Cinnamon Ice Cream

This ice cream is good. Really good. The the clean and light cinnamon flavor made my taste buds dance. I will definitely make this recipe again and again and again and again. And, despite the recent arrival of autumn, I will definitely be trying even more ice cream recipes in the near future.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
(Source: The Perfect Scoop)

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
Ten 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken up
2 cups heavy cream, divided
5 egg yolks

1. Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Once warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (should reach 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

5. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

I came across a bag of cherry morsels when I was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and decided it was time to use them or lose them. When I hopped on the internet to look for recipes, there really weren't very many out there. I settled on this one, and I really wasn't sure how they'd turn out. Surprisingly, the cookies were actually quite good. The cinnamon and cherry flavors worked well together, and the oats added a nice texture to the cookie.

Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
(Source: Taste of Home)

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (10 ounces) cherry chips

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chips and walnuts.

2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Makes about 4 dozen.

On the Twelfth Day of Cookies...

I am so proud of these bad boys. This was my first time working with royal icing, and it went really well! I found Brown Eyed Baker's guide to decorating cookies extremely helpful through the whole process. Using royal icing, though time consuming, is quite easy and totally worth the extra effort. My only complaint was that my hand started cramping up after using the piping bags for awhile, but it was well worth it to get such professional looking cookies. I think it's safe to say my cookies will never look like this again! And, if you were wondering, the cookies themselves taste amazing! The little bit of cinnamon in the dough is just brilliant and really gives them an added boost of flavor.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
(Source: Smells Like Home)

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl.

2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough into quarters; flatten each quarter into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 325°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 4-to-5-inch cookie cutter. Transfer cookie dough on plastic wrap to a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from freezer, and transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats. Roll out scraps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.

4. Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges are almost golden, 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Royal Icing
(Source: Smells Like Home)

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp meringue powder
4 1/2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. (Remember, if you are having any difficulty piping, it is still too thick. Add a little more liquid and try again.) Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. Make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.

2. Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with that still in the bowl. If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again. Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a squeeze bottle (or a plastic bag with a hole in one corner), and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie. If it does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along. Allow to set.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

If you love cinnamon rolls, you are gonna love this cake. Tastes exactly like them, only in cake form. Besides being quick and easy (and let's not forget delicious!), it is moist and very cinnamony (yes, I'm making up words here).

Since I made this cake last night, we couldn't eat it warm at work today (damn them for not installing an oven like I requested!), but the cake was still very good. However, when I brought the leftovers home to hubby, I heated up his piece and the cake instantly went from good to FANTASTIC. I will defintiely need to make this again when it can be consumed directly out of the oven.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the cake because my camera battery died and hubby absolutely could not wait any longer to eat the rest of it. Check out Ingrid's site (link is below) for some seriously mouthwatering photos.

Cinnamon Roll Cake
(Source: 3 B's)

Cake:
Yellow Cake Mix
4 eggs
¾ cup oil
1 cup sour cream

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp milk or heavy cream (I used 8 Tbsp of heavy cream to get the consistency I wanted)

1. Mix cake ingredients by hand and pour in 13 x 9 greased baking pan.

2. Mix the filling ingredients together and pour over cake batter. Swirl into batter with knife. (this was not easy to do as the batter is thick)

3. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Let cake cool 10 – 15 minutes.

4. Pour icing over warm cake.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I wish I would have baked an additional batch of these, because the first batch was gone in the blink of an eye. I think it's safe to conclude that these scones were pretty good. I opted to only make the cinnamon icing, but I definitely try these again with the ginger molasses icing. Unfortunately, because these disappeared so fast, the only photo I got was with my iPhone. I guess that gives me another reason to make these again!

Pumpkin Spice Scones
(Source: Pinch My Salt)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional - I omitted)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Ginger Molasses Icing
1 Tbsp molasses
1-2 Tbsp milk
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ginger (to taste)

Stir ingredients together. Adjust the amount of sugar or milk to make the icing the consistency you want (It should be pretty thick).

Cinnamon Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together. Again, adjust amounts to change consistency. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp

My husband found this recipe a couple years ago after we made our first trip to the apple orchard. We were crazy about the recipe the first time we made it and, now that I've made it for a third time, it's still just as good. What we like about the recipe is, because of the zest and juices, you can pretty much use any kind of apples you want. Which is really good because, if we are using apples we picked at the orchard, we really have no idea what kind they are.

Some people complain that the citrus kick that all the zest and juice add to this apple crisp cover up the homey, delicious, comforting tastes of the apples and the cinnamon. That may be true, but we love it and it will definitely be a recipe we keep using year after year.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp
(Source: Food Network)

5 pounds McIntosh or Macoun apples
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
2 sticks (16 Tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

2. Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.

3. To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.

4. Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix

As soon as General Mills came out with Cinnamon Chex, I was eager to see what kind of chex mix recipes would be created for it. I've been home with the husband for a much needed long weekend and decided this would make for a yummy snack while we were bumming around the house watching movies and relaxing. It was so good, it was gone before I even got the chance to take photos of it!

