cinnamon

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

Mar 29, 2015

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes – fluffy and moist vanilla cupcakes with Cinnamon Toast Crunch buttercream! The cereal is crushed up and used in the frosting!

Happy Sunday! Tomorrow my kids go back to school after 9 days off so we’re living it up with Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes! And probably a trip to the park to fly some kites that I found in the back of my closet while packing.

My kids are total cereal connoisseurs so they were pretty impressed by these cupcakes. They were, however, more impressed with the Skylanders Skystones game that came in the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Do you remember being a kid and being SO EXCITED when there was a toy in the box? I can remember standing in the cereal aisle and asking my mom for a specific kind just because it had a toy. And lucky me, I was an only child so I didn’t even have to fight anyone for the toy!

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Cinnamon Chip Bread (Great Harvest Copycat)

Feb 05, 2015

Happy Thursday! We’ve almost made it to the weekend.

It’s actually officially the weekend around here. My kids have a 4-day for parent/teacher conferences – it’s nice to have them home but ugggghhhh, conferences. You guys know I cry every. single. time. that I have to go in there.

So for the first time in the history of me, I pointed at my husband and said, “I’m not going. You do it.”

And he is.

Basically, today is the best day of my life.

To make today even better, I’m going to make French toast with this amazing Cinnamon Chip Bread that I made yesterday.

Guys, I’m into the yeast again.

This is supposed to be like the Great Harvest cinnamon bread but I’ve never tried it so I can’t really confirm. But I just looked it up and we totally have a couple Great Harvests here so I should probably go compare theirs to mine while my husband deals with the conferences. Right?

I can tell you that it’s the lightest, fluffiest bread ever and I love those cinnamon chips so much. And I love that some of the cinnamon chips melted a little during kneading so it almost looks like there are cinnamon swirls in the bread.

For my afternoon snack yesterday, I smeared a pretty large piece of the bread with sunflower butter and then sprinkled more cinnamon chips on top… best snack ever.

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Cinnamon Twists

Apr 16, 2013

Have you ever had the worst craving for a cinnamon roll but been stranded at home because your husband took your car to work because it’s snowing and he refuses to put new windshield wipers on his car? And you obviously can’t make cinnamon rolls from scratch because that would way too long. Plus you would be left with a pan of cream cheese frosting-covered cinnamon rolls and you’re already having trouble buttoning your jeans so yeah. Cinnamon rolls are out.

But these guys? All the taste of cinnamon rolls (without the frosting, obviously) but they’re a million times easier to make. Hands-on time for this recipe was less than 15 minutes!

I made these guys for Red Star Yeast and they are so delicious. It’s basically a soft yeast dough that’s sprinkled with pecans and cinnamon sugar before being rolled out and cut into strips. The strips are twisted and then baked. The cinnamon twists are incredibly simple to make and like I mentioned, took hardly any time. I used Red Star Yeast’s Platinum and they rose beautifully and pretty quick considering how cold it’s been here lately.

If you’re looking for a quick, easy, comforting after-school snack or breakfast or maybe even dinner, you should definitely give these guys a try.

Cinnamon Twists

from Red Star Yeast

Ingredients

For the dough:

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1/3 cup butter
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

For the filling:

1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter melted

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 375F
In large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt; mix well. Heat milk, water and 1/3 cup butter until very warm (120-130 F; butter does not need to melt). Add to flour mixture. Add egg. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until dough tests ripe.
PREPARE FILLING: Combine 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
Punch down dough. On lightly floured surface roll dough to a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with nuts; press into dough. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over dough. Cut dough in half crosswise. Cut each half into 6 strips, 2 inches wide. Twist each strip 2 or 3 times with cinnamon side out. Place twists in greased 13 x 9-inch cake pan. Cover; let rise in warm place until indentation remains after touching.
Bake at 375F for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool.

This post sponsored by Red Star Yeast. All opinions are my own.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Bread

Oct 13, 2011

I’ve made a lot of pumpkin bread in ~~my life~~ my 5 years of cooking and this one right here is by far the best. Why you ask. Because it was absolutely exploding with cinnamon chips. Ex. Plod. Ing.

Oh yes.

The cake itself was ridiculously moist and pumpkin-y but the cinnamon chips stole the show. Y’all, don’t expect to see anymore pumpkin bread recipes on this blog – this is the only one I will ever make!

(You guys know I’m lying. I can’t help trying more! But this one is superb. Beyond superb.)

I made mini loaves but the recipe makes enough batter for one big one if you would rather do that. Can’t find cinnamon chips? Hershey’s has a locator!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Bread

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
½ teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup cinnamon chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease 2 mini loaf pans or 1 regular size loaf pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stirring to combine. Fold in the cinnamon chips.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake mini loaves for about 30-35 minutes and large loaves for 60-70 minutes. Test with a toothpick in the center of the bread to make sure it's fully baked. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Aug 30, 2011

My husband comes home for breakfast every morning so I’ve been making a real effort to have a hot breakfast ready for him. But that means coming up with something new everyday because the man just can’t handle Bisquick waffles everyday. He was so excited to see these pancakes and was even more excited when he tried them. The cinnamon sugar mixture becomes almost crunchy when it hits the pan and added something really fun to the pancake.

I know they don’t look simple but trust me, they are! You just make your batter as usual and after you put some in your pan, you draw a little swirl with the cinnamon sugar mix over top, then finish cooking as normal. I used a squirt bottle (that you can get really cheap just about anywhere) but a pastry bag would work as well.

