Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

Lemon just says “spring” to me. I don’t know if it’s the flavor or the sunny color, but lemon is my taste of choice this time of year. With spring celebrations coming up, a simple cookie recipe seemed like a good choice for April. And bar cookies are always a good choice because there’s no scooping or rolling needed. If you want these to be a brighter yellow, feel free to add a few drops of food coloring to the dough when you mix the wet ingredients together. With the glaze, it doesn’t look like there will be enough liquid but as you whisk the sugar in, everything comes together perfectly. You don’t want it to be too thin. You want it thick enough that it will stay on top of the cookies and not soak into the bars. I hope you enjoy these very easy cookies.

Cookies:

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces and softened
  • 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
  • Zest of 3 lemons
  • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:

  • 1 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • Yellow sprinkles, optional
  1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.   Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter, oil, and cream cheese until smooth (some small lumps of cream cheese may remain).  Add whole egg, yolk, lemon zest, juice, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and stir gently with a rubber spatula until just combined.
  4. Spread batter in prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.  Bake at 325°F. for 33-38 minutes, just until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  DO NOT OVERBAKE.  Cool bars completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.
  5. Once the bars have cooled, whisk together the lemon juice and cream cheese in a small bowl to combine.  Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.  Spread the glaze evenly over the bars.  If using sprinkles, scatter over the top of the wet glaze.  Let bars sit for about an hour so the glaze can set.
  6. Cut into 24 pieces and serve.  Bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.