Blueberry Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffins

Yup. Blueberry cinnamon toast crunch muffins. You read that right. Sounds a little odd, n'est-ce pas?

On Saturday afternoon, I was browsing Pinterest. Summer is quickly approaching, so everyone is currently pinning delicious summery foods.

 I found myself pinning blueberry recipe after blueberry recipe, and my mouth began to water. Blueberries are my favorite berry, so I buy them in bulk at Sam's and usually eat the whole container by myself in less than a day.

Well, it just so happened that I had some blueberries in the fridge because I had bought them the day before (already mostly gone). I got to thinking about what would go well with blueberries and I decided cinnamon would be yummy.

Then, I had an epiphany. Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

I like for my muffins to have a little crunch on top (similar to a streusel). These muffins are so good. I can hardly describe how excited I was when they came out of the oven. Experimenting with recipes can be tricky, but these turned out on the first try!

These muffins are full of blueberries, super moist, and have a delightful crunch on the top where the Cinnamon Toast Crunch is.

General Mills really should be paying me for this. Why aren't they?

Blueberry Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffins

Yields: 15-18 muffins

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch
1 tbsp butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with muffin papers. Crush the Cinnamon Toast Crunch in a food processor or in a bag using a rolling pin.

2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon) with a whisk.

3. In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla). Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a silicone spatula until just combined, but still lumpy. Fold in the blueberries. Fold in half of the crushed cereal.

4. Scoop the muffin batter evenly into the liners, until about 3/4 full. Combine the remaining crushed cereal and the melted butter. Sprinkle atop the muffins and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

One of the hardest parts about moving to Utah was knowing that I wouldn't be able to eat Panera for months. There are no Panera Bread restaurants in the whole state. My husband's hometown recently announced Panera Bread will build a new location there, which is only about 6 hours away! If I have to drive 6 hours to get their summer corn chowder and baguettes, I will!

 In the meantime, I needed a fix for my cinnamon crunch bagel craving. I looked online for recipes, and I found several. (Apparently bloggers are on the same page). I tweaked my recipe from Buns in My Oven.

Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

Yields: 12 bagels

Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup brown sugar, divided use
2 tsp active dry yeast
3 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, 3 tbsp brown sugar, and yeast. Mix it and let it sit for 10 minutes, or until foamy.

2. Add cinnamon, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Stir with a spoon or a whisk until combined. Attach the dough hook and slowly add flour until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (it may not take all of the flour). Knead for 8-10 minutes.

3. Let rise in a greased bowl covered, for 30-45 minutes in a warm oven (turn your oven onto warm for 5 minutes, then turn it off).

4. Turn dough out onto a floured counter. Divide into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls. Poke your thumb through the middle and stretch the hole a little bit to shape it like a bagel. Let sit for 10 minutes.

5. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the remaining 1 tbsp brown sugar. Boil the bagels, 2 at a time, for 45 seconds on each side. Pat dry with paper towels and place 2" apart on a lined cookie sheet.

6. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over the bagels. Bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.

7. Let cool and store at room temperature for 3-5 days. You can freeze them for up to a month.

*** I would recommend toasting these in a toaster oven with the sugar side up so it doesn't burn-- a regular toaster will probably burn the sugar! (I can't try it because we don't even have a regular toaster-- weird, right? My family always survived just fine without one so I don't see the point!)

Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Bites

 It seems I've been all about soft pretzels, muffins, and donuts as of late. Any objections? Good. I made this recipe a few weeks ago for a work potluck, but there wasn't time to photograph the pretzel bites. I had to make the recipe again (Oh, woe is me!).

These taste just like little bite-sized pieces of those delicious cinnamon sugar mall pretzels. I've also included a cream cheese dipping sauce, which is the perfect amount of tanginess to go with these delicious pretzel bites!

Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Bites

Yields: about 100 small pretzel bites

1 cup warm water
1 tbsp (or 1 packet) dry active yeast
2 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 to 3 cups flour

3 cups hot water (I microwaved mine in a pyrex for about 4 minutes)
1/3 cup baking soda

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Combine warm water, yeast, and 1 tsp of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir with your finger, then let it sit for about 10 minutes to activate.

2. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar, the brown sugar, veggie oil, and salt. Stir. Attach the dough hook and add the flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Knead in the mixer for about 4 minutes or so, or until elastic and smooth.

3. Put in a greased glass bowl and let rise, covered, in a warm oven (about 140-150 degrees fahrenheit) for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. After removing from the oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit.

4. Combine hot water and baking soda. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Take one part and cover the other parts with a kitchen towel so they don't dry out. Roll the section into a snake about 28-30 inches long. Cut it in half, then each in half again. (4 snakes) Divide each into about 1-1/4" sections.

5. Dip each bite into the hot water/baking soda mixture, then place on a silpat-lined (or parchment paper lined) baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining sections of dough.

6. Bake at 425 for 7-10 minutes, or until the tops are golden.

7. Roll in the melted butter, let sit on a plate for about 1 minute to let the butter soak in, and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.


Cream Cheese Dipping Sauce
4 oz cream cheese (1/2 of a regular pack)
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk, optional

Combine cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat. Add milk, if needed, to attain the desired consistency.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

I love cinnamon. It has a spicy, delicious scent and flavor that are enhanced when it's heated.

When cinnamon is paired with sugar, the greatest invention (after butter), magical things happen. Babies laugh. Fireworks explode. Angels sing.

All of my favorite things come together in this cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread. It's buttery, cinnamony, and sugary. It pairs perfectly with cream cheese glaze. 

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Yields: 1 9x5 loaf

Dough:

2 3/4 cups flour (I used half bread flour and half AP flour)
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract


Filling:
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp butter, melted

***I just put all the dough ingredients in the bread machine and let it mix and rise***

1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. 

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter and milk together. Once the butter is all melted together with the milk, remove from heat and add the water, vanilla, and eggs. Let it cool until it is pretty warm to the touch. Add this to the flour mixture and mix. 

3. Place in a greased bowl, covered and in a warm place, for 40-45 minutes. 

4. Mix the cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl. 

5. Once the dough is done rising, roll out on a lightly floured surface to be about 25x20. Spread the melted butter across the dough and then spread the cinnamon sugar mixture across. Cut into six strips then each of those into six squares. 

6. Put these squares in a greased 9x5 pan in small bunches to make it easier. Preheat oven to 350. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. 

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Eat it hot out of the oven! Enjoy with some cream cheese drizzle glaze. 

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

My very first memory of working in the kitchen was how my dad and I made French toast every Saturday out of old cinnamon swirl bread. We would make huge batches so we had enough for the whole week. We always used the Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread. If you've never made french toast using cinnamon swirl bread, you haven't lived!

This week I tried out making cinnamon swirl bread from scratch, and it was so wonderful! I told my mom I'm bringing my bread machine home this summer so I can make this bread all summer for my parents.

You don't by any means have to have a bread machine to make this. I've included the directions for making the bread with and without the bread machine. All the bread machine does for me is knead and give me a warm place to let it rise. A kitchenaid mixer would work just as well, and I'm sure you could even mix it by hand!

I altered this recipe from LilLuna.

Best Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Yields: 1 loaf

1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp margarine
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups bread flour (the original recipe calls for AP flour but I used bread flour)

3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

1. Mix the salt, brown sugar, margarine, hot water, cold water, and active dry yeast together. Let the yeast proof for about 8 minutes.

2. Add the flour and knead for 6-8 minutes. Put it in a greased bowl and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Roll out the dough to be as wide as the loaf pan you're putting it in and as long as you can reasonably make it. Spray with a little bit of water or spread about 1 tbsp of butter across the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over and roll it up. Put it in a greased pan and let it rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden on top.

Bon appétit!

Auntie Anne's Copycat

As a foodie, some of my fondest memories of going to the mall are of eating the deliciously trashy food only sold at the mall and state fairs. My mom and I always joked that we have to get Cinnamonster cinnamon rolls when we go to the mall because they're calling our names ("Nea...Nea..."). Another favorite of ours is the cinnamon sugar Auntie Anne pretzel, which comes coated in butter, then dipped in cinnamon sugar. My mom and I say, " Okay, we each get half," and then we would both secretly try to get more than half (or at least I did). I do remember that my mom always gave me the last bite, which is why I love her (among other reasons).

