Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars

I prefer my snickerdoodles thick and soft, which is exactly what I wanted to achieve with these snickerdoodle bars. With a combination of cream of tartar, cornstarch, and baking powder, these cookie bars yield that signature fluffy snickerdoodle texture. And of course, they are topped with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar! By baking them in a square pan, it takes some of the effort away as you won't need to shape each cookie and roll into cinnamon sugar. So these cookie bars really do check all of the boxes - thick, soft, fluffy, and minimal effort.

If you're on a snickerdoodle kick, try these Brown Butter Snickerdoodles, or my favorite Pumpkin Snickerdoodles! For more cookie bar recipes, try Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars and Monster Cookie Bars.

Ingredient Notes

• Flour: Use a high quality unbleached all-purpose flour.
• Cream of Tartar: This leavener is key to making snickerdoodles, even in bar form. It makes them perfectly soft and fluffy, and adds a slight tangy taste!
• Unsalted Butter: Use a European-style butter, like Kerrygold, for best flavor.
• Oil: A touch of neutral oil makes these cookie bars melt-in-your-mouth soft.
• Granulated Sugar: You'll need sugar for both the dough and the topping. 
• Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm water. 
• Vanilla Extract: In any cookie recipe, vanilla is essential!
• Cinnamon: For the signature cinnamon-sugar coating.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this snickerdoodle cookie bar recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine together the flour, cream of tartar, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

STEP 2: Cream butter & sugar. In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar and use an electric hand mixer to cream for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy.

SETP 3: Finish the dough. Add the oil, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully combined. Lastly, add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.

STEP 4: Chill, then bake. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and use plastic wrap to press the dough out into an even layer. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top in an even layer. Bake the cookie bars for about 25 minutes or until the edges are evenly golden.

Expert Baking Tips

• Use plastic wrap to press dough into even layer. This is an easy, no mess way of pressing a soft dough into an even layer. After the dough has chilled it can be pulled away easily.
• Chill the cookie dough. To prevent the cinnamon sugar topping from melting into the dough as it bakes, chill the dough for about 20-30 minutes first.
• Underbake the cookie bars slightly. To achieve soft, fluffy cookie bars, we want to underbake them slightly. I found that 25 minutes was the perfect amount of time.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x