Tag Archives: cinnamon

CLEMENTINES IN CINNAMON SYRUP

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by

Three ingredients.  Four if you count water. It was one of the best things I’ve made in the last few months, though.  Slices of clementine soaking in a light caramel infused with cinnamon.  First, let me assure you it is not going to be too sweet. It is a perfectly balanced mixture, the clementines lose any of that harshness often found in the raw fruit, and the syrup is so good that I drank what was left in my small bowl after enjoying the fruit. Yes, I grabbed the bowl and drank from it as if it was a glass. What’s more amazing, I did it in the presence of members of our department gathered in our place for a get-together with a guest speaker. That should give you an idea how irresistible it was. I found this gem of a recipe on the fun blog hosted by Zach and Clay, The Bitten Word. If you don’t know about their site, make sure to stop by, you will become a regular visitor… 😉

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CLEMENTINES IN CINNAMON SYRUP
(seen at The Bitten Word, original recipe from Martha Stewart)

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
8 clementines, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise

Bring water, sugar and cinnamon to a simmer in a small saucepan. Cook until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute.

Arrange clementines in a large bowl. Pour warm syrup over top, and let stand for at least 30 minutes.

Divide clementines and syrup among 4 bowls.

 ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I hope you won’t let the simplicity of this “recipe” prevent you from making it, telling yourself that it cannot be worth it.  If you like fruit and a dessert that makes you feel light as a feather and pretty energized (must be all that vitamin C, and the cinnamon oils), this is it.  Maybe some might feel tempted to serve it as a topping for ice cream, but for my taste, nothing else is needed.  Just make sure you have enough caramel sauce to soak the slices, and to satisfy your desire to drink every single drop of it.  Slurping is optional, depending on the audience. 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2013 

TWO YEARS AGO: Thrilling Moments (CROISSANTS!)

THREE YEARS AGO: Maple-Oatmeal Sourdough Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pork Trinity: coffee, mushrooms, and curry

 

 

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: APPLE-CINNAMON BREAD

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club by

The month of August is coming to an end. The last Monday of this busy month brings with it a special revelation: which blog was I assigned to cook from as a member of The Secret Recipe Club? And who is posting something from my blog?  Which recipe was chosen? So much excitement, so much fun… This month I was paired with a food blog Queen:  Amy, the hostess of “Fearless Homemaker” has even been on TV!   You can read about her first cooking demonstration by clicking here.   And now, here I am, cooking a recipe from her blog.  Too cool for words. If her blog is new to you, I strongly recommend you to stop by.  Not only she has loads of wonderful recipes, but side-stories that are truly special, like her surprise wedding party.  She and her partner invited friends over for a nice get-together, and all of a sudden both disappeared, changed into their wedding outfits, and next thing their guests knew, an orchestra was playing, a priest was arriving , and the party turned into their wedding!  Now the family got bigger, as she and her husband recently welcomed the arrival of   “The Fearless Baby“…  Congratulations, Amy!

I had quite a few recipes on my final list to cook for the Secret Recipe reveal day: her Vegetable and Quinoa Pilaf, her Honey-Chipotle Turkey Meatballs, her Chicken Bolognese, and also her Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake.  But, in the end, I went with an Apple-Cinnamon Bread, with chunks of apple permeating the cake.   Yes, you guessed it, I took it to our department on a sunny Monday morning…    😉

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APPLE-CINNAMON BREAD
(from Fearless Homemaker)

1 + 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
pods from 1 vanilla bean
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups chopped Granny Smith apples, skin removed

for topping:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

 Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray an 8 by 4 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.  Reserve.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the eggs and beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add in oil, applesauce, vanilla,  mix until smooth.    Add the sugar and mix until well combined.

Slowly add in the flour mixture, incorporating until the flour is barely combined. Gently fold in the apple chunks. pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Prepare the topping: in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle this topping over the batter in the loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until loaf is golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. loosen sides of the loaf with a knife and invert carefully.  Cool the cake completely on a rack before slicing.

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ENJOY!

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to print the recipe, click here

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Comments:  As Amy pointed out in her post, this bread smells WONDERFUL while it bakes.  Cinnamon seems to do just that, fill the house with intoxicating aroma of deliciousness to come…    I am not sure why I’ve been picking sweet recipes for the past few Secret Recipe Club adventures, but I’m enjoying the phase.  And I suppose the members of our department don’t mind that either!   😉

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Amy, it’s been great to spend time on your blog, reading your stories, marveling at your photos.  

I hope you enjoyed this month’s assignment as much as I did!

