Ah The Wonders Of Cinnamon

It's once again a cold and snowy day in Omaha--no better time than to cook or bake!  :)  I was reminded about how many of the simple things I take for granted because I was taught at a young age just aren't common knowledge anymore.  For example, they've begun selling a cinnamon/sugar mixture in the grocery stores I've noticed, which is great for some baking and for cinnamon toast for breakfast.  I've been making the same thing myself for many years, and for a whole lot cheaper than what I've seen it being sold for.  I took a shaker container that used to hold dried minced onion and holds about 1 1/2 cups, washed it, filled it with sugar and added 4-6 tablespoons of cinnamon to it.  I shake it thoroughly so the cinnamon is mixed throughout, and I've just created what they sell in the stores for less than $.50. 

I've heard a lot of good things about cinnamon lately, about how it may have a lot of health benefits, but I've always enjoyed cooking with it.  Today, for example, I've been making something like apple crisps but without the topping, and using granny apples.  Granny apples are the apples that have sat around or overwintered long enough that they've lost a little of their moisture, just enough for the skins to be slightly wrinkled.  They're still good to eat, but are better baked than raw at that point.  So for baking my crispless apple crisps I took a one pint Corelle cassarole dish and greased it, then cored and sliced 2 Johnathon apples that had grannied.  I loosely layered them in the baking dish, sprinkling each layer generously with my cinnamon/sugar mixture,  and put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  At 35 minutes I opened the oven, took a fork and gently pushed down on the apple slices (the purpose for this is so the wonderful apple juice/cinnamon/sugar mixture thats bubbling in the bottom of the cassarole dish reaches all the apple slices), and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  After it comes out of the oven, it will need to sit for a few minutes to cool and to allow the sugar mixture to thicken, 15 minutes should do nicely.  Baked apples with sugar and cinnamon, what a wonderful snow day treat, and my whole house smells wonderful too :)