Cinnamon Syrup

I don't often go to Starbucks, but when I do, I usually get a Cinnamon Dolce Latte.  The only problem is that it is SUPER sweet.  I learned (by speaking with my local barista) that a "tall" size uses 3 pumps of syrup.  I ordered 2 pumps, and it was still too sweet, so now I go with one pump. 

The only problem with one pump is that I lose out on some cinnamon flavor!  The other day I set out to make a syrup with a reaaaaaaaly strong cinnamon flavor.  I think I've succeeded!

Ingredients:
Just over 1 c water
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbs cinnamon


Directions:

• Pour water into a small saucepan and add a cinnamon stick.  I used just over 1 cup because I was worried about losing some water while it boiled.

• Heat to a boil, and allow it to boil until the water is infused with cinnamon- you'll be able to smell it!

• Turn off the stove, and dump in your brown sugar...

• ...and the white sugar.

• Stir to combine, then bring back to a boil until all of the sugar is dissolved.

• Turn off the heat, and add the powdered cinnamon.  Stir to combine

• Allow to cool a bit, then transfer to a glass container- I used this cute blue jar that Dave bought for me! :)

I shake this up before using, in case the powdered cinnamon settles.  Other than using it for coffee, can you think of any more uses for this syrup?  If so, please leave a comment!

Ingredients:
Just over 1 c water
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbs cinnamon

Directions:

1. Pour water into a small saucepan and add a cinnamon stick.
2. Heat to a boil, and allow it to boil until the water is infused with cinnamon- you'll be able to smell it!
3. Turn off the stove, and add the white and brown sugar.
4. Stir to combine, then bring back to a boil until all of the sugar is dissolved.
5. Turn off the heat, and add the powdered cinnamon.
6. Stir to combine.
7. Allow to cool a bit, then transfer to a glass container.

Spicy Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

 

 

We already have a recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies...chocolate, cinnamon, chili powder.  I have to admit- these cookies are similar, but different.  So of course I deemed them worthy to post!  For starters, the recipe is easier:  no sifting, and no rolling the dough into individual balls.  Secondly, these cookies have chocolate chips.  Hooray for that! :)

 

 

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (if you don't have that, vanilla extract will work)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Specialty Dark Chocolate- dutch process would be great too)

1¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini)

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In an amazing Kitchenaid mixer that you love so much, cream together softened butter and brown sugar.



• Add eggs and vanilla bean paste, and mix until well combined.

•  Whisk together baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and flour. I like to put them on a big sheet of waxed paper and whisk them together like that.  Makes it easier to add to the mixer!

 (Not labeled: the flour.  I promise it's under there!)

 

• Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, with the mixer on the lowest speed.  Do you see how easy the waxed paper makes it to incorporate the dry ingredients?!

• Fold in the chocolate chips.  (yes- I know there's less than a cup of chips there.  I ate a small handful before starting to bake, and apparently there was not enough left!)

• Scoop dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Here's the scoop I used- I don't remember the size measurements, but this pic should help:

• Bake for 8-10 minutes, and cool on cookie racks. For one sheet of cookies, I flattened the ball.  The other sheet was cooked how you see the dough in the pic above- those created the puffy cookies.   I think I like the flat ones better.

Aww, pretty :)

 

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (if you don't have that, vanilla extract will work)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Specialty Dark Chocolate- dutch process would be great too)

1¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together softened butter and brown sugar. 
3. Add eggs and vanilla bean paste, and mix until well combined. 
4. Whisk together baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and flour.
5. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, with the mixer on the lowest speed.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Scoop dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and cool on cookie racks.

Recipe adapted from Baker Bettie

Horchata

Woah, it's been almost 2 months since my last post- sorry! 

Have you ever had horchata?  I had always heard about how awesome it was, but never tried it...until about 2 months ago.  Dave and I were having some lunch at a Mexican place outside of the city, and I saw it on the menu-so of course I had to try it!

It tasted kind of like liquid rice pudding- and I loved it!  It has been on my recipe to-do list ever since, and I think I finally found a winner!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice
5 cups water
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%, but whole is probably best)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
approx 1/4 cup white sugar (add this to taste...I used just over 1/4 c)

Directions:

• Pour the rice and water into a blender.  I had to do this in batches because we have a lame Magic Bullet rip-off.  (if anyone feels like spending hundreds of dollars, please buy us a Vitamix!)
• Blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1-2 minutes.

 blend, baby, blend!

