One of the most American of cookies is the Snickerdoodle, sweet buttery balls of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar. Get to the eating all the quicker with this delicious Snickerdoodle Bars recipe. These easy Snickerdoodle Bars taste just as good as the classic without the work!
Serve these Snickerdoodle Bars alongside other Nut-free Cookies for a fun dessert that everyone can enjoy or as part of a Dessert Charcuterie Board.
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Sometimes happy accidents occur. I never set out to create a Snickerdoodle cookie bars recipe; it just happened…
…when I forgot to add milk to my Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake. Oops! The result, however, was worth repeating. These Snickerdoodle Bars cookies are a fantastic addition to your cookie plate, right next to the classic Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Why Make This Recipe
It’s easy. If you love snickerdoodle cookies, but don’t want to spend the time rolling each dough ball in cinnamon sugar, take the short cut by baking the dough into bars, crowned with a cinnamon sugar topping.
It’s delicious! I love chocolate chip cookies as much as anyone, but sometimes the occasion calls for a snickerdoodle. This recipe is a quick and easy way to suit that occasion.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these Snickerdoodle Bars.
For the dough
granulated sugar – You can also use brown sugar, if that’s what you have, but white sugar is good for this.
neutral oil – I like to use avocado oil in baking, but you can also use vegetable, sunflower, or canola oils or even melted butter.
egg – You just need one egg for these Snickerdoodle Bars. You can also use flaxseed egg substitute if you’ve run out of eggs.
vanilla extract – The cheapest vanilla extract is homemade. Try it sometime to see how it pencils out for you
unbleached, all-purpose flour – You can also use regular, all-purpose flour as well as whole wheat pastry flour, or even a gluten-free baking mix. If you use the latter, you may want to dial down the sugar just a tad. These Snickerdoodle Bars are fairly sweet.
leavening – You’ll need both baking powder and salt. Remember you can use a baking substitution for the baking powder if needed. Unlike traditional Snickerdoodles, you won’t need cream of tartar.
spices – You’ll need both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Or you can substitute pumpkin pie or apple pie spice.
For the cinnamon sugar topping
You’ll need more flour and cinnamon as well as
light brown sugar – Remember you can make brown sugar in case you run out.
melted butter – This adds a nice buttery crunch to the topping.
Variations:
- For deluxe Snickerdoodle Bars: top the bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.
- For vegan bars: use plant-based oil and butter as well as the flaxseed meal egg substitute.
- For gluten-free bars: use a gluten-free baking mix, like Bob’s Red Mill, and dial down the sugar by a few tablespoons.
Step-by-Step Instructions
These Snickerdoodle Bars are super simple to make!
Preheat the oven to 350 °. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Mix in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend just until mixed.
In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients.
Spread into the prepared pan. The dough will be fairly thick and appear a little greasy. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping over the batter.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp. Allow the dish to set for about 10 minutes before removing the entire piece, holding onto the edges of the parchment, and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely.
Slice into squares and serve. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
To freeze: Layer the squares between pieces of parchment in an airtight container or wrap each individually in plastic wrap and place in a ziptop freezer bag.
FAQs
According to the Food Lover’s Companion, a snickerdoodle is a crackly-surfaced cookie that contains nutmeg and cinnamon as well as raisins and nuts. They are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before being baked.
It’s a cinnamon cookie at the heart. While there are other ingredients that add to its flavor, cinnamon reigns in these cookies.
Bar cookies are great for freezing. Bake, cool completely on a wire rack, and then cut into squares. You can layer the squares between pieces of parchment in an airtight container or wrap each individually in plastic wrap and place in a ziptop freezer bag.
More Cooke Recipes
Easy Snickerdoodle Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup neutral oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Topping:
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoon unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Mix in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend just until mixed. Spread into the prepared pan. The dough will be fairly thick and appear a little greasy.
- In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle them over the batter.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp. Allow the dish to set for about 10 minutes before removing the entire piece, holding onto the edges of the parchment, and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice into squares and serve. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
Variations:
- For deluxe Snickerdoodle Bars: top the bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.
- For vegan bars: use plant-based oil and butter as well as the flaxseed meal egg substitute.
- For gluten-free bars: use a gluten-free baking mix, like Bob’s Red Mill, and dial down the sugar by a few tablespoons.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on February 02, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Molly
Two enthusiastic thumbs up for these from my people. And WAY easier than rolling all those single snickerdoodle cookies in cinnamon sugar.