Photo courtesy of Chex.com

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix
(Source: Chex)

1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
2 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
4 cups popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter or margarine

1. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals and popcorn.

2. In 1-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.

3. Microwave uncovered on High 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture evenly over cereal mixture; stir. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture; stir. Microwave 1 minute longer. Spread on waxed paper or paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies are just like snickerdoodles, but quicker and healthier (if you can even consider a cookie healthy). This recipe uses whole wheat flour and incorporates cinnamon into the batter instead of rolling the dough into balls and then in cinnamon and sugar. A delicious twist on a great cookie.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Cookies
(Source: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, the eggs and the vanilla.

3. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda, salt, and cinnamon.

4. Scoop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not overcooked.

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

I had these ready for immediate consumption when the nurse walked out our front door this morning. You see, we had to fast for 12 hours for a health assessment and I thought this was the perfect way to celebrate.

If you're looking for the real thing, this recipe is probably not for you. However, if you're looking for the delicious goodness of a cinnamon roll without having to wait for the yeast to work it's magic, then this is definitely the recipe for you. This recipe yields a cake-like version of the cinnamon roll that is both quick and simple to make - I even managed to roll the dough without disaster. I can definitely see myself making these on a semi-regular basis.

That said, this recipe confirms my desire to one day make real cinnamon rolls. There is something to be said about warm, flaky cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven, covered in a sweet and sugary icing. Mmmm...

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

(Source: Ezra Pound Cake)

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Biscuit Dough:
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Icing:
6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
4 to 6 teaspoons milk or heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. For the Filling: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. For the Dough: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups cream, and stir until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. With your hands, fold the dough over a few times in the bowl, until the dough is smooth.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands, and pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle, about 9 X 13 inches. Brush the surface of the dough with the remaining tablespoon of cream. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping.

5. Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder. Slice into 9 equal rounds. Place the rounds, cut side down, into an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish or a pie plate. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly browned.

6. For the Icing: While the biscuits bake, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and milk or cream until smooth. When you remove the biscuits from the oven, immediately drizzle them with icing. Serve warm.

Makes 9 biscuits

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Tonight was National Night Out, so I whipped up these awesome bars last night after work. I had completely forgotten I needed to make something for the get together until late Monday morning, so I had to quick scrounge for a recipe that would appeal to people of all ages. I chose these Snickerdoodle Blondies because a) they looked delicious, b) they were super easy (and quick!), and c) I had all of the necessary ingredients on hand (very important since I did not have time to run to the grocery store).

These blondies have made their rounds on the blogosphere and for a very good reason. They are divine, amazing, fantastic, mouth watering.... well, you get the point! If you enjoy snickerdoodles, then you will love these bars. They are soft and chewy on the inside with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar topping. I think I might have under baked them a tad too much because these were a little too chewy for my taste (which is saying a lot since I normally like my cookies and bars very soft and chewy).

I’m going to make these again soon, especially because there are no special ingredients involved, just the basics and some cinnamon and sugar.

Snickerdoodle Blondies
(Source: One Ordinary Day & My Baking Addiction)

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
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
a pinch nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line a 9×13″ baking pan.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Beat until smooth.

4. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly into prepared pan with greased spatula or hands. Combine topping: granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over top of batter.

5. Bake 25 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool.

Makes 24 bars.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins with Struesel Topping

I've been eying these muffins for quite some time and I finally made them this weekend when I was looking for a way to use up some of the buttermilk I had sitting in my fridge from when I made the Spice Cake for Alison's birthday last week.

The muffin itself has a slightly sweet and subtle cinnamon flavor and bakes up with a moist, tender and fluffy crumb, thanks to the buttermilk. This is a nice contrast to the sweet brown sugar and cinnamon streusel that gives the muffins a crisp and sweet top. Without the topping, the subtle flavor of the muffin would be lost and the muffin might even be considered too plain.

The original recipe for this muffin, from Williams Sonoma, calls for dipping the muffins in melted butter and then in a cinnamon sugar topping. I would be interested in trying it this way, as I imagine both the look and the taste of them would be a lot like those yummy cinnamon sugar doughnuts.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins
(Source: Bakingblonde's Weblog)

For the muffins:
7 Tbsp butter

2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Struesel:
2 Tbsp flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter, softened

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease 6 jumbo muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping.

2. To make the muffins, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well until pale and smooth.

3. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

5. To make the topping, in a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or forks until mixture resembles cornmeal. Gently sprinkle topping evenly over batter in prepared muffin tin. Gently press down topping slightly.

6. Bake until the muffins are golden, dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25-27 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and let stand until cool enough to handle.

