These deliciously soft and buttery Easter Cookie Bars are studded with pretty pastel M&M’s that make them the perfect dessert for your Easter celebration.
Easter Sugar Cookie Bars
Easter is a special time of year! So, of course I wanted to share an extra yummy Easter holiday themed treat for your dessert table. And I think these blondie-like cookie bars that are all decked out in Easter pastels nailed it!
Chocolate M&Ms and sprinkles are mixed into the cookie base, then more are added to decorate the top, making sure to get some in every single bite. As they bake in the oven the creamy milk chocolate candies become soft and melty and oh so delicious. With a flavor similar to sugar cookies, brown sugar gives these dessert bars that signature chewy texture everyone will love.
Though these delectable treats are the perfect Easter dessert, you really don’t need a special occasion to bake them. Since it’s just a matter of mixing up all the ingredients and popping them in the oven, you can make them anytime you’re craving something sweet.
If you are looking for other amazing Easter recipes, check out this Easter Trifle, these adorable Bird’s Nest Cookies and this super easy Crockpot Easter Candy.
Why We Love This Recipe
- This is a simple Easter dessert recipe that only takes minutes to whip up.
- Move over jellybeans and chocolate bunnies, these are the perfect treat for an Easter basket! Nothing is better than homemade goodies!
- Tastes a lot like a traditional sugar cookie but thicker and chewier.
- Pastel colors make this sweet treat bright and cheery that’s perfect for Easter parties, baby showers, Mother’s Day, and birthday parties.
What’s Needed to Make These Easter Dessert Bars?
- salted butter, softened to room temperature
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Pure vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Salt
- All -purpose flour
- Easter M&M’s, a mix of peanut M&M and traditional ones
- Easter Sprinkles
How to Make Easter Cookie Bars
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees f and spray a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray
- Add the butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat together until light and creamy. It’s important that you get the ingredients well aerated so they bake properly. You want to see them go from a dark brown color to a light, creamy tanish color.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined
- Gradually beat in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined. This makes a thick batter, but one you can still mix with a spoon.
- Fold in 1/2 cup Easter M&M’s and all of the sprinkles
- Press the dough into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. You may need to use your fingers a little as it’s a thick batter.
- Sprinkle the remaining M&M’s on top of the batter and press them gently into the batter.
- Bake in the oven for 22-27 minutes or until lightly brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with only crumbs.
- Remove out of the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars
There is no need to refrigerate them. Store in a covered or an airtight container for 4-5 days.
If you prefer a frosted cookie bar, this easy recipe is perfect for that. You can add your favorite buttercream frosting to the tops of each one.
If you want to frost them, just save the candy and sprinkles that you are supposed to add to the tops of the bars before baking. Once the bars have cooled and have been frosted, sprinkle the reserved candy and sprinkles to the top the frosting for a pretty Easter presentation.
Tips and Tricks
These delicious Easter Cookie Bars need to have the liquid ingredients beat together for 2-3 minutes until you have a light, creamy mixture. If it is dark brown and wet, it has not been mixed enough and will likely not rise as well as you want when baking.
You can change up the mix-ins if you prefer another flavor or type of Easter candy but be aware that having too many mix-ins in the batter can make it harder for it to rise and cook evenly. I recommend keeping the total amount of mix-ins to less than 1 cup, plus a little for sprinkling on top.
The baking time on these bars can be tricky. Because they are made in a 9×13 inch baking pan, the edges tend to cook faster than the center. You want to make sure that the center is done by using the toothpick test. However, be aware that the edges may get hard quickly. I personally prefer to cook the bars until the center is well cooked and discard the edges if they are too hard. You can also remove the edges when they are finished and then replace the pan in the oven to continue to bake until the center finishes.
Variations and Add-in’s for the Best Easter Cookie Bars
- For added texture, chewiness and incredible coconut flavor, add about 1/4 cup coconut flakes to the sugar cookie dough while mixing everything up.
- If you really want to go the extra mile with these Easter treats, melt white almond bark into separate bowls. Add a little gel food coloring to each bowl until they are about the shade of each pastel M&M. Take each cut bar and dip one end into the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip off before placing them onto wax paper to dry.
- If you want to add some extra crunch, you can add some chopped macadamia nuts or toasted pecans to the dough.
- For the peanut butter fans in your house, on top of adding peanut butter M&Ms instead of chocolate, you can add a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to the wet ingredients. It will be just enough to give then a nice peanut buttery flavor, without changing the texture.
Can I Freeze These M&M Easter Bars?
These sweet treats freeze really well. You can freeze the whole pan of uncut bars. Just wrap the pan in plastic wrap then a layer of aluminum foil. They should keep for several months.
You can also freeze the precut squares. The best way to ensure they stay fresh is to wrap each one in plastic wrap, then stick them in a freezer bag before placing them in the freezer.
What Can I Use to Substitute the Chocolate M&Ms?
Another option is to substitute M&Ms with milk chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips or even butterscotch chips.
More Easter Recipes
- Easter Resurrection Cookies
- Rice Krispie Treat Easter Eggs
- Peeps S’mores Dip
- Easter Cupcakes
- Copycat Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
Easter Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened, 1 stick
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup Easter M&M’s a mix of peanut M&M and traditional divided
- ⅓ cup pastel sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a 9×13 baking dish with pam baking spray
- Using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. It is important that you get the ingredients well aerated (lots of air in them) so that they bake properly. You want to see them go from a dark brown color to a light, creamy tanish color.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until combined.
- Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet until combined. This makes a thick batter but one that you can still mix with a spoon.
- Fold in ½ cup M&M’s and all the sprinkles
- Press the dough into the baking dish and spread it into an even layer. You may need to use your fingers a little as it is a thick batter.
- Sprinkle the remaining M&M’s on top and press them gently into the batter.
- Bake in the oven for 22-27 minutes or until lightly brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with only crumbs.
- Remove and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
Nutrition
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