Cinnamon Squares

Date Completed: 1/29/2023

It’s time to highlight the Breakfast chapter of Magnolia Table, and I finally get to tell you why we kept making Jojo’s Biscuits to count for other chapters! Even though they are the first recipe in the Breakfast chapter, we made them for the Strawberry Shortcake (Dessert) and again for the Chicken Pot Pie (Dinner). We wanted to officially dedicate our Breakfast chapter entry to these Cinnamon Squares.

I knew immediately that I wanted to make this recipe when I saw it. Complicated, time-consuming recipes just draw me in for some reason. Will I ever learn?

Process Report:

Long and arduous. Don’t make these in the morning before breakfast. Plan to make them for a brunch later in the day. And don’t make them if you don’t have a full-size food processor!

After so much build-up and planning, a disaster happened while we made these. We burned out our mini food processor trying to make the cinnamon filling. UGH!

Our mini food processor ended up working so hard that it melted the butter and brown sugar instead of combining them. We had to throw out half of the filling mixture because of the melty mess!

While I processed (ha!) the loss, Garrett carried on with the recipe. He did such a great job with the rolling, folding, and shaping of these squares.

It took a lot of effort to create all the layers.

Here they are before and after baking!

Taste Report:

These are great because every bite has multiple layers of the cinnamon filling! Even with only half the filling, they tasted very sweet.

The recipe doesn’t include frosting like you’d expect with a traditional cinnamon roll. I could make a case that they are sweet enough without frosting. If you made them for a gathering, though, I think frosting could make them more special.

From a texture perspective, I’m not certain that the dough rose enough. They were quite tough and dense to eat. A bit of a disappointment in that department sadly.

I would still try them again!

Mess Report:

Garrett’s comment: “At least most of it was sugar which melts easily in hot water.”

Leftover Report:

We kept these in the freezer for about a month. They easily microwave for a fast breakfast! We even had them for dessert once with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - yum!

I’ve not yet made traditional cinnamon rolls, but it would be fun to compare!