Sweet quick bread is topped with rich brown sugar cinnamon swirl & drizzled with sweet powdered sugar icing; classic cinnamon roll flavors without the work. 
It’s no secret that I love an easy take on a classic cinnamon roll. My cinnamon roll bars with cream cheese frosting are one of my favorite treats. They’re dense and chewy and smothered in a decadent amount of fluffy frosting. Sometimes, though, I want something a little lighter, both in calories and in texture. When I do, I make this cinnamon roll bread. It’s a light bread with a touch of cinnamon and a rich brown sugar cinnamon swirl. Instead of traditional cream cheese frosting, it’s topped with a powdered sugar glaze. While I wouldn’t try to classify this bread as healthy, it is much lighter than most alternatives. The bread itself contains no butter or oil; it uses plain Greek yogurt and just a half cup of sugar. The ribbon of rich cinnamon and brown sugar adds just the right level of sweetness without overpowering the subtle flavor of the bread. And then- because, let’s be real, we can’t call it cinnamon roll anything without frosting- the whole thing is drizzled with a powdered sugar glaze. 
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frosted sugar cookies
Forget the crumbly, tasteless grocery store version. These homemade frosted sugar cookies are crisp and buttery around the outside and chewy in the middle. They’re everything a sugar cookie should be.
These cookies. These cookies.
Let’s be real for a second. Is there anything tastier than a well-made sugar cookie? I’m not talking about those crumbly, under-baked messes you buy from the “bakery” section of the grocery store. I’m talking about the real thing. The homemade version, with the slightly crunchy, buttery outside and the chewy, firm inside.
Every year I take my FBLA students to a district conference, where they compete in various business-related events. It isn’t the competition that they’re most excited about, though. It’s not the pizza we have for lunch, the scholarship opportunities, or even the day away from school that they most look forward to.
No, the thing my students spend all year talking about is these cookies. Because they’re that good, that buzz-worthy. If you think store-bought sugar cookies are “almost as good” as homemade, you owe it to yourself to make these and prove you wrong.
Frosted Sugar Cookies
cookie recipe adapted slightly from here, frosting recipe adapted slightly from here
for the cookies
1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
for the frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp whole milk or cream
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla, eggs, and milk and mix until well combined. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix just until everything comes together.
Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
On a generously floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness, cut cookie shapes with cookie cutters, and bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together butter and powdered sugar until they’re thick and well-mixed, about a minute. Add vanilla and milk or cream and mix on medium-high for about another minute.
Cool cookies completely before frosting.
What’s your favorite sugar cookie occasion?
Want to try more homemade favorites? Try these surprisingly simple and stunningly scrumptious peanut butter cup bars or this rich and fudgy mug brownie.
seasoned oven fries
I mentioned in a recent what i’m loving wednesday post that I am so in love with my new French fry cutter.
We don’t have fries too often, but I do make them occasionally because they’re a great crowd-pleasing side. And now, with this new French fry cutter, they’re also super easy. It perfectly cuts a potato into fries in a matter of seconds, so you can get these babies in the oven and move on to the main dish.
This seasoned oven fries recipe bakes up in about as long as it takes to throw a few turkey burgers on the grill. With minimal effort, you have a side dish that’s hands down better than anything you’d pull out of the freezer section at the grocery store.
I used several of our favorite spices and seasonings in this recipe, but it’s completely adaptable to what you prefer and what you have on hand. And if you’re feeling naughty, go ahead and take the baked fries, sprinkle them with cheese and jalapenos and bacon, and toss them back in the oven for a few more minutes.
seasoned oven fries
3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and patted dry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake
We’re no strangers to brinner- breakfast + dinner- around my house. In fact, we probably have it at least twice a week. I love it because most breakfast options are fast and frugal, which are two huge factors I use in determining what we’ll be eating each week.
The other thing I love about the meals in my brinner rotation is that they can all be easily customized. One meat can be subbed for another, vegetables can be switched out based on what you have around, and using a specific kind of cheese isn’t that important.
All of the above apply to this sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake. You could easily use bacon or ham instead of sausage and add any kind of veggies you like (to the whole dish or just to a portion). I use a cheddar cheese blend, because that’s what I usually have on hand, but most anything would work.
That’s a chubby toddler hand sneaking in to steal a grape 🙂
sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake
adapted from Six Sisters’ Stuff
1 small can of crescent rolls (you only need four rolls; you can always buy the regular size and find another use for the leftover four)
1/2 pound ground sausage, cooked and drained
3/4 cup shredded cheese
4 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon minced onion
cinnamon roll bars with cream cheese frosting
Who doesn’t love cinnamon rolls? I know I do, and I even make them on occasion. I’m not afraid to work with yeast and there’s just something about a warm homemade cinnamon roll that defies description.
But this is real life. Sometimes it’s 10 p.m. and you remember, as you’re about to climb into bed, that you promised a group of students you’d feed them at your 7:30 a.m. meeting. And since cinnamon rolls are certainly not happening, you rack your brain for a simpler solution. Something mouth-watering, yes, but something that comes together quickly.
That’s where these cinnamon roll bars come in. The base is a box cake mix, so it doesn’t take too many more ingredients for them to come together. I love to bake the bars the night before, then whip up the frosting in the morning and frost them right before I walk out the door.
These bars are so easy, yet so moist and rich, that they could easily become a new make-ahead holiday favorite. Or, if you really love the people in your life, make them this weekend.
Cinnamon Roll Bars
adapted from Cookies & Cups
For the bars:
1 box white or yellow cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (I’ve used light or dark; both work fine)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cinnamon
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (optional)
For the frosting:
1 8 oz. brick of cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract