Cinnamon-Sugar Cookie Squares

My first baked good of the year! 

I had bookmarked this recipe from Gilt Taste last December, one of those a cookie-a-day features they were doing (along with many other websites). I haven't made many cookie squares in my life, so here goes nothing.

The batter itself was beautiful. I love a smooth, creamy batter with the right consistency. I poured it into my baking sheet and smoothed it out with my spatula. Then used a spoon to sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on top. I couldn't wait for these to come out of the oven. I was lost in memories of eating cinnamon-sugar beaver tails.

The first time I took them out, I trimmed the edges and started snacking on them. They felt very soft and moist still, perhaps more time in the oven?

I put them back to bake for 10 more minutes, it was still sort of sticky and chewy. Again, for another 10 minutes. To be honest, I'm not sure if they're done. Howard thinks that they're still under-baked, but the edges were nice and crunchy now. That's enough oven time for these cookie squares! They're still edible, but not what I imagined.

In my mind, I'm disappointed these didn't turn out perfectly, not a great sign if I mess up the first baked good of the year is it? Crumby! They did harden at the end of the day, so maybe these cookies are best the day after?

I hope you have better luck:

Cinnamon-Sugar Cookie Squares
From Gilt Taste
(Makes about 40 bite-size cookies)

½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups of sugar
½ cup of canola oil
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
¼ cup of cinnamon-sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line your 11x15-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix all the ingredients together with an electric mixer. Begin with the butter, sugar, oil, eggs, milk, and finally the dry ingredients.
3. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly with a metal spatula. 
4. Make cinnamon-sugar by mixing ½ tablespoon of cinnamon into ¼ cup of sugar. Stir until combined.
5. Sprinkle the top of the batter with cinnamon-sugar and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are light brown.
6. Let the cookies cool and cut into bite-size squares.