Amazing 1-Pan christmas cookie bars Joy

The holiday season should feel warm, joyful, and delicious, not stressful! If your idea of festive baking involves complicated frosting stages or chilling dough overnight, trust me, I’ve been there. That’s exactly why I treasure these Easy holiday bars. This Ultimate Chewy Christmas Cookie Bars Loaded with M&Ms and Sprinkles recipe is pure magic. They deliver that incredible, vibrant, celebratory look by loading them with candy, and because they’re a one-pan dessert, they are the ultimate crowd-pleasing holiday treat. Finding joy in simple, amazing food—that’s what this recipe is all about!

Why These Christmas Cookie Bars Are Your New Holiday Favorite

Honestly, these bars are my secret weapon when I need a huge holiday impact with minimal fuss. Forget the time management nightmares involved with rolling and chilling traditional cutout cookies. These festive dessert bars are made right in the pan. You get that gorgeous, vibrant holiday look from the M&Ms and sprinkles, and the texture? It’s absolutely divine—thick, buttery, and perfectly chewy throughout. These are true crowd pleasing holiday bars that disappear instantly at any party.

SAVE

Achieving the Perfect Chewy Texture in Your Christmas Cookie Bars

If you want that wonderful pull when you bite into the treat, the secret to these Christmas cookie bars is all about the bake time. Don’t be tempted to bake them until they look perfectly dry in the middle! I pull mine out when the edges look golden, but the center still looks just a touch soft. They firm up beautifully as they cool. Also, always opt for light brown sugar; that extra molasses is key for chewiness!

Simple Christmas Baking: One Pan, Maximum Impact

This is where the real holiday peace comes in. Because we’re using a 9×13 inch pan, you get nearly two dozen spectacular treats with zero mess from scooping individual drops of dough. This recipe is the definition of Simple Christmas baking. You mix it all in one bowl, press it into one pan, and bake. It’s proof that you don’t need a complicated process to achieve something that looks and tastes incredibly special.

Gathering Ingredients for Ultimate Christmas Cookie Bars

Okay, ready to talk ingredients? This is where we set ourselves up for success later, especially since these are such straight-up, buttery treats. To get that rich, satisfying base for our Christmas cookie bars recipe, precision matters, but don’t stress! We aren’t dealing with yeast or delicate folding techniques here.

When you pull out your ingredients, make sure that butter is truly softened—you know, soft enough to press a finger into easily, but definitely not melted or greasy looking. That’s the secret to proper creaming later on. Also, pay attention to the sugars; we need that 1 cup of packed light brown sugar for that signature chewy holiday blondies texture.

Ingredient Notes and Substitution Ideas

These bars are designed to be festive, so the mix-ins are where you can really lean into the holiday spirit! The recipe calls for holiday M&Ms, which means hunting down those red and green ones—they make such a fantastic visual impact. They mix in beautifully with the white chocolate chips, giving you sweet bursts throughout the dough.

SAVE

Now, if you’re staring at your pantry and realize you’re out of white chocolate chips, don’t panic! You can absolutely swap those out for milk chocolate chips, or even butterscotch chips if you want a bit of a different caramel note. Whatever you choose, make sure you reserve a small handful of those colorful M&Ms and sprinkles to press right on top before they go into the oven. That’s the visual payoff we’re aiming for, ensuring they look perfectly festive when they come out of the oven!

Step-by-Step Instructions for Easy Holiday Bars

This is the part where we turn those beautiful ingredients into the thickest, chewiest dessert you’ve ever seen! Since these are fantastic Easy holiday bars, we’re keeping the steps straightforward, but a couple of little details are non-negotiable if you want that perfect blondie-style base.

First thing, right out of the gate, you need to get your oven heating up to 350°F (175°C). While that’s warming, grab your 9×13 inch pan. Lay down some parchment paper first, and make sure you leave a little overhang on the sides—this acts as a little handle later so you can lift the whole slab out easily for perfect, clean cuts. Trust me, that parchment sling is my favorite baking hack; it saves clean-up, too!

Mixing the Wet and Dry Components for Christmas Cookie Bars

We start with the wet ingredients because we need to whip some air into that base. Get your softened butter, the brown sugar—remember, packed tight!—and the white sugar into your bowl. You need to mix this well until it looks genuinely creamy and lightened up. I use my electric mixer for this part because I want to make sure those sugars dissolve just right.

Once that’s fluffy, in go the eggs, one at a time, followed by that rich vanilla. Give it a good scrape down with your spatula before moving to the dry stuff. When you mix the flour, baking soda, and salt—make sure those dry things are whisked together first! Then, add the dry mixture to the wet stuff gradually, and here is critical advice: mix only until you see no more streaks of dry flour. Stop the mixer right then! Overmixing the flour develops gluten, and that will turn your wonderful baking bread into a tough cookie, and we want soft, chewy Festive dessert bars, not hockey pucks.

