Holidays & Entertaining Christmas Christmas Cookies 26 Holiday Bar Cookies That Need No Scooping or Rolling By Karla Walsh Updated on September 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Karla Conrad These festive holiday cookie bar recipes—including sugar cookie bars, peanut butter cookie bars, and classic brownies—make delicious gifts and holiday desserts. With make-ahead options, store-bought shortcuts, and mix-and-match topping ideas, the hardest part of your holiday dessert prep will be choosing which of these marvelous and merry Christmas bar recipes to try first. 01 of 26 Derby Skillet Cookie View Recipe Brie Passano Savor a taste of the Kentucky classic dessert—Derby Pie—in these chocolate chip cookie bars. Baking them in a cast-iron skillet results in a crisp outside, soft insides. Serve warm and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate decadent experience. 02 of 26 Copycat Musketeer Bars View Recipe Andy Lyons Calling all chocoholics! Like the candy bars that inspired these copycat bars, these squares have fluffy marshmallow creme filling between layers of chocolate. Bar cookies that are as yummy as a candy bar? Doubly delicious. 03 of 26 Peppermint Cream Bites View Recipe Karla Conrad Loaded with mint extract, these holiday cookie bars are simultaneously refreshing and indulgent. Rich layers of peppermint cream and chocolate fudge top chocolate cookie crumb crust. Keep some on hand in the fridge for up to two weeks or freezer for up to three months to cut down on holiday season stress. Freezer-Friendly Holiday Cookies You Can Start Today 04 of 26 Pumpkin Creme Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats Creamy pumpkin sandwiches between a crumb crust and topping with toffee pieces for holiday cookie bars with extra sweetness. 15 Canned Pumpkin Recipes That Use the Whole Can 05 of 26 Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars View Recipe Karla Conrad Creamy cheesecake and sinful chocolate means these bars never go out of season. You can make these chocolate chip cookie bars any time of year, but with only six ingredients they're ideal for easy holiday baking. They're sure to disappear from your Christmas buffet. 06 of 26 No-Bake Butterscotch Bars View Recipe Kritsada Panichgul Combine convenience with from-the-heart holiday baking for these top-rated no-bake butterscotch bars. The crispy cookies feature a trifecta of indulgent layers, including crunchy peanut butter cereal, rich butterscotch pudding, and a candy bar-studded chocolate spread. Test Kitchen Tip: Cut costs when making desserts that call for purchased cereal by opting for a bulk bag of a generic variety. 07 of 26 Salted Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blondies View Recipe Andy Lyons We know that peanut butter and chocolate play well together. So playoff that combo in these blondies by topping peanut butter cookie bars with squares of chocolate. Let the chocolate melt a bit, then bring out the peanutty saltiness with a sprinkle sea salt. 08 of 26 Coconut Joy Candy Bars View Recipe Andy Lyons These cookie bars need only 20 minutes of prep, so you can focus on lighting the fire and greeting guests at your holiday get-together. Four cups of coconut, plus almonds and almond extract, mean these treats taste like one of America's most popular candies. 09 of 26 Gooey Chocolate-Caramel Bars View Recipe Andy Lyons Chocolate and caramel. Peanut butter and jelly. Those classic combos come together in these gooey bites to form one of our favorite Christmas bar recipes. Best of all, these treats can be made ahead and frozen for up to three months. 10 of 26 Marcona Almond-Toffee Bars View Recipe Andy Lyons S'mores meet toffee candy bars in these nutty treats. Chocolate pieces, toffee bits, and salty Marcona almonds top a graham cracker crust. For a creamy finishing touch, drizzle sweetened condensed milk on top. Buy It: Sur la Table Platinum 9 x 13 Cake Pan ($33, Sur la Table) 11 of 26 Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars View Recipe Andy Lyons This is one Christmas bar recipe showy enough to share at fancy dinner gatherings. Combine two favorite desserts into one with these creme brûlée cheesecake bars. You can caramelize the sugar on top under a broiler, but a culinary torch ($60, Williams Sonoma) gives the best results. 12 of 26 Pistachio Bars View Recipe Jason Donnelly Holiday guests will go nuts for these pistachio-studded no-bake cookie bars. Creamy pudding fills a graham cracker crust and smooth chocolate topping for cookie greatness without the batch-by-batch baking. 