Description
Delight in these homemade Poptart Cookie Bars featuring a tender sugar cookie dough layered with strawberry preserves and topped with a sweet vanilla glaze and rainbow sprinkles. Perfect for a nostalgic treat or fun dessert!
Ingredients
Scale
For the Sugar Cookie Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 ½ cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup strawberry preserves
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½-2 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Rainbow sprinkles, for decorating
Instructions
- Prepare the Pan and Oven: Line an 8×8 inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper, ensuring the paper hangs over all sides for easy removal. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a stand mixer, cream together the room temperature unsalted butter and granulated sugar for 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Mix in Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture and mix until just combined, scraping the bowl again as needed.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Incorporate the all-purpose flour, fine sea salt, and baking soda until the dough starts to come together.
- Chill the Dough: Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes to firm up, which will make it easier to spread in the pan.
- Form the Bottom Layer: Press half of the chilled dough evenly into the prepared pan. Carefully lift this layer out using the parchment paper overhang and transfer it to a baking sheet. Place it in the freezer to keep firm.
- Add the Top Layer in Pan: Replace the parchment paper strips in the pan. Press the remaining dough evenly into the pan to form the base layer.
- Spread the Strawberry Preserves: Evenly spread the strawberry preserves over the dough now in the pan.
- Add Second Cookie Layer: Remove the frozen bottom layer from the freezer and gently peel off the parchment. Place it on top of the jam layer, pressing firmly to secure the layers together.
- Bake the Bars: Bake the assembled cookie bars in the preheated oven for 28 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Cool and Flip: Let the bars cool completely on a wire rack. Then use the parchment overhang to lift the bars from the pan and flip them upside down so the bottom is now the top.
- Prepare the Glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar, whole milk (start with 1 ½ tablespoons and add more if needed), and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Glaze and Decorate: Pour the glaze over the bars and sprinkle generously with rainbow sprinkles.
- Set the Icing and Serve: Allow the glaze to set at room temperature for 2 hours before cutting into 15 bars for serving.
Notes
- Properly measure flour using the spoon-level method or a kitchen scale to avoid dense bars.
- Use a square metal 8×8 inch baking pan with square edges, not glass or ceramic, for accurate baking times and texture.
- Let the glaze fully set before cutting to prevent wrinkling; avoid refrigeration which can cause moisture issues.
- Try different fruit preserves such as grape, blackberry, or blueberry as alternatives to strawberry.
- Keep your hands clean and slightly wet when pressing the sticky dough into the pan to avoid sticking.
- Step-by-step photos can help visualize the process for best results.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
