Cinnamon Buns

This year we have have only gotten one good snow day so far. I didn't think we would get any but it just waited a little before it it dumped a few inches on us. I am not a fan of snow or any kind of cold weather but it is pretty to look out. From the window. Wrapped in a blanket. With a mug of hot chocolate. Far far away from the snow. Since I had a boyfriend lazing around the house and enjoying his snow day I thought I'd make something sweet and simple. 

I found this nice recipe in a 1936 booklet from Arm & Hammer and Cow Brand called Successful Baking for Flavor and Texture. Looks super easy and uses sour milk, just like my last baking adventure.

There is nothing too unusual about these ingredients. Except for the sour milk. 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar then add milk to the 1/2 cup line. Easy peasy. Still looks gross.

Man, this came together really easy! Pretty much just mix everything together.

A quick knead gives me this lovely little ball.

Even though I now have marble countertops, I still love to use my marble slab. And now I have a lovely, new, handmade, rolling pin! I am pretty certain it is about a quarter of an inch think even if it's not exactly a perfect rectangle. 

Such a beautiful layer of cinnamon and sugar!

In true Jenn fashion I decided not to measure. But I'm feeling good about this! It cut nice and easy and almost no filling fell out. Yeah!

The recipe said I could add pecans if I wanted. What a weird thing to say. Who wouldn't want to add pecans?! After placing all the buns in the pan I think I may have cut them a little too thin. I had to squish the last 2 in the middle but it doesn't look too bad.

Such cute little buns!

I'm not going to admit how long it took me to find the baking information on the recipe. Always read the entire recipe before starting even the fine print at the bottom. I ended up baking them for 30 minutes total, 10 more than recipe. The center ones were looking a bit undercooked.

Smells delicious! Looks...okay. I can't tell if the pecans burned or just caramelized. I thought there was going to be a little more sauce on the top almost like a sticky bun. That didn't happen. Still smells really good!

Delicate little pecan cinnamon buns!

Is this picture sideways?

Although not the prettiest, these turned out pretty tasty! I still think the pecans burned a bit but Dylan insisted it was all caramelization. I probably over baked them. Next time I think I would do slightly wider rolls and a larger pan. These were the perfect size to snack on all day. None of them made it to the next day. 

My Rating: Easy and tasty enough to bake again!

Dylan Rating: I really like these! Delicious!

Quick Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

 I am kind of embarrassed by how long it took me to post this. I made this ... a while ago. It may have sat in my photos for a month. Maybe. Definitely.

A couple of months ago Dylan and I had bought some apple cinnamon flavored almonds. They were not good but I didn't want to just toss them out so the recipe search began. I added them to some muffins. Not too bad but I wanted to try something from scratch. I had apples that needed to be used and I love a good coffee cake. The quick apple streusel coffee cake from The Modern Family Cook Book, 1953 edition, by Meta Given fit the bill! And I love a good streusel topping!!

No special ingredients needed. I ended up using the apples I had on hand, 1 gala and 1 granny smith. 

Everything looks nice an normal. I decided to chop the fairly large. I wanted to make sure I could taste the apple and not just a hint of it.

Getting everything all mixed together. Melted shortening is gross looking. Just sayin.

Trying to work quickly before my apples start to brown...

All ready for the topping! I am always amazed how beautifully streusel topping comes together. It never looks like it is going to work and then you get a crisp, sweet topping. Wow!

I chopped up the apple cinnamon almonds and sprinkled over half of the coffee cake. Just in case it tasted like crap I would still have half a cake to enjoy. 

So, I totally forgot to take a picture of the baked goodies. I was a little busy. Probably. :) My kitchen smelled like autumn! Apples! Cinnamon! Cake!

This turned out to be a delicious and moist cake. Easy to make and easy to eat! The streusel topping added a nice sweet crunch to the top and even the side with the yucky almonds tasted great. The sugar coating from the almonds probably mixed with the streusel topping while it baked and lost a lot of the candy taste. The almonds added a nice extra flavor. I miss the swirl of cinnamon inside the cake but loved the chunks of apple. Also I thought that it made the perfect amount. Enough for dessert and breakfast the next day and a bit of sharing (if you want) but we didn't end up eating for a week straight. 

My Rating: Easy and tasty. Definitely a keeper!

Dylan's Rating: Great! Could use more cinnamon.

