Snickerdoodle Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

These frosted soft and chewy Snickerdoodle bars pair all the yum of the beloved cinnamony Snickerdoodle cookie with the creamy tanginess of cream cheese frosting. And I’m here to tell you, it’s a marriage made in heaven!

Snickerdoodle Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you have any Snickerdoodle lovers in your house, you’ve got to try these tender cake-like bars. Of course, they taste just like Snickerdoodle cookies. But they’re a little easier to make with a little help from your 9 x 13-inch baking dish. And the tangy cream cheese frosting takes them to the next level!

The inspiration for this recipe comes from the frosted Snickerdoodle cookie bar recipe in Shauna Sever’s Midwest Made (if you haven’t checked out this awesome cookbook, you need to!).

I love how these bars stay true to the classic Snickerdoodle cookie recipe by using cream of tartar in the batter. This is what helps give Snickerdoodle cookies their signature chewy texture and delicious tanginess.

But I changed up the frosting because I felt that the original recipe’s buttercream frosting was a tad too sweet for my taste. Instead, I used a cream cheese frosting, which has just a bit of zing to offset the sugary sweetness. Plus, it pairs nicely with the cinnamon.

What to Know About Making These Cookie Bars:

• Use Room Temperature Ingredients: When baking these cookie bars, make sure to use room-temperature butter, eggs, and milk. While skipping this step is tempting, using room-temperature ingredients will help ensure the bars come out super soft and chewy.
• Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is the powdered form of tartaric acid, an organic acid that’s found naturally in many plants and is also formed during the winemaking process. It acts as a leavening agent in baked goods and helps stabilize whipped egg whites. And in this recipe, it is what gives the cookie bars that classic snickerdoodle texture.
• Cool the Bars: Make sure to cool the bars completely before frosting. I get it. It might be hard to stay patient. But if you don’t wait, your frosting will melt.
• Cut the Frosted Bars: To ensure neat and even cuts, use a very sharp knife when cutting the bars. Also, you might want to wipe off any accumulated frosting with a paper towel between each cut.
• Make-Ahead and Storage: Store the frosted bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5. You can also freeze the unfrosted (and uncut) bars for up to 3 months. Just thaw overnight in the fridge, and then bring to room temperature, frost, and cut when ready to serve.
• Helpful Baking Tools: Stand mixer | 9 x 13-inch baking dish

Love cookies and bars? Make sure to try these delicious shortbread brownie bars!

Snickerdoodle Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Description

Easy, chewy snickerdoodle bars with tangy cream cheese frosting!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the Cookie Bars:

• 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (plus extra for sprinkling on top of bars)
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup whole milk

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2–3 tablespoons of milk or cream

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Make the Bars: Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda salt, baking, and cinnamon in a bowl and then set aside.
3. Add the butter to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until creamy. Next, add the sugars and the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Next, beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.
5. Add the milk. And then reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually mix in the flour mixture. Finish by stirring the batter by hand, if needed, to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
6. Spread the cookie bar batter in the prepared pan and then smooth the top. Bake until the top is beginning to turn golden, about 25-30 minutes.
7. Rotate the pan 180 degrees, and while doing so, rap the baking dish on the oven rack until the bars deflate. Bake until the bars have started to pull away from the sides of the pan and a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out clean, about 5 minutes. The bars will still look/feel soft and may have a few of those signature snickerdoodle cracks on top. That’s OK.
8. Place the baking pan on a cooling rack and let the bars cool completely before frosting.
9. Make the Frosting: While the bars are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. Add the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat well. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and salt and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
10. Assemble the Bars: Once the cookie bars are cooled, spread the frosting in an even layer over the snickerdoodle bars using an offset spatula. Sprinkle very lightly with cinnamon and cut into 24 squares.