As a college student, I don't get to go to the mall often, so I had to find out a way to make these pretzels without having a car to get to the mall. I looked online and found a recipe that I tweaked from The Well-Traveled Wife.

Y'all. I was really worried with the baking soda bath for these that they would end up being like those weirdo bagel-texture soft pretzels, and don't even act like you don't know what I'm talking about! Those bagely soft pretzels are icky!

This recipe makes super soft cinnamon sugar pretzels (or you could skip the cinnamon sugar and replace it with coarse salt) and cream cheese dipping sauce. I'm in love with this recipe.


I'm afraid it will bring on the freshman 15 in just the last two weeks of my freshman year.

Auntie Anne's Copycat Soft Pretzels 

Yields 6-8 large pretzels, or you could honestly probably make them HALF the size I did, so it could make about 14-16 small pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour (original recipe calls for 1 cup bread flour + 3 cups AP flour)

2 cups really warm water
2 tsp baking soda

5 tbsp melted butter
about 1/3 cup sugar
about 1 tbsp cinnamon


1. Activate the yeast in the water for 5-10 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and mix. Add the flour and knead until elastic (7 ish minutes). I honestly just threw everything in the bread machine and to knead it for me, then I put it in a bowl in a warm oven (170 degrees fahrenheit) for 30 minutes or until it doubled. While it's rising, mix the warm water with the baking soda and stir until it dissolves. Put it in a dish that's shallow but still has sides so you're not spilling everywhere.

2. Pinch off a fist of dough and roll it into a 1/2 inch thick snake-- don't roll it out! Roll it into snakes! Slithery snakes!

3. Twist it up so it looks somewhat pretzel-like and then dip it in the baking soda water mixture. Put it on a greased or silpat-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with all the dough and let it rise for about 20-30 more minutes in a warm place. I put them on top of my oven while it was heating up.

4. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes.

5. Dip the pretzels in butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

Cream Cheese Dipping Sauce

3 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla

Beat it. 

Bon appétit!

Cinnabon Clone

I love General Conference weekend. This conference, I got to SING IN THE CHOIR for the Saturday afternoon session! It was the most incredible experience. The general authorities were so close, their priesthood was almost tangible.

My close up

Oh, hey. 

Conference is such a special weekend. I wanted to start my own tradition of making a special breakfast on the morning of conference. I asked my roommates what I should make and they all answered at once, "Cinnamon rolls!"

One does not simply say no to making cinnamon rolls. 

These cinnamon rolls are très délicieux!

There's only one cinnamon roll left after 5 hours. All I'm saying here is that there are only 3 of us home this weekend and the recipe made 16... That's all I'm saying. 

I've made a Cinnabon clone recipe before, but I'll admit that this one trumps my old recipe. I love finding new, better recipes! I made this one in my bread machine and it worked out beautifully. The original recipe was made with a stand mixer, I believe.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of in love with my bread machine. Adapted from Lauren's Latest.

Cinnabon Clones

Yields: 16 large rolls

3/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup veggie or canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk (room temp)
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cornstarch

3 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar


Directions

Add dough ingredients into the bread machine in the order prescribed by the bread machine instructions. I added them in the order I listed above. I put it on the dough cycle and it rose on its own.

Take the dough out and put it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to 30x20 inch rectangle.

Beat the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch together until it's light and fluffy. Spread this all over the rectangle of dough. Roll it up so that it's a 30-inch log. Cut it every 2 inches with dental floss.

Put them in a greased pan (I used a 7x11 and a 6 inch round pan to accommodate all the rolls) and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (about an hour) or refrigerate overnight and then take out 3-4 hours before baking to let them rise.

Bake at 350 for 17-18 minutes, or until the tops just start to turn golden. Don't let them over-bake!

Beat all the frosting ingredients together until incorporated.

Let the rolls cool for about 5 minutes before frosting.

The last one may or may not have been consumed in the process of writing this blog post.