Cinnamon rolls are one of the most popular pastries available for breakfast, and they aren’t only eaten at breakfast. Most people are familiar with the Cinnabon cinnamon rolls and I’m sure everyone agrees when I say they are absolutely fantastic. Cinnamon rolls however require time to rise and bake as they use a yeast dough. So, how do you get that sweet, cinnamony goodness without waking up at the crack of dawn to bake cinnamon rolls?

Cinnamon spread. Cinnamon spread is basically a combination of butter, sugar and cinnamon. When it is spread over warm toast, pancakes, waffles or pretty much anything you can think of, it gives a similar taste to cinnamon rolls, without all of the hard work. I know, I know, this is a baking blog, shouldn’t I be talking about baking the rolls and not the shortcut? Well I’m also interested in making it easy on you to get fresh bakery tastes and cinnamon spread is definitely a nice alternative to cinnamon rolls. May I reccommend Imperial Cinnamon Spread ?

 

-peanut butter and jelly

Cake mix is very popular these days because it is fast, very easy, and almost always comes out perfect. You can buy it in co many flavours such as chocolate, white, angel-food, rainbow chip, lemon… the list goes on. One box usually makes enough for one square cake or a layered round cake and they are great for anyone who isn’t much of a cake baker. But what if you want to make the cake more personal, rather than just buying the mix, coating it in some canned frosting and presenting it to someone for their birthday.

Well, you can easily make your own frosting and can even put some food colouring in it to make it exciting. You can also do an elaborate decoration on it that will draw everyone’s attention and they won’t even realize it was just a simple boxed cake mix. Another idea is making your own filling to put in between the layers, such as a lemon pie filling. If you’d like, maybe you could turn it into a baked alaska, topping it in a mountain of ice cream and mirangue. There are also recipes that use boxed cake mix but make something completely different, or add different flavours.

Whatever you decide, cake mixes don’t have to be plain and boring. They can actually be very delicious and elegant.   

-peanut butter and jelly

Okay, this isn’t really about baking but it is about peanut butter and jelly. I saw an advertisement for a product from Smucker’s and it caught my attention. It is called “Smucker’s Uncrustables”. It is basically a frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwich with no crusts, pre-made by most likely, a machine. It sounds quick and easy to simply take it out of the freezer and it will be thawed by lunch time. And, it is peanut butter and jelly so it can’t be that bad, right? 

Maybe some people would appreciate the convenience but unfortunately, I disagree. A pre-packaged frozen sandwich just somehow doesn’t sound as good as a freshly made sandwich on some soft, fresh bread. Also, when you make your own you can control how much peanut butter and how much jelly you put on it. I’m sure you’ve also experienced the disgusting flavour of freezer burnt foods as well, which I’m sure would eventually transfer to these sandwiches.

Basically, this is the height of laziness if you can’t make your own sandwich and have to thaw out a frozen one. Trust me, just make it yourself so you can get the real flavour of peanut butter and jelly and not the false machine-made taste.

-peanut butter and jelly