Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars

Makes me sad: waking up before the sun rises
Makes me happy: taking a nap after class
Makes me nervous: economics tests
Makes me pleasantly surprised: getting points back on economics tests
Makes me upset: internet trolls
Makes me satisfied: being able to ignore internet trolls by taking a walk in the crispy fall air
Makes me scared: the moth that likes to bang on my window at night (don't judge)
Makes me laugh: haunted house employees (I also feel bad, like I'm ruining their jobs by laughing at them)

Does European butter make things tastier? Beats me. 

See? For every annoying, obnoxious thing that happens, there's probably an equal and opposite awesome thing out there. You just have to be open to finding it. I'm trying really hard to do that. It's working surprisingly well to keep the angst and stress levels down.

And if all else fails...you can always fall back on baking. Bonus points for something you've had your eye on for a long time. Triple your word score if you expect to burn/undercook it and it turns out perfectly. Seriously, I'm a little upset I waited so long to make these. Maybe it's because they seemed labor intensive (they aren't). Maybe because I was afraid of all the butter (silly me, butter is ALWAYS your friend). Layer of thick, soft cookie + layer of pumpkin pie-ish + cinnamon sugar + white chocolate. Guaranteed to make you speechless. 

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars
from Dozen Flours 

Snickerdoodle Layer
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan and lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. The parchment paper is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later

To make snickerdoodle layer:
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be thick and cookiebatter-ish.)

In a mixer bowl (you can use the same one you used to make the snickerdoodle batter) with a paddle attachment, mix together all ingredients until well combined. This layer will be less thick and more pourable. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.

Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake for 33-40 minutes (maybe more depending on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the *center* of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely (about an hour). They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer.
After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it's completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Store in a covered container.