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Tag Archives: cinnamon
snickerdoodle blondies
Despite snickerdoodles being one of my favorite cookies, I usually only make them for the holiday season. They are just so labor intensive (for me). I’m far too lazy for all the rolling and the sugar-coating… ugh. No thanks.
These blondies differ from traditional snickerdoodles in a number of ways, which make them both easier and more delicious than your usual snickerdoodle. First off, where a normal snickerdoodle is just a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar, these have the cinnamon flavor throughout the entire base PLUS the cinnamon-sugar coating. Second, they are bars. That means you don’t have to chill, scoop, or roll them. Just smoosh them into a 9×13 pan and you’re good to go.
These snickerdoodle blondies have been in my Christmas Cookie care packages the past two years running, but BF complains that I should make them all year long. It’s just not fair that I only break them out for Christmas. So when BF’s cute little niece came over the other weekend requesting snickerdoodles, I took that as an opportunity to break this recipe out. I don’t think Boyfriend ate a single one, poor thing.
You can see by the slightly cakey texture that these ended up with a bit too much flour in them. It’s amazing what a difference just a little extra flour makes, but these things happen when you have a young apprentice in your kitchen. Luckily, the blondies still tasted great – and that’s the important part. So if you worried that adding too much flour would be the end of the world, don’t be. But if you want the more dense blondie texture for your snickerdoodles, be sure to “scoop and sweep” your flour. 🙂
< — The texture is usually more dense, like this
Pardon the poor picture quality as it was taken during christmas baking with a cell phone… 2 years ago… 🙂
Perhaps I can add new pictures next time I make this recipe (in December…)
Snickerdoodle Blondies
[ Printable Recipe ]
For Blondies:
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For Topping:
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- a pinch nutmeg
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with foil or parchment – this will make cutting and removing your blondies inifinity easier.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix the remaining cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg; set aside.
- In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- Stir in the flour mixture until well blended.
- Spread evenly in prepared pan* and sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting.
[ Adapted from MBA ]
cheater cinnamon rolls
I have a confession to make. Remember how last weekend I was really busy and didn’t have time for you guys? Remember how all I had was puff pastry and I couldn’t find my “try hard” pants, so you got a recipe for pesto-salami rolls? Well, I was holding out on you. I really wanted to talk about my weekend and our trip up to Flagstaff, with lots of nature pictures. So, in an attempt to not overwhelm you with a thousand pictures, I compromised. I gave you my puff pastry roll-up recipe, with pictures of outdoors, when I really had this amazing cheater cinnamon roll recipe that I made that very same day. That’s how easy this puff pastry thing is – 2 recipes, 10 minutes (not including baking time, of course), just spread with ingredients and roll up. SO EASY! And look how cute they were, just LOOK!
As I was trying to think of something to do with my puff pastry – I vaguely remembered watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa where she made cheater “sticky buns” using puff pastry. I didn’t want sticky buns. I know this may be considered sacrilege, but I really abhor nuts in my baked goods. (I know, try not to judge me too hard.)
However, since sticky buns are pretty much just fancy (and messy) cinnamon rolls – I decided that puff pastry would be delicious filled with cinnamon. You have no idea how right I was. The best part? The cinnamon sugar somehow leaked into the bottom of the muffin cup and caramelized on the bottom of the cinnamon roll – giving it this layer of delicious cinnamon-sugary goodness.
Just look at that goodness. Who could possibly say no to that? The only change I would make is to add more cinnamon filling to these, although I’m not completely convinced it wouldn’t just leak to the bottom of the roll. I’m also not completely convinced that leaking to the bottom would be a bad thing. Did I mention how fast and easy these are to make?
They lack the soft, sweet chew usually associated with a nice, fresh cinnamon roll. Instead they have a slight crunch to them (it is, after all, puff pastry). They really don’t keep all that well, either, not that they’d last past day two anyway. They’re so simple to make and come together so quickly, it’s a great alternative to a fussy, million hour cinnamon roll recipe for your next brunch. Just thaw the pastry dough overnight in the fridge, and assemble 30 minutes before your company arrives.
Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 2 Tbsp butter, softened or melted
- 1/4 C brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon (more if desired)
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Unfold puff pastry sheet and spread with softened or melted butter.
2. Sprinkle brown sugar over sheet of puff pastry (I just sprinkle enough to cover it evenly, I don’t really measure), then sprinkle with cinnamon, leaving about 1/2 inch along the side farthest from you.
3. Tightly roll pastry from the side closest to you. Press the “clean” edge into the roll to seal. Cut into 6 pieces and place in muffin cups, cut side up.
4. Bake 20 – 30 min @ 375F until golden brown. Cool on wire rack about 10 minutes before eating (just so they don’t burn you as you shovel them into your mouth).
**Your average puff pastry package will come with 2 sheets of pastry dough. Each sheet will give you 6 rolls, so one package will yield 12 rolls.
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cpa bread
I love cinnamon (especially cinnamon + sugar) so much it hurts. Not really, but it’s going to start hurting soon, once the diabetes develops and I can’t consume my current levels of sugar anymore. I saw this bread on Annie’s Eats and immediately started drooling all over my computer.
I learned a couple things here: First, my counters are perfect for pastry-rolling if I do say so myself. Second, my oven is rebelling. BF says it’s just jealous because it’s the only part of the old kitchen that remains. I told him we should upgrade then I don’t mind! 😉 Anyway, the oven’s uneven heat caused the outsides of the bread to bake much more quickly than the middle, resulting in a funny-looking concave mutant loaf. I also learned that mutant loaves of cinnamon pull-apart bread are still flippin’ delicious. Guess mom was right, you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
sad, little mutant loaf
This bread has all the flavor of a cinnamon roll, with none of the rolling. Okay, well there’s a little rolling, and some slicing, and stacking. But it’s so worth it, and once you eat the ends, every single slice in there is just like the inside of a cinnamon roll which, let’s be honest, is everyone’s favorite part. I totally should have made a cinnamon roll glaze to put over the top of this, or possibly as a dipping sauce on the side. Guess I’ll just have to make it again… Just gotta get this oven whipped back into shape.
Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 2¾ C all-purpose flour
- ¼ C sugar
- 2¼ tsp instant (rapid rise) yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 C milk
- ¼ C water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 4 Tbs unsalted butter
- 1 C sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
For the dough:
For the filling:
Instructions
- 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 (or microwave) 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, about 1 hour. *
- While the dough rises, add the butter to a small saucepan and melt until browned. Set aside.
- 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 browned butter (don’t be stingy). Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough in an even layer. Dump it all on there, a lot will fall off while you’re working anyway.
- Lightly grease (and/or line with parchment) a 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-ish slices. Stack all the squares on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place, 30-45 minutes.
- 10. While the dough is rising, 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. This bread is best served warm!
Notes
*After its first rise, the dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. Let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding
*I was a little stingy on the butter, which meant a lot of my cinnamon fell off- so don't worry about it. The extra little bit of butter isn't going to kill you, and it's totally worth more ooey-gooey deliciousness.
*I might add brown sugar to the filling next time, since I love to put it in my cinnamon rolls - it lends a slightly more complex flavor and texture to the filling.
[ Adapted from Annie’s Eats ]
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
First things first…
For your convenience (with the help of Sweet Pea) I have been able to add a printer-friendly version of this recipe. I will go through my old posts over the next few days to update them as well. Also, taking a moment for shameless self-promotion, don’t forget to come ‘like’ me on Facebook!
Now, onto that sweet, delicious cake pictured above (and below) …