Snickerdoodle Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting -- When Mama’s Sunday Sweet Stays With You All Week

Brianna's week. Daylight Saving ended. The dark at five thirty PM. Thursday Jerome and I took our breaks together and talked restaurant. The dream is closer than it was a year ago.

Pop's in the recliner. Tigers on. Sugar in range this week. Sunday at Mama's. She made greens with hambone the way she has since 1985.

Sweet potato pie for dessert Sunday. Mama's recipe. The pie that wins all comparisons with pumpkin.

Aiden's 10. The youth basketball league. I'm coaching. He's the best player on the team and he knows it. Zaria's 8. Helps me cook on a step stool. Has opinions about the seasoning.

I sat on the back porch with a beer and looked at the smoker and thought about nothing for an hour.

The drive home Friday was the long way around. I took Outer Drive past the lake. The water was still. I do not always notice the water. I noticed Friday.

The Lions on TV Sunday. Lost on a missed field goal. Detroit. The neighborhood collectively groaned at the same moment. You could hear it through the windows.

A neighbor down the street gave me a tomato plant Saturday. He grows them on his porch. Said he had extra. I put it next to the back step where it gets the afternoon sun. Detroit gardens are improvised victories.

I made grocery lists on the back of envelopes the way Mama did. The list this week was short — onions, garlic, half-and-half, cornmeal, a pound of bacon. The list is the recipe of the week before it happens.

I took a walk around the block Sunday morning. The neighborhood was quiet. The trees were the trees. The light was good. I waved at three porches. The porches waved back. Brookline holds.

The basketball court at the rec center got refurbished. New floor. Plays different. Bouncy. I shot a few from the elbow before practice Wednesday. The knee held. The shot fell short.

Plant ran clean this week. The line ran. The body held. The paycheck is the paycheck.

Aiden had practice Tuesday and Thursday. I drove. He shot threes for an hour after.

Stopped at Eastern Market Saturday. Got chicken thighs, bacon, a watermelon, and a pound of greens that I did not need but bought anyway. The vendors know me by name now. Three of them asked about the family.

Watched the Tigers Sunday afternoon. Lost in extras. Detroit reflex. I yelled at the TV the way Pop used to yell at the TV. The TV did not respond. The bullpen will probably not respond either.

I cleaned the smoker Sunday morning. Brushed the grates. Emptied the ash. Wiped down the body. The smoker repays attention. So does most everything that matters.

Filled the propane tank Wednesday. The smoker is the only appliance I baby. Wiped it down. Checked the gaskets. Checked the temperature gauge. The smoker is mine the way Pop's torque wrench was his.

I read for an hour Sunday night. A book about the auto industry. Half memoir, half history. Made me think about Pop and the line and the fragile contract that built the middle of this country. I underlined the parts that hit.

Mama left me a voicemail Wednesday. She said, "DeShawn. Don't forget Sunday." I had not forgotten Sunday. I have not forgotten Sunday in twenty years. The reminder is the love. I called her back.

A song came on the radio Tuesday — old Stevie Wonder — and I had to sit in the truck for the rest of it before I went into the store. Some songs do that. Detroit is a city of songs that do that.

Mama’s sweet potato pie set the bar Sunday — the kind of dessert that wins all comparisons and follows you into the week. I’m not trying to recreate it; nobody recreates it. But midweek, with Zaria on her step stool and opinions about the seasoning, I wanted something that carried that same cinnamon warmth and could be cut into pieces and passed around without ceremony. These snickerdoodle bars with cream cheese frosting are exactly that — the spirit of a Sunday sweet in a form that works on a Tuesday night when Aiden’s got practice in an hour and you still want to give the kids something made from scratch.

Snickerdoodle Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min (plus cooling) | Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar mixed with 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (for topping)
• Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of cinnamon (optional, for the top)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven. Preheat to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the long sides so you can lift the bars out cleanly.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until just combined — do not overmix. The dough will be thick. Spread it evenly into the prepared pan using a lightly floured hand or spatula.
5. Top with cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the top of the dough, covering the surface completely.
6. Bake. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake — the bars firm up as they cool. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before frosting.
7. Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar gradually, beating on low until incorporated, then increase to medium and beat until light. Mix in the vanilla. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.
8. Frost and cut. Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled bars. Dust lightly with a pinch of cinnamon if you like. Use the parchment overhang to lift the slab out of the pan, then cut into 24 bars. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days — if they last that long.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 275 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 105mg