I do like that I can adjust the quantity with a slider because today I needed to double the recipe, so thank you for that feature.
Anthony Polizzi
Curiously the ratio of ingredients for the topping resulted in a thick paste. I’d use a lot less melted butter next time
Jessica Fisher
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, Anthony. Thanks for your feedback!
Karen
I made these last weekend for a family gathering that I didn’t have time to cook for. I used a spice blend (“cake spice” from Penzey’s) instead of straight up cinnamon. Delicious! Tasted just like a spice cake coffee cake. Will definitely make these again!
Jessica Fisher
So glad you liked them!
Cathy @ Chief Family Officer
Jessica, just wanted to let you know that I make these regularly, and in fact, made it today for breakfast tomorrow … so it was a very happy accident, indeed!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! How fun! I love to hear success stories!
Mamawolfe
My kids love snicker doodles…just made these and they couldn’t have been easier!
Shirlene
I just made these and they are not only easy but super yummy! I am going to share most of them with the staff at my son’s school (small christian school). I know they will enjoy them as much as I have this morning. Thank you for sharing!!!
Carla
Made this again this week, leaving the nutmeg out due to personal preference, and scrounging around for enough cinnamon. I cut the oil down to 1/4 cup and used unsweetened applesauce for the remainder. Tastes great! Just saw you have a whole wheat cookie so going to look at that. One tweak at a time. 😉
Jessica
@Carla, sounds great!
KalynBrooke | Creative Savings
I love when you can reuse a mistake and it doesn’t end up in the garbage!
JessieLeigh
Oh, so good! A bit sad that I baked this pan for the First Communion kids tomorrow. 😉 May have to make another batch…
Carla
Pulled some of these out of the oven tonight right before our power went off. By the time dessert came around we were cutting it via flashlight but no one complained. Never made snickerdoodles with nutmeg before but could still “get” the taste. Will probably opt to leave the nutmeg out and double the cinnamon next time. Other than that, enjoyed by all. My 14yo son did try to convince me to drizzle a glaze on it. I just scrunched my face. He came in the dark later to get his piece. “I guess we aren’t doing the glaze tonight.” (after 3 hours in the dark, no). I’ll let him make them next time and he can glaze them all he wants, just without nutmeg! 😉
Jessica
@Carla, I totally understand. Sometimes nutmeg hits me wrong, too.
Sheila @ Seasoned Joy
My husband loves snickerdoodles & I don’t really like them. I certainly don’t like them enough to want to deal with rolling them. These sound like a perfect way to keep both of us happy. I’m going to make a batch for his fantasy baseball draft Saturday as a alternative for anyone who doesn’t like brownies. Thanks for sharing them!
The Homemade Renegade
Thanks for this great idea! Snickerdoodles are my fav, so I’m excited to try this one. I just pinned it 😉
Krista
Amanda
Made these yesterday, as it was a rainy, chilly Sunday – seemed like a good opportunity to bake something. 😉 These were so yummy and a perfect afternoon snack!
Jessica
@Amanda, so glad that you liked them.
Sarah @ Feed My Family
I made these yesterday for our Super Bowl gathering. They “needed” to be tested last night and I think they turned out great!
Jessica
So glad you enjoyed them! We just pulled a pan out of the oven ourselves.
claire
I am super excited to try this. Maybe I will have time this afternoon to make it, hope so! Thank you for the yummies.
becca
I did this to my snicker doodle recipe in an effort to eliminate margarine I replaced it with oil, similar recipe, and its become a family fave!
Stacy
I wonder if that is what happened. The girls and I made the coffeecake last weekend and for some reason I just could not get it to cook all the way. It flattened out and the center never really finished (even after more time in the oven). I still ate it and it was delish but would have been over the top if I did it correctly. Maybe I missed a step. Will be trying the cookies too!!
Jessica
@Stacy, my apologies if you used one of the uncorrected versions! The cookie and the coffeecake are both good to go now. 🙂
Sandi
My son loves those cookies, but they are tiresome to make. This sounds like a perfect dish to make for Super Bowl munchies this weekend. It will help ease his disgruntled opinion about being forced to watch football. 🙂
Jessica
@Sandi, they are tiresome to make! Hope you enjoy!
Jennifer
Ha! that’s funny! I just pulled a double batch of the coffee cake out of the oven. I’m gonna flash freezer and bag individual squares for quick breakfasts. I love this snickerdoodle idea!
Deborah Jennings
Yummm! These look and sound delicious! I can’t wait to try them when the kids come next.