Packing on the Pounds

I have a favorite Snickerdoodle Cake. I love it. However, some complain that it is too dry for their taste. Since one of those complainers was coming to dinner the other night, I figured I better come up with something 'not so dry.' I decided to try a Pound Cake approach to Cinnamon Cake and see if that would be any better. I wouldn't say it was better (because I love my Snickerdoodle Cake recipe) -- but it was at least as good!

Brown-Sugar-Cinnamon Pound Cake (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
8-oz. Philadelphia brand Whipped Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Spice Swirl cream cheese, room temperature
3 c. granulated sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
Cinnamon Glaze

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly spray a 12-cup bundt pan with baking spray, such as Baker’s Joy.

Place butter and cream cheese in mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, increase mixer to high speed, and beat for 5 minutes, until mixture is light and airy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and cinnamon, then flour and salt all at one time. Beat just until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan and even out the top. Bake until cake is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove cake from oven to a cooling rack. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely. Glaze with cinnamon glaze.

Cinnamon Glaze
1 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

I'm Not Laughing At You

Really, I'm not. When I say "Snicker," it has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with this cake. Snickerdoodle Cake.

This is a shortcut cake. Rather than make the batter from scratch, I use a cake mix and then doctor up the other ingredients. But the result is delish... especially if you are a cinnamon freak like I am.


Snickerdoodle Cake
1 pkg plain white cake mix
1/2 C sour cream
1 C whole milk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Cut two circles, 9 inches in diameter, out of parchment paper and place them at the bottom of each cake pan.

Combine the cake mix, sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend on low speed to incorporate all the ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes. The batter will be thick. Divide the batter equally (or as close as you can get it) between the two prepared cake pans. Smooth with a spatula.

Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back to the touch, about 28 minutes. When they are done, place the cake pans on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto a rack and remove the cakes from the pans. Then turn them back over on another rack so they are right side up again. Cool completely. When cooled, frost with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting.

You Knew It Was Coming...

We can't celebrate cinnamon without cinnamon rolls. Now, I realize some might consider what I'm about to say blasphemy... but hey, a girl's gotta speak her truth. I. Do. Not. Like Cinnabon. Rolls. They don't tempt me at the mall. They don't tempt me at the airport kiosks. They just don't do it for me. There, I said it.

Now, sit me in my Grandma's kitchen and plate me up one of her cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven and I'm in heaven. Well, I guess I'd have to be, since she's in heaven now. But luckily she left us her recipe. This basic sweet dough recipe can be used for cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, orange rolls, even dinner rolls. You name it. I was raised on it. I love it.












Grandma's Basic Sweet Dough
Combine together 1 C warm water, 2 tsp. sugar and 2 pkgs active dry yeast. Set aside.

2 C milk (warmed)
3/4 to 1 C sugar
1/2 C shortening or butter
4 eggs, well beaten
2 tsp salt
7-8 C all-purpose flour

Place shortening or butter and sugar in large mixing bowl. Pour heated milk over and stir to combine. (The warm milk will melt the shortening or butter.) Let cool. Add yeast mixture. Stir to combine and then let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, salt and flour. (I add the first 4 cups of flour and incorporate it all together, then add the next 3 cups.) Beat well with beater or wooden spoon. This is a very sticky dough. Let dough proof for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place. Punch down and let raise 45 minutes more.

For cinnamon rolls, roll out into rectangle on flat surface. Spread softened butter on dough (I use Cinnamon Honey Butter, if I have some on hand.) Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the buttered dough. Roll up dough until you have a nice tight "tube" of dough. Cut into 3/4 to 1-inch thick circles and place on pregreased baking sheet. Cook at 400 degrees F. for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle glaze over warm rolls.

Can also use this recipe for dinner rolls, tea rings, twists, orange rolls, etc.

Celebrating Cinnamon

I guess now is the time I should include music by Neil Young: "I wanna live with a Cinnamon Girl. I could happy the rest of my life with a Cinnamon Girl." Okay... we all know he's referring to redheads, right? Ginger and cinnamon. My two favorite spices. Well... there's also nutmeg. I could make a case for nutmeg looking quite auburn as well, so I'm still in the clear.

This week we're going to celebrate cinnamon. And we start off with my favorite Snickerdoodle Muffins.

If you look at these muffins directly from above, you'd think you were looking at Snickerdoodle cookies. The first time I made these, I left them on the counter. My daughter came in, took one look at them and said, "Wow, Mom, these look like Snickerdoodle cookies." Mission accomplished.


Snickerdoodle Muffins
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cream of tarter
pinch of salt
3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or ground if you don't have fresh)
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 pkg cinnamon chips (optional)
1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon mixed together for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tins or use paper muffin cups. Fill a small bowl with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is well incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture. Start with the flour and end with the flour, beating after each addition. If you want to include cinnamon chips, gently fold them into the batter.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into the bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar. Place muffin into prepared muffin tin. Bake them for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 14 to 18 muffins.

The wonderful thing about these muffins is that the cinnamon/sugar coating is all over the muffin. When you pull away the paper, you still get that Snickerdoodle-like outer coating.

Note: Tomorrow I will post some flavored butters, including a Cinnamon Butter. It is very good on these muffins, especially when they are still warm.