Soft Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
These snickerdoodle cookie bars thick and soft, with a slight crunch from the cinnamon sugar. They taste just like your fave snickerdoodles, but without the hassle of rolling individual cookies!
About these snickerdoodle bars
Snickerdoodle cookie bars are a pan version of the classic snickerdoodle, made with cream of tartar for that signature soft texture and slight tang, then topped generously with cinnamon sugar before baking. The cinnamon sugar bakes into a thin crackly layer on top, while the bar underneath stays soft and slightly chewy. This recipe is baked in an 8×8 inch pan, makes 16 bars, and uses no chill time. It’s a nod to the original snickerdoodle, since the very first printed snickerdoodle recipes were actually cake-style bars, not cookies!
If you’d rather make individual cookies, my small-batch snickerdoodles are the rolled version of this same flavor.
Ingredients
Find the amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Cream of tartar substitute: If you have no cream of tartar, you can use baking powder. The baking powder already contains cream of tartar and baking soda. When using baking powder, you will omit the cream of tartar and baking soda. Less cream of tartar is in baking powder than used in this recipe, so the taste will be slightly different and will mellow the flavor. Replace the ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda with ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
Equipment
- Electric mixer: These easy cookie bars are quickest to make using an electric or stand mixer because the butter and the sugar need beating. If you have none, it can be made by hand. This will take a little effort to cream the butter and sugar together.
- 8×8 pan: I used an 8×8-inch square pan.
Method
The cookie dough
- Line an 8×8 pan with enough parchment paper so you can easily lift the baked cookie from the pan once it is baked.
- Beat together butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients.
- Combine it all into a thick but slightly sticky cookie dough.
- Press into the pan and sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar.
Baking
Bake the cinnamon cookie bars until the edges are baked and the middle is just set. Don’t over-bake them. Let the pan cool for 10 minutes before removing the cookie. Let it cool further on a wire rack.
Once cooled, cut the soft cookie bars into 16 pieces.
Snickerdoodle bars can be stored at room temperature for six days in an airtight container.The dough for these cookie bars can be made ahead, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Freezing instructions – The baked bars or the unbaked cookie dough can be frozen for up to three months.
More cookies and bars to try
- Small-batch cookie bars with chocolate chunks
- Brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars
- Biscoff cookie bars
- Sourdough cookie bars
- Frosted lemon sugar cookie bars
- Frosted sourdough sugar cookie bars
- Cookie butter cookies
Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 190 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 113 g unsalted butter softened
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 large egg
Topping
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. Leave a paper overhang to lift the baked cookie from the pan once baked easily.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set these dry ingredients aside.
- Add room-temperature butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Beat them with an electric mixer for about 2-3 minutes until lighter in color and creamy. If you have no electric mixer, beat them with a wooden spoon until creamy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat together on low speed to combine it all into a thick but slightly sticky cookie dough.
- Scoop the cookie dough into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to press the cookie dough out evenly.
- Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle this in an even layer on top of the dough
- Bake for approximately 22 minutes, until the edges are baked and the middle is set but don't over-bake them.
- Let the cookie bar cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before removing. Let it cool further to room temperature on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, cut into 16 pieces.
Made these today. FANTASTIC!!!!
Thank you for exposing me to Adventures in Taste and Time blog!! So cool. I have your sourdough discard dough in the fridge now to bake tomorrow for our party. I am loving your blog! And the tiramisu roll was LIT, if I may use youngster slang. Thanks for unique and exciting recipes!