12 Days of Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen: Day 3

If you love cinnamon, you'll love today's gift from the kitchen. These Cinnamon Cookies have cinnamon in the batter and on top of the cookie.  They're also easy to make when you're pressed for time.

© Margaret's Morsels

Pressed for Time

For the first time in almost 20 years, I won't be making German Christmas Cookies this year.  My mother made these delectable, melt in your mouth cookies flavored with nutmeg and frosted in icing tinted red, green and yellow every year at Christmas.  They were a holiday tradition just like her cheeseball and Kool-Aid Punch.  Although they epitomize Christmas to me, they have to be rolled, cut out and frosted, something I don't have time to do this year.  I'll still make cookies -- they'll even be shaped like trees and wreaths -- but the designs will come not from a cookie cutter but from a cookie press.

I remember the first time I ever saw a cookie press.  I was a teenager visiting my next door neighbor.  She was using a cookie press to make spritz cookies.  I remember thinking how much faster it was to use a cookie press to shape cookies rather than rolling them out and cutting them with cookie cutters.  It made an indelible impression on me and, when I was living on my own in my first apartment, I bought my very own cookie press. Although a cookie press makes things faster, you don't have to use one to make the recipe I'm sharing today.

Cookie presses come in two sizes:  regular and bite size.  I have one of each, but prefer the bite size cookie press.  I like serving miniature desserts, especially at the holidays when there's a wide variety of food -- including desserts -- available.

A cookie press consists of two parts:  a hollow tube and templates with various designs.

The tube is filled with cookie dough

and the template is screwed on the bottom of the tube.

The cookie dough is pressed through the template by pressing a trigger mechanism on the cookie press.  As the trigger is pressed, a plunger pushes the dough through the template.  Changing the template is as easy as unscrewing the template and screwing on a different one.  I don't recommend using a cookie press with nonstick cookie sheets.  Nonstick pans keep things from sticking which also includes the cookie dough from the cookie press!

The cinnamon cookie recipe is fairly straightforward.  The butter -- I use unsalted -- and sugar are creamed until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks and vanilla

and beat well.

Stir the dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture in three additions.

Fill the cookie press with dough and make the desired shapes directly on the cookie sheet.  You'll need to press the mechanism a couple of times before the dough starts coming out of the template.

Brush the cookies with the reserved egg whites; this helps the cinnamon sugar mixture adhere to the cookies.

Sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and immediately remove them to a cooling rack.

You'll need to wash the cookie sheet between batches to remove the egg white residue and leftover cinnamon sugar.

If you don't have a cookie press, make the cookies as directed, but refrigerate the dough until it's firm enough to roll into balls.  Omit the egg whites and roll the cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture like you would for Snickerdoodles.  Proceed as directed.  You may need to increase the baking time for regular size cookies.

These cookies will never replace the Christmas cookies from my childhood, but they're a nice alternative this year since I'm pressed for time.

Cinnamon Cookies

150 Bite Size

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks and vanilla; beat well.  Stir the flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and salt together; add to creamed mixture in three additions.  Place cookie dough in cookie press; make desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet.  Brush cookies with the reserved egg whites.  Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle over cookies.  Bake at 400° for 8 to 10 minutes.

© Margaret's Morsels

Poached not Baked

I've previously shared recipes for foods that are baked rather than fried. Today, I want to share an apple recipe that's poached rather than baked.  If you made the No Bake Turkey Cookies I posted last year, this is a chance to use the rest of the cinnamon candies.

My mom never fixed baked apples.  She always poached them on top of the stove in a sugar syrup made with red cinnamon candies and water.

Poaching is a cooking method where food is submerged -- either partially or completely -- in a liquid and simmered until done.  Poached eggs are probably the best known poached food, but fish, chicken and fruit can also be poached.

There's two things to remember when you poach food.  One, don't let the liquid boil.  If you boil the liquid, you're boiling rather than poaching the food.  Two, use the right size pan.  The pan should be big enough to hold the food and liquid, but no bigger.  If you use a pan that's too big, you'll need to add more liquid.  Since the food absorbs the flavor of the liquid it's cooked in, adding more liquid dilutes the flavor.

