Sugar Cookie Bars with Peppermint-White Chocolate Frosting

I adore sugar cookies but I'm not a fan of cutting them out, baking them, and then carefully frosting them.  They are beautiful, I just don't like to take the time to do this.  A couple of years ago, Barnes and Noble offered a Peppermint Sugar Cookie bar at the Holidays that I thought tasted pretty yummy.  So when I came across a sugar cookie bar recipe, I knew I could recreate the tasty treat.

These are soft, moist, and delicious, and the best part - they are super easy.  Although I don't use food coloring typically in our food, I did so for photography purposes.

Sugar Cookie Bars with Peppermint-White Chocolate Frosting

Source:  Adapted from a recipe by Cooking Classy

Cookies:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

1 1/2 Tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

 Peppermint-White Chocolate Frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces white chocolate, melted {can use vanilla candy melt}

2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tablespoons half and half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

A couple drops food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Prepare baking dish by buttering a 13" x 9" baking dish, set aside.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Stir in egg and egg white. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until blended. Slowly add dry mixture and stir until well combine.

With buttered hands, gently press (so gently almost patting) mixture into buttered baking dish. Bake 17 - 20 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and edges are lightly golden. Cool completely, then frost and cut into squares.

To Make The Frosting:

In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, whip together butter, melted white chocolate, powdered sugar and half and half until fluffy. Blend in vanilla and peppermint extracts as well as food coloring, if using.