Christmas Cookie Bars

These Christmas Cookie Bars are the ultimate festive treat, combining buttery, chewy cookie dough with a generous helping of M&Ms, chocolate chunks, and sprinkles. Perfectly sweet and loaded with holiday cheer, they’re an easy-to-make dessert that’s ideal for holiday gatherings, cookie swaps, or cozy nights in.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Festive and Fun: Holiday-themed M&Ms and sprinkles make these bars extra special for the season.
• Simple to Make: Minimal effort and no fancy equipment required—just a bowl, a whisk, and some holiday spirit!
• Crowd-Pleasing Texture: These bars are gooey on the inside with a crinkly, slightly crisp top, just like the best cookies should be.

Baking Tips for Perfect Cookie Bars

One of the most important steps in this recipe is mixing the melted butter and sugars together thoroughly until they form a cohesive paste. This step is key for achieving a gooey, chewy cookie texture with a beautiful crinkly top. When the sugars dissolve into the melted butter, it helps create a glossy, smooth surface that bakes into that iconic cookie bar crust.

Equally important is being careful not to overmix the flour and mix-ins. Overmixing activates gluten in the flour, which can make your bars dense and tough rather than soft and chewy. Fold the dry ingredients in gently, stopping as soon as you see the flour disappear. For the mix-ins, fold them in just enough to distribute them evenly without overworking the dough.

Customize Your Mix-Ins

This recipe is intentionally heavy on the mix-ins, with plenty of M&Ms and chocolate chunks for a decadent, candy-loaded experience. If you prefer a lighter touch, feel free to cut the quantities in half for a more dough-forward bar. The flexibility allows you to tailor the recipe to your taste—whether you want a more balanced ratio or enjoy the abundance of chocolate and crunch, the choice is yours!

Brown Butter Upgrade

If you’d like to take an extra step to elevate these cookie bars, you can use brown butter instead of melted butter. To account for the water content that evaporates while browning, use 283 g of butter (1.25 times the original recipe amount) to ensure the final weight after browning is still 227g. Brown the butter over medium heat until it’s golden and nutty, then let it cool slightly before mixing it with the sugars.

I opted for a quick and easy one-bowl recipe to keep things simple, but taking the time to brown the butter adds a deeper, richer flavor that makes these bars even more indulgent. If you’re looking to impress or just want to treat yourself, this is a fantastic way to take these cookie bars to the next level!

Perfecting the Bake Time

Bake time can vary depending on your oven, so I always recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure your baking temperature is accurate. This will help you avoid over- or under-baking your cookie bars.

For my oven, I baked these bars for 35 minutes to achieve a set, crackly exterior but a gooey interior texture. I use a UNOX commercial convection oven with highly accurate temperature control, which ensures consistent results every time so you may have to experiment around with your oven.

For most home ovens, bake times may range from 35 to 50 minutes. For a more gooey bar, bake for less time, but if you prefer a more done, firmer texture, bake a little longer than I did. The key is to check doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center—it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but not wet batter. Adjust your bake time based on this indicator to get perfectly gooey, chewy bars every time! Once baked, let the cookie bars cool in the pan for at least 30-50 minutes before cutting. This allows them to set up more as they cool, making slicing easier and ensuring the perfect texture!

Enjoy these gooey, festive cookie bars however you like them—perfectly customized and ready to delight!

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5 from 5 votes

Christmas Cookie Bars

Author: Erin

Servings: 9

Description

These Christmas Cookie Bars are everything you love about cookies in an easy-to-make bar form. Buttery, chewy, and packed with festive mix-ins, they’re ideal for spreading holiday cheer. With their crinkly top and gooey center, these bars are perfect for cookie swaps, gifting, or just indulging at home with a mug of hot cocoa. Customizable to your taste and bursting with seasonal fun, this is a dessert you’ll make year after year!

Ingredients

Scale

1/2x 1x 2x 3x

• 227 g unsalted butter (melted; note "Brown Butter Upgrade" section above if you would like to use brown butter instead)

• 300 g brown sugar

• 140 g granulated sugar

• 3 eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp salt

• 320 g all-purpose flour

• 1 cup chopped dark chocolate (less or more based on personal preference, reference "Customize Your Mix-Ins" section above)

• 1 cup M&Ms, holiday edition (less or more based on personal preference, reference "Customize Your Mix-Ins" section above)

• ¹⁄₄ cup holiday sprinkles (less or more based on personal preference, reference "Customize Your Mix-Ins" section above)

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.

2. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and paste-like.

   refer to "Baking Tips for Perfect Cookie Bars" section above

3. Add Eggs and Vanilla: Stir in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, until fully combined.

4. Combine Dry Ingredients: Gently fold in the flour and salt until just combined. Stop mixing as soon as you see small streaks of flour.

   refer to "Baking Tips for Perfect Cookie Bars" section above

5. Add Mix-Ins: Fold in the chopped dark chocolate, M&Ms, and sprinkles, reserving a small handful of M&Ms and sprinkles for topping, if desired.

6. Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Add the reserved M&Ms and sprinkles on top. Bake for 35-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

   refer to "Perfecting the Bake Time" section above

7. Cool and Serve: Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before lifting them out using the parchment paper overhang. Slice into squares and serve.

    

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