Red Velvet Cookie Bars

Make the red velvet cookie bars: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-by-8-inch baking pan and line it with a piece of parchment paper that hangs over two sides.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, food coloring and salt. Mix until well combined.

Add the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix on low speed until just combined, using a flexible spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the batter is evenly mixed. Add more food coloring if desired to tint the bars a deeper red.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until set and dry in appearance and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely, and clean the bowl.

While the cookie bars cool, make the cream cheese frosting: In the clean bowl, combine the powdered sugar and butter. Mix with an electric mixer on low speed until moistened, then turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl, then add the cream cheese, vanilla and salt, and mix until well combined.

Use the parchment to lift the cooled cookie bar out of the pan, then spread the frosting evenly over the top. Slice into smaller bars and serve. Store any leftover bars, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.