Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Like most anyone else, I love sugar cookies. And I love cinnamon. So with these cookies you have the best of both worlds!

I started with a simple recipe for sugar cookies after looking up a few different ones, all pretty much the same. I halved the recipe because of limited supplies but if you have enough, I'd highly suggest making the full amount; these won't last long!

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/4 cups of margarine

2 cups of white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon mixed for decoration

After preheating the oven to 350 degrees F, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Then in another bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Bit by bit, stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

 

Notes:

-It's very important that you make the cookies small and place them far apart; mine ended up huge and baked into each other.

-To make them into perfect circles I used a glass as a cookie cutter as soon as I pulled them out of the oven, and then let them cool fully. You could do this with any shape if you desire; I'll be making heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day!

-If you want you could also add some cinnamon into the actual cookie mixture, but it's such a strong flavour that I didn't want it to overpower the taste of sugar and vanilla. It came out very well just rolling the cookies in it but again, it depends on your personal taste.

 

To place the cookie on the edge of the glass I cut a narrow slit not quite halfway up the cookie, having seen the idea on Pinterest. This would be a great way to serve cookies either at a party, for breakfast, or like I did, just for yourself to enjoy!

 

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze

Disclaimer: This is not my recipe, I found it on Pinterest at first and after some searching found the original here! All credit goes to Recipe Girl, I claim to rights to the genius of this creation! I've pasted the recipe in to make it easier for you, and easier for me to find it again; I think this will be a weekly Sunday morning brunch at my house!

Note: I also doubled this recipe, I like my pancakes bigger than a 4 inch diameter. I used a half cup of batter for each pancake and they came to about 6 inches in diameter each, but you can do it however you want! Also MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LET THE CINNAMON FILLING SPILL OUT ONTO THE PAN WHEN YOU SWIRL IT ONTO THE PANCAKES. I did that one too many times and, well, sugar burns. I had to cook them with the window open (and it's February...and I'm in Canada...) and wash the pan halfway through cooking the pancakes to get the burnt sugar off. After flipping it you're bound to get the cinnamon filling on the pan and that's fine, but if any spills over before flipping it'll burn really fast. They still tasted amazing and had a nice caramelised flavour and texture but for the sake of trying not to let your smoke alarm go off it's best to do it as the recipe says and don't get too much cinnamon filling spilling off the sides!

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Yield: Eight 4-inch pancakes

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 10 min

An absolutely decadent morning treat...
*NOTE: This recipe has been revised (2/18/12) from its original publication. I've tried the current version many times with great success. Just follow all the tips and you'll get it right!

Ingredients:

CINNAMON FILLING:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, just melted (not boiling)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a quart-sized heavy zip baggie and set it aside (see *Tips below).

Prepare the glaze: In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in vanilla extract. Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.

Prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, egg and oil, just until the batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use an ice cream scoop (or 1/3 cup measuring cup) to add the batter to the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop or cup to spread the batter into a circle (about 4-inches in diameter). Reduce the heat to medium low. Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl (just as you see in a regular cinnamon roll). Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it's golden brown on the bottom. Slide a thin, wide metal spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.

Tips:

*Quick and easy tip: Use a boxed pancake mix as the base for this recipe.
*Tips for the cinnamon filling: Before swirling, open up the baggie again and give it a good stir to re-incorporate any butter that may have separated from the sugar. You want the mixture to thicken a bit- it's best when it's similar to the squeezing texture of a tube of toothpaste, which will happen if you leave it at room temperature for several minutes. Don't try to use the filling for the pancake swirl unless it has thickened as it will be too runny to make a solid swirl.
*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*I wrote a very detailed post on how to get the cinnamon filling *just right* on my Gingerbread- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes Post. Check it out before you attempt these!
*If you're trying to justify your intake of decadent cinnamon rolls, you can make this a tad bit healthier by using half whole-wheat flour and low fat cream cheese, or enjoy the pancakes without glaze.
 

Source: RecipeGirl.com

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Though the recipe is not mine, the pictures are, to show you that the incredibleness of the original recipe is possible in your own kitchen! I'd say enjoy, but I really don't think you'll have a problem with that here :)

Bacon and Egger on a Popover

Being Canadian I love Tim Horton's Breakfast Sandwiches, and wanted to try my own. It was so  simple I think  simple I think it took less than 10 minutes!

I already had popovers made (check out my post on Sweet Cinnamon Popovers, there's a recipe for plain popovers on the bottom!) so I just cut two in half, warmed them in the microwave and buttered them. Two strips of bacon went in the frying pan, and in another I cracked one egg with a bit of salt and scrambled it like that, no milk, cheese or anything else.

Then I placed the eggs on one half of the popovers, one strip of bacon cut in half on each, and then the other half of the popover. If you want you can add cheese, veggies, or other kinds of meat to make it even better!

Grilled Cheddar, Apple and Bacon Sandwich

I've been seeing fruit, especially apples, on sandwiches for a while. I had no idea what this would taste like but it intrigued me so here it is. It actually tasted quite good, and reminded me of when I made a bacon and cheese sandwich with avocado. Different fruits are best paired with different cheeses and I heard apples and cheddar work really well together, so that's what I used.