Pecan Cinnamon Balls

 So, I have this huge box of cornflakes. I'm not a big cereal fan and Dylan eats bran flakes. Yes, he's kinda strange like that. This huge box (they don't sell them any smaller) is just sitting in my cabinet, staring at me. So I began the hunt. Six cookbooks later I found this recipe in Wisconsin Power and Light Company's 1963 pamphlet Cookies (all kinds). Not super excited about it but the recipe claims it is 'delicious' and, most importantly, it includes a good amount of cornflakes.

Easy peasy looking. Just had to get margarine. Had the cornflakes!

I am little concerned about the lack of liquid. How are these things going to stick together?

He He He. I just thought this was a cool shot. 

Yep. Nothing is sticking together. It is just a large bowl of crumbs. I even tried using my hand to warm up the margarine more but it is not happening.

So, I added more margarine a tablespoon at a time until I got something that I could squish together into a ball. It ended up being almost double the original amount.

But I get pecan balls! They are still crumbly though...

And still crumbly...they are not looking appealing to me but I still have powdered sugar to add.

Oh! These look much better! Almost like Russian Tea Cakes.

They look quite pretty and smell delicately of cinnamon.

They are pretty rocks. I was so disappointed in these. I'm not certain what went wrong but these did not turn out well! It could have been the flour wasn't sifted enough or the cornflakes weren't ground fine enough or a combination of everything. The outside was hard as a rock and the inside just flaked apart. I was not a fan. Dylan like them though. (He also admits that he usually eats the reject cookies so he will eat almost anything.) He enjoyed the light cinnamon flavor and the crunch.

My Rating: Nope. Never again.

Dylan's Rating: Not bad. Not the best but I can eat them.

Cinnamon Nut Squares

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! For my first recipe of 2019 I thought I would go simple and reached for the 1940's Christmas Cookies pamphlet, Cinnamon Nut Squares!

 I love a recipe that uses both the egg yoke and the egg white!

 Everything in lovely shades of brown. All simple and easy ingredients.

 Although the recipes says 'shortening' I'm going to assume they mean butter.  Best way to start a dessert!

The first cinnamon layer is done. It is really thick...kind of looks like a giant cookie...I was expecting more of a brownie-type layer.

 I'm so glad I bought pecans in bulk before the holidays. I love pecans!

Done! And they smell amazing!! You have to cut them while they are still warm but I would recommend waiting until they cool a little. Lesson learned.

 An orange plate was probably not the best way to display these tasty little treats.

I don't know why the combination of cinnamon and pecans never even occurred to me. So good!

These turned out more like a large cookie. I don't know why I was expecting brownies but these were nothing like it.  I had to adjust the baking time a bit by adding 10 more minutes but that may be just my oven. It can be a bit touchy. These were amazing little bites of deliciousness! The bottom layer is a nice soft cookie with just enough cinnamon. I would recommend chopping the pecans smaller.

My rating: Keeper! So easy and delicious and just a little bit different.

Friends and Family Rating : "Personally I think they were very good. But I needed a glass of milk with them." "I love cinnamon!"

Caramel Cinnamon Muffins

I am not a fan of pumpkin pie so the entire grocery aisle for pumpkin flavored everything annoys me. There are so many other wonderful fall flavors! As I wrote before, concord grapes signal the start of fall for me but there is also cinnamon apple, cranberries, maple syrup, and pecans! This recipe sounded great for a cool autumn day. It is from a 1952 pamphlet by the Culinary Arts Institute, 250 Breads, Biscuits, and Rolls.

This pamphlet is filled with helpful hints and how-to's complete with pictures!

Looks super easy with no fancy ingredients.

I used butter flavored shortening because that is what I had.

 I am so excited! Brown sugar and butter!!

 The batter seemed a little dry while mixing. I hope it is supposed to.

 They turned out beautiful!

 The bottoms were covered in delicious crunchy caramel!

These were very interesting for as simple as the ingredients were. I found the muffin tops a bit bland but when you get a bite of the caramel with it, amazing! The cinnamon flavor was very light. I would probably add more next time. I think these may be even better as mini-muffins so you can get the cinnamon and the caramel all in one bite.

My Rating: Not too bad. I want to try it again with tweaks.

Friends and Family Rating: "So Good!" "I love the cinnamon!"