Kid-friendly Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Recipe: Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch

Recipe: Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch

Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch

by Erin Fletter
Photo by Gv Image-1/Shutterstock.com
prep time
5 minutes
cook time
5 minutes
makes
4-6 servings

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

  • toast :

    to brown and crisp food in a heated skillet or oven, or in a toaster.

Equipment Checklist

  • Skillet
  • Dry measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Heat-resistant spatula or wooden spoon
scale
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Ingredients

Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch

  • 1/2 C rolled oats **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free/nut-free oats)**
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 T vegetable oil
  • 2 T butter **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance, or a nut-free oil, like vegetable oil)**
  • 2 T brown sugar

Food Allergen Substitutions

Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch

  • Gluten/Wheat: Substitute gluten-free/nut-free oats.
  • Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance, or a nut-free oil, like vegetable oil.

Instructions

Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch

1.
measure + stir

Measure and stir together 1/2 cup of oats, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 pinch of salt.

2.
heat + add + toast

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over low heat. Add the oats, cinnamon, and salt and stir to toast for 30 seconds.

3.
add + melt + stir + spread

Scoot the oats to the edge of the skillet and add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the middle of the skillet and let them melt together. Bring the oats back into the melted butter and sugar and stir them around until they’re nice and coated, spreading the granola into an even layer at the end.

4.
turn off + cool

Turn off the skillet and let the granola cool. It will harden a bit as it cools! Put Asteroid Cinnamon Crunch on top of Cosmic Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes and Milky Way Glaze (see recipes)!

Surprise Ingredient: Cinnamon!

back to recipe
Photo by Geshas/Shutterstock.com

Hi!  I’m Cinnamon!

"Did you know that I'm a spice that comes from the inner bark of certain trees?! You can add me to both sweet and savory foods. Recipes generally call for ground cinnamon, but you can also use cinnamon sticks, dried strips of my bark that curl into a tube shape, to flavor apple cider, stews, curries, and more. Just don't forget to remove the stick before serving! And, what's more, I can make your kitchen and home smell wonderful!"

History

  • Some people say the best kind of cinnamon, referred to as the "true cinnamon" and called Ceylon, is native to an island southeast of India called Sri Lanka. It has a more subtle flavor than other types. The most common cinnamon in use today, though, is derived from Cassia, which originated in China.   
  • Cinnamon is an ancient spice. It was imported to Egypt in about 2000 BCE. The ancient Egyptians used cinnamon together with myrrh to embalm the dead. They considered cinnamon to be more valuable than gold!  

Anatomy & Etymology 

  • Cinnamon is the inner bark of some tree species of the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon trees can grow about 60 feet tall.
  • Cinnamon farmers begin to harvest cinnamon when the tree reaches two years old. They cut the tree back so that shoots form from the stump. After one more year, the farmers strip the outer bark from the shoots and set the peels out to dry in the sun.
  • When the bark dries, it curls into "quills," which are the sticks that are cut and sold as cinnamon sticks. They can also be ground into powdered cinnamon, which is how much of the cinnamon we see is sold in stores. So, what do a porcupine and a cinnamon tree have in common? They both grow quills!
  • The word "cinnamon" comes from late Middle English derived from the Old French form, "cinnamome," from the Greek "kinnamon." The Greek was borrowed from a Phoenician word, which was similar to the related Hebrew word "qinnāmōn."

How to Pick, Buy, & Eat

  • Cinnamon is harvested twice a year, immediately after the rainy season. The humidity in the air makes the bark peel more easily.
  • The bark is typically peeled by hand by skilled peelers.
  • The quality of cinnamon is judged by the thickness of the bark, the appearance of the quills (broken or whole), the aroma, and the flavor. 
  • Cinnamon is a spice used to add flavor to a variety of dishes. For example, it may be added to desserts, chocolate, toast (in cinnamon sugar), fruit (especially apples), roasted veggies, soups, tea, and hot cocoa. It's also good in savory dishes like Bavarian pot roast, Moroccan chicken, and Indian curry. 

Nutrition 

  • It is best to eat cinnamon in small doses in its ground form, sprinkling it on top of food or adding a small teaspoon to food. Eating too much cinnamon could cause adverse health effects.
  • Cinnamon has one of the most recognizable scents. Its pungent, spicy smell is due to the chemical called "cinnamaldehyde." This chemical is considered an antioxidant that has some anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
  • Cinnamon is believed to regulate the sugar in our blood and possibly lower cholesterol; however, study findings aren't clear.
  • Cinnamon oil can keep mosquitoes away! It kills mosquito larvae and probably repels adult mosquitoes, too. 

 

Lettuce Joke Around

What does a duck like to have for breakfast?

Quacker Oats!

The Yolk's On You

I named my dog Cinnamon!

He's a lot of bark!

Lettuce Joke Around

Did you hear about the horse who testified in court?

At first he wasn't going to tell the truth, but the judge reminded him he was under oats (oath).

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