I love cookies of all kinds but I have a soft spot for snickerdoodles cookies.
However, it’s faster to make bars than it is to make cookies.
As I always say with bars, they are wham-bam-slap-it-in-a-pan whereas cookies require individual loving and more one-on-one attention.
And the frosting on top makes me extra happy.
I do like sugar cookies but I like snickerdoodle cookies more so I tweaked the ingredients and reduced the yield to an 8 x 8 pan because I didn’t “need” a 13 x 18 pan of bars.
I knew this post was going to be revealed on the day before Valentine’s Day, so I made pink vanilla cream cheese frosting, sprinkled the bars with red sanding sugar, and added red, white, and pink candy bits.
I hope Cupid approves.
These bars are like snickerdoodle cookies, but in bar form.
The cinnamon and sugar and the vanilla undertones tickled my snickerdoodle fancy.
The texture is soft and chewy, like a deep dish cookie.
The frosting is vanilla-infused, and has a little bit of a tang from the cream cheese, balancing the sweetness.
And everything tastes better when it’s pink and has candy bits and sprinkles on top.
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Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars with Pink Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Pink Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 ½ + cups powdered sugar
- splash of milk or water, if needed
- pink food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Bars – Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a 8×8 or 9×9-inch pan by lining it with foil and then spraying it with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and mix until combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. The batter will be very thick and sticky, like cookie dough. Use your hands if necessary to spread it evenly. Bake at 375F for 19 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out clean. While the bars are baking, prepare the frosting.
- Pink Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting – In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter and cream cheese until combined and it begins to fluff. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar (one-half cup at a time after 3 cups) and mix until desired frosting consistency is reached. I like very thick frosting and used 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar with a splash of half and half. Carefully add the food coloring, one drop at a time, until desired color is reached. After the bars have cooled, frost them. Optionally, garnish with sprinkles, candy bits, sanding sugar, or any optional garnish of your choice. Consider storing the bars in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese and butter in the frosting; the bars freeze well and will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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If you prefer Snickerdoodle cookies in cookie form, try these White Chocolate Snickerdoodles that are dead ringers for the Mrs. Field’s Snickerdoodles I used to eat in the food court at the mall in high school.
And if you haven’t already completed your Valentine’s Day baking (or springtime, baby-shower, bridal shower, Easter, or girlie birthday party baking needs), there’s:
Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies with PB Cups & PB M&M’s
Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies (No-Bake, Vegan, GF)
Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
And here’s a Valentine’s Day Roundup post with Food, Kitchen items, and shoes
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I love the bars instead of cookies idea, I think I am just going to quit making cookies and go bars all the way!!! I am eternally busy and any way I can save time is a great thing. These look fantastic, I was the snickerdoodle queen in high school, haha, my home economics teacher used to pull me out of class (like science and math yay!!) to make my famous snickerdoodles :)
cute story about your econ teacher and yes, cookies are great but bars are so much faster!
These look so pretty..too good to eat!
love this and LOVE your comment over on cr…thanks for such PERFECT looking treats averie!
I’m guessing CR meaning Gena’s site? But anyhoo…just checked your site, great lookin’hummus!
I had to laugh when I saw that you wrote that you don’t ~need~ a 13 x 18 pan of these :) They look so cute (I’m a sucker for pink baked goods). Let’s see whether I can get my act together and make a gluten-free version tonight! And how cute are those Toms?
9 x 11 or 9 x 13 is my max size these days, so 13 x 18 was out of the question! I like VARIETY in my desserts :)
Fabulous recipe and great pics, the colors are so pretty! I haven’t made anything for vday yet, but will hopefully change that tonight. :-)
What a gorgeous bar for V-day!
I felt bad for Aubrey when we were first dating because he had no idea what to buy me for Valentine’s Day. I don’t get a whole bunch of candy or flowers and I don’t really wear jewelry. Thankfully, he now knows we just need to spend the day together, doing nothing particular at all.
What a great Valetine’s day recipe! I love cookies, but I love cookie bars even more!
Oh wow, what a dessert! You’ve taken one of my favorite cookies and made it even better, Averie! So glad to have found you through your gorgeous guest post on Marla’s blog. Thanks for sharing and happy Valentine’s day!
Your pink desserts are making me very excited for Valentine’s day :-)
I love these, Averie!
I love all your festive treats! Now I just have to decide which ones to make!
Thanks, Cara!
Another amazing dessert created by Averie. Love all your creativity and Skyler must love how everything you make is pink! A little girl’s dream :)
My hubby and I have never been big Valentines Day celebrators. We call it the “Hallmark Holiday.” I do make sure i have a box of candy and a little something on the side for the kids, since Valentines Day means a lot to them. I will be picking up their cupcakes from my favorite bakery tomorrow (so sad) since I have no time to bake this week. I wish you lived closer by so I could grab some treats from your house :)
I will be making dinner though, so that makes up for store bought cupcakes, I guess :)
Happy Valentines Day Averie.
I wish you lived closer, too. Trust me, I have plenty of extras on hand that I’d love to share!
I am making these the MOMENT I get a chance. I love everything about it, the texture looks so dreamy!
I was looking at your recent oatmeal cookie recipe and realized that shy of 1/4 cup of oats and 1/4 + 2 tbsp PB vs. 1/3 c, our recipes are pretty much..the same!
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/10/peanut-butter-oatmeal-white-chocolate-cookies.html
We both tweaked the Cooks Illustrated recipe and came up with PB and oatmeal cookies…I put white choc in mine and you put the candies in yours, but the base is nearly identical. Great minds think alike :)
Oh that’s funny! I adore that recipe!
ohhh decadent! snickerdoodles are a great choice, and the pink frosting is obviously the cutest thing. Happy V day! I won’t be doing anything super special except hanging with friends, maybe indulging in a pint of ben and jerrys ;) only half kidding.
enjoy your B & Js. Sounds a lot easier and cheaper than a big fancy restaurant meal out. And probably much more enjoyable :)
Would you even believe me if I said I’ve never had a snickerdoodle? Sad but true. These look a million times better than the cookie version though! And love that pink frosting!
You need to start compiling this stuff…
Never had a snickerdoodle
Never made muffins til like 2 weeks ago.
And a few others you told me but I’ve forgotten but considering how much you bake, I am floored by some of your factoids!