A Desperate Plea...

I try not to make sweet things to eat at home. The trouble is, it's only me and Rafa here so there is a good chance that I'd eat 50% of what I make. And knowing that Rafa doesn't have a sweet tooth like me, the chances are more like 95%. Bad, bad odds!

Along with some friends, I am cooking recipes from all those magazines and Internet clippings I have acquired over the years. The dishes this month are poultry and also various cookies. Nigella's At My Table column is one of my favorite places to turn to for interesting recipes. A few months before the column stopped, Nigella posted a recipe for Cinnamon Squares. I've always wanted to try it, but never really got a chance to. I was really hankering to make some cookies, so I decided to make these knowing I'd probably not eat that many.

The reason I say this is because this recipe is very very rich! I mean like there are two sticks of butter just in the shortbread part. Yeah! That kind of recipe.

Making the squares was super easy, so I really urge all of you to give it a go, especially if you have many mouths to feed!

Cinnamon Squares

Ingredients

Published: November 30, 2005

Time: 45 minutes, plus cooling

For the base:
½ cup confectioners' sugar
1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ pound (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into small cubes

For the icing:
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cane syrup like Lyle's Golden Syrup (or substitute dark corn syrup)
½ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Procedure

1. Prepare base: heat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, combine confectioners' sugar, flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Pulse untilfree of lumps. Scatter butter cubes across top and pulse again until mixture is crumbly and beginning to come together.

2. Press mixture evenly into a shallow 9- to 9½-inch square baking pan. Bake until shortbread is firm, barely colored and no longer has a sheen on its surface, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack until warm.

3. While shortbread cools, prepare icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and syrup together. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and cinnamon until free of lumps. Remove from heat and allow to cool just until slightly thickened. Whisk again and pour over warm shortbread, using a spatula to reach edges. Allow to cool completely, then cut into 16 squares.

Yield: 16 squares.

I had asked Rafa to take these to work. Actually, my note was kind of pleading. But, turns out, he has a sweet tooth after all, and he polished these off all by his 'not-yet-getting-fat-dammit!' self. And here I was hoping to fatten up some nurses. Next time!