When you cook with apples, use an all-purpose or cooking apple.  They retain their shape and don't get mushy when cooked.  Granny Smith, Rome, Empire, Golden Delicious and McIntosh are all good choices.  I've recently discovered Honeycrisp, an all-purpose apple that is both sweet and tart, and used it the last time I fixed these apples.  They were delicious poached!

My mom used a 9 ounce package of red cinnamon candies, but I only use about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups.  Put the candies and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Once the candies are dissolved, turn the heat down to low and add the apples which have been sliced into eighths.

This pan can hold 11 apple slices.

Depending on the number of apples you cook, you may need to poach them in batches.  Simmer the apples, turning them occasionally, until they are tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 8 to 12 minutes.  When you're finished with a batch, use a slotted spoon to remove the apples from the liquid and put them in a serving bowl.

Once all the apples are poached, check the viscosity of the remaining sugar syrup.  If it's thick enough, pour it over the apples.  If it's thin, reduce it by bringing it to a boil until it thickens.  Reducing not only thickens the syrup, it also intensifies the flavor.

I like the combination of apples and pork so I serve these with sauteed pork chops.

The apples can also be served as a dessert.  No matter which way you serve them, the apples add a burst of color to any meal.

Poached Cinnamon Apples

4 Servings

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups red cinnamon candies

2 cups water

5 all-purpose or cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths

Dissolve the cinnamon candies in water over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low.  Working in batches, simmer the apples uncovered, turning occasionally, until they are tender when pierced with a sharp knife, 8 to 12 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the apples to a serving bowl. When all the apples are cooked, reduce the syrup, if necessary, by boiling it until it's thick.  Pour the syrup over the apples and serve.

© Margaret's Morsels

Muffins for Mom

Mother's Day is Sunday.  What a great time to pamper mom and cook her breakfast.  If cooking's not your specialty, I've got the perfect recipe. Cinnamon Muffins are easy to make; there's more mixing than measuring!


The recipe starts with a box of yellow or white cake mix plus the ingredients to prepare the mix.  Once the cake mix is prepared according to the package directions, stir a tablespoon of cinnamon into the batter. Before you get busy baking, combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set aside for later.


You can bake the muffins in mini muffin pans or regular muffin pans.  No matter which size you use, be sure to grease and flour the pans before each batch.  To save time, I use Baker's Joy, a nonstick baking spray with flour.  


I make the muffins in mini muffin pans, using one tablespoon of batter in each muffin cup.  This yields approximately 8 1/2 dozen muffins.  If you use regular muffin pans, you'll get 24 muffins.

Mini muffin pans with 1 tablespoon batter in each cup.

The pans go in the oven until the muffins are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes for mini muffin pans, 15 to 20 minutes for regular muffin pans.

Remove the muffins from the pan and put them on a wire rack.  The mini muffins are delicate so don't dump them out of the pan.  Cool the muffins a minute or two until they can be easily handled.  Remove the muffins individually from the pan -- use a butter knife to loosen the edge and lift up the muffin -- and place on a wire rack.  

While the muffins are warm, put them in the bowl with the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating the muffins on all sides.  The easiest way to do this is with a spoon.  After the muffins are thoroughly coated, put them back on a wire rack.

For a pretty presentation, put the muffins in a basket or on a platter or cake stand.  Serve the muffins with some bacon or fruit for a complete meal.

Moms deserve to be pampered on Mother's Day.  What better way to start the royal treatment than muffins for mom.  If you want to earn more accolades from mom, be sure to clean up the kitchen when you're done making muffins.

Cinnamon Muffins

8 1/2 dozen mini muffins
or 24 regular muffins

1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. yellow or white cake mix (plus ingredients to prepare mix)

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour muffin cups.  

Prepare cake mix according to package directions; stir in 1 tablespoon cinnamon.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling regular muffin cups 2/3 full.  Use 1 tablespoon batter for mini muffin cups.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes for mini muffins or 15 to 20 minutes for regular muffins, until lightly browned and toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean.

