Snickerdoodle Bars with White Chocolate Ganache

Snickerdoodles are the first cookie I remember making, and they are my favorite. I have baked a number of different snickerdoodle items, and sometimes they are more “snickerdoodle” but at other times it seems like other call any item with cinnamon a snickerdoodle. This recipe does fall more in the latter category, but they are excellent any way you look at them.

This recipe is assembled in an unusual way! I picked up a new jelly roll pan, 10” x 15” x 1”. Many pans are about that size, but so few of them have the full 1” sides. You need some depth when you’re making a bar cookie or a jelly roll. You bake the cookie in the pan, and once cooled, cut the rectangle into smaller rectangles, which become the bottom and the top of the cookies. And you sandwich the two rectangles together with white chocolate ganache.

I have made ganache, but I also know that white chocolate can be fussy. I used my regular method, of putting hot cream on white chocolate chips and letting it sit, then whisking until it’s a proper ganache. It’s too thin at this point, so you have to let it cool for about an hour before it works as a filling. I really wasn’t sure, but I assembled the bars and then chilled them before cutting. They turned out perfectly, just like the photos in the original blog post! I was thrilled! These bars are very rich, but very much worth making.

Snickerdoodle Bars with White Chocolate Ganache
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 10” x 15” jelly roll pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. (Use baking spray with flour if you have it.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar and beat on medium until light, about three minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir on medium until combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring until the mixture forms a dough. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan. It will be sticky, so do the best that you can. Try to ensure the dough is spread as evenly as possible.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool completely before proceeding.

While the cookies cool (or later), make the ganache: place the white chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream until almost boiling. Pour the heated heavy cream over the white chocolate chips and allow to sit for five minutes. Using a small whisk, whisk the mixture until the chips and cream becomes a smooth and consistent ganache.

Before you can use the ganache for the filling, it needs to cool until it is a spreading consistency. If the mixture is too thin it won’t work for filling the cookies. Whisk the mixture every 15 minutes, and the ganache will reach a spreadable consistency after 50 minutes to an hour.

To assemble the cookies: remove the bars from the pan, and cut into two rectangles, about 7”x 10”. One rectangle will become the base of the bars, and the other will become the top. Spread the cooled white chocolate ganache on one of the bar cookie rectangles. Spread the ganache evenly, almost to the edges of the rectangle. Top with the remaining bar cookie rectangle. Refrigerate the bars for at least an hour to set.

Once thoroughly chilled, remove the cookie rectangle from the refrigerator and cut into bars.

Recipe from Cookies and Cups