Cinnamon

[abracanabra]

Penzeys' China Cassia Cinnamon is superlatively better than storebought ground cinnamon, enough so that we will now be making a special trip to buy cinnamon when we're out. Enough that it makes cinnamon and sugar toast truly something special. Enough that I think I may have some success persuading Phil to make snickerdoodles tomorrow. He doesn't cook much in general, but he's an excellent cookie-baker.

Comments

[thoughtdancer.livejournal.com]

Have you tried their Vietnamese Cassia? Wow, just wow.

We buy nearly all of our spices from Penzey's these days. Amazing stuff. Just cook with their vanilla extract and be amazed, as a start.

And yes, we regularly drive to the *nearest bigger city* to get spices. Fortunately, they also do deliver if the Website orders. Great help in the depths of winter.

Oh, and the nutmeg... Wow.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

We do Szeged's Hungarian cinnamon, but yah, storebought ground cinnamon simply will not do for us any more. We're such cinnamon snobs.

[lyght.livejournal.com]

Noted! I'd been curious, but we've been a little disappointed in some of their "run of the mill" spices (e.g. we can usually find better oregano in the store for cheaper), so I've been holding off.

I guess there is also the fact that I have like half of an 8 oz. shaker to kill yet, too.

[ninicat.livejournal.com]

What recipe do you use for your snicker-doodles? My mom's husband loves them, but they aren't in our cookie repertoire, so we don't have a go-to recipe.

[mapache]

We discovered Penzey's back in Pittsburgh. We were sad to find there were none in the Bay Area when we moved out here, but then they opened one in Menlo Park last year, huzzah!

[half-double.livejournal.com]

Abra. Please do not make snickerdoodles out of my cat. Thank you.

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

Vanilla extract, you say? Better than the regular stuff? I suppose that shouldn't surprise me--maybe that's what I'll try next! Hmm. This could become an expensive habit....

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

There's a short list of food staples that we've tried that have been so much better than the standard stuff that we pretty much have a mandated upgrade: cheese, pepper, cinnamon, and hot sauce. And we're cheap, so it has to really be a significant difference.

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

Of cinnamon? Clearly, your fall future should be full of apple cider or mulled wine!

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

I use the Joy of Cooking recipe--it's really good. Let me know if you don't have a Joy of Cooking and I can email/post it for you.

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

And don't forget that their mail-order catalog is a thing of beauty! (And has tasty tasty recipes.)

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

Step 1. Catch the cat.
Step 2. Bring the cat home.
Step 3. ?
Step 4. Snickerdoodles!

[mapache]

In the interim, we actually made use of the one in Minneapolis, when we were there in spring 2007 for the alt.polycon which was held there that year.

[cloudscudding.livejournal.com]

It's a good store. There's something magical about spice stores; I just walk inside, inhale, and feel wonderful. Some of my best childhood memories are of visiting the local spice shop, which also sold tea and cards and carnival dolls and various strange and wonderful things.