Cinnamon Twigs Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, milk, butter, egg and remaining water; beat on medium speed 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch down dough. Roll into a 16x12-in. rectangle. Brush with butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter. Let dough rest for 6 minutes. Cut lengthwise into three 16x4-in. strips. Cut each strip into sixteen 4x1-in. pieces. Twist and place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 350° 15 minutes or until golden.

Steps:

• Melt bittersweet chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth; remove from heat. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and molasses and beat until smooth. Beat in bittersweet chocolate, then flour mixture, until combined. Divide dough in half; form each half into a rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about 30 minutes. Dough can be made 3 days ahead and stored in refrigerator, or frozen up to 1 month.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out each piece of dough to a rectangle 1/8-inch thick, with 1 side roughly 12 inches long, on a lightly floured piece of parchment. Transfer rectangles on parchment to baking sheets and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 1/4-to-1/2-inch-wide irregular strips, each about 12 inches long. Separate strips on parchment-lined baking sheets and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake until slightly darker around edges, about 12 minutes. Let twigs cool completely on baking sheets.
• Melt white chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Paint chocolate along length of each twig with a pastry brush to create a faux-bois look. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, about 15 minutes. Twigs can be made 3 days ahead and stored in a cool place.

Steps:

• Toss peels from apples with cinnamon sugar; sprinkling peels with a few drops of water will help the mixture stick. Spread in a single layer on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake in a preheated 250 degrees oven until peels are curled and crisp, about 2 hours 30 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool before serving.