cinnamon

Cinnamon Chip Brown Sugar Cookies

/ Jodi / 31 Comments

cinnamon chip cookie stack

I’ve been bursting with excitement to share this recipe that is bursting with cinnamon flavor!

cinnamon chip cookies

I daresay this is my absolute FAVORITE new cookie recipe. So cinnamony perfect and delicious for this time of year!

cinnamon chip cookies 2

If you are a fan of cinnamon, this cookie is going to ROCK your WORLD!

I found this recipe on LemonsforLulu’s blog and couldn’t wait to try.

All I can say is – STOP reading right now… preheat your oven…. get out your mixer… “Do Not Pass Go,” “Do Not Collect $200.”

Thank me later…
I’ll be waiting to hear!

Cinnamon Chip Brown Sugar Cookies

  • Servings: 4 dozen large cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:cinnamon chip cookie stack

  • 2 cups butter (at room temperature or you can slightly melt in microwave)
  • 3 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 4 tsps baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
  • 2 10 oz bags Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl of a mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat until creamy. Add the egg and mix well. Add baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and combine.   Carefully add flour and combine until soft dough forms.  Stir in cinnamon chips.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto baking stone or cookie sheet. Bake just until edges are set, about 8­-9 minutes. Do not overbake.  Let cookies cool for another minute or two on the stone or baking sheet before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.

These are absolutely the most amazing cinnamony luvin’ from the oven cookies ever!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Fall Cookie Baking: Pumpkin Cinnamon Spice & Gingersnaps

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

pumpkin cinnamon spice cookies

Fall is such a great time to bake.  I bake all year round, but Fall really lends itself to baking as it warms up the house and makes it smell so good…..  apples, cinnamon, pumpkin, ginger….  awwwhhhh….

gingersnap cookies stack

A couple of my favorite Fall cookies include a new one (Pumpkin Cinnamon Spice) and an old-time classic (Gingersnaps).  So today is a TWO-fer cookie recipe day, as I couldn’t decide which to share!

gingersnap cookie

The Pumpkin Cinnamon Spice were a first time effort, and we loved them!  I found a recipe at Sally’s Baking Addiction Blog.  The original recipe called for cinnamon chips, which my local supermarket was out of, so I found some Pumpkin Spice Hershey’s Kisses and chopped them up in the recipe.  They turned out AMAZING!  A couple weeks later, I found Nestle is now making Pumpkin Spice chips (so I snagged those along with several bags of Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips which were back in stock!)  WOOHOO!  I’m set for a while now!

The Gingersnaps are a perennial Fall favorite.  My son, Nick, loves them best.  I, however, reminisce about the memories they conjure up…

When the boys were little, we had a Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl (football game) every Thanksgiving morning in a ballfield our kids created with the neighbors between our yards.  It was basically a clearing in the woods that was a baseball field in the summer and football field in the Fall/Winter.

All the neighbors would gather while fathers and sons played football, little girls played cheerleaders, and us moms took a break from cooking and watched the game standing by a bonfire with hot coffee or cocoa (or Beer! 🙂 ).  I would always bake a fresh-out-of-the-oven batch of Gingersnaps that taste even better outside in the cold by a fire after playing football.

So here are the recipes.  Ready?  Set!  Bake!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Spice Cookies

  • Servings: 4 dozen large cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:pumpkin cinnamon spice cookies

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin
2 large eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups pumpkin spice chips, cinnamon chips, or chopped pumpkin spice kisses

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined, about 3 minutes. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Stir in the chips.

In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into rounded tablespoons and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Lightly press down on the cookies with a spatula or the palm of your hand.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool slightly on baking sheet before removing to cookie rack to completely cool.

Gingersnap Cookies

  • Servings: 4 dozen large cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:gingersnap cookie

4 cups flour
2 Tbsp ground ginger
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon-sugar mixture

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in medium bowl, and set aside.

Place the shortening into large mixing bowl and beat until creamy.   Gradually beat in the sugar, then the egg, followed by the molasses.

Add in the dry ingredients gradually, and mix until a soft dough forms.

Form tablespoon-sized balls and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Bake about 10 minutes or until tops are rounded and slightly cracked.  Cool on wire rack.

Happy Fall Baking!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Apple Fritter Cake

/ Jodi / 48 Comments

apple fritter cake

It’s the beginning of apple harvesting season in our little corner of the world and today is actually the annual Mars Applefest.

apple fritter cake 4

With apples and cinnamon on the brain this week, I wanted to make something special for dessert when my friend, Janet, was coming over for dinner.  I’m getting sad that she will soon be heading south for the winter, so trying to enjoy the few weeks we have left.

