These heavenly Christmas cookie bars will fill your home with pure holiday magic!
Think soft, chewy cookies loaded with chocolate chips, festive M&Ms, and a surprise crunch from crushed pretzels.
Every bite offers the perfect balance of sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy, making these bars irresistibly delicious.
They’re easy to make, easy to transport, and guaranteed to disappear quickly!
Why You’ll Love These Christmas Cookie Bars
Festive and Fun: These bars are packed with colorful red and green M&M’s, holiday sprinkles, and crushed pretzels. They’re a visually appealing treat perfect for any holiday party.
Time-Saver: With simple instructions and no need for rolling or cutting individual cookies, these bars are easy to make in one batch.
Chewy & Crunchy Texture: The bars feature a soft, chewy base with a delightful contrast of crunchy pretzels and smooth chocolate. It’s an addictive sweet-and-salty combination.
Creative Canvas: The recipe is highly adaptable. Customize with different mix-ins like nuts, dried cranberries, crushed candy canes, or seasonal M&M’s to make them uniquely yours.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: It creates a rich, buttery base and helps achieve the perfect chewy texture. Room-temperature butter ensures even mixing.
- Light Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: Brown sugar adds moisture and a caramel note, while granulated sugar creates crispy edges.
- Eggs: They bind the ingredients together and provide structure.
- Vanilla Extract: It enhances all the flavors and adds warmth to the overall taste profile. Pure vanilla extract works best.
- All-Purpose Flour: It forms the foundation of the bars.
- Baking Powder: It provides just enough lift to keep the bars from being too dense.
- Salt: It balances the sweetness and enhances all other flavors. Don’t skip this crucial ingredient!
- Mix-Ins and Toppings: A festive combination of chocolate chips, red and green M&M’s, crushed pretzels, and holiday sprinkles. The sweet and salty mix creates an irresistible flavor profile.
How to Make Christmas Cookie Bars
These cookie bars are so easy, you might want to make a double batch!
1. Prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for easy removal.
2. Cream the butter mixture. In a large bowl, cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Combine the wet and dry. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
5. Incorporate mix-ins. Fold in 3/4 of the chocolate chips, M&M’s, and crushed pretzels.
6. Fill and top. Spread the dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips, M&M’s, and pretzels on top, along with the holiday sprinkles.
7. Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs.
8. Cool and serve. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before lifting them out using the parchment paper overhang. Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!
Tips for the Best Christmas Cookie Bars
- Get the butter nice and soft. Ensure the butter is fully softened before starting. This creates a light and fluffy texture when creaming with sugars.
- Don’t overmix! Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients to avoid overmixing, which can lead to dense bars.
- Keep things even. Press the dough evenly into the pan for uniform baking, ensuring the bars cook consistently throughout.
- Don’t overbake! Bake until the edges are golden, and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs; the bars will firm up as they cool.
How to Store
Keep your cookie bars nice and fresh with these steps.
To Store: Place cooled cookie bars in an air-tight container with wax paper between layers and keep them at room temperature for up to 5 days. For longer storage, refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.
To Freeze: Wrap individual cookie bars or rows tightly in plastic wrap. Then, place in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen bars at room temperature for 2-3 hours before serving.
More Easy Cookie Bars You’ll Love
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Magic Cookie Bars
Monster Cookie Bars
Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
Christmas Cookie Bars
24
servings10
minutes25
minutes222
kcalGet festive this season with these colorful Christmas cookie bars! They’re packed with red and green M&Ms, plus salty pretzels for a tasty contrast.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup red and green M&M’s
1/4 cup crushed pretzels
1/4 cup holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Fold in 3/4 of the chocolate chips, M&M’s, and crushed pretzels.
- Spread the dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips, M&M’s, and pretzels on top, along with the holiday sprinkles.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before lifting them out using the parchment paper overhang. Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t overbake. The bars will continue to set as they cool, so it’s better to slightly underbake than overbake.
- Customize your mix-ins. Feel free to swap out the chocolate chips or M&M’s for white chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, or chopped nuts.
- Chill for cleaner cuts. For sharper, cleaner cuts, chill the bars for two hours or overnight before slicing.
