Week 40: Cinnabun Cookies

This week I chose to bake cinnabun cookies.  I love love love "cinnabons", and this cookie is like a cinnamon roll in cookie form...YUM!  When I came across this recipe on line I knew I had to try it.  I am happy to report that the cookies are delicious!  I did have a few issues though.  First in my copying and pasting the recipe from the internet,  I inadvertently omitted the first ingredient on the list for the dough..1/2 cup of butter.  Luckily, the dough also calls for 1/2 cup shortening so the cookies still turned out alright,  AND I accidentally made it healthier.☺ Also, the dough must be chilled for at least an hour, and I really don't think that an hour was long enough.   Next time I'll chill the dough longer.  Lastly the filling was too thin.  The filling recipe calls for softened butter, and I accidentally melted it, so the filling was a bit too runny.  Additionally, the original recipe I found online had a picture of the finished baked cookies, and they had frosting drizzled on top.  The actual recipe doesn't instruct you on how to make the frosting, so Dan actually whipped some up from scratch!  I hate and love that he can do that.  I read cookbooks for fun, watch cooking shows on tv, and I have been cooking for years.  Guess what?  I still cannot make recipes up on the fly.  Dan on the other hand, does it all the time.  A few weeks ago he made up a recipe for veggie burgers using nuts, seeds, and beans...they are amazing!  Dan's frosting recipe is as follows: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup cream cheese, and 2 TBS milk.  Mix all ingredients. If necessary add more powdered sugar 1 teaspoon at a time until you get the desired consistency. Then just pipe it onto the cookies.  Here is a link to the cookie recipe that I used:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cinnabun-Cookies/Detail.aspx

My Grandma Ann with Uncle Butch (standing)
and my Dad(sitting)

I mentioned above that I love "cinnabons."  I actually remember when the first "Cinnabon" store made it to the mall I used to shop at (Eastland). I have always liked the flavor of cinnamon too.  As a kid, my favorite toothpaste was cinnamon flavored, and I loved "Big Red" and "Dentyne" gum.  I also loved "atomic fire balls" and would buy them from the candy store whenever I could.  My sister Amy and I would have contests to see who could make it the longest before they needed a break from their fireball.  We'd also soak our "atomic fireballs" in glasses of ice water in the attempt to cool them off.☺  I think my appreciation of cinnamon began with my Grandma Ann.  She used to babysit my sister and me a few days a week while my parents worked.  She'd always make me cinnamon toast and I loved it.  I remember being at her house and watching "Sir Graves Ghastly" or "Soul Train" and eating cinnamon toast. I still love cinnamon toast and make it for my kids all the time.  My cinnamon sugar mixture has it's own shaker just like my Grandma Ann and parents had.  Cinnamon toast is so nostalgic to me.  When I eat it I always think of being in my Grandma Ann's house on Manistique in Detroit.

I have a few foods that are really nostalgic to me, and always take me back to my childhood.  Cinnamon toast of course, but also cream of wheat.  To this day I love love love cream of wheat and it totally takes me back.  Middle Eastern food, chocolate crinkle cookies, and cannoli are a few others.  When I eat those foods I am totally transported back to a much younger version of myself.  I remember where I was and what the occasion was.  I know it's weird but sometimes I think in food.  I recall certain parties or events not by what anyone wore, but what was served at the party.  For instance I'll say ..."remember when we had that fabulous soup for Sito and Jido's anniversary dinner? What year was that again?"  Or "...was it my 5th or 6th birthday when we had that fabulous cake that was shaped like a doll?"  I remember people and places of course, but I also remember things "in food."



Me making a cake...age 3.

 I think the love of food was ingrained in me at an early age.  When I was young my Dad co-owned a restaurant called the Villanova.  They had fabulous food of course and I loved it there.  My brownie troop took a field trip there once and we got to go into the kitchen and make our own pizzas.  I also remember that my Dad would make me "baked cheese" every time I'd visit.  He'd take a loaf pan and alternate layers of cheese and sauce, and then bake it in the oven until it was warm and gooey...YUM!! I also remember many mornings when I would eat pizza for breakfast.  My Dad's restaurant made and delivered pizzas.  A few times I was lucky enough to go with my Uncles to deliver pizzas...I loved that. Due to the restaurant schedule, my Dad would get home late at night after I was sleeping.  When I'd get up for school in the morning he would be sleeping.  So we'd talk on the phone and I'd place my pizza order.  Sometimes they were simple like cheese and pepperoni (I wasn't raised vegetarian), and sometimes I'd come up with outrageous combinations. Sure enough when I'd get up the next day, my pizza request would be in the fridge.☺

Additionally, due to my Italian, Lebanese, and Greek heritage there was always food around...and I mean good food.  Those 3 cultures know a little "something something" about cooking and entertaining, and I learned a lot just by observing.  I loved all the preparation involved too.  Preparing the shopping list, doing the shopping, all the party prep, cooking the food, and of course the main event...eating the food. My family got together a lot, and believe me there was always enough food to feed an army.  To this day any time we have a get together there is a ton of food, but as I was always taught "if you have enough food and enough chairs for guests to sit and eat...you"ll have a good party."  Add to that a few dozen cookies and it's perfection. ☺



Dan and the kids♥

 I know food is just that... food.  However, in my opinion it is much more than that too.  It's also an expression of love.  I can't think of anything more loving than nourishing the people I hold near and dear.  That sentiment reminds me of a quote that I keep on my fridge.  It goes like this "...sometimes cooking is not about stuffing everyone's tummies.  It's about filling my spirit, so I can sit down with my family at the end of a long day, look at their sweet faces, and pray that I can always figure out how to best nourish us all." Sometimes my food is all I have to offer.  I can't make middle school any easier for Victoria.  I can't help  Ryan score a goal in soccer.  I can't relieve any of Dan's work stress, but I can make a good meal for them and help nourish their spirits.  For me food is synonymous with home, and home is synonymous with comfort.  What is more comforting than being warm and cozy and eating a good meal prepared with love? Nothing... except maybe chocolate chip cookies for dessert.♥