When I first started blogging recipes 5 years ago it was largely because of what was happening over at Smitten Kitchen, my favorite food blog. Deb’s recipes and posts made me interested in food in a way I never had before. I wanted to be a better cook and I discovered a love for baking.
It sounds very odd to say that because of Deb I went to culinary school and started a food blog (or maybe it’s because of that first job I had out of college where I had nothing to do but surf the internet all day and drool over food), but it’s sort of true.
I was so excited for The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Deb came to Salt Lake City last week to promote her cookbook and a few local bloggers and I had the chance to sit down and chat with her for an hour. It was sublime to have that kind of almost 1:1 conversation and she is even sweeter in person. Thanks Deb, for inspiring us all.
Now quick, go bake these gooey cinnamon squares!
The challenge to not over bake
It’s hard to know when to take things out of the oven, at least for me. I’m constantly peeking into the oven and thinking to myself “maybe just a few more minutes…” Often our fear of under baking trumps our concern of over baking and we bake things a little longer than we should.
Sometimes it’s not really noticeable, other times it is. If you bake these gooey cinnamon squares for too long, you lose the gooey layer and the best thing about them. Take these out of the oven when the cinnamon sugar is crisp, the edges have browned, but the gooey layer is still very gooey and seemingly under baked. It will firm up when it cools, I promise.
Half gooey butter cake and half snickerdoodle cookie, these squares are irresistible.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
- 1 1/2 cup (188 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cookie base:
Gooey layer:
Topping:
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper with a 2-inch overhang.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium high speed until pale and creamy.
- Add the egg, mixing until incorporated. Add the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk, and mix just until combined. Spread batter into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, milk, and vanilla. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium high speed until pale and creamy.
- Add the egg, mixing until incorporated, followed by the salt. Add the flour in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Spread the batter evenly over the cookie base in the baking dish.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and ground cinnamon to make the topping. Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake until top is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. The gooey layer won't set until the squares have cooled completely.
- Let cool, then slice into 2-inch squares. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.
To make the cookie base:
To make the gooey layer:
To make the topping:
Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
From www.completelydelicious.com
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14 Responses to Gooey Cinnamon Squares
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about me
Hi, I'm Annalise and I love to bake. Welcome to my blog! Follow along as I try new recipes, share baking tips and tricks, and overindulge my sweet tooth.Current Favorites
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I loooove this!!!
I can’t wait to try these – I love cinnamon! If I can sneak it in all my baking I would!
Ah yum, these look and sound lovely!
These look incredible! Not something you want to see when you’re trying not to eat sugar for five days…
omg…these look amazing! Snickerdoodles are my favorite!! As soon as my sugar free march is over, Im trying these for sure!!
awww look how happy you look there
so pretty!! i think it’s so awesome that you got to meet your idol and that you look up to Deb so much – a lot of us do too and I think you’re such an inspiration for going to culinary school to feed (ha) your passion! these cinnamon squares look SO gooey and delicious! i’d love the pan, please!
I SO love Smitten Kitchen, too! Deb’s recipe are always very inspiring!
These bars look truly delicious, and I bet they’d be perfect with a cup of tea or a mug of coffee in the morning!
xo, Elisa
It was fun meeting Deb, she is fab! Now I need to make these:)
I love this post! Smitten Kitchen is definitely an amazing inspiration and was probably the first food blog I ever really started following. I’m so jealous that you got to meet her! Never wash those hands again! Just kidding, you work with food. That would be gross.
Awesome post! Sounds like such a fun experience. Way before I even considered writing a blog, Deb’s was also one of the first blogs I started reading!
Cinnamon squares are going in my oven asap!!
I got Deb’s cookbook a couple months ago and this recipe is definitely marked!! I have a feeling she’s influenced more than a few food bloggers
I wish I had these in front of me for breakfast!!
I love how ridiculously happy you look.
And Smitten Kitchen was the first and only blog I read for about 6 months. Then I realized there were other food blogs, too. Crazy.
Anyway, these bars look incredible! I love anything with the word gooey in it and cinnamon / snickerdoodly is even better.
These bars do look incredible- I love anything snicker doodle! I’m so glad you got the chance to meet Deb and thank you for organizing what turned out to be such a fun night. You are incredible at what you do and the recipes you put out are drool worthy. Anytime I need a dessert, I come here first for inspiration. Deb inspired you, you inspire me. Funny how that works! Keep it up, friend!!
These are insanely delicious. A little labor intensive, but well-worth it! I didn’t have corn syrup, so I used honey. Best made for a large group, so that you don’t eat the whole pan yourself!