These Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars are a delightful dessert mashup of the classic cookie and pumpkin spice bars. Baked in a 13×9 pan, this recipe makes plenty for sharing!
This Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bar recipe is a fusion of everything I love about fall baking. It takes the classic snickerdoodle cookie, famous for its cinnamon-sugar goodness, and turns it into a quick(er) baking project with an autumn makeover. Pumpkin puree in the batter gives the bars a beautiful golden interior. Pumpkin spice added to crunchy cinnamon-sugar topping adds an extra layer of warmth and flavor. A batch comes together quickly and is baked in a 13×9 inch pan, which means there will be plenty to go around!
Make the pumpkin batter.
This is such an easy batter to whip up. Start with an entire cup of melted butter, both white and brown sugars, pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add ground cinnamon and pumpkin spice and blend well. Add in a little fine grain salt to balance out the flavors.
Mix in the flour and leaven.
Next, add flour, cream of tartar, and baking powder. Mix it all up just until the batter is consistent. (I’m not even sure step photos were necessary for this, because it’s SUCH a simple recipe!)
The finished batter should be fairly thick. I used a hand mixer, but you could easily mix this together by hand with just a spatula.
Top with sugar and spice mixture.
The cinnamon-sugar and pumpkin spice mixture is crucial to the snickerdoodle appeal of this dessert. It creates that wonderful crunchy top. Cover the entire surface with the mixture – it will seem like too much sugar, but it bakes up just right.
You can serve these directly from the baking pan, or plate them if you’re having a special dinner.
These Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars are cakey inside, but deserve to be called bars because of their tight crumb. The interior is soft and the cinnamon-sugar crunch on top is so addictive! Serve them warm with coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up. They keep well stored in an airtight container.
Related recipe: Pecan Praline Pumpkin Torte
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars
Equipment
- 13×9 inch baking pan
Ingredients
Cinnamon-spice sugar coating
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin snickerdoodle batter
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or other fine grain salt
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
Cinnamon-spice sugar coating
- Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl.
- Whisk until the ingredients are well combined; set aside.
Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Coat a 13×9 inch baking pan with flour-based baking spray, or mist it with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper that overhangs two sides of the pan. Lightly coat the paper with cooking spray.
- Place the melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix together using a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk.
- Add the pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix again until well blended.
- Next, add the flour, cream of tartar, and baking powder. Mix until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with all of the cinnamon-spice sugar mixture. Use a spatula or your hand to lightly tamp the sugar down.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick tester inserted near the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached. The sugar coating will create a crunchy crust, along with some loose granules shifting around on top when the pan is moved. This is normal.
- Cool in the pan 30 minutes to serve warm, or cool completely for about 1 hour. Serve bars from the pan or transfer squares to a platter (try to keep as much loose sugar on the bars as possible). If using the parchment liner, lift the entire sheet of pumpkin bars from the pan using the overhanging parchment, then cut into squares.
- Serve slices warm or at room temperature. Squares reheat well in the microwave for 20 seconds. Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