I’ve made these twice within the past week. That should tell you how good they are.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Ingredients

1 batch of your favorite pancake batter ready to be cooked
1 stick of butter softened almost to the point of being melted
Â½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

Mix butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together, heating it up in the microwave to get it pourable consistency if you need to. You donâ€™t want the butter completely melted or it will come out of your squirt bottle (or pastry bag) too quickly and you wonâ€™t get a pretty swirl.
Add pancake batter to your pan as normal and quickly make a swirl of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Cook the pancake until bubbles form on top and then flip.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

May 11, 2011

Every once in awhile I make something that completely baffles my husband. Like this bread. It’s supposed to be like monkey bread, except in a loaf pan, right? My dear, sweet husband thought I had taken store-bought bread, sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar, and then baked it. When I tried to explain to him that it was just monkey bread in a different shape, I was met with a blank stare. Because he had no idea what monkey bread is. No idea what monkey bread is. Tell me, how does someone go 25 years without ever even seeing monkey bread?!

Regardless, he loved this bread. All my boys did actually. It didn’t stand a chance in this house and was gone before the day was over! It’s the softest bread you can imagine on the inside but the bottom crust gets a little caramel-y from the sugar settling at the bottom of the pan and the top crust gets nice and toasty. In other words, the most perfect piece of bread you can imagine.

It’s also shockingly easy to make. The dough is not sticky at all which made rolling it out and cutting it very quick. The only thing I would change would be to double it next time around. You’re going to regret it if you don’t!

(Yes, I will be making monkey bread this weekend.)

1 from 1 vote

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more as needed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

For the filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan and heat just until the butter is melted. Set aside and let cool briefly, until the mixture registers 115-125 F on an instant-read thermometer. Add the milk mixture, water, vanilla and eggs to the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until a cohesive dough forms. Continue to knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky. Knead about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (After the dough has doubled, it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding.)
While the dough rises, combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix well.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Roll into a ball, cover with a clean towel and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough out into an approximately 12 x 20-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough in an even layer.
Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Slice the dough vertically into 6 even strips. Stack the strips on top of each other and again cut again into 6 equal slices. Stack all the squares on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place, 30-45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Transfer the loaf to the oven and bake 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. (If the top seems to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil at the end of baking.) Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan 20-30 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen and carefully turn the loaf out, transferring to a serving plate. Serve warm.

Snickerdoodle Pinwheels

Oct 08, 2010

Back for week 2 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies! I’m not going to lie, I’m already having trouble coming up with cookies! I did 25 days of holiday treats last December and used most of my favorite recipes and others that I’d wanted to try for awhile.

I was inspired by my snickerdoodle cupcakes but wanted something different from the usual snickerdoodle. These turned out just as I’d hoped and they might just be the cutest cookies I’ve ever seen.

The dough is almost a sugar cookie dough but it includes cream cheese which I think belongs in all snickerdoodles. It gives the cookies a softer texture and just a slight tang that you probably wouldn’t notice if it wasn’t pointed out to you. The cinnamon sugar gives it the classic snickerdoodle flavor and you could even take it one step further and dust the tops of the cookies with the mixture, although it would cover up the pretty swirls.

The cookies are a little more involved than regular cookies. My advice is to generously flour your work surface. I skimped on the flour and ended up having to piece the dough together as I rolled it. So use more than you normally would and use a pastry brush to dust any excess off.

It’s a great cookie though and one that just about anyone would enjoy. I look forward to making it again once the holidays get here!

Snickerdoodle Pinwheels

Ingredients

For the cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
3 ounces cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the cinnamon mixture:

1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Sift in flour and baking powder. Mix just until combined, being careful not to overmix. Dump dough onto counter and knead 2 or 3 times just to incorporate any leftover flour. Divide into 2 discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour.
To make cinnamon mixture, combine sugar and cinnamon. Melt butter; set aside.
Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll out into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle on a floured surface. Brush dough with half of the melted butter. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Starting from one of the short sides, roll into a tight log. Wrap in plastic wrap. Repeat with other disc. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375F.
Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 1/4-inch rounds; place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are just slightly golden. Cool on wire rack.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Oct 07, 2010

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes – your favorite holiday cookie as a cupcake! Cinnamon cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and dusted with cinnamon sugar!

I’m not sure what’s going on in the rest of the country but it’s been ridiculously cold down here all week.

We’re used to wearing shorts and t-shirts well into December so I’ve been freezing my butt off and whining to everyone who will listen.

The good news is that the cold snap coupled with me trying to comes up with new Christmas cookie recipes has really made me look forward to the holidays.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!

I made these cupcakes because I wanted something with the holiday flavors but not really a traditional holiday treat.

Basically, I wanted my kitchen to smell like cinnamon and it worked! Plus I ended up with a bunch of delicious cupcakes!

It’s pretty much just a cinnamon cupcake so to bring out the snickerdoodle flavor a little more, I went with a cream cheese frosting since I use cream cheese in my favorite snickerdoodle cookie recipe.

It worked just as I’d hoped and was absolutely delicious.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting
1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
4 large eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting:

1/2 cup 1 stick butter, softened
8 ounces 1 brick cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons milk if needed

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
To finish, combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Either pipe or spread frosting on cupcake. Using a small, fine sieve, dust peaks with cinnamon-sugar.

To make the frosting:

In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until light. Mix in vanilla and cinnamon; add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until all is incorporated. If the icing gets too thick, add milk a few drops at a time until it reaches desired consistency.