When I was about 5 or 6 years old, my Mom bought me a coloring book that was also a kid’s cookbook. I remember sitting in the backseat of our Plymouth Voyager minivan and slowly flipping through the pages, noting the recipes I wanted to try. The first thing I made from that book was cinnamon toast. It was the easiest cinnamon toast, just combining sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkling it on top of a piece of buttered toast, but it was delicious and created by me. And I learned one of the things that drove me; I love the satisfaction of creating something and seeing it turn out well. Although I didn’t realize this until I was well into my adult years, looking back it was a common theme. So here I sit, blogging about food and creating, in 2K15.
Like everyone else in the mid 90s to the mid 2000s, I attended and hosted my fair share of Pampered Chef parties. I collected the little recipe books and used my pizza stone religiously. There was a recipe for citrus muffins that you dipped in melted butter, then granulated sugar that worked it’s way into my recipe rotation often. It wasn’t long before I tried to make them into a cinnamon variation that was pretty tasty, but didn’t quite hit the mark. Years later, I had found Pioneer Woman’s blog and she shared a recipe for a cinnamon sugar-coated muffin. I watched her make them, swore I could taste them in my head since she rolled them in melted butter and sugar just like my beloved citrus muffins, and decided I would like them. Then I actually made them and knew we were hooked. My girls ask for them regularly, especially on cozy weekend mornings.
There is just something about the combination of cinnamon and sugar that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy. Maybe it’s the feeling of the grainy sugar clinging to your fingers after eating a doughnut or the satisfying sound of sprinkling it on cinnamon toast. Or maybe it’s crunching into a big bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal or eating a churro at the fair. Whatever it may be, it definitely has a place in my favorite things. I think these little guys will have a place there too.
They’re pretty good looking too. Want to see?
Tasty-looking, no? So here’s how to make them:
Cinnamon Sugar Mini Muffins
1 1/2 c. Flour
1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
1/4 t. Ground Nutmeg
1/2 c. Sugar
1/3 c. Shortening (Crisco)
1 Egg
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 t. Vanilla
3/4 c. Sugar
1/2 t. Cinnamon
1 stick Butter, melted
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 24 mini muffin cups, using cooking spray.
In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a different bowl, cream together 1/2 cup sugar and shortening. Then add eggs and mix again. Combine milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture and vanilla milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
Put melted butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 c. sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
These are best served immediately but they would be fine if eaten within a couple of hours. They travel well too, if you want to bring them to brunch or a friend who needs some cinnamon sugar deliciousness. You can also add 1 t. grated orange zest to the batter with the flour mixture to change things up a bit, or add 2 T. chopped pecans to the cinnamon sugar mixture. Those really flew into our mouths! Enjoy and let me know if you make them. Everyone needs more cinnamon sugar in their lives.
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Eclectic Yellow House 
I found you =) Wonderful post. Love the storytelling and the pictures are amazing as always =) Thank you for the dose of culinary inspiration =)