• Transfer to a sealable container, add cinnamon sticks, and let mixture stand at room temperature for 3 hours.

• Refrigerate overnight (this is optional, but helps infuse more flavor!)
• Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice and cinnamon stick.

• Stir the milk, vanilla, and sugar into the rice water until all of the sugar has dissolved.

 We poured the horchata into this cool pitcher we got at Whole Foods.

 Of course, Dave wanted to see how high he could pour the liquid without spilling.  He got about 5 inches higher than shown below :)

• Serve over ice

Directions:

1. Pour the rice and water into a blender. 
2. Blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1-2 minutes. 
3. Transfer to a sealable container, add cinnamon sticks, and let mixture stand at room temperature for 3 hours.
4. Refrigerate overnight (this is optional, but helps infuse more flavor!)
5. Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice and cinnamon stick. 
6. Stir the milk, vanilla, and sugar into the rice water until all of the sugar has dissolved.
7. Serve over ice

recipe adapted from allrecipes

Chocolate and Cinnamon Babka

In the "Dinner Party" episode of Seinfeld, Jerry and Elaine missed out on the last chocolate babka, and were forced to purchase one that had cinnamon- a "lesser babka," if you will.  Well, what if we combined the two?  This chocolate AND cinnamon babka was a bit time consuming to make, but it was well worth the effort!  Dave and I can't stop eating it....

Ingredients:
for the dough
9.5 ounces bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (I used just over this amount of active dry yeast- more on that later)
1.5 ounces granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces unsalted butter, softened

for the filling
1 egg, beaten
about 1 ounce cocoa powder (I used less)
about 2.5 ounces sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)
cinnamon

for the topping
3 ounces all-purpose flour
3 ounces powdered sugar (I didn't have any, so I used light brown sugar)
2 ounces softened butter

Directions:
for the dough

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and mix on low speed to combine.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk them together. NOTE:  I used active dry yeast, so I first microwaved half of the milk to about 110 degrees, and proofed the yeast before adding it to the other wet ingredients
3. With the machine running on low, pour the wet ingredients into the dry. When everything is moistened switch to the dough hook and turn the machine up to medium. 
4. Knead until a dough comes together, then add the butter and continue kneading until it’s incorporated and the dough is smooth and sticky, about 5 minutes. (it was VERY sticky)
5. Remove the dough to a lightly greased bowl and allow it to rise for 1-2 hours until it has about doubled in size. 

 

 I know - I didn't whisk the wet ingredients together first. It was okay anyway...promise!!
 

 the tiny, sticky dough ball

Oooh...nice and fluffy! A note on why it's in the oven- as I assemble/mix the dough, I turn the oven to its lowest setting. 200F I believe.  Then when it is time to rise, I turn the oven off, throw it in, and shut the door.  It works perfectly every time!! 

Shaping

1. When the dough has doubled in size, roll it out into a square, about 1/8 inch thick. 
2. Brush with egg wash on three of the edges. 
3. Sift on the cocoa powder and sprinkle sugar everywhere, except for the egg-painted sides. 
4. Distribute the chocolate evenly, then dust the whole thing lightly with cinnamon. (I may have done a bit more than "lightly"...ha!)
5. Roll the dough sheet up starting from the edge that has no egg wash. Twist, then fold the roll in half
6. Give it two or three twists and lay it gently into a well-greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan 
7. Brush with egg wash and let it rise in a warm place (I did the same as I described above) until the dough comes up to the lip of the loaf pan, about another hour. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I went ahead and lined my pan with some parchment paper

 

 

 

 

 Do you know how hard it was to manipulate this dough AND take the pics at the same time?!  Tough, I tell ya.

 Don't make the same mistake I did. I ended up with a bulbous side (see above).  Fold the two ends towards the center, THEN twist.  The filling will be more evenly distributed, and you won't end up with a bursting tumor on one end.

 

 

Topping and Baking

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, then prepare the topping: mix the ingredients and work together by hand until crumbly.
2. Brush the dough once again with egg wash and sprinkle it all over with streusel.  (I had leftover topping. I'd be lying if I told you I didn't eat it straight from the bowl...)
3. Bake about an hour until it’s brown and springs back when tapped. 
4. Remove the pan from the oven, and place on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.
5. Lift parchment to remove babka and allow to cool completely (at least an hour)

DO NOT cut into it early.  Well, you can (I did), but it's going to be super melty and make your bread collapse a bit.  It will have more structural integrity once it has fully cooled! Enjoy!

Adapted from Joe Pastry