Tag Archives: Cinnamon

Recipes - Desserts

Blackberry Cobbler

My BFF down in Florida was mentioning blackberry cobbler a lot, at least three times last week, so when I spotted fresh blackberries at my local market yesterday, I knew we had to have our own cobbler, up here, and soon!  These were large beautiful blackberries just made for cobbler or blackberry pie and they did not disappoint. The photos above took as long to fuss with as the actual cobbler prep work did.  35 minutes and its in the oven! The larger photo is as served out of mama’s room tonight at Woodland Hills.  I have to say, “the cobbler thing” was a pleasure, from start to finish!

Do cook your blackberries to thicken, then cool the filling off the stove before adding the topping; cook it just long enough for the juices to coat a wooden spoon; 5 minutes.  The sugar, berries, and the whiff of cinnamon take a minute to boil, as the sugar must melt first.   The cornstarch-water mixture thickens the sauce perfectly.  Taste it as it cools because you might want a little more cinnamon.  The biscuity topping is a terrific complement to the berry filling.  I like to drop it willy-nilly over my berries as that  makes for easy serving.  It does taste like abiscuit, browned on top with a  cake-like texture, perfect for soaking up the ample juices from the berries.  Fresh blackberries, are, of course, a given for this recipe.  These berries were from my local market; youknow, the only “real” grocery store in town; they were beautiful to look at, big as large Bing cherries, and they held their shape nicely too, once cooked.

If you have 60 minutes total, and 3 cups of blackberries, you are in business my friend!  Half of that time is the cobbler baking and you cleaning up the kitchen quickly, right? Start to finish, there was nothing more pleasant to be doing with that hour, and the results were amazing!  Ahhh, the many flavors of Spring!  Dig Right In!

Blackberry Cobbler

Ingredients for berries

3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 T. cornstarch
1 cup cold water
1 T. butter

Biscuit Topping

1-1/2 cups flour
1 T. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup milk

Directions In a large saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar and cinnamon. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into fruit mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Dot with butter.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until moistened. Drop by tablespoons onto hot berry mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream. Yield: 9 servings.

Share
Bakery Miscellaneous

Hot Apple Dumplings w/Crescent Rolls

I told my girlfriend I wasn’t “going to mess with blogging today” since my mama just got out of the hospital yesterday and I am playing catch up at home, BUT, I certainly wanted something to take to the staff who cares for mama here in town to celebrate her homecoming, and I thought about these great, and quick, apple dumplings! The recipe is also included in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook.  Here we are then!

Most of the ingredients you will have on hand for this recipe; you will need two apples and two packages of refrigerated crescent rolls and a can of soda, however.  The dumplings are easily prepared and ready for the oven in under 15 minutes.

I used Granny Smith apples today as they hold up well for baking and I like the contrasting tartness they offer to the butter-sugar mixture in the recipe.  The apples bake up soft and moist and the crescent rolls provide the dumpling taste.  Flavor with ground cinnamon.  Do try this one when you want something fast yet delicious!  Enjoy every bite of moist dumpling!

Hot Apple Dumplings w/Crescent Rolls

Ingredients

2 Granny Smith apples
2 tubes crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1-(12 oz.) can of 7-up or Mt. Dew soda

Directions Preheat oven to 350. Peel apples, core, and cut each apple into eight slices. Roll one apple slice in one crescent roll triangle. Repeat until you have 16 dumplings. Place in a 9×13 pan; sprinkle with the cinnamon. Melt butter in small saucepan. Add sugar to the melted butter and mix well. Add a little more cinnamon to this mixture, to taste, or not at all, and drizzle over the dumplings. Pour the can of soda over everything. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool slightly and serve with ice cream or prepared whipped topping.

Share
Bakery Miscellaneous

Ono Cinnamon Rolls

2 Comments


In Hawai’i, the word “ono” is the same as saying “DELICIOUS” for mainland folks, and that is just what these cinnamon rolls will have you saying when you taste them! I woke up wanting to bake bread of some kind today to bring warmth to an otherwise frozen day here in the Heartland and these ‘from-scratch’ rolls, adapted from a Paula Deen recipe,  are exactly what I was thinking of!

