Tag Archives: cinnamon sugar

Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles

Here I am, back on my bullshit, making cookies for the Crispy, Crunchy Cookie People. A population of which I claim not to be a part. But like, I’ve written five intentionally crunchy cookie recipes now, so I don’t know how much longer I can carry on this charade.

Chewy Cookies Only People, please forgive me. I was seduced by crispy edges. And also cinnamon-sugar. Whatever the texture, who doesn’t love a Snickerdoodle?

These Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles are fantastic. With a vanilla base, a thin cinnamon-sugar coating, and a glorious crunch all the way through, they’re an absolute treasure of a cookie.

As with all my other Crispy, Crunchy Cookies, this dough comes together using the reverse creaming method to prevent even a trace of chewiness. Furthermore, it’s bound with a spoonful of light corn syrup (or maple syrup or honey) to create more crunch. It’s leavened with a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar, a requirement for this and all classic snickerdoodle recipes.

And, of course, it’s scooped by the tablespoon, rolled in cinnamon-sugar, and baked to perfection. Also a requirement.

These Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles have crispy edges, a hearty crunch in the centers, and a crystalline coat of cinnamon-sugar—so good. The batch makes just about 18, which is a perfect size as far as I am concerned. It’s shareable, but not a huge amount, which is ideal considering that most people seem to fall on the chewy side of things. But with recipes like this, that balance may start shifting any day now.

Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles
makes 18-19 cookies

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (or golden syrup or mild honey)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For rolling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Arrange oven racks in central positions. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

Cut softened butter into 8 pieces and add them to the mixing bowl. Starting at low speed and increasing as ingredients become incorporated, use an electric mixer to mix the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until powdery and wet-sandy. You may need to stop a time or two to break up larger pieces of butter.

Add corn syrup and vanilla and mix to combine. Dough will look crumbly, but should hold together well when pinched.

Make the rolling mixture. In a small bowl (or plate) mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Scoop the dough by the tablespoon and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar, then place them 2-3 inches apart on prepared pans (I fit 12 on each half-sheet pan). Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake another 8 minutes, until a bit puffy and golden.

Let cookies cool for 7 minutes on the pans. Remove to a rack to cool completely. Serve.

Leftover cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Cinnamon Toast

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As a child, Cinnamon Toast was my slumber party breakfast of choice. My mom would make huge pans of it for all my friends and me, and it felt extremely special and luxurious. I mean, what’s not to love about buttered bread with a crackling layer of melted cinnamon-sugar on top?!

I still think Cinnamon Toast is pretty special and luxurious—it’s still mostly reserved for weekend breakfasts, but I will occasionally have it for dinner on days where nothing goes right. Being able to eat whatever you want for dinner is one of the great advantages of being a single childless adult. But I digress…

I always assumed Cinnamon Toast was one of those things that everyone knew how to make, like scrambled eggs or grilled cheese. But it turns out that not everyone has/had someone to teach them how to make the simple things, so please allow me.

Cinnamon Toast is wildly easy to make. Start by laying four slices of bread on a dry baking sheet. You can use whatever bread you have on hand, but I prefer good quality white sandwich bread or the sliced brioche you see here.

Next up, mix some vanilla extract into melted butter and whisk together a tiny batch of cinnamon-sugar. To assemble, brush each slice of bread with what seems like entirely too much vanilla butter and then sprinkle on what seems like entirely too much cinnamon-sugar. Don’t overthink this—Cinnamon Toast is a special treat, not health food.

Once all the slices are assembled, bake them in a 350F oven until the cinnamon-sugar has melted and the underside of the bread is turning golden, then broil it for a minute or so, until it’s the sugar is bubbling and caramelized, but not burnt. I like the edges of the bread to be a little charred, but that’s strictly optional.

After a couple minutes of cooling, the Cinnamon Toast will be ready to eat. Well-toasted, soft and buttery in the middle, and topped with a shattering layer of melted cinnamon-sugar, this breakfast treat is a classic for a reason. And the fact that it can make a batch as big or small as you need without any huge adjustment in time commitment makes it all the better. I regularly quarter this recipe for myself (read: 1 slice bread, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon), but if I ever need to feed a crowd at the crack of dawn, I know I can multiply it no problem. How luxurious.

Cinnamon Toast
makes 4 slices

4 slices brioche, challah, white sandwich bread, or similar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional, but recommended)

Preheat oven to 350F. Arrange bread slices on a dry rimmed sheet pan.

Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl; use a fork to whisk them together.

In a separate small bowl, stir together melted butter and vanilla (if using).

Use a pastry brush to spread vanilla-butter evenly over each of the bread slices. Make sure to get it edge-to-edge. Use all the butter, even if it seems like it’s too much.

Use a spoon to sprinkle a thick layer of cinnamon-sugar over each slice of bread. Some will soak in and it may look uneven—this is normal.

Bake bread for 12-14 minutes, until the cinnamon-sugar is melted and the bottom of the bread is beginning to turn golden.

Turn on the broiler. Broil slices 30-90 seconds, until deep brown and bubbly. Watch these very closely, as they can go from brown to burnt in seconds.

