Sweet comfort...

I can't believe that I haven't blogged about this before, but it seems a little...mundane. Then again, I have gone through at least three extended, obsessive love affairs with this ordinary breakfast food since The Pioneer Woman posted about it back in April. I'm sure it dovetailed with the stresses of finals and the end of the year at school, and most recently, with my health drama. And it is so simple and comforting, it's certainly worth a mention on this here blog. Ladies and gentlemen,I give you: CINNAMON TOAST! Not just that cinnamon toast that everybody has made since childhood where you sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on buttered toast, but an ingenius new methodology from a desperate mother of four...BROILED cinnamon toast! When you mix the butter and cinnamon and sugar together and add a splash of vanilla then pop it under the broiler for a couple of minutes, you get a bubbly, caramelized, brûléed toast treat!

As is my way, I took a few liberties with PW's recipe. First of all, I only make half of her recipe at a time--one stick of butter is enough for eight large pieces of toast (or four breakfasts, which usually tides me over until my next attack!). Also, I prefer to toast my bread first for crispiness all the way through. Thirdly, I find 1/2 cup of sugar to one stick of butter a bit too sweet, so I take it down to 1/3 cup. And I also like to swap out half or even all of the white sugar for brown sugar, which gives you caramel cinnamon toast! NOM NOM NOM! You must try this, my people.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast "The Right Way"
(Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!)

16 slices bread (whole wheat is great!)
2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I prefer 2/3 cup, and I prefer brown sugar)
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon (use GOOD cinnamon, PLEASE! I like Vietnamese from King Arthur)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (again, life is too short to use cheap, crappy vanilla!)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional--I don't prefer this flavor here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I turn mine on broil, and while it's preheating, I toast my bread in the toaster.)

Smush softened butter with a fork. Dump in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, if using. Stir to completely combine. 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 (I skip this step, as I toast mine first). Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling. Watch so it won’t burn! (Note: this only takes 2-3 minutes.)

Remove from oven and cut slices into halves diagonally. (I don't see the need to slice the toast myself, but you do as you see fit!)