The Cinnamon Squares from the Magnolia Table Cookbook Vol.1, as Joanna Gaines describes, are a "bit of a labor of love" but completely and absolutely
To get this recipe FREE, click THIS LINK to download the recipe that Joanna shared on the Magnolia website for your use if you don't have the cookbook.
The Review...
Baking these Cinnamon Squares will fill your home with the most wonderful aroma of cinnamon, sugar, and yeasted dough making for some of the most amazing flavor memories that will trigger you and your family for years to come! This is one of those recipes that will bring back memories from childhood for the rest of your life. They are a wonderful tradition to start and make for all the special occasions!
The dough for this recipe comes together quickly. The waiting is the hardest/easiest part. It is the only thing you have to really wait on is for the dough to rise. But it gives you time to make your filling and then you are ready to roll when your dough has proofed.
I will say, this recipe makes a MASSIVE batch, and I will probably cut it in half when I make it again in the future. I froze half of the finished product which meant that they were enjoyed for many weekend breakfasts to come.
The Reaction...
These Cinnamon Squares are a delicious, beautiful breakfast addition to any table. This dough produces some great pillow-like squares, with lightly crisp edges and a soft center. My mom told me she wouldn't be sad if I decided to make those more often.
Spicy and sweet this is a recipe I wouldn't mind makine over and over. The dough is super easy to toss together and quick to make,
The TIPS...
If you froze them throw them in the toaster oven to warm them up and it was like the first time they came out of the oven. They hold up beautifully. They stay tender and soft just gently warm them in a 350˚F oven for 6-8 min just til warmed thru.
I have had a few comments about people having a hard time working with the dough. When initially mixing the dough, it should be slightly tacky, but not sticky. If the dough it too wet add a little extra flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough can be handled but not completely stick to your hands.
Also, from my experience working with dough over the years (I had a few years where I was obsessed with making bread almost daily) I believe that if you wanted to you could easily roll this recipe and make them into cinnamon rolls.
Just beware of the filling, if it leaks to be bottom of a pan it will be hard to get off. It is SUPER STICKY. You will want to line your pan with parchment and spray it well with pan spray to keep clean up easy. That said, I love making them into squares, they get really fluffy layers in the middle that are super soft and tender.
Overall, I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I have. If you have any notes or questions about them feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page. I would love to hear from you!
Until next time, Happy Cooking!
Kendell
If you watched Joanna makes this recipe on Season 4, Episode 5 of her new cooking show 'Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines' you can get the recipe by CLICKING HERE, she shared it on her blog so you can make it at home!
read my other reviews of season 4 episode 5 here...
Snickerdoodle Coffee (coming soon)
Mixed Berry Salad (coming soon)
Churros (coming soon)
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Sandra says
Can you use Rapid rise yeast?
Kendell says
Yes
Lindsey says
My son just made these using my husbands home-made sour dough starter like we use for our bread ever week. He's super bummed because it appears that all the filling has "leaked" out to the bottom of the pan. And suggestions to making them look better and keep the filling inside better? TIA
Kendell says
I did have some filling leaks as well. You could refrigerate the dough before baking to stiffen up the filling and prevent so much leakage. I would refrigerate for at least 4 hours to really set the butter filling. They could also be rested overnight in the fridge to set the filling and baked fresh in the morning.
Jennifer Thomasson says
Just finished making the dough and thought I would check on line to see if 2c. of sugar in the dough was correct. Seems like a lot of sugar.
Kendell says
Yeah, it's right. It will become all caramel-like when baking!
Emily says
Hey there Kendell! Do you think there is a way to prepare these ahead of time, where you could just pop them into the oven the next day? I'm wanting to make these for my family the morning after Thanksgiving, but I won't be able to make them the day of! I would love to know what you think! TIA!
Kendell says
Hey Emily, when I made these I baked them all and froze half of them. When I reheated them in the toaster oven they were as good if not better than when they were fresh! They hold up super well. I would make them and store in the freezer until you want to eat them, then reheat gently in a 275-300 degree oven for about 10 minutes to heat them all the way through.
