Cinnamon Roll Cookies

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Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Cinnamon is my favorite spice. It feels bold to type those words out on the page, but I sense it's the truth. Cinnamon reminds me of late autumn afternoons, when the sky is darkening, the air is crisp, and the leaves on the trees mimic the shades of the rainbow. Cinnamon reminds me of my mother's homemade rice dish—creamy, sweet, and covered with a thick layer of spice. Cinnamon reminds me of apple cider and spiced wine, close friends, and cozy evenings.

I'm finally ready for fall.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

There has been a long running debate in my house over cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls. It's a bit of a silly debate to have in the first place; either roll is welcome in our home and eaten without complaint. However, if push comes to shove, our opinions emerge and are freely given. My family prefers the richness of a caramel roll, drowned in a thick layer of its namesake, while I am fond of cinnamon rolls, tender and covered in a lovely cream cheese glaze. Homemade and hot from the oven, though, it's hard to go wrong with either option.

I told you it was a silly debate.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

The weather has been quickly in decline the last week, with cooler temperatures and windy evenings. Cool weather makes me feel like baking and, since I've been avoiding the oven for much of the summer, the yeast was calling me from the refrigerator. There is something about the feel of dough beneath my fingers and the scent of yeast hanging in the air that has a calming effect on me. Without much thought, I found myself whipping up a batch of cinnamon rolls. However, instead of leaving myself with a pan of large rolls I could never hope to enjoy all by myself, I cut the dough thinly and baked the rolls on their sides, turning the classic rolls into sweet cookies I can share with everyone.

A few seconds in the microwave elevate these cookies into a warm, sticky sweetness I adore.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Cinnamon Roll Cookies are full of sweetness and cinnamon and fall. The cookies are essentially cinnamon roll dough, cut thinly and baked. The cookies crisp up around the outside, but stay soft and tender on the inside resulting in a classic cinnamon roll flavor with a new texture. The cookies are made with yeast and do take a bit of time to put together, but I think the end result is definitely worth the trouble. The recipe is easily doubled if more cookies are on the menu.

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Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Over Labor Day weekend, I spent an afternoon on my grandparent's farm. With spacious skies, fresh air, and endless fields of rolling grass, the prairie reminds me why I call it home. My grandparent's farm could come out of a children's book with the bright green tractors, dirt and ducks, and big red barn. A small garden near the house overflows with zucchini and cucumbers. The smell of bread and butter wafts from the windows of the house.

The farm is a place to escape from technology and learn to appreciate the simplicity of nature.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins on the farm

My sister and I love to go on "adventures" whenever we visit, exploring the land as it changes between seasons. This time we walked through a sunflower field, dancing between the plants as we weaved a path to the center of the field, the smell of plants and dirt filling the air. The bright green plants with brown flowers towered over our heads, the distinct yellow of the sunflowers fading as the seeds inside prepare themselves for the harvest. Twenty feet into the field, our entrance was completely obscured. The sunflowers appeared to go infinitely in every direction, an endless field of life and growth.

spacious skies tractor

Taking a break to rest in the dry dirt, my sister and I stopped to sample the fruits of the flower's labor. The heads of the sunflowers were twice the size of my own, facing the ground instead of the sun from the sheer weight of a fruitful summer. It took two hands to lift the giant flowers up towards the sun; I never knew sunflowers could grow to be so unbelievably large.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

We sampled the sunflower seeds, plucking them from the center of the flower, admiring the fuzz that surrounded each seed as if it was a ripe peach. The soft fuzz was a surprise for both of us, never imagining that sunflowers were or could be anything other than smooth. The seeds were pure white; the taste subtle. I felt a little closer to the earth that rested beneath my feet.

The rev of an engine drew us back out of the field. Hopping on a four-wheeler, we drove around the golden fields, the wind tangling my hair as we circled around hay bales, the sun peeking out behind the clouds to illuminate the golden grass. Dinnertime drew us back into the house and the scent of German cooking filled the air. We never fail to eat our fill.

At the end of the day, it's hard to leave the farm and go back to reality. I never get enough of the crisp air and piercing stars after a setting sun.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins feel like a pleasure from a simpler time. The muffins are surprisingly moist and flavorful. Even though zucchini is added to the batter, the vegetable flavor remains subtle. With the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate chips, the muffins are given the feel of a spice cake (with a bite of chocolate every now and then). A simple spread of butter is all these muffins need to make a lasting impression.

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Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits

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Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits

Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits

Food has been a struggle for me the last couple months. After discovering that my body cannot process dairy during the completion of my month long vegan challenge back in June, it has not been easy for me to go dairy-free. Perhaps it seems a little counter-intuitive, but going vegan for a month was much easier than trying to be dairy-free for the last two months. In part, I think this may be because my month long vegan challenge was a personal choice and becoming dairy-free was a decision my body made for me.

Food and I have been at odds since, fighting the dance of siblings as we bicker over what I should put on my plate.

Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits

I do fairly well when I eat alone in the confines of my apartment, cooking up meals for one in a place where I can control the amount of dairy in the refrigerator and cupboards. The real struggle begins the moment I step out of my safe haven. Restaurants have become the enemy; an unwanted challenge as I sift my way through what I can eat and what I can't eat on the menu, feeling little more than an irritation as I ask the waitress pointed questions and make half a dozen omissions and substitutions from the list of entrees.

I struggle with food because it puts my family in an awkward position as they try to make meals around my new disorder. My mother creates the most wonderful food—the vast majority of it made with dairy in one form or another—and I'm conflicted over asking her to leave it off the menu or keeping it on, since I don't want to deny anyone else the pleasures of her cooking. I struggle with food when my boyfriend casually suggests making macaroni and cheese for dinner, forgetting for a moment that I can't eat it, and making us both feel bad about the comment for different reasons—him, for making me remember my love for macaroni, and me, for refusing him a beloved food.

Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits

I struggle with food because so many of my favorite foods are now forbidden. Just because I cannot eat milk, cream, or cheese, doesn't mean I stopped enjoying them. I have cravings for fettuccine Alfredo and rich chocolate ice cream that refuse to disappear, no matter how much I will them away.

I struggle with food because I still want to share new and exciting desserts that are infused with cream and butter because, let's face it, cream and butter never stopped being delicious. In my own kitchen, I'll sometimes substitute margarine or alternative milks for recipes, but there are still occasions when I'll refuse to make pie without a buttery, flaky crust. I'm continuing to juggle this new world of food, trying my best to create recipes that work for me and you.

This journey has a long, long way to go, but I'm trying. Perhaps a little more time is all I really need.

Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits

Caramelized Leek, Basil, & Black Pepper Biscuits are packed with flavor. A basic biscuit dough is infused with freshly chopped basil leaves, caramelized leeks, and coarsely ground black pepper. While baking, the biscuits rise, becoming buttery and flaky. These biscuits make a wonderful side for a bowl of soup or casserole, but can stand alone for moments when a biscuit spread with a little butter is all you really need. For tips on creating mile-high biscuits, check this out!

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