I’ll be honest with you: I have very mixed feelings about the holidays. They seem to be an elaborate ruse to guide us toward winter with enthusiasm, where we’re left in January with bare trees, chilly mornings and frozen windshields. But on the other hand, those lights sure are pretty.
While I don’t celebrate Christmas, I can get down with gingerbread anything. That includes these gingerbread cookie cheesecake bars, which are both easy and festive. They’re also studded with cinnamon chips, one of my favorite baking inventions.
Here’s my pet peeve of the week: ready? People in parking lots with no manners.
When I was a kid, it was common courtesy (not to mention a safety practice) to drive through parking lots slowly, allowing for the possibility that either a person or a car would appear in your path. I very strongly remember a time when, if a person were pulling out of a parking spot, someone driving past them would respectfully stop and wait for them to finish coming out of the space, letting them go first.
Now, cars shoot through the lots at high speed, and if someone is coming out of a space, they typically swerve around that person and continue on their merry way. I’ve seen more than a few people almost killed by this practice. And aside from being dangerous, it’s also downright rude.
Plus, we all know how hard it is to see what’s behind us in parking lots. My head is always swiveling like crazy, trying to see everything at the same time. As much as I love Trader Joe’s, backing out of a parking space in that jammed little lot terrifies me. My car isn’t fancy enough for one of those rear-view cameras, which I hear really help.
This holiday season, let’s all begin by not just being kinder and more generous in person, but also by letting someone back out of their f-ing parking space. Can we all just do that for one person? Great. Rant concluded.
The last time I was at Trader Joe’s, I picked up some of their refrigerated gingerbread cookie dough. It formed the base for these lovely bars. On top went a layer of simple cheesecake batter with cinnamon chips, and I added some caramel sauce for bling. Mission accomplished. Yet another holiday bar option to celebrate and enjoy!
Bar cookies are my favorite, in case you haven’t figured that out by now. But they’re especially marvelous this time of year, because they pack and go very easily. Perfect for potluck holiday parties!
Whether or not you see winter looming this holiday season, be sure to fill it with good cookies and even better parking lot etiquette. It’ll guarantee you points with Santa or whatever higher power you believe in!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, leaving enough to hang over the sides. Coat with cooking spray.
- Open the packages of cookie dough. Using all but three or four of the cookies (you can save for later to bake on their own), press the cookies into the pan evenly, patting them down to be flat and connected.
- Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. While they're baking, make the cheesecake layer. In a medium bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and stir again until completely incorporated. Fold in the cinnamon chips.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the cookie base and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until set.
- Cool completely and cool overnight.
- When ready, cut into squares. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the top and sprinkle on more cinnamon chips.
As someone who bakes regularly, I don’t often buy dessert. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t reallyreally want to. There are very few desserts that I have a physically hard time turning away from at the store, but babka is one of them. I love babka. Deeply. Passionately. How could I not? If you’ve ever had babka, you know what I mean.
It’s yeasty, and soft, and excellent with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Plus, if you make it right, you can underbake it just a bit to make the dough pull slightly as you dig in. And if you really do it right, you can pile beautiful crumbs on top.
Imagine a cinnamon bun with a crumble topping, and you’ll see why I’m feeling the love this morning. Plus, the babka is filled with lots of cinnamon and cinnamon chips. If you’ve never had a cinnamon chip, well, yeah. You need to change that right now. Hershey’s makes them, and they’re divine.
The dough for this babka is made in the bread machine. I throw in the ingredients, set it to the dough cycle, and then put the finished dough in the fridge overnight. The next morning I can roll it out (it rises perfectly over the course of the night in the cool temp) and get it in the oven. Hello, breakfast!
If you’re a crumb fiend, a cinnamon roll fiend, or just a fiend for the best breakfast ever, these are right up your alley. And if you see a babka at the grocery store, you can avoid it without feeling any remorse because this one is just better!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add the dough ingredients to the bread machine pan according to manufacturer’s directions and set to the dough cycle. When the dough is finished, allow to rise for one hour in a greased bowl until doubled in size. If you don’t have as much time, put the dough in the bowl and allow to rise overnight in the refrigerator. It will rise on its own in the fridge and be ready to go the next day!
- When the dough is ready, make the cinnamon filling. Pour the cinnamon chips into a bowl. Mix in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and stir until all the ingredients are mixed.
- Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a large, thin rectangle. Sprinkle on the filling evenly, making sure the edges are covered. Starting with the long side of the rectangle, roll up the dough to make a long, thin roll. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1 and 1/2-inch thick slices.
- Place the rolls flat into the prepared springform pan.
- Make the crumb topping. Mix the powdered sugar and flour. Add the melted butter and, using your hands along with a spatula, combine the ingredients to form large crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly and liberally over the babka, even between the crevices in the dough.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the crumbs are turning golden and the dough is browning. It’s very important not to overbake the babka because that dries out the dough. I like mine a little tiny bit underbaked in the middle, but not everyone is into that!
- Cool the babka completely. Then, release the sides of the springform pan. You can serve the babka or wrap it up and freeze it.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been absent. It was totally beyond my control this time. That flu epidemic the CDC declared the other day found its way into my house. I’ve never been so sick in my life. A week down, unable to do anything but moan. And in the process, my blog just kind of stopped.
But now it’s back, and it’s a new year! Don’t expect me to go with the trend here and start posting healthy recipes. I have very strong feelings about resolutions this time of year. It’s not that I don’t believe in making healthy decisions, but doing it on January 1st is just plain odd. Why would you want to? That date seems to have an alarming failure rate.
And by the way, so does dieting. 95% of all diets fail because they’re unsustainable. What is sustainable is moderation. So by all means eat this amazing cinnamon breakfast cake, but then don’t have a giant brownie after lunch and a milkshake with dinner. Your coronary arteries will not be happy with you.
