This weekend I was really jonesing for some snickerdoodles, but it was a hot day and I didn’t want to warm up the house with too many batches of cookies in and out of the oven. So what’s a girl to do?
In this case… I went from making snickerdoodles to making snickerdoodle bars. One batch of dough. One pan. A whole tray of decadent, tender, cinnamon sprinkled cookie bars. I really like using E-Z Gel in cookie bars because it helps create tenderness and an even cook. It also helps the bars to stay good for longer and take to freezing. If I had any complaints with this recipe I didn’t put enough cinnamon in the cinnamon sugar topping. Next time I’m going to double that up. As well you may notice some red sprinkles on top. We had a few sprinkles and my five year old wanted them, so…why not? They’re just sugar and a little bit of color!
This recipe is also really good with about a half cup of white chocolate chips stirred in, or melted and drizzled across the top. Yummy.
Snickerdoodle bars with E-Z Gel
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 Tablespoons E-Z Gel
2 Tablespoons water
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9×13 inch pan with pan spray.
Combine butter, E-Z Gel, water and sugars and mix until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and mix into creamed mixture.
Pour batter out into prepared pan and use a rubber scraper to smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with mixed topping.
Bake for 25 minutes until tender and golden brown on the edges. Remove from oven and cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.
This recipe is great for freezing, or you can omit the topping and use it for the base for a fruit pizza.