Red Hot Cinnamon Cookie Bars

Red hot cinnamon cookie bars start with an easy, chewy blondie cookie base and are loaded with cinnamon candies and ground cinnamon.

Where are my cinnamon fans?? This simple recipe takes a cinnamon blondie cookie bar to a new level with the addition of cinnamon candies!

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If eating Red Hots or Hot Tamales is something you enjoy, this recipe is for you! I don't know about you, but I associate cinnamon candies with Valentine's Day {although I eat them year round!}. With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, it seemed like a good time to introduce this recipe.

ingredients for red hot cinnamon cookie bars

The normal crowd is here for creating these cookie bars! The one special ingredient is cinnamon candies.

do I need red hots for this recipe?

The photos shown in this post mainly contain Hot Tamales, but Red Hots are what work best in the recipe. Between snacking on them and making test batches, I used up my supply of Red Hots.😂 Being that I am still trying to limit my outings, I figured I could pick up more on my next market run. Low and behold, no Red Hots at the store.🤦🏻‍♀️. If you plan ahead, unlike me, you can order Red Hots online.

The good news is Hot Tamales were available and so this recipe was also tested with them. My testers preferred the Red Hots because they have a little crunch to them after being baked. The Hot Tamales taste delish and are a great substitute, but they give a little more chew to the cookie.

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let's make red hot cinnamon cookie bars!

Start by preheating the oven and lining an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. You will also want to lightly grease the parchment with butter or a cooking spray. Then whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Next use a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer and cream the butter for about a minute before adding the granulated and brown sugars. After the sugars are nicely creamed together; add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla followed by the flour mixture.

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Once the flour is barely incorporated, fold in the cinnamon candies with a spatula until the mixture is fully combined. The dough is thick and a little sticky.

how to get sticky dough into a baking pan

You have a few options for spreading the dough into the prepared pan. First, a spatula can do the job. Or lightly damp fingers also do the trick. I find an off-set spatula is the easiest {and neatest way} for me to accomplish this task.

Drop the dough into the pan in 4-6 spoonfuls and spread with your desired method until the dough is in an even layer. Then bake until the edges are slightly browned and pulling away from the pan and a tester comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.

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Once the cookie bars are cool, use the parchment to pull them out of the pan and cut them into bars. Dust them with a little confectioner's sugar, if desired.

Tips for working with cinnamon candies

• If using Red Hots ~ place the red hots in a zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin or a meat mallet. Red Hots stay more dispersed in the cookies after baking.
• If using Hot Tamales ~ use a sharp knife to cut each candy into 5-6 pieces. Since the candies are chewy, the smaller the piece the better. {if the candies are sticking to the knife, you can lightly grease the knife} Hot Tamales tend to sink during the baking process. You could toss them with about 2 tablespoons of the flour before incorporating them to help them from totally sinking.

I tell ya, we enjoyed eating all the test batches of these cookies! The bad news is my sugar bugs now like Red Hots and Hot Tamales, which means I no longer get them all to myself!

Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make these Red Hot Cinnamon Cookie Bars. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!

more cookie bar recipes to try

• Butterscotch Mixed Nut Bars
• Double Chocolate Oat Bottom Brownies
• Peanut Butter White Chocolate Blondies
• Sugar Cookie Bars
• Sunbutter Crunch Brownies

If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating.  I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!