Alright, let me tell you what I got up to in the kitchen the other day. I was all set to make some apple muffins, one of my go-to recipes, and it calls for cinnamon chips. You know, those little flavour bombs? Well, I went to my usual grocery store, checked the baking aisle… nothing. Zip. Nada. Thought maybe they were just out, so I tried another place. Same story!
I was getting a bit annoyed. I really wanted that extra cinnamon kick in the muffins. Standing there in the aisle, I thought, “Hang on, this can’t be rocket science. How hard is it to make cinnamon chips?” I like tinkering in the kitchen anyway, so I decided right then and there, I’m making my own.
Getting Started – What I Grabbed
Back home, I started pulling stuff out. Didn’t have an exact recipe, more like an idea forming in my head. Here’s roughly what I gathered:
- Some butter (about half a stick?)
- Powdered sugar (maybe a cup?)
- Regular granulated sugar (just a bit, couple tablespoons)
- Cinnamon! Lots of it. Probably used three tablespoons, maybe more. Gotta have that flavour.
- A tiny splash of milk (literally, like a teaspoon, just to help it mix)
- A small saucepan
- A bowl
- A spatula
- Parchment paper
- A baking sheet
The Process – Making the Magic Happen
First thing, I melted the butter in the saucepan over low heat. Just melted, didn’t want it to brown or anything. Poured the melted butter into my bowl.
Then, I dumped in the powdered sugar and the cinnamon. Gave it a good stir with the spatula. It started looking like a thick, brownish paste. I added that little bit of granulated sugar, hoping it might give a tiny crunch later, who knows. It still looked a bit stiff, so I added that tiny splash of milk. Just enough to make it a bit smoother and easier to spread, but still really thick.
Okay, next step. I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper. Scooped the cinnamon mixture onto the parchment. Now, the slightly tedious part: spreading it out. I aimed for a thin layer, maybe about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick? It was sticky, wanted to cling to the spatula, but I just kept working it, trying to get it reasonably even. Didn’t need to be perfect, just thin-ish.
Once I had it spread out, I needed it to harden up so I could chop it. I slid the whole baking sheet, parchment and all, into the freezer. Just flat on a shelf. Left it in there for a good while, maybe 45 minutes? I checked it, and it was solid to the touch. Perfect.
Chopping Time and The Result
Pulled the sheet out of the freezer. Lifted the hardened cinnamon slab off the parchment paper (it peeled off pretty easily). Put it on a cutting board and grabbed a big knife. Then, I just started chopping! Like you’d chop a block of chocolate. Some bits flew off, some were big, some were small. Totally irregular little chunks. Honestly, kinda liked that homemade look.
I scooped all my newly minted cinnamon chips into an airtight container. They looked pretty good! And the smell? Oh man, pure cinnamon goodness.
So, did they work? Heck yeah! I folded a generous amount into my next batch of apple muffin batter. When they baked, the chips softened and slightly melted, creating these gooey little pockets of intense cinnamon flavour throughout the muffins. It was exactly the effect I was hoping for. Way better than just mixing cinnamon into the batter.
Definitely doing this again. It was pretty simple, mostly hands-off time while it was freezing, and now I have a stash of cinnamon chips ready for whenever I need them. Plus, it felt good making something from scratch that I couldn’t even find in the store!
