We consume a lot of cinnamon-sugar in our house. My son, Jake, loves it on toast, apple slices, and sprinkled over oatmeal. Cinnamon-sugar reminds me of my childhood and snickerdoodle cookies bring back happy memories. The flavors and aromas of the soft, sweet, cinnamon-spiced cookies are so comforting.
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When I realized that Jake had never had a snickerdoodle before, I knew it was time to get baking. But, snickerdoodles require a little more time than the average cookie, and I wasn’t in the mood to roll 20+ balls of cookie dough and coat them in cinnamon-sugar. So, I decided to take a shortcut by making the cookies into bars. No chilling dough, no measuring dough balls and no rolling in cinnamon sugar. I made the cookie dough, dumped it into a baking pan and voila! – snickerdoodle bars! All the flavors of a snickerdoodle cookie, without the extra work. And (because my children were on their best behavior), I was able to quickly whip up a cinnamon buttercream frosting to spread on top of the bars. The frosting takes these over the top, and it’s absolutely worth the extra few minutes it requires. I mean, what isn’t better with frosting?!
These bars are very similar in texture and flavor to a snickerdoodle cookie. Although they may look cakey, they are not. The cookie base is lightly spiced and pillowy soft and the frosting is rich and creamy. After trying these frosted snickerdoodle bars, I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to eating a plain snickerdoodle cookie again.
Soft Frosted Snickerdoodle Bars
Ingredients
Bars:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons half and half or cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar for topping
Instructions
For the bars:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan. You can also line the baking pan with foil, leaving a couple inches of overhang on two sides (this will allow you to easily lift the whole pan of bars out of the pan). Spray or grease the foil.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and sour cream and beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined (do not over-mix). Spread the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan (it will be thick). Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the center no longer jiggles. Be careful not to over bake these. Begin checking them at 22 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
For the frosting:
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, beat butter and powdered sugar for 2 minutes, until light and creamy. Add half and half, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon, and beat for 2 more minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Spread the frosting on top of the cooled bars. Sprinkle the top with 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon sugar.
Nutrition
grandbabycakes says
These bars are absolute perfection! I need them in my life like right now!
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks, Jocelyn!
Nancy says
Made these for Labor Day company. Delicious!!
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks for the comment! 🙂 Glad that you liked them.
Kelley says
Snickerdoodles do take a long time to make! These bars look amazing! A must try for sure!
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks for stopping by, Kelley!
hellolittlehome says
These look heavenly! I can almost smell them baking;)
Celebrating Sweets says
They smell divine. Almost as good as they taste! 🙂
Mandee Thomas says
Wow, these look absolutely delicious! Pinned 😀 I wanted to let you know that I’m featuring this post tonight at the Create & Share Link Party (7:00 PM MST)! Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to see what you share with us this week 🙂
http://designsbymissmandee.blogspot.com/
Celebrating Sweets says
Awesome! Thank you! I’ll stop by to check it out. 🙂
HostessAtHeart says
Snickerdoodle bars? I love the way you think! The sky high frosting has me drooling!
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks! You can never have enough frosting, in my opinion. 🙂
Karly says
These bars look amazing! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks, Karly!
Janis says
I love snickerdoodles, Can I double for a 9×13?
Tricia says
That’s my question too? How far ahead can you make these? I’m thinking if making cookie 2 days in advance? Frosting the day before?
Celebrating Sweets says
You should be able to double the recipe for a 9×13. You might have more frosting than you need, just add as much as you want. I would recommend baking the bars the day before and frosting them the day of, if possible. They are softest within a day or two of being made.