School is in full-swing and so are all the extracurriculars and evening activities. A couple weeks ago we had a parent night to welcome everyone back to school. I got to the food sign-up early, so there was still an open slot for dessert. I took it right away without thinking twice. Ever health-conscious food blogger with a sweet tooth knows to never pass up an opportunity to bake and share. I said I would bring brownies because that was a generic way of saying something shareable in a pan. My contribution ended up being snickerdoodle bars.

Bar cookies are great because there’s no shaping or rolling required and  you can cut them smaller, so they go farther when feeding a crowd. I could devour a plate of snickerdoodles anytime of the year, but everything with cinnamon just tastes even better during fall. Not only did these bars have cinnamon crumbs on tops, but there also was a layer of cinnamon sugar going right through the center. The recipe says it makes 16 bars, but I ended up cutting them into 32 rectangles, so they were easier for everyone to nibble on as they chatted and caught up with each other.

Snickerdoodle Bars
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living October 2017

Makes 16 bars

Butter for greasing pan

For topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

For cinnamon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For bars
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper.

For the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Use a fork to cut in the butter until the mixture resembles pea-sized clumps. Chill in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and granulated sugar.

For the bars, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and both sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Spread half the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar. Spread the remaining batter into the pan. Scatter the topping in an even layer and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and cutting into bars. Store in an airtight container.

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