You do have to start early in the day as your dough is going to need to rise twice but as long as you are in for the day, there’s no better way to spend your time. These rolls are destined for mama and friends at the nursing home this evening though I did have to eat one of them right out of the oven! Today I needed just 3 cups of flour for the dough and I added chopped pecans, raisins, and orange zest to my filling. I love the zip that orange or lemon zest adds to any bread recipe and the orange zest I used today was a perfect pairing with the cinnamon flavoring. The nuts add crunch and texture to the soft rolls.  I think I got a little carried away on the raisins actually and so recommend using a little less, maybe 1/2 cup only.

Use as little flour as possible and give the dough plenty of time to rise. Today I left it alone for 2 hours and then again for 45 minutes before baking the rolls. Cut your rolled dough into at least 1/2″ thick slices for a filling and satisfying treat and brew up some fresh coffee, too, if you have time. You will love these rolls and the warming sweet aroma they spread throughout the house as they bake.  Oh, yes!  Yet another happy snow day!

Ono Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

DOUGH

1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3-1/2 to 4 cups flour

FILLING

1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pans
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
2 T ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins and chopped pecans, optional
1 T. orange zest, optional

GLAZE

4 T butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3-5 T. milk

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour, blend well until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5-7 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, 2 hours usually.

Heat oven to 350. When dough has doubled in size, punch down and roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with pecans and raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes then bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Prepare glaze while rolls are baking then spread over the rolls while they are still slightly warm.

Share
Bakery Miscellaneous

Betty’s Molasses Cookies


Day 3 Cookie Bake! My heart beats faster when I run across a recipe that is obviously well-used and treasured. This recipe came to me from mama’s recipe box and it to her from her close friend Betty Hopkins. Miss Betty’s Molasses Cookies made for a satisfying and wholesome end to cookie baking time today and I definitely see why mama insisted these cookies be included in my cookbook.  These proved to be a perfect cold weather stay-at-home-with-a book treat.

The buttermilk is in the dough, they aren’t glazed, and they have a soft, yet chewy, texture.  They bake round and tall and fill your kitchen with the aroma of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.  I love the dark raisins and the walnuts I used as they make  the cookies dense and satisfying; these are definitely cookies to sink your teeth into, and, needless to say, so perfect with a glass of cold milk (yes, for lunch). The molasses sweetly softens them but also makes for a sticky dough and these benefit from just a bit of shaping once they are on the cookie sheets. The spices layer with the molasses throughout and I have to say there really isn’t a thing that needs changing here, proving once again that old recipes are, like old friendships,  treasures indeed.

Betty’s Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
2-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Directions  Preheat oven to 400. In large mixing bowl, cream shortening, sugar, and the molasses with a wooden spoon until well blended. Add the egg and buttermilk and beat briefly with electric mixer. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl and stir with a fork to sift. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture gradually, blending well with a large rubber spatula after each addition. Fold in the raisins and the nuts. Bake on lightly-greased cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Store airtight. Yields 5 dozen.

Share
Bakery Miscellaneous

Brown Sugar Cookies with Buttermilk Glaze

First up, on Tuesday, nibbles of dark brown sugar cookies with plenty of chewy texture glazed with buttermilk and powdered sugar. The dough is a basic sugar cookie recipe made with dark sugar.  With the buttermilk in the glaze, this is a cookie of contrasts. Their soft centers balance with the crisp edges, their chewy texture pairs opposite the smoothness of the glaze, and brown sugar answers the  tang of  the buttermilk .  Contrast and complements all in one cookie.

Soften your butter early on then cream it with the sugar and an egg. Add in dry ingredients gradually, then bake and you’re all pau except for the glaze. Flavored with cinnamon and allspice, rich with butter, they bake quickly; just eight minutes was fine.  Let them cool completely before drizzling on the glaze

I found these tasted even better on Wednesday after sitting, airtight, overnight. Their mellowing set the most magnificent aroma wafting  when I opened the container, so be ready for that! The recipe made 3 dozen.  When you next have time, why not declare a cookie day and bake these, make a pot of fresh coffee, and sit down with your book?  Sweet nibbling!

Brown Sugar Cookies w/Buttermilk Glaze

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
12 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and spices. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until well incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as you go.

Drop by large tablespoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until edges are browned. Cool on the sheet for a nice crisp outside and a soft inside. Cool completely before glazing. Yields 3 dozen cookies.

Buttermilk Glaze

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Use a whisk to blend all ingredients until smooth.  Drizzle over cooled cookies with a fork.

Share