This cake is sheer, unadulterated cinnamon goodness. It’s got a thin layer of chocolate and cinnamon toward the bottom and then the rest is just light and fluffy. It’s perfect for breakfast when you’re in the mood for something a little less hard-hitting than your average cinnamon pastry but don’t want to sacrifice any of that flavor.
Incidentally, this guy is gluten-free. No, that’s not code for “healthy.” That just means that I used certified gluten-free oat flour in this cake, and it worked out beautifully. Oats and cinnamon are a perfect pair! The bottom layer is also quite joyous, combining not just cinnamon and chocolate but also a touch of coffee. So if coffee is your beverage of choice in the morning, you’ll be quite the happy camper.
I’ve missed you, and from the bottom of my heart, I curse the flu. Stay healthy out there, and I’m not talking about your food choices. Wash your hands and stay away from schools, day care centers, and doctors’ offices!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 pan with enough foil to hang over the sides and coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Using a different bowl, mix the milk, eggs and vanilla together. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth batter. Fold in the melted butter until just combined.
- In a small bowl, make the filling. Mix the sugar, cinnamon and coffee. Do not add the chocolate or cinnamon chips, but hold them in reserve.
- Pour 1/3 of the batter into the cake pan. Sprinkle on the filling, and then evenly distribute the chocolate and cinnamon chips. Pour the remaining batter on top.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely and cut into squares.
You can wander up and down aisles, picking things up at leisure and putting them down. You can try free samples. You can hunt for new products. And if there’s a Starbucks in the store, you can do it all with a lovely hot cup of beverage.
When I see new products, or even better, limited edition products, I snap them up. It’s hard to resist. Who doesn’t buy pumpkin spice M & Ms when they’re only out for a short while? Who doesn’t buy Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough in pumpkin flavor with cheesecake chips?
Not me, I can tell ya. I buy it all. And then I bring it home, stare at it, and wonder what I can bake with it. And half the time, the answer is magic bars.
Such was the case this time around. I saw the pumpkin cookie dough and threw it in the cart without even hesitating. Same with the M & Ms. My husband looked at me as we were checking out and said, “Really?” To which I replied with the appropriate amount of both haughty indignation and condescension, “I’m. A. Baking. Blogger.”
Some people. Really. Sorry, babes. I love you!
Anyway, I patted the dough (with some help from a baking helper, a.k.a. my friend’s third-grader) into the bottom of the pan. We topped it with chopped pecans, white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, and those pumpkin spice M & Ms. Which, bizarrely, seem to taste exactly like regular M & Ms. And then we poured condensed milk on top.
The result was delightful. Chocolatey and cinnamony and pumpkiny. All of that. In a bar. In a very short space of time. Pumpkin lovers, this one is for you!
Whenever you see cool seasonal products on your grocery store runs, snatch them up! Life is too short to hesitate. Even if you’re not a baking blogger.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
- Flatten the cookie dough rounds out and press into the bottom of the pan. You will have to press them very thinly for the dough to cover the whole surface.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- In the following order, sprinkle the ingredients evenly over the surface: pecans, M & Ms, and both kinds of chips. Pour the condensed milk over the top, covering the entire area.
- Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container.
Well, I’m getting there! About six months ago I discovered Physique 57. They have studios in big coastal cities and in places where really rich people live, like the Hamptons or Dubai. But they haven’t hit the DC area yet, so I sweat it out to the DVD collection and their online streaming. And it’s kind of addictive, mainly because I have muscles in places I never thought about before, and I really like that.
Anyway, I was working my abs to utter exhaustion the other morning when a recipe lightbulb went off in my head, apropos of absolutely nothing. I love it when that happens. It’s so random and so appreciated, like someone you don’t know about exists somewhere in your brain just to give you fun ideas. I love that someone!
That little voice in my head said, “What if you finally used those cinnamon chips in your pantry in a s’mores brownie?” Really. That’s what she said! And she gave me this vision of a cinnamon graham cracker topped with brownie marshmallowy goodness. And I was inspired, people.
Here’s the thing. Hershey’s makes these cinnamon chips. And I’d bought them and never used them. Finally, finally a chance! And they’re delicious. I had to stop myself and my kids from eating the whole bag before I baked with them.
The bottom is a layer of cinnamon graham cracker. Just that. No crumbly crust. Too much going on already, I say. Then you add the brownie, all filled with both cinnamon and mini chocolate chips. On top, another layer of the chips with mini-marshmallows. Gooey happiness!
The best part is, no mixer! That’s right. You can mix up the batter yourself and feel strong. Just like Madonna. See? I came full circle.
Take these to your next picnic or barbecue! They’re perfect in all their ooey gooey deliciousness.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour (I used oat flour, but regular is fine)
- 8 oz. cinnamon chips (Hershey brand)
- 8 oz. mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- cinnamon grahams (enough to fit the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Coat an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the cocoa into the melted butter until it dissolves. Add the sugar and stir again. When the sugar is incorporated, mix in the vanilla and eggs. Add the salt and flour, mixing until just combined. Fold in half of the cinnamon chips and half of the miniature chocolate chips.
Lay the cinnamon graham crackers on the bottom of your pan, sugary side up. Cover the entire surface area, even if some of the crackers overlap and you have to break them into uneven pieces.
Pour the brownie batter over the graham crackers, spreading the batter to the edges of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle on the remaining cinnamon chips, miniature chocolate chips and the marshmallows. Put the brownies back in the oven for 10 minutes. Do not overbake.
Allow the brownies to cool (unless you just can’t, which is understandable). Cut into squares and serve!
]]>