cinnamon toasted and cocoa dusted almonds

I snack. A lot. This past summer, I made homemade nut butter to spice up my afternoon apple snack. But pre-slicing an apple and carrying along a container of nut butter isn't always feasible. Inspired by Nuts 4 Nuts after a recent trip to the farmers market, I've been snacking my way through these nuggets of cinnamon, sugar, chocolate goodness. And, as a vegetarian, this protein filled snack obsession is head and shoulders above what was an ugly, ugly holiday pecan/peanut/mixed nut brittle overindulgence. Or, at least that's what I'm telling myself. :)

Yield: 7 cups
250 calories per 1/4 cup (cinnamon)
225 calories per 1/4 cup (cocoa)
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes

ingredients
the cinnamon almonds
4 cups raw almonds
2 whole egg whites (or 6 tablespoons liquid egg whites)
2 tablespoons vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

the cocoa dusted almonds
3 cups raw almonds
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla (if you want to get fancy, use a vanilla bean)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

preparation
the cinnamon almonds 
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until very foamy.

2. Add in the vanilla and whisk until foamy.

3. Add in the sugars, salt, and cinnamon, whisking until well combined.

4. Add in the almonds, stirring well to coat.

5. Pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees until very crisp, about 45-50 minutes. You'll want to stir the almonds halfway through to spread around the cinnamon mixture and encourage, for lack of a better word, clumping.

 6. Place the parchment paper on a wire rack to cool.

the cocoa dusted almonds
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the agave nectar, vanilla, and sugar. Warm on very low heat.

2. While the mixture is warming, combine the cocoa powder and sea salt in a gallon Ziplock bag.

3. Stir the agave mixture to ensure the ingredients are well mixed and pour in the almonds.

4. Warm the almonds, stirring frequently to coat, for about 3-5 minutes. You'll notice a "hissing" noise as air and fat escape the almond skin.

5. Pour the almonds into your prepared Ziplock bag, seal, and shake well to coat.  (I totally had a muddy buddies flashback.)

6. Pour the almonds out onto a wire rack that's been covered with parchment paper to cool.

Original recipes found here and here.

good morning cinnamon rolls

Since he's probably eaten a bazillion cookies before hitting your house, leave one of these delicious treats for Santa. Your unexpected offering may secure your place on next year's nice list.

Yield: 16 cinnamon rolls
200 calories per roll
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 200 minutes

ingredients

the dough

2 teaspoons yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

3 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons vegetable oil (this equal to 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons)

1/4 cup sugar

1¼ teaspoons salt

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes

the filling

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons milk, to brush on dough

the glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons milk

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the yeast, lukewarm water, and a pinch of sugar. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Combine the remaining dough ingredients in your stand mixer bowl, pour in the yeast mixture, and “stir” until a shaggy dough forms.

3. Increase the stand mixer speed to 2 and knead until a smooth and shiny dough forms, about 5 minutes.

4. Shape the dough into a call, place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside double in bulk, about 2 hours.

5. Turn the dough out onto your lightly floured counter top and roll it into a large rectangle, about 16 by 12 inches.

6. Combine “the filling” ingredients in a small bowl.

7. Brush the dough with milk and evenly sprinkle over “the filling”.

8. Roll the dough into a log the long way, stretching to elongate the log and even it out.

9. Cut the roll into pieces, place them in a parchment lined or baking sprayed pan, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise until they’re noticeable puffy, about 2 hours. (You’ll want to make sure to leave plenty of space between the rolls, as they’ll spread out and crowd each other. I use large baking pans or two 9 inch pie pans to give the rolls ample room to rise.)

10. With about 30 minutes left in the final proof, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

11. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

12. While the rolls are baking, make the icing by combing all the glaze ingredients into a small bowl and stirring with a spoon until smooth.

13. Remove the rolls from the oven, turn  them out onto a wire rack, and pour over the icing.

Other modifications:

• Add nuts, chocolate chips, anything really, to the filling
• Planning to serve the rolls early in the morning and don’t want to rise at 4 am and run your stand mixer?

o   Instead of setting the rolls aside in step 9, place them in the fridge. Take them out about 3 hours before you want to bake them, allowing them to rise as outlined in step 9 before popping them in the oven

o   Freeze ‘em

Original recipe found here.

snickerdoodle cake

plus

plus

= Snickerdoodle cake?

Yield: 1 cake
115 calories per slice, if cut into 16 slices
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Additional sugar and cinnamon for topping

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg and milk until well blended.

3. Add in the sugar, flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, stirring well to combine. The batter will be thick.

4. Pour into a well-greased pan and sprinkle with additional sugar and cinnamon.

5. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Original recipe found here.