Makes 6 Jumbo Muffins (or 9 regular muffins)

Cinnamon-Oat Scones

In addition to making another batch of oatmeal raisin cookies for my dad, I decided to be bold and attempt making scones for the very first time. Scones sound hard to make, but I found them surprisingly simple. This particular recipe, I admit, yielded scones that were a little dry and too bland for my taste, but otherwise fine. What little flavor they did have was the result of the cinnamon-sugar topping, which was quite tasty but not enough flavor for me. If I were to make this particular recipe again, I would add more spice to the scone batter itself. However, it's more likely that next time (yes, there will most definitely be a next time) I will try something else. This seems right up my alley. :)

Cinnamon-Oat Scones
(Source: Pillsbury Baking)

Scones:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk

Topping:
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix flour, oats, brow sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. With pastry blender or fork, cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture is crumbly. Add milk all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

2. On floured work surface, gently knead dough 5 or 6 times. Place on cookie sheet; press into 6-inch round, about 1 inch thick. Brush top with melted butter.

3. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over top. Cut into 8 wedges; separate slightly.

4. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Cinnamon-Caramel Swirl Shortbread

You may think pairing cinnamon and caramel is odd, but in reality it is a perfectly matched combination of flavors. I've never made shortbread before, but I found this recipe to be surprisingly easy. The topping was probably the hardest part, mainly because you have to constantly stir the mixture so it doesn't stick in a clump to the bottom of your pan and I had some serious issues with the drizzling. I would have liked to see a little more detail on what they think the best way to drizzle is. Using a spoon to drizzle resulted in blobs of caramel, which was not as aesthetically pleasing but still resulted in a tasty treat.

Cinnamon-Caramel Swirl Shortbread

(Source: The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

1/4 cup cinnamon sugar

Dough:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

14-16 vanilla caramel candies

1 Tbsp cream or milk

1. Preheat the oven to 35o°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Sprinkle the bottom of each pan with about 1 Tbsp cinnamon sugar.

2. In a medium sized bowl, cream together the butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in the flour. Divide the dough in half, and press it into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers. Sprinkle the top of both pans with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Prick the dough with a fork in an attractive pattern.

3. Bake the shortbread for 35-4o minutes, until it's golden brown around the edges. remove from the oven and loosen edges with a knife. Wait 5 minutes, then carefully turn the shortbread out onto a clean work surface, all in one piece.

4. Using a pizza wheel, baker's bench knife, or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily). Transfer the wedges to a rack to cool.

5. Heat the caramels and milk in a microwave-safe bowl, or in saucepan set over low heat. Stir until the caramels melt and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the topping over the cooled shortbread wedges. If it becomes too thick to drizzle, reheat briefly. Allow the caramel to set before wrapping the shortbreads for storage.

Makes 2 dozen wedges.

Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles

Who doesn't love snickerdoodles? I think that these are always a definite crowd pleaser, no matter what the audience. Kids, Teens, Grown-ups...they all love their rich cinnamon-sugar taste. In my opinion, the cream of tartar/baking soda combination is what gives Snickerdoodles their wonderful texture and their sweet, spicy flavor.

Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles
(Source: Pillsbury Best Cookies Cookbook)

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add flours, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; mix well.

2. In small bowl, combine 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture, Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

This coffee cake from Baking Bites (can you tell I love Nicole's recipes?) is moist, rich and delicious. It is not a light cake by any means, but it is very tender and does not seem overly heavy or dense. Aside from the hitch with my stupid silicon fluted pan which pulled chunks off of the top, I didn’t have any problems and found the recipe to be fairly simple.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
(Source: Baking Bites)

For the Streusel:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3 tsp cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened

For the Cake:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, very soft

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups buttermilk (low fat or nonfat)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan.

Make the streusel:

Place all your streusel ingredients, except for the butter, in a large bowl and stir together. Cut the butter into 10 or 12 large chunks and add them to the bowl. Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly. Some pieces can be large - the size of an almond or pecan - but they shouldn’t all be that big. It may take 4-5 minutes because it is a bit harder to work with soft butter than firm. Set aside.

Make the batter:
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat eggs in one by one, followed by vanilla extract. Alternately add the buttermilk and the flour mixture, making sure to end with an addition of dry ingredients. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you mix.

Scrape half of your batter into the greased, 10-inch tube pan that you prepared earlier. Smooth batter with a spatula and top with streusel. Scrape remaining batter into pan, on top of streusel, gently spreading it to the sides of the pan with your spatula.

Bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

Place cake on a wire rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the around the outer and inner edges of the pan. Remove tube portion with cake attached. Run knife over the bottom, loosening the cake. Gently replace cake in the pan, which will support it as you turn it upside down. Place a clean dishtowel on top of the pan and a baking sheet on top of that.

Carefully flip pan over, turning cake out onto the baking sheet. Reinvert onto wire rack. Allow to cool completely.

Serves up to 20.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

I liked this recipe when I used it for Oatmeal Raisin cookies, so I thought I would try it again. While the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies were good, the Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies were better. The cinnamon chips seemed to work really well with the combination of cinnamon and cloves in the batter, really drawing out the cinnamon flavor.

Oatmeal Chocolate/Cinnamon Chip Cookies
(Source: Adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook 14th edition)

3/4 cup butter
1 cu brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate or cinnamon chips

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in remaining flour and oats. Stir in cinnamon/chocolate chips.

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart onto a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool on a cookies sheet 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.