These turned out great, plus they are soooo much less of a pain than real sugar cookies, but are still pretty.

The dough was easy enough to make. Since I was using a deeper pan I was sure to baker’s joy them real well (If you don’t have this in your cupboard and bake, you must get some!)

Since I was using smaller pans the cookies came out pretty thick, which made them a little harder to eat as a cookie vs. as a cake, Next time I’ll try and get them thinner. Mine took about 20 min to bake.
This recipe has made its rounds in the blogosphere in a few different incarnations. I went with Love & Olive Oil’s frosting recipe which I thought was perfect for these cookies. They are great unfrosted as well, but since the top is just patted they aren’t as pretty without frosting. (Colored with a combo of green gel and blue food coloring)

I topped the frosting with a medley of sparkly sanding sugars: yellow, orange, blue, green. Which added some nice polish.

Where the cake pan got me was when it came to cutting them it was pretty hard with those high sides, but I made it work.

Recipe from Love & Olive Oil:
Sugar Cookie Bars - Makes 32 bars.
Ingredients

• Cookies:
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Frosting:
• 1 cup butter; at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 5 tablespoons milk
• food coloring, if desired

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add to butter mixture and mix just until combined. Grease a large rimmed baking sheet (a 13×18 or 10×15 jelly roll pan) or line with parchment paper. Gently and evenly spread out batter onto sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-15 minutes (mine took more like 20-25 minutes), until light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To prepare frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreadable. Add a few drops of color, if desired. Spread over cooled cookie, then cut into bars