Cookbook Club – Smitten Kitchen Bonus Recipe

Anthony made the Gooey Cinnamon Squares when we used The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for our Cookbook Club (see all the dishes here). They were fantastic, so when my family decided that the special ingredient for our Iron Chef Christmas was cinnamon, I knew I had a good place to start.

Anthony had warned that the Gooey Cinnamon Squares were a pain to make… something about them bottom layer being difficult to spread. But the cinnamon squares tasted so good that I didn’t heed his warning. I mean come on, how hard could a cookie base be to make?

In the mixer I creamed together butter and sugar, then beat in egg and milk. Then I stirred in a mixture of flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Here’s where the situation got sticky… literally. The recipe says to spread this dough into an even layer in the parchment-lined pan. Easier said than done. The dough wanted to stick to my hands, the spatula, the edges of the parchment paper – what it didn’t want to do was spread evenly. My fight with this cookie layer took longer than the rest of the recipe combined, but eventually I got it done.

For the gooey layer, I creamed together butter, sugar, and salt in the mixer, then beat in egg. I alternated mixing in flour and a combo of corn syrup, milk, and vanilla. I spread this over the cookie layer (thankfully without such a battle) and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I baked until the edges were set and the center was still gooey.

Once it was completely cool, I cut into individual cinnamon squares. They were as good as I remembered, but having personally experienced the struggle with that sticky bottom layer, I have to admit I will probably not be making these again. I’m happy to collect my Iron Chef Christmas crown, drop the mic, and walk away. I served the cinnamon squares with a Mexican Hot Chocolate Pot de Creme which I will, on the other hand, be adding to my arsenal (find my Guessipe here).