Easy Snickerdoodle Bars Recipe (with Video)

Make the snickerdoodle cookie dough:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Lightly grease and line an 8"x8" baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 ¼ tsp cream of tartar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt.
3. In a large bowl (can also use bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment), whisk the 1 cup melted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and ¼ cup brown sugar until combined. Scrape bottom of bowl.
4. Add ONE egg and mix until smooth. Add second egg and 1 tbsp vanilla. Mix again until smooth. (Adding one egg at a time helps the mixture come together to the right consistency more seamlessly. Otherwise, the mixture may separate and be a gloopy mess. If you added both at the same time, mix until smooth as much as possible. The cookie dough should still come together once you add the dry ingredients.)
5. Dump in all of the dry ingredients and use silicone spatula to mix until no dry spots remain.
Bake bars:
1. Use a large cookie scoop or dump all of the snickerdoodle dough onto lined baking pan. Press down the dough into a flat layer using your spatula.
2. In your small bowl, mix ¼ cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon until combined. Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the cookie cough.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
4. Let completely cool on pan, about 1-2 hours. Remove from baking tray.
Decorate (optional):
1. Note: You can a piping bag, toothpick, or cookie scribe to add on the details. I used piping bags. For these next steps, I only used 2 mixing bowls to limit dishes. I start off with the lighter colors first, then move to darker ones.
2. In your small mixing bowl, add 4 tbsp powdered sugar. Add ¼ tsp of water at a time, mixing with a small silicone spatula or spoon until you get a pipeable consistency. You may need up to 2 ½ tsp of water. If it's too liquidy, add more powdered sugar. If it's too stiff, add more water.
3. Transfer ~1 tsp of the mixture into a piping bag. This will be the white color for the snout and inner ears.
4. Transfer ~½ tsp of the remaining icing into another small bowl. Dye this pink or red for the blush, then transfer it to a new piping bag.
5. Dye remaining icing brown. This will be for the bear head. Transfer most of this mixture to its own piping bag, leaving about 1 tsp of brown icing left in the bowl.
6. Snip the ends of the piping bags with scissors. Decorate bars with icing, slice, and enjoy!