Ghirardelli White Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars

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These gorgeous Ghirardelli White Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars are sweet, simple, and loaded with buttery white chocolate flavor.

Ghirardelli doesn’t disappoint. In true holiday form, they released a limited edition sugar cookie white chocolate candy square. I immediately knew that these amazing candies needed to top some sort of baked cookie. Enter the Ghirardelli White Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars. They start with a delicious sugar cookie base, add in plenty of decadent white chocolate chips, are topped with a sprinkling of granulated sugar, and then a sugar cookie candy square is pressed into each cookie square.

What you’ll need to make these Ghirardelli White Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars:

Salted butter, softened (I love Kerrygold, it’s higher butterfat content lends an extra buttery flavor for any baked good you choose to make)

Granulated sugar (you can sub in coconut sugar here, or even brown sugar if you want a slightly chewier cookie bar)

A large egg (this size is perfect for those cookies; if using a medium egg, reduce flour by 2 tbsp)

Pure Vanilla Extract (skip the imitation stuff and spring for the real thing, you won’t regret it. The flavor is unmatched and incredibly pure)

All purpose flour (you can substitute gluten free 1:1 ratio flour here, or half all purpose and half white whole wheat for a burst of neigh undetectable whole grains)

Baking powder (this leavening agent isn’t quite as strong as baking soda, so make sure to have the powder on hand)

Ghirardelli white chocolate chips

Ghirardelli white chocolate sugar cookie squares

The Bar Base

These bars are a simple sugar cookie bar base, and they are made up of seven pantry staples. They are also one bowl, as many of my recipes are, to optimize ease of cleanup. I always suggest high quality ingredients. When few are involved, the better the butter, eggs, flour, and vanilla, the better your overall product will turn out.

The Candy Topper

These delicious little squares of sugar cookie flavored white chocolate are divine on their own, but topped on these buttery bars, they are absolutely mouthwatering. Enjoy a couple as you go, but make sure to save enough to make the pan of bars (you might want to buy two packs…).

The Dietary Substitutes

I love providing gluten and dairy free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either use and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten or dairy shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest. 

As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy: 

Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour is a wonderful all-purpose sub, and it’s cup for cup, so use the same measurements as you would all-purpose flour.

Miyokos Butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it as a 1:1 ratio sub, same as the flour, so the recipe measurements will not change. 

These Pascha white chocolate chips from Thrive Market are fully dairy free and vegan.

The Ghirardelli candy is not dairy free, but you could make your own candy squares with sugar cookie flavoring + vegan white chocolate and sprinkles and create a very similar bar.

I hope you love these little drops of sugar cookie goodness! As always, tag me on your socials if you make them. #HHBBAKES

XO,

Heather

PS, be sure to check out my Browned Butter Macadamia Nut Cookies for more white chocolate goodness.