Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Glazed Spiced Raisin Apple Squares

I found this recipe in my mother’s old recipe box and revised it slightly, mostly so it could be understood. My mother came to the US, from northern Italy, in her late teens. While she was fluent in both languages, her American writing and spelling was a little lacking. Yet, her intermingled English and Italian…

Rate this:

Copy That! Popular Copycat Clone Recipes: Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Rolls

The difficult news is traditional Cinnabon Classic rolls weigh in at around 880 calories—not to make you feel guilty, but they are obviously just an occasional indulgence. Not to mention cinnamon is one of the most comforting spice scents in the world—making us feel all warm, cozy and homey. This may be the reason they…

Rate this:

Bananas for Bananas! Banana Streusel Coffee Cakes

These are ordinary banana muffins, or coffee cakes, made extraordinary with a crispy sugary cinnamon streusel topping that simply melts in your mouth. Wonderful with a “cuppa,” be it tea, coffee or milk, on an early weekend morning watching the leaves change their color. Also makes a delicious and nutritious after school or work snack….

Rate this:

Amish Apple Cinnamon Teacake

This is the next best thing to coffee cake that I have ever found. You’ll use 2 bowls, 1 medium, one small, a baking pan and a knife to swirl in the cinnamony goodness. I added my own personal twists to the original Amish recipe that I found years ago in Ohio’s Amish country, but…

Rate this:

Lebanese Hushwee—The Simplicity of Spices

Cinnamon in a savory dish? Yes, absolutely! The marriage of  flavors in this delectable dish compliment each other in deliciously unimaginable ways. I was taught this simple and scrumptious dish by my eldest sister whose recipe was passed down by her Lebanese mother in law. It soon became a household favorite, even in our Italian household,…

Rate this:

Vermont Maple Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This beautiful spicy bread was inspired by my neighbor Darren. We were chatting in the warm summer Arizona air one evening and he was reminiscing about his days growing up in Connecticut and about bread his family used to use when making French toast. The sparkle in his eyes warmed my heart and I simply…

Rate this:

Simplicity At Its Finest: Guanajuato, Mexico & Una Galleta

Nestled in the mountains of the Sierra de Guanajuato lies the striking, colorful majestic city of Guanajuato, Mexico. The city was founded in 1554 next to one of the richest silver mining areas of Mexico. The 16th-century mining boom led to the construction of beautiful haciendas and fine colonial buildings. Guanajuato streets and many multicolored…

Rate this:

Spices:  The Mystical Magic Potions, Top 10 Kitchen Essentials & More!

If the appearance of spices were to reflect their real importance in the history of the world, the bottles of spices would be filled with brilliant sparkling substances such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds and gold. When you open each bottle, a whiff of vibrantly colored, mystically fragrant, magical smoke would slowly billow softly throughout the…

Rate this: