I can't remember how I happened to come across Nigella Lawson's recipe for Cinnamon Squares on The New York Times Cooking website (maybe it showed up in my Facebook feed?), but when I saw the photo of the bars accompanying the recipe I immediately decided that I had to give it a try.
These bars have a cinnamon shortbread base topped with a cinnamon glaze. The concept reminded me a lot of a recipe for Ginger Crunch bars from David Lebovitz's website, which have a ginger shortbread base topped with ginger glaze. And the toppings for both bars call for golden syrup.
Nigella's bars are extra easy because you make the shortbread base in the food processor. You just mix together powdered sugar, flour, baking powder, and cinnamon; add cubes of chilled butter; and pulse until the mixture comes together. You press the dough into the bottom of a baking pan (I lined my pan with parchment paper first) and bake until lightly colored. The base baked up absolutely level from edge to edge; it was immaculate.
While the bars are still warm from the oven, you spread on a glaze you make by melting butter with some golden syrup, and then whisking in powdered sugar and cinnamon. From the recipe photo I expected the glaze to be runny and transparent, but mine was opaque and it set semi-firm. Because the base was so level, I got a perfect, even layer of glaze over the entire pan of bars.
The texture of the shortbread base was very sandy, and the cinnamon flavor was strong but not too spicy. I liked these bars but they didn't exactly blow me away. I think the reason I couldn't get too excited about them is that they are quite similar to the ginger crunch bars and I definitely like those bars much better -- I love the ginger crunch's firmer and crunchy base. Also, the glaze on the ginger bars sets totally firm, making them easier to handle and transport.
But I did receive a lot of very enthusiastic reviews of these bars at work, so I am still quite happy with the way these turned out. I think this recipe provides a good return on a minimal investment of time, effort, and ingredients.
Recipe: "Cinnamon Squares" by Nigella Lawson, recipe available here from The New York Times.
Previous Posts:
These bars have a cinnamon shortbread base topped with a cinnamon glaze. The concept reminded me a lot of a recipe for Ginger Crunch bars from David Lebovitz's website, which have a ginger shortbread base topped with ginger glaze. And the toppings for both bars call for golden syrup.
Nigella's bars are extra easy because you make the shortbread base in the food processor. You just mix together powdered sugar, flour, baking powder, and cinnamon; add cubes of chilled butter; and pulse until the mixture comes together. You press the dough into the bottom of a baking pan (I lined my pan with parchment paper first) and bake until lightly colored. The base baked up absolutely level from edge to edge; it was immaculate.
While the bars are still warm from the oven, you spread on a glaze you make by melting butter with some golden syrup, and then whisking in powdered sugar and cinnamon. From the recipe photo I expected the glaze to be runny and transparent, but mine was opaque and it set semi-firm. Because the base was so level, I got a perfect, even layer of glaze over the entire pan of bars.
But I did receive a lot of very enthusiastic reviews of these bars at work, so I am still quite happy with the way these turned out. I think this recipe provides a good return on a minimal investment of time, effort, and ingredients.
Recipe: "Cinnamon Squares" by Nigella Lawson, recipe available here from The New York Times.
Previous Posts:
- "Feel the Burn: Lemon Ginger Bars," September 25, 2013.
- "From the Land Down Under: Ginger Crunch," January 22, 2013.
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