Staying Warm with Cinnamon

By Katie Frerker, Wedge Health and Bodycare Dept

Cinnamon... what a marvelous plant this time of year! Warm, spicy, pungent, and sweet, this delicate spice is one of the oldest known to history. It stimulates our senses reminding us of holidays and home baked desserts while warming our body through and through. With the snowy season upon us, cinnamon is just the thing to keep you cozy indoors while the snowflakes fall outside.

Therapeutic Uses

Cinnamon is harvested from the inner bark of a tree native to India. Associated with longevity, it has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to warm and stimulate the body and senses. It builds vitality, stimulates circulation, and clears congestion. A warming digestive aid with a delicious flavor, cinnamon signals our bodies to increase digestive fluid secretion and therefore ameliorates gas. It also stimulates insulin activity thus helping the body process sugar more effectively. This makes it an excellent addition to sweet desserts.

Aromatically, the hot and spicy essential oil of cinnamon relieves tension and invigorates the senses. It is stimulating, strongly antiseptic, and antiviral.

Salve, teas, potpourris...

See how cinnamon's diverse uses can bring warm energy into your home:

• Make a warming tea to curl up with on blustery winter nights. Combine cinnamon sticks with other herbs to enhance its effectiveness - ginger for circulatory problems, chamomile for poor digestion, yarrow and peppermint for colds and flu. Or check out "Montana Gold," a spicy cinnamon and rooibos tea blend available in our bulk herb department from local vendor TeaSource.
• Add cinnamon essential oil to salves and oils for topical analgesics and warming stimulating balms.
• Throw some cinnamon sticks in a pot of water and let them simmer on the stove. This simple potpourri will add spice to your entire home.

As mentioned before, cinnamon is a wonderful digestive spice. Mulled drinks, puddings, sweet baked foods, poached fruit, and savory rice dishes will all benefit from its presence.

Or how about an old-fashioned Snickerdoodle to really let that cinnamon flavor burst through? Try the following recipe, adapted from an old stand by, and give everyone a treat this season that will warm them from tip to toes. Share these cookies with friends and family or keep them all for yourself!

Snickerdoodles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together:
   • 2 cups all-purpose flour
   • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
   • 1 teaspoon baking soda
   • 1/4 teaspoon salt
3. In a separate bowl, mix together:
   • 1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter
   • 1 1/2 cups sugar
4. Beat until well blended and fluffy.
5. Add 2 eggs and mix thoroughly.
6. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat until smooth.
7. Roll the dough mixture into 1 1/4 inch balls and roll each ball in a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon.
8. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 3/4 inches apart and bake, one sheet at a time, for 8-11 minutes or until cookie edges are a light golden brown.