Wednesday Baking | Cinnamon Crisps

Every Wednesday (ok, most Wednesdays!) I share a baking recipe. And lots of pictures of said baking recipe. I don’t call this Wednesday Baking because I bake solely on Wednesdays…no, my oven gets a workout much more frequently than once a week! Wednesday just happens to be the day I share baking recipes with you. All the past baking posts are archived in the Wednesday Baking category, which can also be found in a tab underneath my blog header.

(apologies for the belatedness of this post! Normally I post recipes I’ve baked on a previous day, so I can get the post put together promptly. Today, though, I’m posting a recipe that I made this very morning, which explains my tardiness. But, I thought a late post would be better than no post! 😉 )

A lot of the recipes I post in the Wednesday Baking series don’t exactly fall under the “Good for You” category, but today’s recipe really, really doesn’t belong in that category.

However, it does fall into the “Uber-Delicious” and “You should eat these every now and again” categories. Unless, of course, you are allergic to wheat flour and copious amounts of butter and sugar.

I made these for the first time last month for the women’s prayer group that meets at my house once a month (I always bake something for us to eat after we pray). I don’t usually make recipes for company unless I’ve tried them before, but I went out on a limb this time, and I was glad I did.

The consensus among all of us was that these cinnamon crisps are really, really yummy. In fact, they were so tasty, I think we are going to have them again after this coming Saturday’s prayer meeting. 😉

This recipe comes from my trusty 1973 Better Homes and Gardens bread cookbook, which houses many of my favorite yeast bread recipes.

I have surprisingly few pictures of the dough prep because I made this dough at 5:15 this morning after Mr. FG left for work. And even in August, it’s awfully dark at 5:15.

My lightscoop saved the day, though, so I do have a few photos.

Like most of the bread recipes I use, this one starts with a yeast/flour mixture and some warmed milk, butter, sugar, and salt.

And like usual, you add the warm liquids to the dry ingredients, beat the mixture for a few minutes, and then add enough flour to make a kneadable dough, which should look like this.

and after you knead the dough, you should put it into a bowl and cover it with a wet tea towel, like so.

Let the dough rise for an hour, or until it’s doubled in size. Punch it down, and divide it into two equal pieces. Let the pieces rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes, then roll them out into a 12×12 inch square.

Now, the recipe says to mix butter, sugar, and cinnamon together and then to spread this mixture over the dough.

That’s not really the easiest task in the world, though.

So for one half of the dough, I brushed it with the butter and then sprinkled the dry cinnamon sugar mixture over top.

This was definitely easier, and there was no discernible difference in the end result. So, go with whatever method you prefer.

Roll each dough half up into a log shape, and cut each log into 12 pieces (you can use dental floss or a knife with small serrations).

Place the rolls onto greased baking sheets. Since these get a lot wider before you’re done, don’t crowd them. I’d say that 6-9 rolls fit well onto a standard baking sheet (I put too many on mine and butter and sugar leaked out onto my oven floor!).

Using your hand, flatten each roll to about 3 inches in diameter.

Let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes (I don’t cover mine). Cover them with a piece of waxed paper (I use one piece for both pans), and use a rolling pin to flatten rolls to about 1/8 inch thick.

Once the rolls are flattened, brush them with melted butter (I know! More butter!).

Then sprinkle them with more cinnamon and sugar (and chopped pecans, if you want).

Then cover the rolls with the waxed paper again (I reuse the waxed paper from earlier in the recipe), and run the rolling pin over them again, just to kind of smush the sugar and nuts into the rolls. (Do you not love the technical terms I use??).

Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven (I turn mine on while I’m topping the rolls) for 8-10 minutes.

You should remove these from the baking sheet promptly because the melted butter and sugar will kind of glue them to the baking sheet otherwise. 😉

These are yummy fresh from the oven (though you should let them cool for a few minutes before eating them), but they’re also really tasty after they’ve cooled down for an hour or two. At that point, the melted butter and sugar cool and become a little bit crispy, and I actually think these are at their best that way.

Cinnamon Crisps-makes 24

(you can find a printable version on BH&G’s website, right here.)
Dough
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Filling
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Heat milk, the 1/4 cup granulated sugar, butter, and salt just until warm (120 degree F to 130 degree F) and shortening almost melts. Add to flour mixture; add egg. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes on high speed. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (1 to 1-1/2 hours).

3. Punch down; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Roll each dough half into a 12-inch square. Combine the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the melted butter, and the 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; spread half of the mixture over each square. Roll each up into a spiral; seal seams. Cut into 12 slices. Place cut sides down on greased baking sheets 3 to 4 inches apart. Flatten each slice to about 3 inches in diameter.

4. Cover; let rise until nearly double (about 30 minutes). Cover with waxed paper. Using a rolling pin, roll to 1/8-inch thickness; remove paper. Brush rolls with the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter. Combine the 1 cup granulated sugar, pecans, and the 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over rolls. Cover with waxed paper; roll flat again. Remove paper. Bake in a 400 degree F oven 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately transfer from baking sheets to wire racks; cool. Makes 24 crisps.

Today’s 365 post: My favorite jam