I found a recipe for Apple Fritter Bundt Cake from Crumbs in My Mustachio that was just what I was looking for.

apple fritter cake 3

Who doesn’t love an apple fritter?!  And made into a yummy cake to share?? …. Well – that sounded heavenly.

apple fritter cake 2

Oh – and was it ever!!!  We all LOVED it!  I know I will make this one again!  Here is the recipe as I slightly adapted.

Apple Fritter Cake

Ingredients:apple fritter cake 3

  • 4 large apples, peeled and chopped (I used golden delicious)
  • 2/3 cup + 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease and flour bundt cake pan.
  • In medium bowl, mix together peeled, chopped apples, 3 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon.  Set aside to let sugar and cinnamon liquefy with apple juice.
  • In a small bowl, blend together 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.  Set aside.
  • With electric mixer, cream together 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter.  Add eggs, on at a time, blending well, then add vanilla.  When well creamed together, add 2 tsp baking powder and 1 1/2 cups flour.  When well blended, add milk slowly until all incorporated.
  • Add half of apple mixture to prepared bundt pan.  Top with half of brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Top that with half of the batter.  Repeat with other halves.
  • Bake for approximately 40 minutes until done.
  • Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto plate to continue cooling.
  • Make glaze by mixing powdered sugar with 1-2 Tbsp milk, until you achieve desired consistency.  Drizzle on top of warm cake.

This cake is AMAZING warm and cold.  I refrigerated leftovers and loved it cold from the fridge.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Thank You Berry (Salsa) Much

/ Jodi / 9 Comments

thank you berry much

Thank you cards might be my favorite cards to make and send.  There is something so heartwarming about putting to art and words your feelings of gratitude and sharing it with the person you are thankful to.

So when one of my co-workers did something especially nice and helpful (which is a regular occurrence from her – lucky me – eh?!), I had this little card I had made a while back when I was practicing water color painting where I had laid out some fruit and mint leaves and tried to create it.  I was goofing around with making it a (not sure of the term?) combination of words and “art.”  (Anybody know the technical name for this or is there even such a thing?)  Need to work on my handwriting, but thought it was fun… or maybe I ruined it??

Nonetheless, I used this, along with a little batch of my Fresh Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies as a way to thank my friend and co-worker.  (Thank you Judy!!)

And while we are talking about the wonderful fruits of summer and berries, it brought to mind a favorite recipe I used to make and demonstrate from Pampered Chef years ago when I was a “Pampered Chef Lady” that I thought I’d share with you here today.  Only, I kicked it up a notch by adding fresh red raspberries too!  I’ve got to make this again soon!

Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Photo courtesy of myreciperoundup.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
2 Medium Granny Smith Apples, chopped
1 Cup Strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 Kiwi, peeled and chopped
1 Cup Red Raspberries
1 Medium Orange, juiced and zested
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Apple Jelly
4 Large Tortillas
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Gently mix together first seven ingredients in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.  Brush tortillas with water using a pastry brush.  Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over tortillas.  Cut each tortilla into eight wedges, and place on a baking stone (or cookie sheet).  Bake 5-7 minutes until golden brown and crisp.  Remove to cooling rack, then place in a bowl or basket alongside the salsa, and ENJOY!

Recipe from The Pampered Chef (modified)

Cheers & Hugs & Thank You BERRY Much for Visiting LifeinBetween.me,
Jodi

Cinnamon Creme Crumb Cake

/ Jodi / 33 Comments

cinnamon creme crumb cake 3

Do you love a good crumb cake or coffee cake or pound cake as much as I do?

I made this recipe the day before I went away for vacation, so there would be something sweet for the guys while I was gone, and so I wouldn’t eat too much of it myself!

cinnamon creme crumb cake 1

And oh is it GOOD!

When searching for a recipe to try, I found one through Pinterest that lead me to BarbaraBakes’ blog.  I’m totally a new fan of Barbara now!

I tweaked up her recipe slightly, and had to do a little “subbing” on ingredients…again.

cinnamon creme crumb cake 4

I only had 1 cup of sour cream in the refrigerator, and the recipe called for 2 cups.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way, so I immediately “Googled” sour cream substitutes.

