Grandma Keeton's Cinnamon Bars

Who doesn't love a moist and delicious bar! Well this recipe screams Christmas because every year my parents and I would drive up to spend the night at my grandmas house and she always had these bars fresh out of the oven when we got there. I think it was because it was my dads favorite.






Even though my grandmas house had five bedrooms, I always slept downstairs in the living room on the floor next to this old vintage faux electric fire place. The kind with the scooped neck, and wire curtains that closed to keep what would have been sparks if the fire place had been real. I used to always use the little wooden handles to close the curtain so I wouldn't get soot on my hands. Oye the things I believed in when I was little HEE HEE. When I was searching for a picture of her fire place I realized I had forgotten all about the fact that they had this pot bellied fire attachment set sitting next to the fire place. I don't think I ever remember them using it. I had forgotten all about that until I ran across a picture. There was no reason to stoke the fire as the logs were plastic and the only heat came from an electric vent at the bottom. I used to curl up on my layers of blankets and pillows and watch that metal drum behind the logs turn and turn until I would fall asleep, my belly full from her home cooked meal and frosting still on my face from her cinnamon bars. Those were some magical days......

~ Cinnamon Bars ~ 

1/2 cup softened butter

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup crushed almonds 

(I finely chop with a knife or you can use a hand chopper)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon 

Dash of nutmeg

1 egg

3/4 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk 

1 scrapped vanilla bean (ME)
or 

1 tsp vanilla extract (Grandma)

Mix the first four ingredients until crumbly

 (I use a food processor but a mixer will work just fine)

Press 2 cups of the crumble mixture into a lightly Pam sprayed 9x13.

To the remaining mixture, add remainder of ingredients and pour over the crust.
Bake at 350* for 20 minutes or until toothpick in the center comes out with tiny bits of cake stuck to it :) and cake is just lightly browned.

Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

ENJOY!