away! If you’ve made a recipe, I would love to hear about it! Please come back and share your experience and give the recipe a 5-star rating so other people will know how much you loved it!
Carlee @cookingwithcarlee says
Oh yum! Raspberry buttercream?! Especially with fresh picked berries right off the vine! I can’t even imagine how good that would be.
Mirlandra says
So, so, so good! And kind of addictive…
Michelle says
Wow, these look great! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Mirlandra says
I’m glad you are enjoying them!
The Better Baker says
Congrats to you! This yummy treat is being featured at this week’s Weekend Potluck party. SO perfect for Valentine’s Day sharing huh? Take good care – you are missed at our party and we hope to see you back soon. https://www.thebetterbaker.blogspot.com/2016/02/no-bake-cocoa-bars-weekend-potluck-209.html
Mirlandra says
Awe, thank you! I’m working on some fun new posts I will look forward to sharing soon. Jack is starting to be on something of a schedule so I’m getting back to work a little bit now.
Easy Peasy Life Matters says
These sound like they are straight from Heaven!!! Pinned! 🙂
Mirlandra says
Thanks! Nothing like a treat with raspberries in it!