Some say yogurt.  I had one container of blackberry-on-the-bottom Chobani Greek yogurt, so in that went with the sour cream (sans the blackberries, which I ate), but that was only 5 additional ounces.  So I looked for another substitute and found mixing milk with lemon juice and soft butter.  Mixed enough of that up to make 2 full cups of “sour cream,” and off I went to town mixing and baking.

cinnamon creme crumb cake 2

I love how it turned out!  This is a heck of a cake that is great for decadent breakfast or brunch or a snack with coffee or served as dessert.  It is a rich, golden cake with a layer of cinnamon right in the middle and crumbly cinnamon streusel and powdered sugar on top that is good to the last crumb!

empty crumb cake plate

Here’s the recipe.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Creme Crumb Cake

  • Servings: approximately 12
  • Print

Topping & Filling Ingredients:cinnamon creme crumb cake 4

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 sticks cold salted butter, cut into small chunks
Cake Ingredients:
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temp, cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 cups sour cream

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
  • Topping:
    • Combine first five topping ingredients in a large bowl, add chunks of cold butter and blend with a pastry blender to form crumbly mixture.
  • Cake:
    • Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl, and set aside.
    • With electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla and almond extracts.   Add the dry cake ingredients alternating with the sour cream.
    • Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared pan.
    • Sprinkle half of the crumbly topping mixture over the batter.
    • Layer the remaining cake batter carefully on top of that so as not to disrupt the filling layer.
    • Then top with remaining crumbly topping.
    • Press the final topping layer into the cake layer very gently to make sure it sticks.
  • Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in comes out clean.
  • Cool in pan for 30 minutes.
  • Loosen sides of cake with knife and invert onto a wire rack. Then immediately invert again onto a serving plate.
  • Sprinkle with powder sugar to finish.

 

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Cinnamon Popcorn & How I Flunked out of Poetry School

/ Jodi / 5 Comments

cinnamon popcorn

 

So just yesterday I announced how I was taking on a two-week poetry challenge for the WordPress Daily Post…  Right?

Today’s assignment was the topic of Trust using an Acrostic Poem and using Internal Rhyme…….. YIKES!

It is 10 pm.

I’ve worked all day, spent the evening at a fun card class with Colleen (and Katie :)).

I’m sipping a G&T, and… WTH!

Too much to deal with…  too many rules…

I like poetry and all, but….

Can I just share a recipe instead?  🙂

How about some yummy and SUPER easy Cinnamon Popcorn?!

At first try, I was so-so on this, but after my G&T (and skipping dinner), I think I might have to throw the rest of this stuff away before I eat it all!!

Some of you may recall my super-addictive, super-delicious, super-amazing Homemade Caramel Corn.  It is so crazy delish – seriously!  A MUST Make recipe.  DO NOT HESITATE!

Well – when I saw recipes circulating for cinnamon popcorn, like Rachael Ray’s, I envisioned a kicked up version using Hulless Butter Popcorn.

I happened to have a bag of  Cinnamon Red Hot Imperials on hand.  Isn’t this an item in everyone’s pantry?!?!  🙂

cinnamon popcorn red hots

I also happened to have a bag of Snyder’s of Berlin Hulless Butter Popcorn.

cinnamon popcorn 1

So I adapted and created this Kicked-Up Version of Cinnamon Popcorn that I think you will like.

Give it a go…. or NOT if you are on a DIET! 🙂

cinnamon popcorn 2

This is how simple this stuff is:

Jodi’s Kicked Up Cinnamon Popcorn

1 bag (approximately 8 cups) Snyder’s Hulless Butter Popcorn (or you can pop 8 cups of popcorn)
1 cup Cinnamon Red Hot Imperials (or any other type of cinnamon candy)
1/2 cup water

 

Spread popcorn out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Melt cinnamon candy and water in a saucepan until completely melted.
Pour cinnamon candy over popcorn.
Bake in 250 degree F oven for approximately 20 minutes.
Let cool completely.

DEVOUR! 🙂

 

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

Homemade Spiced Pear Liqueur

/ Jodi / 5 Comments

Spiced Pear Liquer

Have you seen Chef Mimi’s Blog?  Oh My My!   Talk about mouth-watering photos and unbelievably talented cooking skills!

When I saw a post where Chef Mimi shared this recipe for Spiced Pear Liqueur, I had to try it.

I have never tried making anything like this before (with the exception of the ever-popular and classic Apple Pie Moonshine 🙂 that didn’t turn out too shabby!), so I am excited to see how it goes and what other wonderful libations I may want to try concocting…

Here is the recipe as Chef Mimi shares:

Spiced Pear Liqueur

1/2 cup sugar
Small handful whole cloves
Small handful whole allspice (I did not have allspice, so did not use)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 ripe pear, I used red D’anjou
Few pieces of orange peel
Vodka, approximately 3 cups

Place the sugar, cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks in a large, clean bottling jar with a lid. Slice up the pear, avoiding the core, and place wedges into the jar. Add the orange peel.

