A Southern Grace: "...the answer invariably comes back: cinnamon."

February 15, 2009

"...the answer invariably comes back: cinnamon."

Yum

"Cinnamon takes a back seat to no babka. People love cinnamon. It should be on tables at restaurants along with salt and pepper. Anytime anyone says, "Oh this is so good, what's in it?" The answer invariably comes back, 'Cinnamon.' 'Cinnamon.' Again and again. Lesser babka?? I think not."


Amen, Jerry. And amen.

Two Seinfeld references in a row? What's wrong with me? Nothing a little cinnamon can't cure. It's time for the Cinnamon Celebration round-up. I received 37 entries appropriate for any and every type of cinnamon craving you might have. We'll start with the desserts first:

Sophie from Flour Arrangements made a glorious treat that would be suitable for just about anyone--Gluten- and Lactose-Free Cinnamon Dulce de Leche Cake:


I got a gorgeous Maple-Glazed Apple Cake from Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings:


Butterball, the gal responsible for the fabulously-titled blog A Butter World, made Sugar & Spice & Everything Naughty Pastry Hearts:


I think chocolate and cinnamon is a wonderful combination, and Nuria from Spanish Recipes agrees. Here's her Bizcocho con Chocolate (Chocolate Cake):


The Peanut Butter Boy, also known as Nick, brought back his Pumpkin Pie Peanut Butter Pudding, and I, for one, am very happy about it:


How does a Fig and Chile Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream sound? Vera of Baking Obsession has concocted a wonderful recipe and the presentation is nothing short of extraordinary:


Judith from Shortcut to Mushrooms was inspired by a book to make her Dim and the Dark Cookies:


Karen, the DomesticMuse, raises a good point--why aren't there Apple Brown Bettys all over the place? They're wonderful:


Ivy of Kopiaste contributed a unique and undeniably appetizing treat--Glyko Milo:


Although these Chewy Ginger Wedges from Peggy of The House of Kent are ginger-centric, they still honor cinnamon:


Kat from A Good Appetite also knows a thing or two about the pairing of chocolate and cinnamon. Take a gander at her Dark Chocolate Azteca Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream:


There's no denying that apples and cinnamon belong together, and Gayle from Pastry Studio provides wonderful proof of that with her whimsically-named Apple of My Eye:


Here's another apple delight from MaryBeth of Dunkin Cooking the Semi-Homemade Way--Apple Footballs:


Donna of My Tasty Treasures sent in something I've never made myself, but would love to try--Baked Churro Munchies with Warm Chocolate Dipping Sauce:


Cinnamon makes a perfect compliment to the fruits in Abby's Orange & Cranberry Torte. Check out her blog Eat the Right Stuff for the wonderful recipe:


Jeanne, brilliant author of CookSister, contributed a glorious Spiced Pear Apple Pistachio Crisp, perfect for any day:


Here are two sensational creations sent in by Navita of Zaayeka. First, we have Sesame Sepculaas, which are completely new to me but look irresistible:


Her other treat is Vegan Banana Chocolate Bread, which can and should be enjoyed by all:


Marjie from Modern Day Ozzie and Harriet put a twist on a classic cake with her Meringue-Topped Spice Cake:


The last dessert-type dish was sent in by Sweatha of TastyCurryLeaf, and what do ya know--it's my favorite cookie. Here are her Snickerdoodles:



How about a couple of entrees? After all, meat likes cinnamon too.

First, Julia of Grow. Cook. Eat. made an interesting beef dish called Adina Kebabi, and it looks great:


Sylvie from Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener also paired cinnamon with beef. Here's her savory Red Cooked Beef with Sweet Potatoes:



I call these the breakfast beauties:

Lisa of The Cutting Edge of Ordinary has a marvelous recipe for Cinnamon Biscuit Rolls, the ultimate breakfast treat:


Here's that lovely apple again--OhioMom from Cooking in Cleveland made some beautiful Apple Cinnamon Twists:


Katie from Salt and Chocolate sent in her Baked Oatmeal, a delicious, convenient, and completely wonderful dish:


If you want a good laugh and also appreciate the wonder that is cinnamon toast, check out The Blonde Duck's ode on her blog A Duck in Her Pond:


You absolutely can't go wrong with a batch of Apple Cinnamon Muffins from Lori of Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness:


More muffins? Giz of the ever-delightful Equal Opportunity Kitchen made an all-time favorite--Donut Muffins:


Krysta, the evil chef mom and goddess who helped introduce me to Vietnamese cinnamon, began her bread-baking endeavors with this stellar Cinnamon Crumb Surprise:


Julia's back again with a different take on Cinnamon Rolls. I personally can never get enough:


It's time for a little chocolate--here are Elle's Mexican Hot Chocolate Muffins as seen on her most enjoyable blog, Elle's New England Kitchen:


Laura from The Spiced Life made cookies for breakfast, which is a-okay by me. Look at her Cinnamon Pumpkin Oatmeal (Breakfast) Cookies:


One final batch of my favorite breakfast--these Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls were created and enjoyed by Psychgrad of Equal Opportunity Kitchen:



Miscellaneous magic:

Ashley, the Culinarywannabe, made a lovely Breakfast Granola full of fruits and nuts:


Deeba of Passionate About Baking took her granola one step further and made Blueberry Oat Walnut Granola Bars:


Here's a recipe for an Apple Compote with Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Ginger Infusion from Olga of Olga's Recipes. Sounds marvelous, right?


Last but certainly not least, we have one more batch of granola a la Cathy of Where's My Damn Answer--here's her Cranberry & Mixed Nut Granola:



That's a lot of cinnamon goodness in one place. I can barely handle it all.

So, I guess you're wondering who won the shtick of Vietnamese cinnamon, am I right? Drumroll, please...

Laura! Congratulations! Not only do we share a love for "Friday Night Lights" and all things Whedonesque, but we also both appreciate the special spice known as cinnamon. Send me your info, and I'll send you some of the best stuff on Earth.

55 comments:

Julia said...

Wow! This is quite a round-up! And I must confess, I have never had cinnamon babka, only chocolate. I better get busy baking....

Junell said...

You have been one busy Southern Gal!
Thanks for the "shout out." I have scripted about my defeat that I am trying to take like a lady over at
A Butter World..... They all look amazing!!!

Laura said...

Wee-hoo, so exciting! I am at Best Buy, shopping for keyboards--but I will shoot you the email when I get home! YAY! Great round up, btw.

Unknown said...

These are all gorgeous-- and so incredible! I never cease to be amazed at the limitless creativity of the human mind (or is that tummy?)
I want to try them ALL! Now, where to start?
Thanks for including me, Grace!

Congrats to Laura :)!

PG said...

Oh man...I could go for some of...everything. Good showing of cinnamon recipes, Grace.

pam said...

Oh my gosh! Do you realize that I made something specifically for this and blogged it, and then forgot to send it to you!! I was even early!

Corriendo said...

oh wow! these all look amazing and delicious. mmmm.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

What a great roundup!
I can smell the cinnamon from here.

Manger La Ville said...

I love cinnamon, when reading this there were so many times. I went: I love this, wait no...I love this..wait what about this. I love a round up that can make me think I am tasting cinnamon on my tongue.

Lori said...

I dont know if you ever heard of the "Simaron Kid", well my Dad calls my husband the cinnamon kid. He puts it in his coffee everyday! We could say the same about you Grace.

I will never tire of cinnamony goodness! Beautiful desserts and dishes! It's a nice roundup.

Congrats to the winner!

The Blonde Duck said...

I'm craving apple cobbler or pie so bad right now--heavy on the cinnamon, please! Wonderful job Grace!

Anonymous said...

As I was looking through all of these, there were many "Oooh" and "Ahhs" coming out my mouth!

They all look delicious...I am especially interested in the chocolate and cinnamon combinations!

Anonymous said...

Amazing round up Grace! I only wish I had gotten my tardy butt into gear for this. Some truly mouth watering dishes there :)

Sophie said...

So many yummy treats! Thanks again for hosting this, Grace. I'm getting so many yummy ideas for ways to use cinnamon...oh, how I love cinnamon too :).

OhioMom said...

What an awesome roundup, I am bookmarking this page because I am drooling over several if these recipes.

WTG Grace!!

MaryBeth said...

Wow..everything looked so darn good, Congrats to Laura!! Enjoy your new found cinnamon in something delish.

Anonymous said...

All of those entries look delicious, and now I'm seriously craving some cinnamon!

giz said...