Folding in the Festive Mix-Ins

Now for the fun part! Everything else goes in, but we switch from the mixer to a reliable, large rubber spatula for this. Gently fold in your holiday M&Ms, all those white chocolate chips, and about three-quarters of your Christmas sprinkles. You have to fold gently here so you don’t punch out all the beautiful air you just incorporated in the creaming stage. We want to keep this dough fluffy!

Once everything is just distributed, press that lovely, colorful dough right into your prepared pan. Make sure it’s even—use the bottom of a measuring cup or parchment paper to flatten it all out neatly. And don’t forget that final visual touch! Take those last few sprinkles you saved and sprinkle them right over the top. That lets everyone know they are looking at something extra special and fun!

Baking and Cooling Your Crowd Pleasing Holiday Bars

It’s showtime! Now we take our beautiful, loaded dough and give it the heat treatment. Pop that pan carefully into your preheated 350°F oven. You’re generally looking at 25 to 30 minutes in there. Remember what I said earlier? For these buttery Christmas treats to achieve that magical chewy texture, you want to watch them closely. The edges should look nicely golden brown, but if you nudge the pan, the middle should still look like it has a *tiny* wobble. That’s the sign of perfect doneness for soft bars; they are going to carry on cooking slightly once they come out.

SAVE

Seriously, the waiting part after baking is the real test of patience, but you MUST let these cool completely—and I mean completely—before you even think about slicing. If you try to cut these Christmas cookie bars while they are warm, believe me, the beautiful structure we worked so hard to create will collapse into a gooey mess. I speak from experience when I say impatience leads to crumbly square-ish failures!

Once they’ve cooled in the pan until they are just barely warm to the touch, use those parchment paper handles you lovingly left hanging over the sides. Lift the entire block onto a cutting board. Then, let them sit there until they are totally, thoroughly room temperature—ideally for at least two hours. That firmness locks in the chewiness. Then, run a sharp knife through them and admire your handiwork. Look at those colors! These Crowd pleasing holiday bars are ready for everyone to enjoy!

Tips for Perfect M&M Cookie Bars for Christmas

Even when a recipe seems simple, sometimes things don’t go according to plan, right? That’s totally normal! Baking is chemistry, and sometimes the humidity or even the mood of your oven throws a wrench in the works. That’s why I want to share a few things I learned the hard way, especially when making these glorious M&M cookie bars for Christmas. I want your bars to be chewy and festive, not just *almost* right!

I remember one year—it was right after I finally quit my corporate gig—I was so excited to bring these to a neighborhood potluck. I pulled them out, they looked amazing, but I got impatient sitting by the cooling rack! I cut them inside of an hour. Big mistake! They looked like squares when they went in, but they turned into colorful, sugary rubble on the serving platter. So, my biggest tip always circles back—let them cool unless you enjoy making edible abstract art!

Troubleshooting Common Christmas Cookie Bars Issues

So, what if you followed the notes, but you still ran into a snag? Here’s how we fix things:

• If your bars seem too soft or gooey: Don’t freak out! If they’re just slightly too soft in the center after cooling for a few hours, just slide the whole pan back into the turned-off oven. Leave the door cracked open slightly—the residual heat will gently bake them through for another 10-15 minutes without drying out the edges.
• If your bars are too crumbly when slicing: This usually means one of two things: either you rushed the cooling process (see my story above!), or you didn’t have enough fat/moisture in the mix. Next time, ensure your butter is soft and use the packed brown sugar measurement exactly. For the current batch, try running your knife through the warm (not hot!) slab in slow, steady downward strokes instead of sawing back and forth.
• If the colors bled: Sometimes, the moisture from the M&Ms, especially the red ones, can cause a little color bleeding into the white dough, making it look slightly pinkish. This is totally unavoidable sometimes! If you really want to keep the colors crisp, try adding the candies during the last 5 minutes of baking time instead of folding them in before baking. They’ll stay brighter but might sink a little more.

Don’t let small hiccups steal your holiday baking joy! These are forgiving Festive dessert bars, and a little imperfection just makes them taste more homemade!

Storing and Keeping Your Festive Dessert Bars Fresh

We’ve made the absolute best Christmas cookie bars, and now we need to make sure they last so we can secretly snack on them all week! Since these are so buttery and rich—basically chewy holiday blondies wrapped in festive color—they hold up really well, which is great news for party planning.

The best place for these bars is simply on the counter. Pop your completely cooled, sliced squares into an airtight container. Layer them with a piece of parchment or wax paper between the layers so the colorful M&Ms don’t stick to each other during storage. Stored this way at room temperature, they stay perfectly fresh and chewy for a good three to four days. Honestly, they rarely last that long in my house!

