My TiVo gave up on me last week.
It was Thursday night and suddenly it worked slower than a snail. I couldn’t even watch HD programs. The horror, I know! But my TiVo was seven years old and outlasted three TVs, so buying a new one wasn’t the worst thing ever.
And it went in easily. Only three cords. But it was just teasing me. Because once the CableCard went in things got … interesting.
Comcast tried to activate it … at nearly midnight. But it didn’t work after several phone calls, some lasting thirty or more minutes. With the Oscars on Sunday and me having to watch TV without a DVR (how did I manage?!?), I was in meltdown mode.
The next day, after unplugging several times, reinstalling the CableCard, and talking to seriously the most helpful person at Comcast or Xfinity or whatever they want to be known as today, it worked. The premium channels are still missing, but other than that it’s all good.
And let me say I am so in love with my new TiVo Roamio. Who needs match.com when I can have TiVo???
I’m also pretty in love with these Gooey Cinnamon Cake Bars. They are best the next day after they are extra moist and well … gooey. I really like the top in all of its gooey glory and the cinnamon sugar topping.
I actually ran out of granulated sugar and made the whole recipe with brown sugar instead. Best decision ever! It adds extra flavor and moisture and makes these totally irresistible. I think I’ll grab one and catch up on some TV watching!
Gooey Cinnamon Cake Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 24 bars 1x
Ingredients
- Base
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup milk (I used almond, use what you love)
- Gooey Layer
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup milk (I used almond, use what you love)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- Topping
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch pan. Line it with parchment and butter the parchment.
- Make the base. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I did this by hand but a hand or stand mixer will work. Beat in the egg and milk. Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined. Spread into an even layer in the prepared pan.
- Make the gooey layer. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, milk, and vanilla. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I did this by hand, but a hand or stand mixer will work. Beat in the egg. Mix in ½ cup flour, followed by half of the corn syrup mixture. Mix in another ½ cup of flour, the rest of the corn syrup mixture, and then finish with the final ¼ cup of flour. Place dollops of this gooey mixture on top of the base and spread into an even layer.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping. Sprinkle over the cake.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the edges are set but the center is still soft and gooey. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars. Bars may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour or in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The Moveable Feasts from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
We almost never watch anything real time — we DVR everything. And most of the time never get around to watching it! 😉 Anyway, great bars. They’d be perfect for watching TV!
I also DVR everything, but I always watch it. I have a serious TV problem 🙂 Thanks, John!
I feel like these might taste similar to snickerdoodles and that sounds great to me!
Definitely similar to a snickerdoodle – just with a softer texture. Thanks, Erin!
Oh my, I can imagine the smell while baking. I can’t believe I saw this at 9 pm , and now I am so craving for some. Tomorrow I will definitely bake something:)
blech dealing with technology stuff like that is always annoying.
But these cake bars look so comforting and sweet and tasty!
I would be totally stressed if suddenly my tv (or Netflix, or Hulu) stopped working…so I totally get it! Glad to hear everything is fixed…AND that you have these cake bars to celebrate with!
My Netflix is always sooooooo slow. It drives me nuts when I’m in the middle of House of Cards and it’s all like acquiring 🙁
I love the flavour brown sugar gives cake. These bars look so good!
And I’m usually a big fan of the Oscars, but this year’s might have been a good one to miss. 🙁
I enjoyed the Oscars. The opening was perhaps the best ever, and Lady Gaga’s performance was fabulous!
TiVo and gooey bars!? Sounds perfect to me. 🙂
I loooooove gooey bars! These look amazing, cinnamon is such a warming and delicious spice 🙂
Thanks, Medha! Yes, cinnamon is amazing – one of my favorite spices!
I know your panic about your TiVo! Glad you love your new one. And I love these Gooey Cinnamon Cake Bars!