Pistachio Sugar Cookie Bars are easy to make, and so pretty! Pistachio pudding in the dough makes them extra soft, and cream cheese frosting and chopped pistachios make them extra yummy!

I’ve made regular sugar cookie bars and cherry cookie bars, and now I’m sharing a pistachio version. They are so yummy!

Pistachio Sugar Cookie Bars

If you’ve never made sugar cookie bars, you are really missing out. You get all the flavor of a sugar cookie in about half the time! No dragging out cookie cutters and a rolling pin. No flouring the counter. Just bake all the dough in one pan, frost, and cut into squares. So easy!

Pistachio pudding mix gives these bars an unbeatable flavor, and makes them extra soft. And of course the pistachios add a yummy crunch.

How to you make pistachio sugar cookie bars?

Start by creaming the butter, dry pudding mix, and sugar. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Then just stir in the dry ingredients.

Press the dough into a greased 9×13″ pan and bake at 350° for about 20 minutes or till golden brown around the edges.

After the bars have cooled, whip up a simple cream cheese frosting and spread it on top. Garnish with chopped pistachios if desired.

Cut into squares, serve, then stand back and wait for all the compliments. 🙂

These bars aren’t overly sweet, so the cream cheese frosting is a perfect addition. Chopped pistachios add a little bit of salt, and I love the depth of flavor they add. The almond extract really does boost the flavor, so I highly recommend using it. If you’re really opposed to it, you can just add more vanilla.

The green color of these bars make them perfect for both Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day. Of course they are so scrumptious that you can make them any time of year and everyone will rave over them.

I hope you’ll give them a try!

Pistachio Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe

 

Yield: 2 dozen

Pistachio Cookie Bars

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Pistachio Sugar Cookie Bars with cream cheese frosting and chopped pistachios.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Dough

• 3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 (3.4oz) boxes of instant pistachio pudding (just the dry mix)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Cream butter, dry pudding mix, and sugar in a large mixing bowl till creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Press dough into the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, or till lightly browned on the edges.
3. Cool completely, then frost. Garnish with chopped pistachios.
4. For frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter in a small mixing bowl till smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat till smooth and creamy.
5. Spread frosting over cooled bars and sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.

Notes

-Recipe inspired by Moma Food.

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Here are a few more tasty bar cookies to try:

Toffee Almond Bars

Butterscotch Bars

Snickerdoodle Blondies

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ENJOY!