On Wednesdays, I bake for trivia. This week, I tried a new recipe for Sugar Cookie Bars with Buttercream Frosting. These bars turned out great, however, they were definitely not healthy. I could tell that when the recipe called for 1 lb of butter. Fortunately, the beer lovers at Whitestone aren't all too worried about their figures, so I warned them, but most happily enjoyed these new treats. I like to make bars because they are relatively easy, they don't have to look especially pretty, and they make plenty for a crowd. I ended up giving away about half last night, so Mike had some to take to his work friends this morning. I started by mixing together 2 sticks of softened butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, sugar, and powdered sugar until it was smooth. Next, I added in the eggs. Finally, I gradually mixed in my dry ingredient combo of flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Once the batter was well combined, I smoothed it in to a lightly greased 9x13 pan. The bars baked for about 20 minutes. I let them cool completely and made the frosting. For the frosting, I mixed together 2 sticks of butter, powdered sugar, and a little bit of milk. I spread the frosting on the bars and let it set at room temperature. When I picked up the pan to take to trivia, I was a little shocked at how heavy it was. I cut the bars before we left and when I served them, I was surprised that they felt light as individual bars. They seemed to be a hit, but they were quite sweet and filling. These were good, but they didn't have chocolate, so they may not be repeated too much in our house. A couple of changes we might make in the future include: a lemon frosting instead or adding a little vanilla or other flavoring to the frosting.

The New Austonian