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Sugar Cookie Bars
Margaux Laskey, “American Girl Cookies”
5453 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
5,453
40 minutes, plus cooling
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Prepare the strawberries: Combine the chopped strawberries, sumac, sugar and almond extract in a small bowl and set aside to macerate, a process of letting the berries soften and release their juices.
Meanwhile, prepare the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda and baking powder to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a medium bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs and 1 cup/200 grams sugar on medium-high speed until very pale and light yellow in color, about 3 minutes. The mixture should thicken and make ribbons that slowly lose their shape when they fall off the whisk attachment. With the mixer on high speed, slowly add the remaining 1 cup/240 milliliters olive oil and beat until everything is combined.
Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly begin adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions, adding the half-and-half in between additions. Mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the diced strawberries and their liquid. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Arrange the halved strawberries on the top.
Bake for 50 to 65 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the cake is becoming too brown before the center has set, cover loosely with foil.
In a small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons/25 grams sugar with the sumac. Sprinkle the cake with the sumac sugar while still slightly warm.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto the rack or release the springform ring and remove it. (If using a standard cake pan, some sugar may fall off of the cake. Use parchment or wax paper to catch any stray sugar and sprinkle back over the cake.) Let cool completely before serving. Store leftover cake in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 1 day (or refrigerate up to 4 days).
As once only the words “caramel pecan” could do, now seeing “sumac” in any recipe garners a spot in my repertoire to use the harvest of my front yard edible. (It’s a stunning garden addition with burning bush red leaves during one of its seasonal turns!) Don’t miss the chance to make a hibiscus-reminiscent iced tea from the berries.
Not enough strawberries. The 2 cups called for amounted to about 10 ounces; next time I’ll use a pound.
This was surprisingly delicious. Made it exactly as directed but I would definitely add a lot more chopped strawberries next time and maybe increase the sumac as well. Came out much more beautiful than the photo and is lightly sweet. A bit like a clafoutis but with a cornbread twist.
Sumac is a very commonly used spice in the levant (Arab absolutely not Israeli) cuisine. It is used in Tabouli, spinach triangles, etc. Very tangy and delicious.
This needs about 2x the strawberries. I would also recommend sprinkling the sugar on the top before cooking so it bakes in. I didn't trust my instinct on this and the sugar doesn't really stick to the cake after baking.
I paused when I saw that this contains 2 cups of flour and a cup of cornmeal, as 3-cup cake recipes need two layers or a 9 x 13 pan, not a single round layer. But, I decided to follow the instructions exactly, and of course my cake mushroomed up out of the pan. It’s delicious and easy to make, but would really benefit from a larger pan to accommodate that much batter.
I had to bake this much longer than indicated in the recipe. It is still cooling so I have not tasted it yet.
@jessien: Sumac spice is made from sumac berries. It's citrusy in flavour. I started using it when I started making Ottolenghi recipes.
I've been baking this for an hour and a half already... still wet in the middle..
I used vanilla!
Lovely cake. I followed tips from other reviews and increased the maceration berries to 2 cups and doubled the maceration ingredients as well. The cake turned out beautifully. Suggest using the springform pan in this case as there was too much batter for a regular cake pan. I also sprinkled the final sugar and sumac on before baking. Worked great for sugar but the sumac got too dark. Next time, I'll use sanding sugar before baking and sprinkle sumac post baking.
I try to make things according to the recipe the first time out, but I should have listened to you all. Volume IS too much for the pan. If I make this again, I'll reserve some batter for cupcakes, or use a bigger pan. And I didn't even have quite enough strawberries for 2 cups. Also, agreed that the sugar-sumac topping didn't melt into the cake, it just sat there or fell off. The cake is good, I like the texture, and it is very nice with morning coffee. It will serve more than 8.
We did too.
the flavor of sumac in cooking is unique, in my experience, and it's decisive for this recipe. It's worth adding to your spice rack.
I swapped out the cornmeal for ground almonds and kept the berries coarsely chopped. Plus, I omitted the sugar-sumac topping because I wanted to dial down the sweetness. Overall I was really happy with the result. The combination of strawberry, sumac, and almond extract was unusual but really pleasant. I served this with whipped cream and a sauce of strawberries, rhubarb, basil, sugar, and balsamic glaze. The combination was DELICIOUS.
