Oodles and Oodles of Snickerdoodles!

Just so you know, Pinterest is good for more than wasting time. Although I only tend to spend a bit of time on this addictive electronic bulletin board once or twice a week, I know now how easily that could escalate, especially if you happen to hit the proverbial mother lode of recipes like I did.

First off, I’d like to explain that traditional Snickerdoodles are one of the tastiest cookies ever. Unfortunately, they’re fairly time-consuming to make. Once mixed, the dough has to cool in the fridge for awhile. Then it must be formed into little balls and each of them have to be rolled in a cinnamon-sugar mixture before being placed on the baking sheet. It’s great to do with little kids, a true exercise in patience, and the results are pretty much worth it. But as delicious as these chewy cookies are, I can seldom be bothered to make them.

A couple of weeks ago I was scanning pins on the virtual corkboard: Ooo! That’s cute! Great idea but I’ll never make it. Why didn’t I think of that? Pin it! And then, like a bolt out of the blue — a ray of bright light from the heavens — there it was; a recipe for Snickerdoodles, but made in a large 9 x 13″ baking pan, no painstaking ball-rolling or sugar-dipping required. Let me tell you, that baby got pinned faster than a gamer’s trigger finger on a controller, and because I’m a nice guy, I’m going to share it with you.

First, I got out my trusty red mixer.

Then I checked my laptop, open on the counter, and found the recipe.

SNICKERDOODLE BARS
(From  Dozen Flours)

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons white sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg mixture and beat until well blended.

3. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. (Batter will be very thick.)

4. Mix together white sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over batter. I put this mixture in an empty salt shaker so it sprinkles evenly.

Bake for 25 – 27 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently pressed. Don’t over-bake or squares will be too dry. Remove from oven and let cool slightly on a wire rack. While still warm, cut into squares with a sharp knife.

While the squares are cooling, make yourself a nice pot of tea or coffee then dig in. My personal favourite is a big glass of cold milk, but no matter what you enjoy on the side, these squares won’t last long.

P.S. They freeze really well if you ever happen to have leftovers.