I have a bit of an addiction to baking bars. To me, they’re the best of all baking worlds. Seriously, I could dedicate this entire blog to bar recipes. If I were to do that, I might start to bore some of you, so I soldier on with a little more variety. Today, though, we have bars!
I happened upon this recipe purely by accident over at Gilt Taste. The folks at Momofuku Milk Bar were featured in a series of articles about their favorite family cookie recipes. As soon as I saw this recipe for a bar that resembles a cinnamon sugar cookie, I was sold.
I very rarely make sugar cookies. I love their brilliant simplicity, but I ultimately skip over them in favor of something else. These bars offered just enough variation and interest to get me hooked.
These were simple to make and received a slew of compliments. They are very buttery and soft and just plain delicious. The original recipe indicates that these should be made into bite-size bars, yielding 150 bars. I cut mine a little larger and liked them that way. I still had plenty to share. If you’re baking for a crowd, which is not uncommon this time of year, bite-size will definitely give you enough bars to feed a lot of people.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- cinnamon sugar*
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 11″x 15″ baking pan.
Mix butter, sugar, oil, eggs, and milk with an electric mixer. Mix in vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix well.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly with off-set spatula or knife. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake 20 minutes, or until edges are light brown. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then, cut into squares.
Notes
*To make cinnamon sugar, mix 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon for every 1/4 cup granulated sugar.
Recipe adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar via Gilt Taste.
December 18th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
nice. this is a better was to have sugar cookies. way better!
December 18th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
These sound delightful!
December 18th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Ohhh, these look fantastic!!
December 19th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Aside from Momofuku’s compost cookie recipe, which is my favorite thing to bake, I prefer bars simply because they’re so much quicker and more satisfying.
Thanks for this recipe! And off to investigate the others!
December 20th, 2011 at 7:24 am
These look great…..I’m a big fan of bar cookies too.
Any thoughts on changing the size of the pan? I have only a 9 x 13 pan. If that wouldn’t work, is the suggested pan a “jelly roll pan”?
Thanks for any thoughts…..you have a great site!
December 20th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Marianne, if you don’t have an 11″x 17″ pan (which is a normal half sheet pan), then I would suggest making these in two 9″x 9″ pans. Or, half the recipe and use one 9″x 9″ pan. The bars will be a bit thicker, so you may need to bake them a little longer.
December 20th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Thanks Jennifer!
They look too good to pass up because of a pan.
Wishing you all the best in 2012!
December 20th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I love bars, too! These sugar cookie bars sound delicious, and I love the crispy sugar on top! Definitely going to make these!!
December 21st, 2011 at 3:48 am
This is basically a brioche dough with a little more butter replacing the milk.
December 23rd, 2011 at 11:49 am
These are yummy! I made them for my preschooler’s Christmas pageant, and they went over really well. And I had plenty left over to keep at home, so my kids were able to stop complaining that I was giving them all away. Thank you!
January 4th, 2012 at 6:20 am
Those look delicious…like bar snickerdoodles. I love the cinnamon and sugar on top. Going in the file of recipes to try!
January 4th, 2012 at 7:23 am
Love the pictures, recipes and enthusiasm of your site! Thanks for the tips, recommendations and ideas! I’ll be a loyal follower!
February 26th, 2013 at 10:25 am
so late to the party with these, but glad I arrived….they are DELICIOUS! So simple to pull together and they get better each day.
Definitely a keeper…love your blog!
March 24th, 2013 at 9:38 am
I made these a few days ago, and they are great! They make a nice accompaniment to one’s morning coffee, I’ve found (I’ve been telling myself they’re like a little coffee cake, which seems slightly more acceptable than eating cookies for breakfast!). I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you!