Pour vodka until it reaches the top. I used approximately 3 cups. Shake well until the sugar dissolves. Then store away for 4-6 weeks.

spiced pear liquer 2

I love all the wonderful colors and aromas of the ingredients that went into this, and after almost a week, it has achieved this beautiful amber color below.

Can’t wait to try taste-testing in a few more weeks!

spiced pear liquer 3

Spiced Pear Cheers & Warm Hugs,

Jodi

 

Old-Fashioned Snickerdoodles

/ Jodi / 17 Comments

snickerdoodle 1

I made some Snickerdoodles this past weekend to take along to Krautfest.  They are such a simple, old-fashioned cookie, but one that folks seem to really love.

Every time I bake these, I think of my friend, Janet and her sweet mom.  Before them, I had never heard of Snickerdoodles.  I recall visiting one day, and their house smelled so cinnamony wonderful with these fresh-baked treats cooling on the kitchen table.  I can remember tasting my first one and loving it.  They are a bit crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender and chewy on the inside. Nobody in my family had ever baked these – not even Grandma, but they have become one of our family’s favorites.  I have passed this recipe on to my daughter-in-law, Colleen, who has begun making them too.

snickerdoodle 2

The nice thing about Snickerdoodles is you can make them in a pinch as you typically have everything you need on hand.  They can also be made pretty quickly, as this is one dough that really doesn’t need refrigerated before baking like I usually prefer to do.  I think because shortening makes for a firmer dough – but if there is someone out there that knows more about this than me, I hope you will offer your feedback.

snickerdoodle 3

Snickerdoodles

1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter, soft
½ cup butter Crisco shortening
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

  1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
  2. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
  3. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Press down slightly.
  4. Bake approx. 8 minutes or until set.  I usually give a gentle push on them with two fingers to flatten a bit more right before pulling them out of the oven to get them to “crackle” a bit.
  5. Cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to cool on wire rack.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

My cookie secrets include: Always add a little extra flour (included in this recipe), underbake, bake on well-seasoned baking stones, use electric oven.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Going Ape over Cinnamon Monkey Bread

/ Jodi / 5 Comments

cinnamon bubble bread

Cinnamon Bubble Bread…

Monkey Bread…

You say tomayto – I say tomahto.

An oldie, but goodie.

cinnamon bubble bread 2

2 loaves thawed frozen bread dough broken into 24 pieces.
1 stick of melted butter.
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture (white and brown sugar and cinnamon)

Rolls pieces of dough in butter, then cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Drop into greased Bundt pan, and let rise until doubled.
Bake 30 min. at 350 degrees.

Go ape over this buttery, cinnamony, monkey bread yumminess!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Biscoff Blondies with Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chips

/ Jodi / 8 Comments

biscoff blondies title photo

OOOO  LA LA!!  Have you ever tasted Biscoff Spread?

O… M… G…

It kinda tastes like those little teddy graham cookie crackers, but in a peanut buttery-like spread.  (Can you imagine?!)

biscoff

It is amazing on toast, bagels, English muffins…..

It is heavenly licked from a spoon!

Add it to a blondie with some cinnamon chips and some white chocolate – and it is magical!

biscoff blondies 2b

Remember – I was recently cleaning out the baking shelf??   Well – I had some Biscoff Spread, had some cinnamon chips, and Biscoff Blondies came to my imagination.

So, of course, I googled Biscoff Blondies to see if anyone had thought of it yet or if there was a similar recipe; and lo and behold, the amazing Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction, had just the recipe!

I thought it needed cinnamon chips, so that was just the way to “Jodi” it up.

biscoff blondies 4

I simply followed Sally’s recipe, but subbed 1/2 cinnamon chips and 1/2 white chocolate chips for her 1 1/4 cups of white chocolate chips.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup  flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 Tbsp  butter, melted
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Biscoff spread
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup cinnamon chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray (I used a 9 x 9 square baking stone).

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk, then add the vanilla. Stir in the Biscoff spread. Gently fold in the dry ingredients.

(Per Sally – be careful not to overmix, as it will result in crumbly, hard blondies.).

Fold in the cinnamon and white chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The blondies may appear very soft, but they will set up as they cool.  Always UNDERBAKE for yummy goodness.

Allow the blondies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Makes 16 yummy, awesome blondies.

biscoff blondies 2a

Betchya can’t eat just one!

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi