These coffee cake bars have a soft crumb with a sugary cinnamon swirl through the center and a thick streusel topping. Perfect to take along to book club and enjoy with friends and hot cup of coffee.
Looking for more yummy baked goods to enjoy with your morning coffee? I love this recipe for traditional scones, blueberry muffins and sweet cream cheese muffin buns.
This recipe was first published 09/25/18 and received new photos and an updated recipe.
Coffee cake is one my first childhood memories of a really yummy dessert. A friend of my moms used to bring it to their book club, and they would always let me sneak a piece. I always think coffee cake hits a nostalgic spot for people.
The thing I love most about these coffee cake bars is that they are just so easy and foolproof to make. Dump everything into a pan, bake and done.
These coffee cake bars a little more dense than a traditional coffee cake, somewhere literally between the cake and a bar.
You could eat it with your hands or with a fork. And they are the perfect thing to take to a gathering.
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Ingredients
Here is a quick rundown of what ingredients you'll need. But make sure to reference the recipe card for the full list of ingredients, amounts and directions.
- butter
- cane sugar
- brown sugar
- eggs
- sour cream
- milk
- vanilla extract
- all purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- salt
- powdered sugar
Why I Love This Recipe
Each and every bite is filled with buttery, cinnamon-y, brown sugary crumbs. I think it's a nice fall treat as the weather starts to change and you want that cozy comfy dessert.
It's an easy recipe, no fancy equipment needed or baking knowledge. Just a few ingredients and some basic instructions.
The flavors are so good! But I especially love all the cinnamon flavor.
How To Make Coffee Cake Bars
Make the batter. Start by preparing the coffee cake batter. Beat together the softened butter and cane (or white) sugar. Mix in the eggs, sour cream, milk and vanilla. You want it to be totally mixed in.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the wet ingredients.
Then make the streusel topping. Make sure your butter is cold for this, take it right out of the fridge and cube it. Use your hands to mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon with the cold butter.
Use an 8x8" pan. However you could use a 9"x13" if you want shorter coffee cake bars.
Line your pan with parchment paper to easily remove it after it's baked. This batter is thick so it's not super easy to spread but you just have to do your best.
Spread half the batter in the bottom of the pan then sprinkle on half the streusel, then spread out the rest of the batter and the rest of the streusel on top of that.
Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Always check with a toothpick before you take your coffee cake out, the toothpick should come out clean.
More Baked Goods Recipes
- Orange Almond Muffins
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Banana Bread
Coffee Cake Bars With Streusel Topping
These coffee cake bars have a soft crumb with a sugary cinnamon swirl through the center and a thick streusel topping. Perfect to take along to book club and enjoy with friends and hot cup of coffee.
Ingredients
Coffee Cake Batter:
- ½ c butter, softened
- ¾ c cane sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ c sour cream
- ¼ c milk
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ c all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
STREUSEL:
- ½ c butter, cold
- 1 ¼ c all purpose flour
- ¾ c brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
ICING:
- 1 c powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- To make the coffee cake batter beat together the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs, sour cream, milk and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the wet ingredients.
- Make the streusel topping. Use your hands to mix together the butter, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Line an 8”x8” square pan with parchment paper. Spread out half the batter in the bottom, followed by half of the streusel. Spread out the rest of the batter (it will be thick, just do your best) and the rest of the streusel.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Pull from the oven and cool. To make the icing mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla and water. Drizzle over the coffee cake.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 310Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 4g
This information comes from online calculators. Although moderncrumb.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Claudia B
I had to double the crumb top was definitely not enough
I baked it for 25 minutes and cooled them. Just cut to find raw dough. This recipe needs some adjustments
Olivia Lenz
Tasty but definitely would recommend longer than 18-22 minutes at 350F. I even have the portion split into two pans because I don't have one square pan, and typically this decreases baking time, and they are still quite raw on the inside. I'm on my 25th minute or so with this brand new oven.
Kristin
what is the pan size?
Tara Moore
8x8, however you can use any pan size if you don't have an 8x8, just adjust the temperature and use a toothpick to check that it comes out clean.
Linda
I baked for 18 minutes, and the bars, when I cut them, were raw. I even tested with a cake tester. Should I have baked it longer?!?