Even better than the cookies, these Snickerdoodle Blondies are buttery, soft, and have that classic signature snickerdoodle tang! These cinnamon-sugar coated blondies may be the best way to eat Snickerdoodles yet. Recipe includes a how-to video!
This snickerdoodle blondie recipe is actually one of the first recipes I ever shared on the blog (scroll down to the bottom of the page for a link to the original so you can have a good laugh at my early photography attempts). It’s one of my favorites, too. An easy-breezy recipe that can be mixed up (without a mixer!) in less than 15 minutes and finished baking in under 30.
This recipe is the perfect marriage of my classic, buttery snickerdoodle cookies (only without the bother of dough-chilling or scooping) and my chewy blondie recipe. Subtly tangy, topped off with a generous shower of cinnamon and sugar, a tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie crumb, I think you’re going to love these.
What Makes these Snickerdoodle Bars So Good…
Most of the ingredients we’re using are pretty standard ones you’ll be familiar with if you’ve made any of my other bar or cookie recipes. However, there are a two ingredients that are especially key here for the best snickerdoodle blondies.
Butter
No shortening, which so many old-fashioned cookie recipes use. We’re also melting our butter, which not only makes it easy to stir our batter together by hand (no mixer required), but also makes these snickerdoodle blondies especially soft and chewy and infuses every molecule with buttery flavor. As with many of my recipes, I opt to use unsalted butter and add salt so that we have full control over the flavor.
Cream of tartar
This is a big one. One of the questions I get asked most often about this recipe is “I don’t have cream of tartar, can I leave it out?”, to which I always say no, not really.
Technically you could leave it out and these bars would still turn out… They’d still have the same texture, softness and chewiness. Since we’re not baking cookies and our batter is contained in a baking pan, we don’t really need to worry about the chemical/leavening role that this ingredient typically plays in snickerdoodle cookies. However, not everything in baking is always about chemistry. The important role that the cream of tartar plays here is for taste. This ingredient provides a signature tang that makes these taste like actual snickerdoodles and not just sugar cookie bars. If you leave it out, you miss out on that classic flavor.
Then, of course, it goes without saying that a heavy topping of cinnamon and sugar is in order 👆🏻
Tips
- We’re using melted butter, but make sure to let it cool before you add your sugar to it. Butter that is too hot will melt your sugar, and you could end up with a greasy dough that doesn’t bake properly in the oven.
- I use a metal baking dish, a glass one would be fine but the bars may need to bake for longer.
- Snickerdoodle blondies should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. They’ll stay fresh for at least 3 days.
- And, again, don’t leave out the cream of tartar (see notes above!).
Today’s recipe is really so simple to make that I don’t have much else to say here!
Enjoy!
More Bar Recipes to Try:
- Copycat Cosmic Brownies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Homemade Brownies
- Peanut Butter Blondies
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
Let’s bake together! Head on over to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 200 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Snickerdoodle Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled until no longer warm to the touch (227g)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 2 Tablespoon milk (30ml)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (345g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Topping
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
- Grease and flour (or line with parchment paper) a 13x9 pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, and milk. Stir well.
- Add in eggs and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt.
- Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until combined.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared 13x9 pan and prepare topping.
Topping
- In a small bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over snickerdoodle blondie batter.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 25-28 minutes or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with moist crumbs (not wet batter).
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
*This recipe was originally published in May of 2014 and has been updated to add more notes, a step-by-step video, a splash of vanilla extract, and new photos. Feel free to entertain yourself with some examples of my early photography from the original post.
Bruce
The first two times I made these, the edges, and especially the corners, were chewy to the point of being tough. I finally figured out that I had overbaked them. Be sure to take these out as soon as there is no wet dough on the toothpick. They are very soft when hot, so don’t let that scare you. They cool to a perfect firmness, with deliciously chewy edges and corners. They freeze very well, too.
Amy
I could never count how many times I’ve made these bars. I have snickerdoodle obsessed nieces and nephews and sometimes I just don’t have time to make a batch of cookies. These come together so quickly, and are so yummy. I personally prefer them to the cookie version! And more importantly they are well received by the family!
T
I was invited to a cute baked goods potluck and was thinking about trying a new recipe. I love brownies but have always wanted to try blondies but a bit different, I thought of blondies and sugar cookies then landed on snickerdoodles and wondered had anyone done this before and found your recipe! I cannot wait to try it out, I also wondered if adding just a bit of vanilla pudding mix would take things even further!
Sam
I’m not sure how adding pudding mix would go here. I haven’t tried it. If you do try it, let me know how it goes. I hope everyone loves them! 🙂
T
They came out GREAT, I’m actually making these again this weekend and will be playing with the recipe to add kremas!
