Snickerdoodle Bars

There is just something about a good snickerdoodle cookie.  The cinnamon sugar, the soft chewy texture, and that tang of cream of tartar.  Snickerdoodles are one cookie my mom made fairly often when I was growing up--they were a fairly easy treat that everyone liked.  I love, love the smell of them baking.  I can honestly say that they are not my favorite cookie (can you say chocolate?!), but they are one that when I want one, I HAVE to have one!


Unfortunately for the defenseless snickerdoodles, I can be a lazy baker.  Yes, I'll happily roll out dozens of sugar cookies and painstakingly apply 5 colors of royal icing, but I hate, hate, hate rolling dough into tiny balls (disclaimer:  oreo truffles are excluded from this generalization).  There is just nothing worse than rolling, dipping, rolling, dipping, wash your hands off because the dough is beginning to stick, rolling, dipping... (can you get my drift without me repeating this 3 dozen times?).  Enter the snickerdoodle bar.  Mix your dough, spread your dough, sprinkle, and enjoy.  Tres simple, no?  I've found a few recipes for snickerdoodle bars that are okay, but I finally had to combine about 4 and tweak to get that perfect chewy, tangy, spicey taste.  I used a Large Bar Pan from Pampered Chef (Large Bar Pan), but any jelly roll pan would work (Wilton Jelly Roll Air Pan).  You could also use 3/4 the ingredients and bake in a 9x13 dish.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Snickerdoodle Bars
2 cups brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

3 sticks butter at room temperature

3 eggs at room temperature

2 Tbs. vanilla

4 cups Flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt


Preheat your oven to 350° and brush your pan lightly with vegetable oil (grease normally for a jelly roll pan).  Using an electric mixer (or strong arms) beat your butter and sugars until completely combined and it's slightly fluffy.  Add in the eggs one at a time.  Beat in the vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, and add into the butter mixture.  Spread into the pan and top with Cinnamon/sugar (recipe below).  Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely and cut into squares.  


Cinnamon Sugar
3 Tbs. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon

What's cooking with you today??

Cookies for Marines

Well, cookies for one special Marine.  R was one of two best (truly) men at my wedding.  He was a college friend of my husband's (and mine), so I was fairly certain of the stories he could tell during a wedding toast.  *Not that I (or hubby) did any drinking or misbehaving at all in college.*  Leading up to the big day, he was away for training after completing ROTC training in college, so we didn't get to see him until our rehearsal.  I was still biting my nails about what they would say during their toast, but didn't want be 'that' bride that told people what to do.  Turns out, I completely wasted all of my worry.  R and the other best man gave the most wonderful toast I've ever heard.  They painted us as better people then we deserved, and made a few witty jokes to boot.  There was hardly a dry eye in the house (those that weren't crying obviously were made of granite), and I realized how lucky my husband and I are to have such gracious and loving friends.  I figured when R shipped out to Afghanistan, he deserved better than my 'regular' chocolate chip cookies, and so my journey into the addictive world of sugar cookies began.  

One of my first attempts at a rolled sugar cookie with royal icing.  After a little research, I discovered that a lot of cookies arrive to our military men and woman completely broken and stale, but the royal icing sugar cookie can usually hold up to the extreme temperatures and the long amount of time it takes boxes to arrive.  I decided to go just a little bit crazy with the blue and green and my husband thought I was insane with the writing on the cookies. 

R is a helicopter pilot in the USMC, so I also attempted a free hand helicopter.  Yes, the design could have easily been created by a 3rd grader, but it got the message across--and hey, people, it was my first time!

All in all though, I was really happy with the result, a simple, delicious cookie.  I have to credit Bridget from Bake @ 350 for the awesome cookie recipe, I haven't found one better yet!  Check out the recipe here:  http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2008/04/taste-of-yellow-yellow-rose-sugar.html (I'm a huge blog stalker, I visit about 1,000 per day but only leave a comment about 1 in every 100 visits--don't be like me--say hi!).  I'll tell you more about my royal icing recipe next time!!  What's cooking with you today??

Hi!

Welcome to my brand new blog! Soon I'll be posting recipes and little stories to entertain myself. Hope to see you back!