Laura Santos says
I have some advice...don't waste your time. I am a very experienced baker and I feel like I wasted a lot of time and ingredients for a mediocre (at best) product. I tried these about a month ago as a treat for my husband. He loves anything cinnamon and initially I was planning to make them for his birthday. I ended up tossing out the dough the first time I tried the recipe because it didn't seem to rise properly. I bought new yeast and used a thermometer to measure the water temperature and followed the instructions to the letter. Or I should say, I tried to because there were so many instructions that were so difficult to follow and/or they just didn't work, that I did the best I could. I used utensils to count out my cups of flour to make sure I had six. I cooked them a little longer than the recipe said because they didn't appear to rise as much as in the photo I had taken out of a magazine. The final outcome...meh. My husband thought they were too sweet and I thought they were too doughy. Definitely too much work to justify the final product.
Kendell says
Hey Laura, I am sorry to hear you had such a hard time with this recipe. I think it may be written with about a cup too much flour. I need to make them again, the first time I made them they took some work, but they came out really great. But there are plenty of other good recipes in the book. The After-School Banana Bread is a real winner!
Helen says
Have you posted this recipe for us to try or are you promoting the cookbook?
Kendell says
Hey Helen, I don't post the recipes, my blog posts are simply reviews of the recipe sharing the things I learned while making them. Some of them I had issues with and made adjustments and many people have told me that has been helpful to them. I don't "promote" the book, but I do love it and recommend it. I don't make any money from suggesting it, I do that on my own free will. But the recipes are not mine to give away so I do not post them unless I have altered them and made them my own. You can see an example of this on the
Pimento Cheeserecipe review.Jesse Phillips says
I'm making them right now and they don't seem to be rising. I wonder what I did wrong. The dough was very soupy (I rarely bake), it felt more like VERY thick pancake batter. I'm wondering if the problem is that I took too long to add the flour? After I "woke" the yeast, I took 10 or 15 minutes to melt the butter, beat the eggs, get the other stuff together - would that cause me to lose all of the carbon dioxide or whatever that would've made it rise?
This cookbook in general has felt much like the recipes weren't tested. But, again, I'm a newb chef, maybe that's it.
Kendell says
Hi Jess, is the dough sticky? If so you need more flour. Retrace your steps and make sure you got all 6 cups in. The dough should be able to be picked up without running through your hands.
I will say that the dough ends up a little firm after cooking, but overall they came out well. I hope it all works out for you. Feel free to message me on instagram if you have more questions.
Lisa says
Just a thought-If you didn't cool the melted butter it may have killed the yeast.
Michelle says
I made these last Christmas for our Christmas Day brunch with my parents- they def are a labor of love- mine too were dense, but I was okay with that. My father fell in love with these and requested I make them every Christmas now. I left all the leftovers with him and he froze them and would pull one square
Out and let defrost and then would heat them up. He said they froze really well! Love this recipe- I think they are dense, but I too followed the recipe to a T- kinda had the texture
Of a soft scone? I’m making them again- either way these are definitely a keeper!
Kendell says
Michelle, I love that story! I agree they were a little dense or tough, but also soft at the same time. Any way you mix it, we at them all, but I will say that the leftovers were best when reheated in the toaster oven, it kept the outside crisp and the middle soft.
Denise says
I have tried this recipe twice and followed to the letter and both times it’s come out dense. It’s not the yeast I tested it. And I love making breads and such so I feel like it’s something in the recipe? Any ideas?
Kendell says
Ya know, they were a little bit heavy, but mine came out pretty well. How did you proof your dough? Just on the counter or in a warm oven. The only other thing I could think of would be that you just didn't get enough rise.
Natalie says
Hi there! I made these a while ago and can’t recall the trick with the filling? Perhaps I over mixed it-or my butter wasn’t cold enough. Do you remember how long it takes to blend the filling and do you do it all at once in a large processor?
Kristen says
Hello, can I make the dough the day before and have it ready to go the next morning?
Kendell says
These hold up really well, and reheat well too, I would suggest making and baking them fully and then reheating them in the oven or toaster oven before serving just to have that fresh baked feeling.
Candace hall says
Id lovecthe cinnamon square recipe as i dont have tge magnolua table cook book Thank you !
Kendell says
Here is a link to a photo of it on Pinterest, https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4d/8b/20/4d8b20ad1b6b308eeb5e1fac2c8a69f9.jpg