Tiffany Daumueller
I haven’t looked through the comments so you may already have had someone post this, but just in case it doesn’t, I thought I’d write in. Half of our family needs to be gluten free/dairy free because of dietary restrictions and these cook beautifully with GF flour and oil. We have used olive and coconut oil. We have made these bars at least 20 times for different events over the years. I will say we have to cook them for 40 minutes rather than the prescribed 25. Maybe it’s due to elevation??? We’ve also made them with regular wheat flour and oil but I haven’t tasted them since I have celiac, but my husband loves them. Thank you for this recipe. We made them for a school event and was asked for the recipe again, so while I was coming to print that out, I figured I better send some accolades your way. Thanks Sam!!!
Sharon J
Made these with browned butter and half brown sugar, plus a little nutmeg in the cinnamon sugar on top. Amazing!
Bruce
I just learned something about these wonderful blondies. They freeze very well. Because they’re so thick, you can’t eat them frozen (unless you have the jaws of a crocodile), but they thaw in just a few minutes at room temperature.
Sam
🤣 That sounds like a challenge! 🙂
Bruce
I’m amazed that I haven’t reviewed these yet. I think I commented on them with the shickerdoodle cookiesand/or the snickerdoodle scones, bot of which are excellent. These, however, are the best, just because they’re so easy to make and hit all the snickerdoodle notes. I hate making cookies to begin with, because you’re tied to the oven for so long, and cookies that have to be rolled in something are even worse. Sandwich cookies are the absolute worse, because they have all the work, and you only get half as many cookies, because of pairing them up. For this wonderful recipe, I melt the butter in my large Pyrex measuring cup, then use that as my mixing bowl, allowing a good amount of time for the butter to cool enough. These things are chewy, sweet, cinnamony, and plentiful. I recommend cutting them small, because they’re thick and dense, and the flavor is intense.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the review, Bruce! We’re so happy you love the blondies. They are certainly a nice alternative to making cookies! 😊
Sue
We made these last night & they were absolutely incredible!! Super quick & easy with ingredients we had on hand & oh so ooey gooey! We can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That’s great to hear, Sue! Hopefully you love everything else just as much ❤️
Candace
I have always dreaded making snickerdoodle cookies, simply because of how thin and dry they turn out. But holy cow, this recipe has given me a new love for them!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy our recipe changed your mind! Thanks for coming back to leave a review, Candace 😊
Bruce
Candace, you need to make Sam’s snickerdoodle cookies, too, because they definitely aren’t thin and dry. I prefer these blondies just because they’re so quick and easy to make. Either choice (and her snickerdoodle scones) is the right choice.
Carol
Delicious. I added 1 tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients, otherwise I followed your recipe. Thank you for sharing this easy snickerdoodle bar recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you liked them, Carol! Enjoy 😊
Garet
I made these for the office on Thursday and wanted to leave a review. These were incredibly well-received with one friend telling me this is her favorite baked good out of all of the ones I brought in.
The bars are soft, and they have a nice balance. A lot of the desserts are simply too sweet for some of my teammates, and they thought this struck a nice balance. I went with a slightly more generous amount of salt only because, well, a pinch is subjective, and I am 6’2″ so my pinch is a lot bigger than my mom’s. 🙂
It took a bit for my butter to cool so it no longer felt warm. I microwaved it to melt it in a pyrex measuring cup, and I’m sure the pyrex maintained the heat longer than if I had used something else.
I’ll definitely be saving this for future use, and I might just replace snickerdoodle cookies in my Holiday care packages with these blondies as I suspect they’ll keep/ship better.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Garet! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. 🙂
Lisa
I absolutely love these. The only down side, and it’s a small down side, is how hard they are to spread in the pan so they don’t bake evenly. I will still make and devour them. This is also one of the treats I make that my homeless friends request. Thanks for sharing.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Lisa! They can be a bit tough to spread, but it’s soooo worth it. 🙂
Kristen
I find that if if you drop the dough in bits around the pan rather than trying to spread it all in one big lump it’s easier to get even.
Angie carey
If you wet your hands and press the batter around wetting them again as you spread it works alot easier than a spoon or spatula
Lindsay
Wow!! These are so good. My whole family loved them. We just finished off a pan and I am tempted to immediately whip up another batch.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That is so nice to hear, Lindsay! We’re so happy they were such a hit for you. 🙂
Becca
so easy and had all of the ingredients on hand
Laura
These are an absolute crowd pleaser. Even folks who claim not to like snickerdoodles love them. I add cinnamon to the batter & cut the sugar if I’m in that mood. Fool proof, thanks.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy to hear that, Laura! Thanks so much for trying our recipe and coming back to leave a review 😊