Sugar Cookie Bars

Disclaimer: these are extremely unhealthy.

I rarely make desserts. If Justin had his way, I would bake every day, but the problem with baking is that when you're done, the baked good is in the house. And then I eat it. So, I don’t bake.

The only time I make exceptions to this rule is when I’m baking for a big group of people. This way, I can taste what I made, and then give it away to other people. I got my fix, and other people eat the rest. Win win.

I store up recipes I find for these occasions, and I’ve had this one for quite some time. I FINALLY got a chance to use it this week when I baked for the law school’s Student Involvement fair.

These were a hit. But don’t take my word for it :)

Here’s what you need (from My Life as a Mrs)…

For the cake:

2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups of butter

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

5 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

For the frosting:

2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

4 cups confectioner's sugar

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons of milk

Food coloring*

*I used green food coloring because the organization I was baking for has a representative color of green. Otherwise, I would have left the food coloring out.

Here's what you do...

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pan/casserole dish. It needs to be pretty big. The recommended size was 12x17, but mine was a bit smaller. 

2. Cream together the butter and sugar for the cake. Then, add the eggs one by one. Then, add the vanilla and almond extract.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the other mixture a little at a time, beating in between. This will create a VERY dense batter. You may need to use your hands to incorporate the flour mixture.

You can see where I pressed it in with my fingers.

4. Pour/press into your pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center clear.

5. Allow to cool while you make the frosting.

6. Beat the butter for the frosting until smooth. Then add salt and vanilla and almond extract and beat to incorporate. Then, add confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth. Then, add milk (and food coloring if yore using it) and beat until creamy. 

7. Frost your cake. Cut into pieces. Add sprinkle if you love colorful things.

8. Enjoy!!

Notice how every photo of the completed cake has a piece missing? Yeah, Justin wandered into the kitchen right as I finished and helped himself. 

Let's be honest. I probably would have done the same thing :)