Remove muffins from pans.  Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Cover muffins in sugar mixture until completely coated.  Cool muffins on a wire rack.

© Margaret's Morsels

The Saturday Special

Like most working parents with school age kids, weekday mornings are hectic at our house.  My husband has to be at work at one time, I have to be at work at another and our son has to be at school between the two. This leaves little time for me to prepare a sit down family breakfast during the week.  It's a different story on the weekend.

Several years ago, I started fixing a family breakfast on Saturday mornings.  My son promptly dubbed this meal, "The Saturday Special."  I usually fix bacon, eggs and biscuits.  Sometimes I make waffles, quiche or a breakfast casserole.  Once in a while, though, my family wakes up to the smell of cinnamon rolls.

My favorite cinnamon roll recipe is called Super Simple Cinnamon Rolls. The name may be a tongue twister, but the dish truly is super simple! Instead of making the dough from scratch, the recipe starts with two cans of crescent rolls.  I use Pillsbury Recipe Creations seamless dough sheets instead.  The dough sheets may cost a little more, but this is one time I'll pay extra for the sake of convenience.  If you use crescent rolls, make sure to press the crescent rolls into a rectangle and seal any perforations or holes.

The dough is easier to work with when it's cold so I leave it in the refrigerator while I mix up the filling.  If you're like me and forget to soften the butter, you can put the wrapped butter in the microwave and heat it at 10% power for 10 seconds.  This is long enough to soften the butter without it melting.

Once the filling is mixed up, I open the first can of dough and spread it on a cutting board.  The filling goes on the dough and the second can of dough is placed over the filling.  Most cinnamon roll recipes call for the dough to be rolled jellyroll style, but not this one.  The dough is cut into nine strips instead.  The easiest way to do this is with a pizza wheel.  You can get straighter lines if you roll the wheel away from you when you cut the dough.  If you don't have a pizza wheel, you can use a knife instead.  After you cut the dough into strips, roll each strip into a coil.  The rolls turn out prettier if you tuck in the sides of the dough as you roll it into a coil.

Cut into strips with a pizza wheel.

Ready to be baked.

As soon as the rolls are in the oven, I start preparing the glaze which is also super simple.  It's a powdered sugar glaze, but with a twist.  In addition to powdered sugar and milk, it also has a tablespoon of butter. The addition of the butter gives the glaze a wonderful flavor.

It's a good idea to sift the powdered sugar so there won't be any lumps in the glaze.  When adding the milk, it's best to start with the least amount called for because it's easier to add more than take away too much.  Once the glaze is mixed up, I put it in a pastry bag.  If you don't have a pastry bag, you could use a disposable resealable plastic bag instead.  If you don't want to mess with a bag, you can always apply the glaze with a spoon.

When the rolls come out of the oven, I put the pan on a wire rack and let the rolls cool a few minutes before adding the glaze.  It you add the glaze when the rolls first come out of the oven, it melts.  I like to swirl the glaze around the coils, but you can apply it in any pattern you like.

The aroma of cinnamon rolls will be wafting upstairs tomorrow luring my family into the kitchen.  Once they're up and have eaten breakfast, they can help me with some last minute Thanksgiving preparations.  The Saturday special isn't only for Saturday!

Super Simple Cinnamon Rolls

9 Servings

Filling:

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, softened

Rolls:

2 (8 oz.) cans Pillsbury Recipe Creations seamless dough sheets or crescent rolls

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

2 to 3 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 375°.  In a small bowl, mix all filling ingredients; set aside.

Unroll one can of dough into a large rectangle.  If using crescent rolls, firmly press perforations to seal.  Spread filling over the dough.  Unroll second can of dough into a large rectangle.  If using crescent rolls, firmly press perforations to seal.  Place dough over filling, pressing dough onto filling.  Cut dough into nine 13-inch strips.  Roll from one end to the other, shaping each piece into a coil.  Place in a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk to make desired drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over warm rolls.  Serve warm.

© Margaret's Morsels