Snickerdoodle squares sit somewhere between a coffee cake and a blonde brownie. Sweet, chewy and crumbly with warm spices and a runny drizzle icing on top, these fulfilling squares go perfectly with coffee or tea or a generous scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Snickerdoodle Squares
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1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
In a small bowl add the ingredients and mix together.
Icing:
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth.
Generously grease a 9 x 9 inch square baking tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
Add the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar to a large bowl. Using a handheld mixer cream them together until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda cream of tartar, Kosher salt, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the buttery egg mixture and mix together until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl, when needed, ensuring all ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix. The batter should be similar in texture to that of a cookies dough.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tin and spread around evenly with an inverted knife or spatula. Make the sugar topping, see recipe above, and sprinkle the top with the cinnamon sugar topping.
Bake in the centre rack of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, a few moist crumbs are fine. Cool on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes before drizzling with icing.
Make icing, see recipe above, and once cooled, drizzle over the top and slice into squares.