Description
Indulgent birthday cookie bars combine classic chocolate chip cookies with festive birthday cake flavors. Sprinkles and rich frosting create a celebratory dessert you’ll love to share with friends and family.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 ¼ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (80 g) rainbow sprinkles (plus extra for topping)
- Optional: ½ cup (85 g) white chocolate chips or birthday cake-flavored chips
Instructions
- Preheat Preparation: Position oven rack to center and warm to 350F (175C), while lining a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper for effortless extraction.
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until perfectly blended, creating a uniform dry foundation.
- Wet Mixture Development: Melt butter and combine with granulated and brown sugars, whisking until achieving a smooth, glossy consistency.
- Liquid Base Enhancement: Integrate whole egg, additional egg yolk, and vanilla extract, blending thoroughly to create a rich, cohesive mixture.
- Dough Formation: Gently fold dry ingredients into wet components, minimizing stirring to maintain a tender, delicate texture, creating a soft cookie dough.
- Flavor and Texture Incorporation: Carefully fold white chocolate chips and vibrant sprinkles throughout the dough, ensuring even distribution for maximum taste and visual excitement.
- Pan Preparation and Baking: Spread dough evenly in prepared pan, generously scatter additional sprinkles on top, then bake for 20-25 minutes until edges turn golden and center sets firmly.
- Cooling and Cutting: Allow bars to cool completely in the pan, which helps them stabilize and become easily sliceable, then lift out using parchment paper edges and cut into precise, elegant squares.
Notes
- Prevent Overmixing: Stir the dry and wet ingredients minimally to maintain a tender, soft texture and avoid tough, dense cookie bars.
- Temperature Control: Allow melted butter to cool slightly before mixing to prevent cooking the eggs and ensure a smooth, cohesive batter.
- Sprinkle Distribution: Gently fold chocolate chips and sprinkles to prevent color bleeding and maintain their vibrant appearance throughout the bars.
- Cooling Technique: Let the bars cool completely in the pan to set the structure, making cutting cleaner and preventing crumbling during slicing.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 15
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg