Cinnful Dessert Blend beyond Dessert!

Time to bring that package of Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend that you have not been sure what to do with out into the open and create a few seasonal treats with it.

These twelve suggestions give a number of new things to try with this great blend.

Pumpkin Spice “Tea Latte”

Put seasonal spices—such as a cinnamon stick, half of a vanilla bean (pod and seeds) and some Cinnful Dessert blend in a tea infuser and place it in 2 cups steamed milk for about 5 minutes. Add the spiced milk to cups of freshly brewed hot black tea (or coffee), and top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel

sauce.

Pumpkin Smoothie

Blend together 2 ounces of pumpkin puree with 6 ounces of almond milk, soy milk, or fat-free milk and a dash or two of Cinnful Dessert Blend to taste. Sweeten with honey or agave nectar as desired. For a thicker smoothie, replace some milk with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. For a frosty drink, add ice before blending.

Cinnful Sugar

Combine  ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar with 1 teaspoon of Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend.  Use the mixture to season cookies, flavor popcorn or even make a simpler version of spiced nuts.

Spice Butter Cookies

First make some Cinnful Sugar. Next, make your favorite butter cookie or sugar cookie recipe and lightly dust the top of the cookies with Cinnful Sugar before or after baking.

Holiday Special French Toast or Pancakes

Stir ½ teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend into every 2 cups of French toast custard (egg-milk mixture) or 2 cups of pancake batter before cooking.

Cinnful Oatmeal

Add a dollop of pumpkin puree and a teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend to a serving of cooked steel-cut oats. Sweeten to taste.

Seasonal Yogurt

Add a dollop of pumpkin puree and ½ teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend to vanilla yogurt. Top with a handful of cinnamon-flavored cereal. 

Cinnful Sweet Potatoes

Bake sweet potatoes until they’re nearly done; then slice halfway through each and add a sprinkling of Cinnful Dessert Blend and a drizzle of honey or caramel sauce. Continue baking until the potatoes are done.

Seasoned Cinnamon Rice

When making instant brown rice, melt 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine in the saucepan and stir in 2 teaspoons of Cinnful Dessert Blend, then add water, salt, and rice per package directions.

Cinnful Popcorn

Drizzle popped popcorn with butter and sprinkle with Cinnful Sugar (see above) to taste. Toss to coat.

Simply Cinnful Nuts

Beat 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon of water until frothy. Add 1 pound of Almonds (or other shelled nuts) and toss to coat. Spread the nuts on a lightly oiled baking pan and dust them with Cinnful Sugar (above). Bake at 250°F for 15 minutes; then reduce the heat to 200°F and bake until the nuts are caramelized, about 45 minutes longer.  (This recipe is similar to our original Cinnful Roasted Nuts you can find in this blog from 2011.)

Cinnamon Raisin Popcorn Balls

Makes 12 (2-inch) balls.  You can wrap them airtight and keep them for 2 days, but they are best the day they are made.

6 heaping cups popped corn

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup reduced-calorie light corn syrup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup finely chopped raisins

½ tsp. Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Prepare a medium bowl of ice water. Put popcorn in large bowl. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. As soon as the syrup starts to lightly bubble, cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is melted and the mixture darkens, about 2 minutes. Immediately pour the mixture evenly over the popcorn; gently mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well coated. Toss the raisins with the Cinnful Dessert Blend then gently stir into popcorn. Dip both hands in the ice water. Working quickly, press small handfuls (heaping 1/4 cup each) of the popcorn mixture firmly into 2-inch balls. (Make sure each ball gets a little bit of the raisins.) Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. If they seem too fragile, rinse hands with cold water and press and squeeze each ball again to help keep it together. Let cool completely before storing. To store, individually wrap in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.