Now, if you’ve made a humongous batch for a huge party and you need them to last longer, you can absolutely freeze them. You’ll want to do a little extra prep work here, though. Cut them into individual squares first, then place a small square of parchment between each bar before sealing them tightly in a freezer-safe bag or container. They will keep beautifully for about two months. Just pull out as many Christmas cookie bars as you need and let them thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes before serving. They taste just as good, I promise!

Serving Suggestions for Your Holiday Sprinkle Bars

Okay, we’ve baked them, we’ve cooled them patiently (right?!), and now we get to present these beauties! These Holiday sprinkle bars are rich, buttery bombs of festive cheer, so you want to serve them with something that balances that sweetness perfectly. They are just begging to be photographed sitting on a big, festive platter.

SAVE

My absolute go-to pairing is a big, steaming mug of black coffee or a simple latte. The slight bitterness of the coffee cuts right through that richness from the butter and chocolate chips. If you are serving these during the afternoon or have kids around, a big glass of cold, fresh milk is traditional for a reason—it’s just classic comfort!

For a truly seasonal presentation, try placing a few of these on a wooden board alongside some fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs for a pop of natural color. They look fantastic next to a simple spiced cider or even a creamy eggnog if you want to lean heavily into the holiday cocktail vibe. Seriously, these festive dessert bars need very little help because they already look like a party, but a good drink pairing just takes them over the top!

Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas Cookie Bars Recipe

I always get so many questions when the holidays roll around, which tells me exactly what you all are looking for—easy, impressive baking! I tried to cover all the bases for troubleshooting these tasty treats, but if there’s something I missed when making these Christmas cookie bars recipe questions, please drop a note in the comments below!

Can I use different candies instead of M&Ms in these Christmas cookie bars?

Oh, absolutely, you can! The M&Ms give you that beautiful, hard shell that pops with color even after baking, which is why they are my go-to. If you use something softer, like chopped fun-size candy bars, the chocolate might melt more and create more of a gooey swirl inside, rather than distinct pops of color. If you swap them out, just keep in mind that you are moving away from the classic look and texture of these Chewy holiday blondies. Mini chocolate chips are an easy, no-fuss alternative if you skip the candy altogether!

How do I prevent my holiday bars from getting hard or dry?

This is the absolute key, isn’t it? Nobody wants a dry, crumbly treat when they are looking for rich, satisfying desserts! The best defense against dryness is twofold. First, remember what I stressed about baking time: slightly underbake them! If you bake them until they are 100% done, they will be totally dry once cooled. Second, make sure you are using the full amount of packed light brown sugar called for. That molasses content is crucial because it retains moisture better than white sugar. Follow those two rules, and you’ll have the Best Christmas dessert squares that stay soft all week long.

Share Your Ultimate Chewy Christmas Cookie Bars Experience

Now that you have tried your hand at these fun, festive, and incredibly easy Christmas cookie bars, I genuinely want to hear about it! This is what Pure Cooking Joy is all about—creating a little community where we celebrate our kitchen wins together. Did they turn out perfectly chewy? Did someone immediately ask for the recipe?

Baking around the holidays is already special, but sharing the results makes it even better. Please, take a moment to leave a star rating right below the recipe card. Those ratings are super helpful for me and for other cooks looking for a simple Christmas baking win!

If you snapped a picture of how vibrant and colorful your M&M cookie bars for Christmas turned out on your holiday platter, I would absolutely love to see them! Tag me on social media so I can share your success in my stories. There’s nothing that warms my heart more than seeing your versions of these sweet, comforting treats filling your homes with joy. Happy holidays to you, and thank you for joining me in the kitchen!

Ultimate Chewy Christmas Cookie Bars Loaded with M&Ms and Sprinkles

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

I am so glad you found this recipe. These chewy Christmas cookie bars are packed with festive color from M&Ms and sprinkles, offering big holiday flavor without complicated steps. They are the perfect one-pan Christmas cookies for your parties or family gatherings.

• Author: purejoyalex
• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Total Time: 45 min
• Yield: 24 servings 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup holiday M&Ms (red and green)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Christmas sprinkles

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides for easy removal.
2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer until the mixture is creamy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
6. Gently fold in the holiday M&Ms, white chocolate chips, and most of the Christmas sprinkles, reserving some sprinkles for the top.
7. Press the dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the reserved sprinkles over the top.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the center is set. For chewy bars, slightly underbake.
9. Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before lifting them out using the parchment overhang.
10. Once cool, slice the bars into squares and serve your crowd pleasing holiday bars.

Notes

• For the chewiest texture, use light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar.
• If you do not have parchment paper, lightly grease and flour the pan well before pressing in the dough.
• These bars store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bar
• Calories: 220
• Sugar: 18g
• Sodium: 110mg
• Fat: 12g
• Saturated Fat: 7g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 27g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 3g
• Cholesterol: 35mg