Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
Soft & chewy snickerdoodle cookie bars with a cinnamon-sugar topping—this recipe is everything you love about the classic cookie in easy bar form. One-bowl prep & quick baking time.
Y’all know I’m a huge snickerdoodle fan. I posted my first recipe back in 2019 and it’s still one of my most requested cookies! Last year I upgraded my base recipe to Brown Butter Snickerdoodles, and this year I turned my original recipe into a shortbread base for these amazing Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars.
Today we’re taking my favorite snickerdoodles and turning them into a delicious cookie bar that couldn’t be easier to make! These bars are incredibly soft and chewy, packed with cinnamon sugar, and have that unmistakable tang we expect from the classic cookie. We keep a one bowl prep but instead of rolling and baking, we’re pressing the dough into a small pan for a quick baking time.
Grab your aprons and let’s bake!
Ingredients for Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars:
- Salted butter, 1/2 cup
- Granulated Sugar, 1/2 cup (100 g)
- Brown sugar, 1/2 cup (90 g)
- Egg, 1 (medium to large)
- Vanilla, 1 teaspoon
- Baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon
- Cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon
- Cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
- Cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon
- All purpose flour, 1 and 1/4 cups (167 g)
- 1 tablespoon sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
How do I make Snickerdoodle Bars?
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Spray a metal 8×8 pan with non-stick baking spray or line it with parchment paper.
Make the cinnamon sugar: mix together 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle some of the mixture on the bottom of the pan.
Make the dough: Grab a medium size mixing bowl. Cut 1/2 cup butter into slices and microwave it for 30 seconds. Give it a stir to incorporate the un-melted bits. If it needs it, give it another 10-15 seconds in the microwave to finish melting.
Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar and mix together gently.
Then add the egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix again, just easy mixing here. We don’t want to whip a lot of air into the batter.
Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon each of cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar. Whisk together until the cinnamon is mixed throughout the batter.
Finally, add 1 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour and stir together until the flour is just mixed. The dough will be very soft.
Add scoops of the cookie dough and use your hands or a spatula to press it in an even layer. The batter is pretty sticky, it’s okay if it doesn’t press in smoothly, just make sure to get it as evenly as possible.
Sprinkle more of the cinnamon sugar over the top.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the bars are just set on the edges, it will still look a little underbaked across the top. If it’s very puffy and jiggly when you check it, give it another minute of baking time.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes (up to 30 minutes) before removing to continue cooling.
Tip: The cookie will deflate as it cools, leaving the edges slightly higher than the middle. While it’s still hot, take an offset spatula or back of a spoon and gently press those edges down a little to give it a more even appearance.
If you used parchment paper, you can lift them from the pan and cut into squares.
Tips for making the best snickerdoodle bars:
- Don’t overmix or whip the batter-we don’t want to incorporate a lot of air and make this a cakey cookie bar.
- Don’t overbake! Under-baking leaves them soft, chewy, and they stay moist for days. If they’re over-baked, they will be hard and dry with a bready texture.
- Baking in a metal vs glass pan: I’ve tested this recipe in both types of pans, and they bake better in a metal pan. With the glass pan, the edges bake and set quickly, far more than the middle. As a result, the edges are higher but the center needs more time to bake, and the centers fall, leaving you with a really misshapen cookie bar. The cookies bake more evenly in a metal pan. This recipe was tested and baked in this pan from USA Pans Bakeware.
- If you’re interested in more baking science for metal vs glass pan, check out this informative post.
Ideas for Variations:
- Add white chocolate chips: since these bars bake up on the thinner side, chop up the chips into smaller chunks before adding them to the dough.
- Try a cream cheese frosting! These would be fantastic with a drizzle of cream cheese.
- Bake them in a circular pan for a cookie cake look and pair with the cream cheese frosting.
Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) melted butter
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (90 g) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 ¼ cup (163 g) all purpose flour
Topping
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Make the cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl or jar, add 1 tbsp sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon. Stir together until fully mixed.
- In a metal 8×8 pan, spray with non stick baking spray or line it with parchment paper. Sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- In a medium size microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt 1/2 cup (113 g) melted butter for 30 seconds, then stir. If needed, microwave for 10-15 more seconds until the butter is fully melted. It should be warm, not hot.
- Add 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar and 1/2 cup (90 g) brown sugar; stir gently with a whisk, then add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. Whisk together until egg is fully incorporated.
- Add ¼ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp cornstarch, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp cream of tartar. Whisk together until you can see the cinnamon throughout the batter.
- Add 1 ¼ cup (163 g) all purpose flour, and stir together until no white streaks remain.
- Scoop chunks of dough into the pan. Using your hands or a spatula press the batter into an even layer, then sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cookie bar is lightly golden brown around the edges and the inside is not super jiggly. It's okay for it to look underbaked, it will continue baking in the pan outside the oven.
- The cookie will deflate as it cools, leaving the edges slightly higher than the middle. While it's still hot, take an offset spatula or back of a spoon and gently press those edges down a little to give it a more even appearance.
- Let cool on a wire rack in the pan for at least 10 minutes (up to 30), then remove from pan to continue cooling. The longer they cool, the easier it will be to get clean slices. But if you can't wait to cut into them, I completely understand! Enjoy!
- Store in an air tight container at room temp.
