If you love snickerdoodle cookies, you’ll want to try these easy snickerdoodle bars. This delicious cinnamon-y treat is ready in just over a half hour!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: They taste just like a snickerdoodle cookie but they’re so much easier to make.
How long it takes: about an hour
Equipment you’ll need: oven, 8 x 8 square baking pan
Servings: 16
Cinnamon sugar coated snickerdoodle cookies are so popular and one of my most requested recipes, along with chewy chocolate chip cookies and ginger sparkles. However, sometimes you just don’t have time to hassle with making cookies.
Bars are a no-fuss way to make cookies. No messing with little dough balls or baking individual sheets of cookies, bars are made in one pan and with only one baking time. Presto, they’re ready!
You’re going to love these easy snickerdoodle bars. Cinnamon sugar goodness is wrapped up in a soft buttery bar. It’s almost like a cinnamon blondie. The yummy bars melt in your mouth with just the right amount of crunch.
Secret ingredient. What’s unique about snickerdoodles is that slightly acidic flavor that comes from adding cream of tartar. Otherwise, they would be just regular sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar. We’ve replicated that flavor in these snickerdoodle bars so you won’t miss the familiar tang. You’ll find it in scrumptious snickerdoodle bread, too.
How To Make Snickerdoodle Bars
Stir up the dough. You can stir the dough up all in one bowl — you won’t need a mixer. Just melt butter, stir in an egg, sugar, and vanilla, and then add the flour, salt, and cream of tartar. Stir until all the ingredients are completely combined.
Put it in a pan and top with cinnamon sugar. Scrape the dough into a pan that you’ve prepared with nonstick spray and parchment paper. Spread it out so it’s in a fairly even layer. Make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it liberally over the top of the bars.
Bake. Pop the pan in a preheated oven, and you’ll have delicious bars in no time. They smell heavenly while they’re baking — they’re almost worth making just for the smell!
Cool and slice. I know how tempting those snickerdoodle bars are when they come out of the oven but resist the temptation to try one for fifteen minutes or so. They really need to cool and firm up a bit before serving.
Make a pot of coffee or tea to enjoy with these buttery cinnamon bars. Or try an iced vanilla latte!
Ingredient Notes
One thing you’ll really like about these bars is that you probably have the ingredients on hand, all waiting to be turned into a delicious treat. As always, you can find the printable recipe at the bottom of this post.
- Wet Ingredients: All you need is butter, egg, and vanilla extract!
- Dry Ingredients: We keep it simple here, too. Grab your all-purpose flour, granulated white sugar, brown sugar, and the ingredient that adds that signature snickerdoodle tang: cream of tartar.
- For the topping: The topping is comprised of additional sugar and lots of ground cinnamon!
Cool bars completely and store in an airtight container for up to one week at room temperature, or in the freezer for up to three months.
More Bar Recipes
Easy Snickerdoodle Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8 x 8-inch baking pan by spraying it lightly with non-stick spray, lining it with parchment paper so that the paper slightly overhangs, and spraying lightly again; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine melted butter, egg, ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, and stir or whisk until smooth.
- Add flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt; stir until just combined.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top; set aside.
- In the same bowl, combine ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the dough.
- Bake 24 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs.
- Place pan on wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes. Lift bars out of pan using parchment paper, and cut into 16 servings.
Notes
- Make a double batch: Double all ingredients and use a 9 x 13 inch pan. Increase cooking time to 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs.
- Bars can be frozen up to 3 months in airtight container.
- Adapted from Averie Cooks.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
The video shows baking powder, but the recipe does not!!!! Please advise!!! (As I write this from just putting them into the oven for a function tomorrow! UGH!)
I apologize, I don’t know how baking powder got left off the recipe. It should be in there, and I added it. I’m so sorry if these didn’t turn out for you!
I noticed that this is the exact same recipe (except with the instructions reworded) as the one posted on Averie Cooks website in 2015. Since you just posted it in 2021, I am going to have to assume that you copied it and did not give her credit. If this is the case, please give her credit for her recipe and link her blog.
Hi Michelle – thank you for bringing this to my attention. I would never intentionally copy another blogger’s recipe and I’m a huge fan of Averie (both personally and professionally). But I looked at these recipes side-by-side and you’re right, they are nearly identical. I also looked at my original recipe notes on my Google document and I don’t see anything noted about adapting the recipe, so I don’t think I copied Averie (I know no one will likely believe me on that, and that’s okay), but out of respect to Averie, I gave her credit and added a link to the recipe.
Thanks again for bringing it to my attention.
Hey Rachel,
I appreciate your response. Snickerdoodle bar recipes are not very common, so perhaps there are just not many variations :) I never like to see bloggers copying each other which is why I mentioned it, but I do believe you when you say that you did not use her recipe (although I do respect the fact that you gave her credit since she did post her recipe first.) I guess great minds think alike! By the way, I did try the recipe and found it delicious! I have made it three times already in the past few months :)
Thank you for the gracious response, I really appreciate it. Mature conversations are becoming more and more rare on the internet so this was very refreshing and encouraging to me as a content creator and as a human. I’m glad you like the bars!
This recipe is easy and fast to put together when needing something sweet in a pinch. I added extra cinnamon hopefully it’s not too much. Thank you for sharing your Snickerdoodle Bar recipe.
So glad you enjoyed them! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!
My grandson and I made this recipe today and it is, hands down, a winner. We definitely will be making this again and I can see it becoming a favorite treat. Simply scrumptious!
So glad to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, it means a lot!
These were excellent! My family loved them.
So glad to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
ooh, my husband loves snickerdoodles–these would be a quick treat to make
They’re so quick and easy!
Hello!
You have my attention! I usually do not make a comment unless I have made the recipe but I cannot help myself! I grew up with these cookies and never thought about making them into a bar. I am looking forward to see how they turn out. Thank you for this recipe!
I hope you love them!