Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars

All the softness of the perfect sugar cookie with the convenience of a bar. This is a recipe that I found in a small local magazine - The Eagle Informer Dec 2012. It took me a few months to get around to trying it. It was fabulous! Who doesn't love the soft-textured frosted sugar cookies you can purchase at the local grocery store bakery? This recipe is a little more healthy for you since half the fat is replaced with cream cheese and I also used some whole wheat flour. 

Cream butter, sugar, and cream cheese. Add egg, vanilla, and the dry ingredients.

Press dough into a well greased jelly roll pan. (Spray some foil to keep your hands a little cleaner as you press.)

Do your best to press it into a even thickness.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees - just until the edges are lightly browned.

Here is a close-up of the edge. You don't want to over-bake. Allow to cool and then cut into bars. Frost with your favorite icing - we love cream cheese or butter cream frosting.

Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup softened butter
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups white wheat flour (or all-purpose flour if that is what you have)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Cream butter, sugar, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Press dough into a well greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the edges are just starting to brown. Cool and then frost and cut into bars.

Or cut into bars and frost individually if you would like. If I am going to serve the entire pan at once, I frost it as one big cookie and then cut into bars. If I have planned it for a snack for my family to use over a few days, I cut into squares and store in an airtight container and they can frost each cookie as they are ready to eat it.