Cinnabars

Cinnabars

These babies barely lasted long enough for me to take pictures! Seriously, I was a little worried by the way my roommates were hovering around the oven.  The smell was absolutely tantalizing.  After visiting Barcelona this past weekend, and seeing all of the delectable sweets and other yummy things at La Boquería market, I figured it was time to add another dessert item to my blog repetoire.  I actually got this recipe from Betty Crocker — she knew what she was doing. The first time I made these cinnabars was for a road trip with a few of my friends over the summer.  We downed the entire tupperware before we even got to our destination.  And after a debut like that, these cinnabars deserved a comeback.  Plus, it's my friend Maarten's birthday today so I can pretend I made them for him ;)

La Boquería in Barcelona

Ingredients
2 1/3 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter

1 1/4 cups  sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

I faced several obstacles before successfully completing this recipe. First, It took me FOREVER to find baking powder in the local grocery.  Incidentally, it is not called "polvo de hornear" but "levadura".  Glad I know that now.  I also couldnt find vanilla extract if my life depended on it! Furthermore, not only did I mix the entire recipe by hand even though it's first few words were "with an electric mixer...", but I also converted all of the measurements to grams so that I could use my new spanish measuring cup.  These are the reasons why I am especially glad that the cinnabars worked out so well!

Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix one tablespoon of sugar and one tablespoon of cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside. Grease the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Adding one egg at a time, mix eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. Gradually beat in dry ingredients until well combined. Pour half the batter into the baking dish and spread evenly.  Take the cinnamon-sugar mixture and pour it evenly over batter. Using a large spoon, dollop the rest of the batter into the dish and spread with the back of the spoon. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the bars to cool for at least a half hour, and during this time, stir together the cup of powdered sugar and two tablespoons of milk in a small bowl to make the glaze.  Once the bars are completely cooled, drizzle the glaze over the bars and cut into squares. Enjoy!