Let toast cool on the pan for a 2-3 minutes, until the topping has hardened and you can handle the warm toast. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Sugar Puff Pastry Christmas Tree

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Between the burnout and a holiday case of COVID that set me way behind, this year has not had my best Christmas content. Not every December can be a winner, you know? But I’m back this week with a couple more recipes before the real festivities begin. I’m doing my best in this moment, and my best is this Cinnamon Sugar Puff Pastry Christmas Tree.

Cinnamon Sugar Puff Pastry Christmas Tree

It’s flaky. It’s tasty. It’s CUTE.

It can be served in place of cinnamon rolls at your Christmas breakfast, or it can be a part of a tea or dessert spread.

It can be made savory by swapping the pfilling with pesto or pimento cheese.

It can be made even easier with ready-made puff pastry instead of homemade rough puff.

Basically it can do it all, even when I can’t. That’s the kind of Christmas treat (tree-t?) I can get behind.

Cinnamon Sugar Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
makes one tree

Rough Puff Pastry (makes 2 sheets):
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
10 ounces (20 tablespoons) unsalted European-style butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup water or milk, very cold

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Egg Wash:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon water

Garnish (optional):
1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

If you do not wish to make the Rough Puff Pastry, you may use two sheets of frozen all-butter puff pastry that you have thawed according to package directions. Begin the recipe at “Make the cinnamon sugar filling.”

Make the rough puff pastry. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut butter into dry ingredients until the largest pieces are the size of small peas. Pour in cold water or milk and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

Use your hands to give the dough a couple of kneads in the bowl, then divide it in half. Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Place one half on the floured surface. Place the other in the bowl in the refrigerator.

Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Turn dough out onto surface, and use your hands to pat it into a rough rectangle. Roll the dough into an 8x10" rectangle. Fold dough in thirds, and give it one quarter turn. Roll into an 8x10" rectangle again, fold, and turn. Repeat rolling, folding, and turning until it has been done six times total. Wrap folded dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 48 hours. Repeat the mixing, rolling, folding and chilling process with remaining half of the dough.

Make the cinnamon sugar filling. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and salt. Mix in melted butter until a paste forms. Set aside.

Make the tree. Place an oven rack in the center position. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a rimmed half-sheet pan with parchment.

Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Unfold one sheet of dough. Roll out to 12x15-inch rectangle, or a bit larger. Transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet.

Use a knife or straight edge to score a large tree shape in the dough. Spread the cinnamon-sugar filling into the tree shape, leaving 1/2-inch border on all sides. Brush a tiny amount of water on the exposed border.

Retrieve the other sheet of dough and repeat the rolling and transfer process. Press down the dough so that you have “sealed” the filled tree shape. Use a large sharp chef’s knife or a straight edge to trim off all the excess dough, leaving behind the tree shape. If desired, return dough scraps to the floured surface and cut out stars or other shapes for decoration. Otherwise refrigerate dough and save for another purpose.

Use a straight edge to score a 1-1 1/2-inch length vertically down the center of your tree. Starting at the base of the tree, use a sharp knife to cut 1-inch strips all the way up on both sides, leaving them connected in the center.

Taking one strip of dough at a time, gently twist it a few times. Repeat with all strips up to the top; as they get shorter, they will accept fewer twists.

Make egg wash. Combine egg and water in a small bowl and whisk together with a fork. Use a pastry brush to paint egg wash over the entire tree. If you cut stars from the excess, add them to the pan and paint with egg wash.

Bake tree for 28-30 minutes, until completely golden. Let cool 10 minutes before carefully removing to a serving plate. I found this easiest to do by lifting it on the parchment, placing it on the serving dish, then sliding out the parchment from underneath. Arrange stars, if using.

Sift confectioners sugar over all or part of the tree (I did the stars and then placed them). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Snickerdoodle Squares

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I try very hard to keep a baking schedule that allows me a full day off every week, but as with everything, there are exceptions. For example, a friend of mine had a fully-vaxxed get-together last weekend. You know I couldn’t show up empty-handed!

Enter these Snickerdoodle Squares, the perfect low-maintenance party treat. They have all the flavor and texture of classic, cinnamon-crusted Snickerdoodle cookies, but bake up in a square pan with limited fuss!

These soft, chewy squares are easy as can be, with slightly tangy sugar cookie centers and crisp cinnamon-sugar edges. The base is very similar to my favorite blondie recipe, with the biggest deviation being the additions of baking powder and cream of tartar for a more cookie-like texture. It’s an easy, no-mixer batter that requires few ingredients and almost no time to whip together.

Heads up: there is no substitute for cream of tartar—it is a classic snickerdoodle ingredient that gives these squares that signature tang. If you don’t have any on hand, you can leave it out without any major consequences, but the flavor will be a bit less snickerdoodly. Snickerdoodlesque?