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To see what the other members of my group cooked up for today’s Reveal Day, click on the blue amphibian smiling at the bottom of the post.  And if you are wondering who got my blog and the recipe chosen, go visit Karen’s site at Lavender and Lovage!  😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Blueberry Galette

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, August 2011

THREE YEARS AGO: Journey to a New Home

FOUR YEARS AGO: Friday Night Dinner (very tasty pork medallions)

CINNAMON WREATH

Posted in Breads by

What if I told you that this bread is one of the easiest breads I’ve ever made, and that it is ready in less than 2 hours from the time you grab your bag of flour?  Hard to believe, but true.   I first marveled at the recipe over at Baker Street, a blog I got to know earlier this year and now follow very closely, since it’s full of tempting recipes…

CINNAMON WREATH
(from Baker Street)

for the dough:
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup lukewarm milk
1 envelope active dry yeast (2 + 1/4 tsp)
⅛ cup melted butter
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp sugar
for the filing:
¼ cup melted butter
4-5 tbsp sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
Mix the yeast and sugar with the lukewarm milk and let it sit a few minutes while the yeast bubbles and foams up.
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Add the egg yolk, the melted butter, the flour and the salt, then knead the dough and shape into a ball. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl, then cover and place in a warm space and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
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Heat the oven to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1cm (1/4 inch).  Spread the melted butter across all of the dough, then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Reserve a small amount of melted butter for the top of the bread.
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Roll up the dough, and using a knife, cut the log in half length-wise. Twist the two halves together, keeping the open layers exposed (see photos on Baker Street site). Give a round shape, then transfer to a lightly buttered baking tray.
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Brush a little butter on top and sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the bread is golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit after 5-10 minutes to stop it burning.
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ENJOY!
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to print the recipe, click here
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Comments: This bread would be outstanding for a brunch. It’s almost like a cinnamon roll, but with a different texture.  Your whole house will smell like cinnamon while it bakes and later sits on the counter, cooling.   I don’t have photos of the bread after slicing, because I made it for a departmental potluck and in this type of event it’s better not to turn into a typical food blogger: the person who would snatch a slice of bread from the lips of a guest just because it shows the perfect crumb structure, and run away with it, camera in hand.  😉
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Phil loved this bread, and already requested that I make it again on a Sunday morning, as it will be even better still warm from the oven.  I had to bake it in the evening and we only tried the bread at lunchtime next day.   Not the ideal situation, but when you must be  in the lab by 8am, some accommodations are in order.
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Next time I will make sure to roll out the dough a bit thinner, and form the cylinder a little tighter, to have more layers.  I confess that I forgot the final step of adding butter, sugar and cinnamon on top.  In other words: I must make it again to perfect it!
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Please stop by Baker Street to see her masterpiece, as well as a tutorial on rolling and slicing the dough.  By the way, this bread is also known as Estonian Kringel.  Whatever its name, it is worth having it in your bread repertoire.
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I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting.
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ONE YEAR AGO:  Yeastspotting 11.11.11
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TWO YEARS AGO: Oven-baked Risotto
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SNICKERDOODLES WITH A TWIST

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Sweets by

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For the record, I don’t have a sweet tooth. I can go for months without dessert, and my sweet cravings are satisfied by some yogurt with a little agave nectar and by bits of bittersweet chocolate every now and then. So, if I tell you that when I made these cookies I ate one and went back for three more…. trust me, you should fire up your oven!

I chose these cookies because I was mesmerized by their picture in this wonderful blog.  I am so glad I did, even though my photos don”t come close in terms of quality, the flavor of these babies is great: snickerdoodles with a twist…

For Brazilians and other foreign readers who may not know about them, snickerdoodles are a classic, probably of German origin, that have been around since the beginning of last century. They are very simple cookies, that get rolled in cinnamon and sugar right before going into the oven. The crinkled look is their trademark.

In this rendition, a little coffee powder is added to the dough. Normally, I don’t like changes in a classic recipe, but in this case, the results were awesome. Even if you’re not fond of coffee, give these cookies a try. The coffee flavor is subtle, and it’s wonderful with the cinnamon, making these cookies simply irresistible.

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CINNAMON CAPPUCCINO COOKIES
(recipe adapted  from “A Kiss and a Cupcake“)

1 cup butter (two sticks), softened
1 + 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 + 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 + 1/2 tablespoons powdered coffee (see comments)
granulated sugar + cinnamon (3:1)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cream together sugar and butter whipping them with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth.  Add powdered coffee and beat until incorporated.

Combine remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture in three batches. Chill resulting dough for 20-30 minutes. Scoop out 1-inch balls of dough and roll them in sugar/cinnamon mixture; place on chilled cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until centers are set.

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen.

click here for comments and additional photos