Unicorn Bars

Colder weather is my excuse to comfort bake: Fun, easy baking recipes that are guaranteed to brighten my day. And if there was ever a dessert designed for happiness and parties, it’s these buttery, sprinkle-filled unicorn bars. The base is my sugar cookie bars crossed with confetti cake. They’re decorated with fluffy blue clouds of creamy frosting and more sprinkles (I recommend a heavy hand).

Why unicorns? The Unicorn and Rainbows cupcake from Baked and Wired in Washington, DC inspired this recipe. It’s their version of confetti cupcakes, and one of my favorites ever. Definitely get one if you find yourself in DC! In the meantime, I’ll show you how to recreate the funfetti flavors in these homemade unicorn cookie bars.

These would be perfect for a unicorn-themed party or birthday dessert. And let’s be honest. There’s no better treat to enjoy with a mug of unicorn hot chocolate!

What Makes These Unicorn Cookie Bars a Must-Bake

• Melted butter in the dough makes it easy to bring together with or without a mixer.
• No baking soda keeps the cookie bars dense and chewy. They bake nice and even.
• Enjoy them frosted or unfrosted. Everyone loves these soft and chewy funfetti cookie bars, and they’re delicious on their own. But, as always, everything is better with frosting!
• They slice like a dream and will be gone in a flash. And if you do have leftovers, these frosted unicorn bars store well for days.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here are the ingredients needed to make these magical unicorn bars from scratch. See the recipe card for the exact measurements and recipe details.

• Butter – I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you’d like. This recipe will also work with shortening to make the bars dairy-free.
• Sugar – Granulated sugar is best, or light brown sugar.
• Vanilla – These funfetti unicorn bars are one of my only exceptions to using pure vanilla extract. While the flavor is always better with real vanilla, these turn out great with artificial vanilla for that old-fashioned “birthday cake” flavor, too.
• Eggs – Bringing these to room temperature makes them easier to combine with the dough.
• Flour – I recommend all-purpose as I haven’t tested this recipe with alternative flours. Spoon and level the flour or measure using a kitchen scale. If you scoop directly from the bag, you’ll end up with too much.
• Sprinkles – The best sprinkles for baking are rainbow jimmies (rods) or quins (small flat shapes). Non-pareils, the tiny round balls, tend to bleed their color into the dough.
• Frosting – You can use your favorite homemade or store-bought frosting here. I use an adaptation of my vanilla frosting made with room-temperature butter, powdered sugar, and milk (or heavy cream). I skip the vanilla in this version and leave the sweet flavor as-is.
• Food Coloring – I opted to color my frosting light blue, but any color goes! Gel food colors offer the best, brightest colors without watering down the frosting like liquid food dyes tend to do. A little goes a long way. Top your unicorn bars with additional sprinkles, too. I include more decorating ideas below.

How to Make Unicorn Bars

Whenever I find myself craving sunshine and rainbows, I pull the giant jar of sprinkles from my pantry and make unicorn bars. (Doesn’t everyone have an emergency sprinkle stash in their cupboard?) It’s a huge bonus that the steps to make these are very easy:

• Mix the dough. Start by creaming the butter and sugar together, then add the vanilla, eggs, and salt. Mix until smooth. Next, fold in the flour, followed by the sprinkles. Try not to overmix.

• Bake. Spread the dough into a greased and lined 9×13 pan. Then, bake the bars at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes, until they’re just set at the edges. The bars will look underdone when they come out of the oven, but don’t worry. They set up as they cool.

Frosting the Bars

• Make the frosting. Meanwhile, beat the butter, then slowly add the powdered sugar and milk to make the frosting. Once the frosting is smooth and creamy, mix in 1-2 drops of your choice of food coloring.
• Decorate the bars. Lastly, pipe or spread the frosting evenly over your cooled funfetti bars. Decorate with extra sprinkles if you’d like, and enjoy!

Tips for Decorating Your Unicorn Bars

• Adjust the frosting consistency. If your frosting is too stiff, add more milk, one spoonful at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. If it’s too loose, you can add a little more powdered sugar.
• Use piping tips. These unicorn bars are irresistible smothered with frosting, but piping the frosting creates a fancier finish. I use a large round 1A tip from Wilton.
• Double the frosting. If you plan on piping frosting swirls as you see in the photos, you may need to increase or double the amount of frosting in the recipe. Piping always uses more frosting than if you were to simply spread it over the bars.
• Funfetti frosting. For even more rainbow sprinkle magic, fold extra sprinkles into your frosting or make party frosting instead.
• Different flavors. Top your bars with pretty pink strawberry frosting, meringue-style marshmallow frosting, or even chocolate frosting.

Recipe FAQ

Storage

• Keep them airtight. I store these unicorn bars airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days, but you could store them in the fridge for up to 5 days. 
• Freeze. I recommend freezing these bars without the icing whenever possible. Double-wrap the cooled, unfrosted cookie bars in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months. Thaw them fully to room temperature before you frost them.

More Sprinkle Dessert Recipes

• Birthday Cake Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Refrigerator Sprinkle Cookies
• Birthday Cake Pancakes
• Frosting Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cake Mix Cookies