Valentine’s Day Cookie Bars
Recipe by Maddison Koutrouba – thesqueakymixer.com
INGREDIENTS
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1 cup unsalted butter, softened
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2 cups granulated sugar
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4 eggs, room temperature
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3 tsp. vanilla extract
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3 cups all-purpose flour
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1 tsp. baking soda
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2 tsp. baking powder
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1/2 tsp. salt
- Vanilla Buttercream
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1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
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2 cups confectioner’s sugar
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3-5 Tbsp. heavy cream
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1/4 tsp. salt
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2 tsp. vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9″ x 13″ pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate, larger bowl use an electric mixer or stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment to beat the butter and sugar for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and continue to mix on low speed to fully combine everything.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until a nice, smooth dough forms. The dough will be sticky – don’t worry!
- Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula or silicone spatula until evenly distributed throughout.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown along the edges. Allow to cool completely in the pan that it was baked in. While this cools you can prepare the buttercream.
- To make the buttercream, use an electric mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to cream together the butter and the sugar.
- Gradually add in the heavy cream, salt, and vanilla. Whip this up until it is a light, smooth, and airy buttercream.
- Separate the buttercream into three different bowls and dye two of the bowls red and pink. You can get creative with this step and customize the cake to your liking. Place the different buttercreams in separate piping bags fit with various star tips then set aside.
- Use different heart-shaped cookie cutters and edible markers to trace hearts all over the top of the cooled cookie cake.
- Use your various colors of buttercream to pipe over and trace the hearts that we outlined in the previous step. Use the color of your choice, I used white, to fill in the remaining space of the cookie.
- Allow the buttercream to set in the fridge for about 15 minutes for a more even cut. Slice into squares and enjoy!