Cinnamon Toast the Pioneer Woman Way

***Welcome Pinterest Visitors!  I'm so glad you decided to clink on this recipe, that has suddenly gone viral on Pinterest.  I do hope you like what you see, will take the take to leave a comment, and I hope you'll come back to visit.  This is one of my earliest recipe-- taken with my old point-and-shoot camera (and my photography has much improved over the last few years).  I've got hundreds more since I started this blog in 2008.  Enjoy, and you'll find a printable recipe card at the very end of this post**
 
I have a confession to make.  I strive to cook "real food". By that, I mean that I like to cook meals for my family, using fresh ingredients-- organic, as much as possible.  You will never find a tub of frozen fake whipped topping or canned cream soups in my pantry. I make all of my cakes and cookies from scratch. Sounds impressive?  So, here's my confession-- I still love "comfort foods"! I also have a sweet tooth (ya think?)  

When I was in high school, I can  remember racing to the cafeteria to buy a slice of  their famous cinnamon toast.  It sold out in minutes, because most of the student body loved it as much as I did.  If I was lucky enough to make it in line, a cafeteria worker would lift a piece of cinnamon toast, off a baking sheet. Score! I can remember savoring that  crunchy piece of bread with a heavenly balance of cinnamon and butter.  It was more than butter toast, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

I can't begin to describe it, but I longed for some of that toast many, MANY years later. I gave up trying to recreate it-- until the Pioneer Woman posted her version of making cinnamon toast on her blog.   Ree Drummond is evil.  She has no shame when it comes to ways of cooking and baking with butter.   I wondered, was this the long-lost recipe?

I mean, how hard is it to make cinnamon toast? You toast bread, slather it with softened butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar. Right? Well... this version has two simple little twists. I mean, eensie weensie changes that are so darn simple, that I wonder why I didn't think of it myself?

On a Saturday morning, this was destined to be made.The night before, I removed a stick of butter so it would be nice and soft... this morning, I preheated the oven to 350F.

Do you really need a recipe for cinnamon toast?  Butter? Check. Cinnamon? Check. Vanilla? What? That's Ree's secret ingredient-- vanilla. That's Twist #1. Brilliant!  Nutmeg, optional? Next time. I'll play it safe. Oh, and that's my DEMY Digital Recipe Reader**. I had already copied and pasted Ree's recipe so I had it handy. I love this new toy of mine. I have all of my recipes at my fingertips-- literally.

** NOTE: Many of my readers have bought the Digital Recipe Reader. Just know, that you will need to start a FREE account with Key Ingredient . You can, easily, create your own recipe card, which will "sync" to your recipe reader.  It takes about one minute, to create a recipe card. Yes, you can cut and paste recipes. I store all of my recipe cards on Key Ingredient, that you see at the bottom of each post.  

Back to the recipe...

Twist #2: Smush the butter, add the sugar and cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Now, in the theme of keeping it real-- I'm using whole wheat bread, since butter and sugar aren't exactly "health foods".

Spread on slices of bread, completely covering the surface all the way to the edges.

Place toast on a cookie sheet. Place cookies sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling--45 to 60 seconds should do it. Watch so it won’t burn!

UPDATE:  I found that using my toaster oven is a faster/easier way, when making this for two people. I toast the bread, until just before it's golden brown. I then slather on the cinnamon-butter and turn the toaster oven to "broil". Watch it, carefully, and remove just as the topping begins to bubble.  This way, I don't have "soggy bread syndrome" on the bottom. Works great!

 Slice in half diagonally.  Be sure to have hot coffee ready. Oh, and don't forget the newspaper!

I take my coffee with cream and...um, sugar. 

Ahhhh.  For a fleeting moment, I could hear the school bells ringing that morning break was over. Bliss. Oh, wait a minute! I work at a high school! I hear those bells every morning, but they don't serve this cinnamon toast. They should-- it's much better than bagels and cream cheese, with smushed hot cheetos.  (I don't eat that stuff, but the kids do! )

VERDICT:  This isn't plain old cinnamon toast.  It's buttery, with a crunchy texture of cinnamon-sugar. The notes of vanilla adds an extra layer of "yum". I also made this in a toaster-oven, which worked out perfectly. This comes pretty close to the flavors of my homemade cinnamon rolls.   Your kids (and husband) will thank you.  Thank you, Pioneer Woman, for sharing this recipe. Who knew something so simple, could be so good? I'm telling you, adding vanilla makes all the difference in the world!
UPDATE: I get lots of comments and emails that this is just as easy to make in a toaster. To be honest, it's broiling the cinnamon-vanilla butter that gives this toast such a great texture. 

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Made with love (and sugar),