13 of 26 Cinnamon Bars View Recipe Andy Lyons Make the holidays a little sweeter with our easy cinnamon-flavor cookie bars. The quick-prep dessert skips crusts and complicated layers so you can serve dessert fast. Test Kitchen Tip: Cut the cinnamon sugar cookie bars into diamonds, squares, or sticks to make your cookie platter stand out. 14 of 26 No-Bake Coconut Date Cracker Bars with Browned Butter Glaze View Recipe Jason Donnelly A trio of seasonal favorites stars in these holiday cookie bars. Dates, coconut, and pecans get an upgrade when paired with a rich rum filling and buttery glaze. So much better than a bricklike fruitcake, right?! 15 of 26 Chewy Chocolate-Caramel Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats Filled with crunchy walnuts and melty chocolate pieces, this chewy bar cookie is a cinch to make. The secret? It starts with a German chocolate cake mix. Make the six-ingredient chocolate chip cookie bars up to 3 months in advance. 16 of 26 Pomegranate-Raspberry Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats Holiday desserts don't come much prettier and festive than this. Pomegranate juice and raspberries give these fruit bars their Santa-approved red. Top the finished cookie bars with fresh pomegranate seeds. How to Seed and Juice and Pomegranate 17 of 26 Chewy Cherry-Almond Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats These fruity cookie bars feature a layer of cherry preserves baked inside a hearty oat-almond crust. Not a cherry fan? Swap the preserves for orange, raspberry, strawberry, or peach. 18 of 26 Pecan-Crusted Mojito Bars View Recipe Jason Donnelly So light, so fresh. When you're in the midst of a polar vortex or a snowstorm, doesn't a taste of the tropics sound refreshing? These minty lime-infused cookie bars get their crunch from chopped pecans and their tang from finely shredded lime zest. Fresh mint and dusting of powdered sugar hint at the sweet zing inside. 19 of 26 Cherry Crumb Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats Cherry cobbler meets blondies in these oatmeal cookie bars. Tart cherries balanced with a sweet powdered sugar icing make these moist bar cookies hard to resist. A package of oatmeal cookie mix makes the bars a snap to prepare. 20 of 26 Creme De Menthe Brownies View Recipe Jason Donnelly If you crave peppermint patties or thin mint cookies, this Christmas bar recipe is for you. Dark chocolate ganache is the true icing on the cake of this minty chocolate dessert. Make your own crème de menthe filling with butter, powdered sugar, milk, and mint extract. 21 of 26 Macadamia Bars with Eggnog Drizzle View Recipe Blaine Moats Eggnog doesn't have to be limited to a glass. Eggnog frosting and fresh nutmeg top these irresistible snacks. Macadamia nuts add crunch to the easy stir-and-pour holiday cookie bars. Learn How to Make Coquito 22 of 26 Twixy Shortbread Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats Sandwich a creamy dulce de leche filling between tender shortbread and fudgy frosting for layered bars. Cut the dessert into bite-size squares or into rectangles to resemble a much-loved candy bar classic. 23 of 26 Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Ganache View Recipe Andy Lyons Count us in for these peanut butter cookie bars that look like supersized peanut butter cups. A rich layer of devil's food cake and a fudgy topping mean these easy bar cookies are a chocolate fan's dream. A creamy peanut butter filling complements chopped honey-roasted peanuts. The result is the ideal sweet-salty blend. 24 of 26 Peanutty Buckeye Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats Shh...we won't tell your guests you started these rich bars with a box of brownie mix. Then it's a matter of stirring together five more ingredients, including creamy peanut butter and chopped peanuts. Make the bars up to 3 months in advance and freeze for a fast-fix treat come holiday season. 25 of 26 Cappuccino-Caramel Oat Bars View Recipe Karla Conrad These oatmeal cookie bars have your favorite breakfast flavors in a bar. Rolled oats—either quick-cooking or old-fashioned—give these caramel bars chewiness. Instant coffee crystals add richness. Even More Buzzy Caffeinated Desserts 26 of 26 Austrian Walnut Chocolate Bars View Recipe Blaine Moats A rich chocolate-rum frosting makes these moist bar cookies great. A scoop of ice cream makes the Christmas bar recipe irresistible. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit