Cinnamon Bun Bars (and New Beginnings)

I'm back! Sorry for the long hiatus. The past few months have been a whirlwind - from a conked-out oven and a pest infestation, to finding a new apartment (new oven, no pests), escaping to Cuba for a while, Christmas, et cetera, et cetera... it's been a crazy winter! But we're all moved in, the tumult has died down, and I've got a new Kitchenaid mixer and camera (squeeeee!!) so I have no good reason for not posting! I hope all of you had lovely holidays and are managing to stay cozy and warm, wherever you are.

The new mixer! Isn't she beautiful?

In our new place, I've got all my cookbooks lined up in a little nook in the kitchen, and it makes me so happy to look at them. Thousands of recipes and ideas and photos all in a neat row. Most of them were mine (I've got a cookbook hoarding issue), and some of them came from my boyfriend... But now all the books have co-mingled and become ours, rather than just his and mine. I thought maybe it would be appropriate to post about something from one of these new cookbooks. 

I decided to make these cinnamon bun bars from the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen 2013 Holiday Collection. I may sound like a broken record - my last post was another love letter to cinnamon - but I really do crave that aroma pretty much from September to March. These taste just like cinnamon buns, but they have a more dense, moist, cake-like crumb that holds them together in neat little squares. I love cinnamon buns, but most days I can't be bothered to make a yeast dough, let it proof, roll it out, etc... these bars only take a few minutes to put together. I love the little ribbon of cinnamonny goodness hidden in the middle of each bar, and the smell is so comforting. These are perfect warmed up a little in the microwave (and I've been steadily sneaking them out of the freezer to do exactly that!)

Cinnamon Bun Bars

From ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen's 2013 Holiday Collection cookbook by ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen

(Makes a 9x13 in pan, about 20-40 bars)

Bars
2 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar

Glaze
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl (or in a mixer), cream the sugar and butter together until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating really well after each egg, and then add the vanilla and mix well. Turn your mixer or beaters to low and gradually add the flour mixture - beat just until the dough is combined, taking care not to overmix. 

Take half of the dough and spoon little clumps in your baking pan, so that it's evenly scattered with dough pieces. Wet the back of a spoon (or your fingers) with some water and gently press the dough lumps together until you form a more-or-less even layer with no holes. Stir the cinnamon and 1 tbsp sugar together, and sprinkle this evenly over the layer of dough. Then, using the same method as before, spread the remaining half of the dough over top until you've covered the cinnamon layer. Bake for about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the edges are lightly golden. 

Allow the bars to cool completely before glazing. To make the glaze, just stir all the ingredients together until silky and smooth, then drizzle over the bars. Let the glaze sit for a few minutes to set, then slice into bars or squares. 

I wrapped them in foil and put them in the freezer, and I've found that 30 seconds in the microwave makes them perfectly warm and soft again. It's one of the happiest and most comforting smells in the whole world.