White Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars with Raspberry Frosting

 Three weeks before our college graduation and Geneva and I are considering dropping out to start a bakery. Sometimes at 11 pm on the third to last day of school that seems like a good idea. We were both baking treats for our classes to enjoy, and in our small kitchen we were quite the whirlwind of spatulas and sugar. 

Geneva's Snickerdoodles that taunted me from the oven

Geneva was baking a batch of snickerdoodles and in no time at all she was meticulously rolling the dough into balls and then coating them in cinnamon sugar. As soon as they were in the oven the tangy, sweet smells of cream of tarter and sugar filled the kitchen.

I was baking a recipe that I saw on Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice, the pictures were so cute and I bookmarked it as a way to diversify my cookie repertoire. I also thought the pink frosting would be appropriate for my class on dating and courtship, (love that I get to read books about dating and call it homework.)

This recipe was very simple to mix together and I love how bar cookies are so low maintenance, just one batch into the oven and you’re all set.

The frosting is a simple buttercream with raspberry jam mixed in, this gives it great fruity flavor and a subtle pink color. 

One batch simplicity

 On her blog Reeni suggests to put the bars into the refrigerator after frosting them. I followed suit and was amazed at what this did to the cookies. The bars were still soft and the flavor of the raspberries was intensified by the cold.

The bars were a big hit in my class, and it reminded me that raspberries and white chocolate are a winning combination.

Maybe these will be on the menu at the hypothetical Geneva and Audrey bakery. We will have to have a few more extravaganzas to find some more favorites. 

 White Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars with Raspberry Frosting

Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

8 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup white chocolate, chopped or chips

frosting:

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

about 3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup raspberry jam

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon water

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla, and eggs one at a time. Slowly add dry ingredients. Use spatula to fold in white chocolate. Bake in a 9 x 9 pan at 375 for 14 minutes, (do not overbake even though they look very light colored, you will be thankful.) Make frosting by beating all ingredients together until smooth. Let bars cool them top with the frosting and sprinkles!