Cinnamon & Spice: 20 Recipes to Help Your Home Smell Like the Holidays

updated May 2, 2019

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Any day now, one of my five younger brothers will drop a little hint to my mom. “You know, cinnamon rolls would be awesome,” one might say, casually. The approach will rapidly progress to the blunt: “You’re making cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving morning, yesss?” Because, in our family anyway, the holidays start with the cinnamon rolls.

Beyond my mom’s famously ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls, the aromas of cinnamon and spice define this time of year — the shortened afternoons spent rolling out molasses cookies or whipping up a whiskey spice bundt cake, filling your home with the smell of sweet things to come. We crave that spicy warmth, so here are twenty recipes that will instantly make your home smell like the holidays.

Weeknight Recipe: Baked Apples Stuffed with Oatmeal & Spiced Brown Sugar (Image credit: Emma Christensen)

These recipes are mostly of the sweet and baked variety, although we venture into savory spiced territory (since cinnamon couscous sounds just right for this time of year!).

But my favorite way to work some cinnamon and spice into my diet is with breakfast. Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Breakfast Bars are no one’s idea of a diet but very good for your holiday spirit. A lighter offering is the broiled grapefruit dusted with cinnamon sugar — which makes your house fragrant and your nutritionist happy. And don’t overlook the pear muffins below — they’re my favorite fall breakfast of all.

Once you’ve had breakfast, turn to the spiced deliciousness of molasses cake and cookies, pumpkin rice Krispie treats, and mulled cider. It’s time to get your cinnamon act on.

SPICED

BREAKFAST