Yahoo - I feel like I'm in hog heaven ...I mean cinnamon heaven - what a fantastic roundup of amazing treats. I don't think there's a substandard one in the whole bunch -

Unknown said...

what a tribute you guys gave to this ingredient... the round-up is amazing... can't wait to try the recipes posted... btw, i love your cinnamon bark picture, so elegantly shot... :)

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

MMM,so many delicious treats on one page. Grave, I can never see cinnamon again, without thinking of you.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

This is a great roundup. I wish I could sample everything.

Maris said...

Wow, what a round-up! I love the smell of cinnamon baking. Sometimes if my apartment feels stuffy I'll boil a cinnamon stick with citrus zest and it makes the kitchen smell amazing - minus the calories! :)

Ivy said...

I'm in heaven. There's not even one single recipe I wouldn't like to try. Thanks for hosting and for the lovely roundup.

Pam said...

You are killing me! I love cinnamon...and every recipe looks amazing but those vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls are making my mouth water.

pigpigscorner said...

What wonderful creations!! I can smell the cinnamon from my screen!

Donna-FFW said...

What a wonderful celebration. Everything looks to die for and I found some fantastic new blogs. Thanks for all your hard work.

Linds said...

Great round-up! Thank you for hosting this fun(and tasty) event :)

Maria said...

Cinnamon is oh so good! Great round up!! Everything looks fabulous!

Nic said...

What great dishes here, a cinnamon lovers paradise.

Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer said...

What a wonderful round-up. So many incredible creations!! Thanks for all your hard work and effort in putting this kickass event together!!

Katie said...

Yea! All things Cinnamon how could any of these go wrong. Man I wish I was hope so I could bake up some of these beauties.

Anonymous said...

Wow ... a whole year's worth of yum rounded up here!

kat said...

Quite a tasty round-up!

Emily said...

What a great round up! I'm definitely craving cinnamon now. Mmm.

Marjie said...

Did you try them all? These are some exciting foods. I think of you every time I haul the cinnamon out of the cupboard!

Sharon said...

You know I"m bookmarking this one. Congrats Laura!

Robin said...

Grace this is the best Cinnamon round up ever! I have bookmarked many of these for future yumminess. I would say a big favorite has to be good old cinnamon toast (dipped in hot milk of course) My Daddy taught me that one.

Bunny said...

Beautiful use of cinnamon, in every entry! Unfortunately I didn't get my entry in by the deadline, but next time!!!

Anonymous said...

helloooo heaven!

awesome looking baked goods. mmmmm.

veggie belly said...

great round up!

Chef Jeena said...

Hi Grace fantastic roudn up! It is so funny as a few eeks ago I was on such a cinnamon fad for 2 whole weeks and was sprinkling onto almost everything.....if I had seen this round up I may have willingly put on a stone hehe.... :-D

jess said...

The pictures are gorgeous! I can't wait to try that gluten-free dulce de leche cake.

Paula said...

Cinnamon ... food of the gods! This is a terrific round up. I was especially happy to see a gluten free recipe in there. Man, now I want some cinnamon toast ... :-)

Culinary Wannabe said...

Congrats Laura! What a great cinnamon round up!

Anonymous said...

wow, my eyes began spinning around from first picture of the cinnamon stick that I thought at first held a shiney black pearl... and then from looking at all of the beautiful cinnamon infused descriptions!

Albany Jane said...

Darnit - I should have looked here earlier for brunch inspiration! Some of these are just to die for.

Elle said...

What an amazing cinnamon round-up! Congrats, Laura!

Sandy said...

You should have used my NO PEEL APPLE CAKE! YUM! OK, I'll take the pastry hearts - all of them!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

What a wonderful and mouth-watering round-up!

Jacque said...

Oh my goodness, I would be completely thrilled to have a piece/bite/serving of any one of those.

Thanks for hosting this, I see lots of blog-worthy recipes there.

P.S. I love cinnamon too :)

Anonymous said...

OK. I'll admit: though my first love remains ginger (or is that Vanilla? or cardamom? or cocoa - is cocoa a spice?), those cinnamon entries are great. And as somebody says, half the fun of such round-ups are discovering great blogs. Many thanks Grace.

Sylvie

Mary said...

Thanks for such a delicious roundup! I'm totally bookmarking it and I can't decide which I want to try first!

LyB said...

Grace, I am so disappointed I missed the deadline. The fates are truly conspiring against me these days. But, I am enjoying this fab round-up and will no doubt be enjoying some seriously cinnammony desserts very soon. :)

Vera said...

What a round-up, Grace! You make a wonderful host; you should do it more often :)

Jaime said...

wow, great round up! i love cinnamon!