Foodie Friday: Annie’s Eats Review

About a month ago a friend of mine shared a link to Annie’s Eats. I think it was a chocolate peanut butter cake or something along those lines. Anyway, the food photography is right up there with Smitten Kitchen and The Parsley Thief — basically the same enjoyable experience I expect when I’m looking for delicious, glorious pictures of food. Last week she posted a recipe for caramel apple cinnamon rolls. Let me tell you about my relationship with cinnamon rolls…

Growing up, I never really liked cinnamon rolls. It could very well be that most people dump entirely too much sugar into the icing, thereby rendering the final product a sickeningly sweet, unappetizing mess. Pillsbury, Cinnabon — nope, neither suited my tastes. It wasn’t until four years ago that I came around to the sweet confections that have so much potential. I blame it on pregnancy hormones. I was probably 4 months along with my daughter, and the doctor’s office was across the street from the mall. Being that I take the bus everywhere, I had to go through the mall and across the street to get there. I happened to be walking past Cinnabon that particular day, and they had free samples. I’m a sucker for free samples, and I don’t even care what you’re hawking. I’ve discovered some pretty great things through free samples. Anyway, I must have gotten the least iced piece of cinnamon roll they had on that tray, and it was life changing — absolutely life changing! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to buy stock in Cinnabon or load up on Pillsbury’s cinnamon rolls. However, I did warm up to the idea of making cinnamon rolls from scratch. A few months ago, Brian requested that I make this “clone of a Cinnabon” recipe he found, so I obliged with the hopes of creating an icing that fits my sweet-but-not-too-sweet criteria. I mean, who wants to feel like they just instantly gave themselves cavities? It was a success, even if the rolls still had that weird aftertaste that I can’t quite place.

Fast forward to last week. It’s autumn, and I associate this season with crisp air, colorful leaves, pumpkins, and apples. I think of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger permeating the air. I think of delicious childhood treats. Caramel, apples, and cinnamon all in the same recipe? Sign me up for that! So Monday night I had all the ingredients and a not-so-sleepy baby keeping me awake, and I prepared each separate part. I refrigerated everything overnight to bake on Tuesday morning. It’s been conveniently cool and crisp overnight, so it was the perfect way to start the day. Obviously, I tailored the icing recipe to suit my tastes, but it can’t be helped. I think I might try a different variety of apple next time simply because I’m not big on Granny Smith apples, but overall the end result was delicious. I didn’t bother with pictures — Annie’s got some great images of her own that will absolutely get you interested in baking them, too.