2 Slices of Bread
4 Slices of Cheddar Cheese (just enough to cover one slice of bread)
2 and a half Slices of Bacon
1/2 Apple sliced thinly
Butter

After frying the bacon and setting it on paper towel to drain the excess grease, I set about making this like any other grilled cheese sandwich. Melt the butter in a frying pan, and on the first piece of bread place the cheese, then the bacon, and then the apple on top. Top with the other piece of bread and place in the pan. When it's golden brown, flip it over very carefully so it doesn't fall apart, otherwise you'll be trying to rearrange a sandwich with all its contents in a hot frying pan. As soon as it's dark enough on both sides and the cheese is melted, remove from the pan and enjoy!

 

Sweet Cinnamon Popovers

When I was a kid my mom would make the best popovers, and the batch didn't last more than 20 minutes after she put them on the table. After finding her recipe I searched for creative ideas that involved popovers and decided to use sugar and cinnamon, one of my favourite combinations, to put new life into an classic.

(If you want to try something really cool check out this recipe I found while Googling)

1 Cup of Flour
1 Cup of Milk
1 Egg
Butter
1 teaspoon White Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
Pinch Allspice
1/4 teaspoon Brown Sugar

I doubled this recipe because my muffin tin had 12 cups. If you're doing this with 6 large cups you'll need to double it as well.

These were done in a muffin tin with 12 cups, but if you have an actual popover tin that should work just as well. In each muffin cup put a bit of butter, about 1/4 teaspoon in each, and place this in the over after preheating at 375 degrees. In a bowl beat 1 egg, then beat in the milk, flour, white and brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Once the butter is simmering in the muffin cups remove the tray from the oven with an oven mitt and spoon in the batter evenly between all of the cups. Don't be afraid to fill it all the way to the top, that's how they pop over!

Turn the temperature from 375 to 450 now, then place the muffin tray back into the oven. They take 20 minutes to bake, and are best served hot, so take them straight out of the tray (using a fork to make sure it isn't stuck inside the cup or it will rip apart) and put them onto a plate. With a bit more butter on top to melt, and a sprinkle of sugar, these are perfect served as breakfast, dessert, tea, or just a snack!

Enjoy!

Tip: to make plain popovers, just don't add the white and brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice; instead, just a pinch of salt, served with butter on top.

Basic Hard Boiled Egg Sandwich

7 Days, 7 Sandwiches: Day One

Here's a really easy one that is so simple to make for a quick lunch, really basic and not complicated in any way. Also there is so much room left for experimenting by adding whichever veggies you prefer!

2 Eggs (If large possibly just one; however much you can fit onto a sandwich)
2 Slices of Bread
Romaine Lettuce
Mayo (I used Miracle Whip)
Mustard
Salt and Pepper

First I boiled the eggs, then set about building up the sandwich until they were done. On one slice of bread goes two leaves of Romaine Lettuce, and on the other, a thin spreading of both mayo and mustard. Once the eggs are boiled, halve them twice so they're in quarters, then place them evenly over the mayo and mustard layers. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top (I also added a bit of garlic salt) and place the slice with lettuce overtop of that. And that's it!

Easy Family Sized Braided Apple and Cinnamon Strudel

I am a huge fan of Pinterest, and while browsing for new recipes to try out, this caught my eye. I instantly wanted to give it a shot and a few days later, I did. This one was hugely simple (though I did make it more complicated by #1 not having a rolling pin and #2 not realising until five minutes into baking that wax paper and parchment paper can not be used in place of one another!) Here's how it goes:

2 Packages of Cresent Rolls (substitute whatever dough you want)
4 Medium Apples
1 Egg
A Splash of Milk
Sugar and Cinnamon

I Googled a few recipes for Apple Pie filling to make sure I did the filling for the Strudel right, and this is what I ended up doing after taking pointers from a few different sites. After peeling and chopping the apples I boiled them in just enough water to cover them, on high and covered. It made the kitchen smell like hot apple cider and though I was worried that boiling the apples would take out some of the flavour but it really just enhanced it. Once boiled I drained them, and in a bowl added sugar and cinnamon, as much as you want, honestly, the more you add the better it tastes.

For the dough I followed the recipe above, rolling it out and cutting slits into it on the sides, about a half inch to an inch wide each, leaving enough room in the middle for the filling. After adding the filling braid as the recipe says, making sure to keep it tight without tearing the dough. It's important to not cut the slits too far into the rolled out dough or the filling will spill out the sides. Once it was all braided, I beat one egg together with a splash of milk, and brushed this over the Strudel. Then I sprinkled more sugar and cinnamon on top (once again you can never have enough!) and put it in the oven at the temperature given on the cresent rolls package. It took about 45 minutes to bake fully, and because I couldn't roll the dough out as thinly as I wanted, I had to keep checking by lifting up one of the braided strands to make sure it wasn't still raw.

It will be golden brown when cooked, and none of the dough should appear raw underneath. When it was finished I sliced it up instantly and served it to my family (with a bit more sugar sprinkled on top); it was a huge hit! Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or just the way it is. I'll definitely be doing this one again, trying with different fruits, and maybe a more savoury take on it as well, which I will be posting here. Please try this one out, the braided techniquie can be used with any filling you want, and it was so much fun and extremely easy!