Grinch Cookie Bars

Baked in one pan and simple to make.. these cookies are faster to bake than a cookie recipe, but they are still sweet, chewy, and fun like grinch cookies should be!

4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 cup unsalted butter softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs large, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup green jimmy sprinkles

For the Frosting

½ cup unsalted butter softened
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 pinch fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ tablespoons whole milk
green food coloring
red food coloring
yellow food coloring optional

• Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. 
• Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray. 
• Set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. 
• Set aside.
• In another large bowl, add the butter and granulated sugar. 
• Cream with a hand mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
• Mix in the eggs, adding one egg at a time, incorporating fully before adding the next. T
• Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 
• Stir with a wooden spoon until fully mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
• Add the sprinkles to the dough and stir them in.
• Press the cookie dough into the prepared baking dish, using your hands to ensure that the dough is in an even layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25-28 minutes. 
• When done, the cookie bars will be lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan will come out clean. 
• Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
• While the bars cool, make the frosting. 
• Put softened butter into a large bowl. 
• Using an electric hand mixer, mix in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time until fully mixed. 
• Add vanilla, salt, and whole milk, and mix until combined. 
• Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and whip the frosting for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
• Place 1/2 cup of frosting into a small bowl. 
• Use red food coloring to tint the frosting until it's the desired shade for the red hearts.
• To the rest of the frosting, add green and/or yellow food coloring until the desired grinch green shade is reached.
• Add green frosting to the top of the cooled cookie bars 
• Spread with a spatula to cover the entire pan evenly.
• Cut the bars into 15 squares and place on a tray or board for easier decorating.
• Add the red food coloring to a pastry bag fitted with a #20 round piping tip. 
• Pipe a heart onto each cookie bar square.
• Large heart shaped sprinkles can be used if you’d rather not pipe the hearts on by hand.
• Store frosted cookie bars in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• I recommend using gel food coloring to get vibrant grinch-y colors for this recipe.

Recipe: Fun Cookie Recipes