30 Best Christmas Bar Cookies to Fill Your Cookie Plate
They make for the sweetest celebration!
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There are so many treats to enjoy during the holiday season, like Christmas cookies and Christmas candies, but there's nothing like a dessert bar to signal the festive cheer. For one, they’re incredibly convenient to prepare, whether you’re whipping up a no-bake treat or a one-bowl brownie recipe that comes together in minutes. Plus, as grab-and-go Christmas treats, they’re an easy way to serve a crowd and travel remarkably well. You can even dress them up with a Christmas bow and share them as charming gifts with friends and neighbors!
Here, you'll find Christmas bar cookies of every festive flavor, including brownies sprinkled with candy canes and bright, zingy lemon bars. For an especially cute treat, make the rainbow cookies. This Italian-inspired dessert has three colorful cookie layers with jam and chocolate to hold them all together. If you're baking with kids, the no-bake peanut butter bars or Nutella Krispie treats are plenty easy to pull together with tiny helping hands! If you're more of cheesecake fan, this roundup has both cheesecake-topped brownies as well as cheesecake bars swirled with rich, spiced cookie butter, so there's plenty to choose from.
Which bar cookie recipe are you baking first? Any of them will be a hit at this year's cookie swap and you'll be able to carry them to the Christmas potluck with ease, so every pick will be the right answer!
Carmelitas
Is there anything more comforting than warm chocolate and oozing caramel? These bars have both, plus tons of nutty crunch, thanks to the chopped pecans that are mixed into the batter.
Get the Carmelitas recipe.
Butterscotch-Pretzel Bars
These crunchy cookie bars are so easy to make they're practically a Christmas miracle! All you have to do is layer the ingredients, including mini pretzel twists, salted roasted peanuts, butterscotch chips, and milk chocolate chips, into the pan and bake.
Get Ree's Butterscotch-Pretzel Bars recipe.
Red Velvet Brownies
This festive dessert bar recipe is everything you love about classic red velvet cake with a chocolatey twist! The vibrant red velvet batter is infused with melted chocolate and swirled with a cream cheese topping that's hard to resist.
Get the Red Velvet Brownies recipe.
Scotcheroos
These crispy cookie bars will delight dessert lovers of all likes as they feature chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch. To make things even more festive, the flaky sea salt topping looks like a dusting of fresh snow!
Get the Scotcheroos recipe.
Cherry Cookie Bars
Not only are these cherry-studded cookie bars chewy, gooey, and delicious, but they match the Christmas color scheme perfectly! They're tasty on their own, but the simple lemon glaze makes them extra delectable.
Get Ree's Cherry Cookie Bars recipe.
Oreo Brownies
Anyone who loves cookies and cream will appreciate these indulgent brownies. This recipe features Oreo pieces in the batter and on top of the brownie for even more heartwarming chocolate flavor.
Get the Oreo Brownies recipe.
No-Bake Orange-Vanilla Cheesecake Bars
These no-bake bars are the perfect way to give your oven a break from Christmas cooking without skimping on the sweets! Featuring an irresistible blend of orange and vanilla flavors, they're a creamsicle-lovers dream.
Get Ree's Orange-Vanilla Cheesecake Bars recipe.
Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin-flavored sweets don't have to stop with Thanksgiving! With their moist texture and pumpkin-spiced cream cheese frosting, these bars make the perfect cookie plate filler.
Get the Pumpkin Bars recipe.
Almond Layer Cookies
If you're a fan of rainbow cookies, here's a twist that feels even more festive. Topped with white chocolate and layered with raspberry jam, these moist and flavorful cookies will be the talk of the swap.
Get Ree's Almond Layer Cookies recipe.
Snickerdoodle Bars
Want a more sophisticated spin on the traditional snickerdoodle? Make them into bars and cut them into diamond shapes. The cinnamon-sugar topping will make them sparkle!
Get Ree's Snickerdoodle Bars recipe.
Chocolate Toffee Cookie Bars
Festive M&Ms make these cookies perfect for a holiday celebration, but it's the homemade toffee that puts these blondie-type bars over the top. Don't worry, they're still super easy to make.
Get the Chocolate Toffee Cookie Bars recipe.
7-Layer Cookies
Magic bars are good any time of year, so why would Christmas be any different? They are easy crowd pleasers that will surely be a hit! Plus, they only take ten minutes of prep.
Get the 7-Layer Cookies recipe.
Blondies
These bars are studded with pecans, butterscotch chips, and white chocolate chips. Want to give them some Christmas flair? Mix in some red and green M&Ms!
Get the Blondies recipe.
Lemon Bars
Lemon desserts might not be the first thing that comes to mind for Christmas, but these zippy citrus bars are so refreshing. They balance out all the other decadent dishes over the holidays.
Get Ree's Lemon Bars recipe.
Millionaire's Shortbread
These decadent cookies are so good, people will say that they taste like a million bucks. Homemade caramel is impressive in itself and then layered with chocolate? Perfection!
Get the Millionaire's Shortbread recipe.
Rainbow Cookies
You'd be hard-pressed to find a Christmas dessert more festive than these colorful layered cookie bars. The almond-flavored, caky cookies are layered with raspberry jam and chocolate.
Get the Rainbow Cookies recipe.
Peppermint Brownies
As if brownies weren't good enough on their own, these are layered with melted chocolate and peppermint. Have extra candy canes? Crush 'em up for the topping!
Get Ree's Peppermint Brownies recipe.
No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
During the hustle and bustle of the holidays, an easy no-bake dessert always comes in handy. Bonus: this peanut butter delight uses mostly pantry staples.
Get Ree's No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars recipe.
Pecan Pie Bars
Pecan pie is a holiday tradition, but these bars are so much easier to make than the classic pie. They're far easier to serve to a crowd, too.
Get the Pecan Pie Bars recipe.
Nutella Krispie Treats
Several of these no-bake cereal bars paired with a batch of DIY hot chocolate mix makes the cutest homemade gift for neighbors and friends. Bonus: They're great to make with kids!
Get Ree's Nutella Krispie Treats recipe.
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