Subbed blueberries for strawberries in roughly the same quantities, otherwise made as written & it turned out great! I think a number of fruits could work well here. This recipe does make quite a bit of batter. I baked in a 9” tall-sided cake pan for about 75 minutes. Added the sumac sugar topping for the last 10 or so.
Quite a lovely, not-too-sweet cake. As others stated, I at least doubled the chopped strawberries and probably could have added more. I used a round 9" spring pan. It took significantly longer than stated to cook. I tried about 90 minutes and some parts of the middle were still too moist. A hit overall with some tweaking.
Loved it! My husband normally hates cake since it's usually too sweet and very dry. This was perfect! Not overly sweet, not dry at all. Texture was very pleasant. I did get a bit funky by day 3 though. I followed directions exactly following the scaled measurements where indicated since those are more exact. If I had to make adjustments I would add a bit more sumac
I took a chance and baked this as my husband's birthday cake today. It was terrific! He described it as rich, but light. I followed the recipe, but as many commentators suggested, did double the amount of chopped berries and sumac. I used home-frozen berries. I used a 9 inch springform pan -- agree it would overflow a regular cake pan. I tented it after 45 minutes. I was intimidated by all the reports of underbaked cakes, so didn't even check it until 65 minutes, and slightly over-baked it
successfully baked a vegan version of this recipe!! i used aquafaba as an egg substitute because i knew it would whip up well. also used a mix of oat milk/coconut creamer instead of half and half
I don't usually experiment with first time recipes - avoiding the dreaded 'I substituted eggs with chess pieces, cake didn't rise, 0 stars, you will be hearing from my attorney' comments. But the comments gave me confindence. Tripled the chopped strawberries, tripled the sumac, added vanilla, handwhisk only, 12 inch springfoil tin for 75 minutes, sugar on top prior to baking. Worked out absolutely delicious, could have added another cup of strawberries. Huge, but the oil means it keeps well.
Lemon zest instead of sumac
It took much longer to bake. 80 min maybe? I subbed Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour since i'm gluten free. Absolutely delicious. Next time I might add more sumac to bring out the tart flavor more.
This came out beautifully risen, moist, fluffy, and extremely well balanced in sweetness, enjoyable by both adults with sophisticated palate and children who prefer a simpler flavor. Per notes from other cooks, I 1) upped both chopped and sliced strawberries by about 50%, which produced a good balance of strawberry and cake, and 2) sprinkled the sugar on top before baking instead of after. I also excluded the sprinkled sumac. I undercooked mine slightly - recommend going full 65 min.
I try to make things according to the recipe the first time out, but I should have listened to you all. Volume IS too much for the pan. If I make this again, I'll reserve some batter for cupcakes, or use a bigger pan. And I didn't even have quite enough strawberries for 2 cups. Also, agreed that the sugar-sumac topping didn't melt into the cake, it just sat there or fell off. The cake is good, I like the texture, and it is very nice with morning coffee. It will serve more than 8.
Add more strawberries for sure and had to cook longer than expected until my toothpick came out clean. Nice Cake.
I baked it for an hour and fifteen minutes and took it out fearing it would dry out. Doubled the strawberries. I think it might work better in a tube pan. I used a 9” springform and the cake wasn’t done in the very center. I want it to be a great recipe, but it needs tweaking.
I so wanted this to be spectacular. I did as people suggested and doubled the strawberries. I sprinkled the sugar on before baking. I used the 9” springform pan. I baked it for a total of 1:15. It was still not completely done in the center. I tented it after an hour to keep it from over browning. I like the taste vey much, but wonder if it might handle a little more? If I bake it again, I’ll try it in a tube pan. That might help it bake through without taking so long. Thoughts? Ideas?
This recipe means well. But it fails. What others have said about the lack of strawberry content is right on target. If I were to make this again, I would at least double the chopped strawberries folded into the batter. And the sumac? There's not nearly enough called for. My fiancee and I could not taste it. I can't offer what the appropriate amount of sumac would be, but what was called for here fell far short. This recipe has potential, but it needs lots of work.
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