Now onto the main event: the cinnamon sugar! You simply can’t have a snickerdoodle without cinnamon sugar—it’s basically the whole point. Here, it’s scattered in the bottom of the buttered pan before being topped with the batter and more cinnamon sugar. As the squares bake, the top layer expands and cracks with the batter, while the bottom layer melts and caramelizes. After the squares cool completely in their pan, that bottom layer will be extra-crispy, like a thin layer of cinnamon sugar glass against all that cookie square goodness! Textural diversity for the win.

Y’all, these Snickerdoodle Squares are as satisfying as they are simple. All the flavor and texture of a perfect, soft snickerdoodle and half the work! The combination of the crunchy, crystalline cinnamon sugar on the top, the crackling-crisp layer on the bottom, and the thick, chewy centers is irresistible. I, for one, will be hauling these to every picnic, party and anything else I’m invited to this summer, and I have an inkling you will be, too.

Snickerdoodle Squares
makes one 8- or 9-inch square pan, about 16 squares

Cinnamon Sugar:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Batter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square pan well with butter. Line with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides for removal. Grease again.

Make cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together sugar and cinnamon.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar in the bottom of the prepared pan. Tilt the pan around to coat the bottom. Set aside both the pan and the remaining cinnamon sugar.

Make the batter. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Mix in the egg, followed by the vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt, and whisk just until combined.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to gently spread it to the edges, covering the layer of cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar over the top, taking care to get all the way to the edges. Tap full pan on the counter a couple of times to knock out any large air bubbles.

Bake squares for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). Let squares cool completely in the pan on a rack.

Once cooled, use the parchment overhang to lift the bars onto a cutting board. Discard parchment. Slice into 16 squares with a large, sharp chef’s knife. Serve.

Leftovers will keep well covered at room temperature for up to four days.

Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts

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Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts One of the great things about yeast doughs—aside from the fact that they’re way easier than they’re made out to be—is that they all seem to have multiple uses. My Kolache dough makes kickass Cinnamon Rolls, my Babka dough is really just a filled brioche, and my quickest sweet roll dough can be used for King Cake, Monkey Bread and these Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts!Love a multitasker ❤ ❤ ❤ If you’ve never heard of pull-aparts, they’re basically a loaf of bread made of individual pieces layered with a filling (sweet or savory) and baked so that the whole can be pulled apart with your fingers instead of sliced with a knife.Achieving this is really simple. The process begins like you’re going to make cinnamon rolls. Make a dough, make a cinnamon-brown sugar filling. Roll that dough out and top it with the filling. Nothing you haven’t (probably) done before. Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts Then, though, things get a little wacky. Instead of rolling the filled dough into a cylinder, it’s sliced into 36 squares, which are then piled into six stacks of six and arranged in a line(-ish thing) down the center of a loaf pan. The assembled loaf is allowed to rise for about an hour and then baked for 40 minutes, until deeply browned on top and cooked through in the center. Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts Let your pull-aparts cool for 20 minutes or so before removing them from the pan. Put the loaf on a serving platter and then blow it a kiss goodbye because it’s going to be quite literally pulled apart in front of your eyes. And it will be glooooorious.I mean, it’s basically the center of a cinnamon roll’s swirl cut into squares and baked into a loaf shape so that it’s soft and gooey on the inside and crisp and brown on the outside and how could that be anything but glooooorious? Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts

Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts
makes one 9×5” loaf

Dough:
2 2/3-3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast (I use Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast)
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs, beaten, room temperature

Filling:
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Line with parchment, leaving overhang on the long sides for easy removal. Grease again. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat whole milk and butter until hot to the touch, about 110F.

Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold milk mixture into dry ingredients , followed by beaten eggs. Add more all-purpose flour until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 5-6 minutes before forming into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes (you may do this in a bowl, but I just do this on my surface).

Prepare the filling. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14×14-inch square. Drop filling over the dough by the spoonful. Brush exposed dough with melted butter, leaving a 1/4-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll floured rolling pin lightly over filling to adhere.

Use a pizza cutter or sharp chef’s knife to cut square in 6 strips. Then slice it in 6 strips in the opposite direction, resulting in 36 squares. Pile squares, filling-side-up, in stacks of 6 (you’ll have six stacks of six).

To assemble, take one stack and place in the pan with the plain side (the bottom of the stack) against one of the small ends of the pan. Place 4 more of the stacks in the same position against each other. Turn the remaining stack in the opposite direction so that its plain side (bottom of the stack) is against the remaining small end of the pan.

Cover pan with a clean, dry tea towel (not terrycloth) and let rise in a warm, draft-free environment for 60-90 minutes, until doubled in bulk. You know it’s ready when you poke it with your finger and it doesn’t “bounce back.”

Preheat oven to 350F. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until well-browned. If you are concerned about it being done in the center, a thermometer should register at 190F.

Let cool 15-20 minutes. Run a thin, flexible knife around the edge of the pan to release, then use the parchment to lift the loaf onto a surface. Peel off parchment, set on a serving platter and enjoy.

Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts are best served warm or room temperature on the day they are made. Leftovers will keep covered at room temperature for up to 48 hours.

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Tag Archives: cinnamon sugar

Cinnamon Toast

Cinnamon Sugar Puff Pastry Christmas Tree

Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Aparts