Easy Filled Bar Cookie Recipe

Are you hunting for an easy and equally delicious filled bar cookie recipe? If so, you came to the right place because I started my holiday cookie baking and made one that certainly fits the bill yesterday. My easy filled bar cookies are bursting with butter and brown sugar goodness. As yummy as that alone sounds, they are accented with almond extract that does a great job of complimenting the strawberry jam filling in a soft chew topped with a sprinkling of grated coconuts to finish it off.

What else is nice about my easy filled bar cookies is that it can also be made as regular filled drop cookie. I prepared it both ways, but the drop method takes more time and cookie sheets to wash. However, it makes a wonderful cookie option.

If you plan on making this recipe as filled cookies instead of the bars, then you’ll need plenty of cookie sheets because this makes a lot. You will be busy. Drop a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet for each cookie, add about one-half teaspoons of the strawberry jam before covering with another one-half teaspoon of dough.  I added a few chocolate chips per cookie instead of the grated coconut in this version.  Also, give these cookies plenty of room to spread.

I must admit that I prefer making this recipe as a bar cookie over a filled drop cookie being that I like to get out of the kitchen as quickly as possible.

When you searching for what holiday cookies that you’ll be making, I hope you print out my recipe for this easy filled bar cookie.

You also definitely need to try my Coffee-Almond Bars, which always wins high praises at my house and with company.  Something else I want to share with you is a one that never let me down with my special pumpkin bars with cream cheese icing.

Easy Filled Bar Cookie Recipe

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Easy Filled Bar Cookie Recipe

This filled bar cookie is a soft chew complimented with strawberry jam filling and topped with grated coconut.

Ingredients

• ½ cups of butter or 1 stick of butter softened
• ½ cups of canola oil
• 2 cups of light brown sugar firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 3-1/2 cups of sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda leveled
• ½ cups of strawberry jam or your favorite
• ½ cups of grated coconut flakes

Instructions

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in your mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In another mixing bowl, cream your softened butter, oil with the sugar until well blended before beating in the eggs.
3. Add some of the flour mixture to the creamed ingredients and mix with your electric mixer, alternating with the water until you finish incorporating.
4. This will be a sticky batter.
5. Grease a baking pan about the size of 11-1/2 inches by 13-1/2 inches to accommodate the bars.
6. Pour in half the dough batter in the pan and spread for the bottom.
7. Next, top with about one-half cups of the strawberry jam (you can use more if this is your preference) and spread over the batter in the pan.
8. Top with the remaining batter, spreading it over the jam to seal it up.
9. Finish with the one-half cup of the grated coconut.
10. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, depending on how your oven is regulated. Test with a toothpick, cake tester or a slender knife to see if anything sticks determining if it is done.

Recipe Notes

ENJOY!