Cinnamon Stick Recipes

Spiced and Spiked Hot Punch
64 ounces cranberry juice cocktail
24 ounces lemonade, frozen concentrate
6 cups apple cider
4 Spice Barn Cinnamon Sticks
2 teaspoons Spice Barn Whole Cloves
1 teaspoon Spice Barn Whole Allspice
1 cup rum

Pour cranberry juice, lemonade, and cider into a Dutch oven.  Place spices in cheesecloth or a spice bag.  Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, remove spice bag, stir in rum. 

Hot Fruited Tea
4 Spice Barn Cinnamon Sticks
1 teaspoon Spice Barn Whole Cloves
1/2 teaspoon Spice Barn Whole Allspice
1 quart hot tea
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups orange juice
3 cups sweetened pineapple juice

Combine first 3 ingredients in a tea ball or cheesecloth bag.  Combine hot tea and sugar in a large Dutch oven; stir in fruit juices.  Add spice mixture and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.  Remove spice bag.  Garnish with an orange wedge.

Basic Pickled Beets
3 1/2 pounds fresh beets, small
3 medium onions, halved and sliced
20 Spice Barn Whole Cloves
4--2/34" Spice Barn Cinnamon Sticks
4 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons salt

Cut tops from beets, leaving a 1 inch stem.  Cook in boiling water to cover 30 minutes or until tender.  Drain, reserving 3 cups liquid. Pack beets and sliced onion into hot jars; set aside.  Place whole cloves in a 6 inch square cheesecloth and tie with string.  Bring 3 cups reserved beet liquid, spice bag, cinnamon sticks, and remaining ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven.  Remove and discard spice bag and cinnamon sticks.  Pour hot mixture into jars, filling to within 1/2 inch from top. Remove air bubbles, and wipe jar rims.  Cover at once with metal lids; screw on bands.  Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. 

Hot Apple Cider
1/2 gallon apple juice or apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
2 allspice berries or whole nutmeg
1/2 orange peel, cut into strips
1/2 lemon peel, cut into strips

Pour apple juice/cider into a large stainless steel pot (crock pots or slow cookers are best but not necessary).
Place spices and peels into a cheesecloth. Drop cheesecloth into apple juice/cider. In a regular pot: heat to just short of a boil. In a crock pot: Heat for 2 hours. Remove cheesecloth. Once you are done, you can keep the stove-top on warm and have people ladle the apple cider straight from the pot.  You can also float some thinly-sliced orange and/or lemon slices on top of cider mixture for extra flavor.
Submitted By:  Carol Fox

Hot Hot Chocolate Mix - great for gifting
by Jacques Torres

3 pounds bittersweet chocolate
1 pound, 2 ounces whole dry milk
Cayenne pepper
Large (10-12 inch) cinnamon sticks

Finely grate bittersweet chocolate.  Place the milk powder, grated chocolate, and cayenne pepper (to taste) in a large mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.  Spoon the mixture into attractive tins or jars and tie a cinnamon stick to the container.  Label the container with the following instructions:
Use 1/2-cup of chocolate mixture with each cup of hot milk or water.  When making the hot chocolate, be sure to boil the chocolate milk for at least 15 seconds.  Use cinnamon stick to stir.  Serve with marshmallows (optional)
Yield:  about 4 pounds hot chocolate mix

Submitted By:   Karen Fairless   Inwood, WV

Cinnamon Information

Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree growing 32-49 feet tall.  This plant is native to Sri Lanka and southern India. The bark is used for spice, both ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks.  The flavor of cinnamon comes from the aromatic essential oil which makes up 1/2 to 1 percent of its composition. 

Cinnamon is harvested by growing the trees for two years, then cutting them near the ground.  This allows for shoots to form from the roots the next year.  These are then stripped of their bark which is then left to dry.  As they dry the strips curl into rolls known as quills.

Used as a spice, it flavors desserts, chocolate, candy, tea, cocoa, liqueurs.  It is used abundantly in Middle Eastern dishes.  Cinnamon, combined with sugar, is used to flavor cereals, breads, and fruits.  It is also an ingredient in pickling.

Many people choose to a have cinnamon stick in their mouth to aid in smoking cessation.