One of my very favorite baking sites, www.bakeitwithmel.com, consistently offers the best tips on how to take your home baking to the next level.

For instance, snickerdoodles. We love these, and I’ve been trying for years to achieve a chewier texture and deeper flavor. Mel knew just what I should do. “For extra chewiness, add one or two tablespoons of pure maple syrup when creaming the butter and sugar. And if you’re happening to use a store-bought, pre-made dough (shame on you), be sure to mix in the maple syrup. It makes a BIG difference” she said.

And here’s my own little By-the-Way: 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup contains about: 0.58 milligrams manganese, 0.29 milligrams zinc, 20 milligrams calcium, 42 milligrams potassium, 0.02 milligrams iron, and 4 milligrams magnesium. Makes a good case for using it, right?

And she also knew just what to do to create a richer and deeper flavor in this proverbial cookie. She said we should be toasting our cinnamon. In all my years of baking I’ve never heard of this technique. Have you? I did a little research to see why roasting cinnamon is recommended. Here’s what I found:

“Toasting" (or warming) cinnamon is a good idea because it releases the essential oils in the spice. You can use ground or freshly grated cinnamon sticks, and either way, you’ll find toasting brings out a richer, more profound cinnamon taste compared to using plain, commercially ground cinnamon straight from the jar.

You’ll get a deeper, more intense flavor and aroma, resulting in a more complex and aromatic cookie. This technique transforms the flavor from a single-note spice taste to a more sophisticated, "caramel-y" or "new-fashioned" flavor that better stands up to the sweetness and tang of the cookie dough.

And one more By-the-Way: This technique actually revives older spices! If your ground cinnamon has been sitting in the pantry for a while, toasting it on low heat until it becomes fragrant can help revive its lost potency.

Mel suggests you use a microplane to grate cinnamon sticks, rather than turning to ground cinnamon. She says ground is OK, but freshly grated provides a brighter, fresher aroma and flavor than pre-ground options.

Another approach Mel often uses is to bloom cinnamon in fat (such as melted butter). Doing this before adding other ingredients also instantly releases its aroma.

And of course, ensuring your cinnamon is as potent as possible is key to achieving the signature warm, cinnamony goodness that sets a snickerdoodle apart.

As soon as I get these articles submitted to Cook’n, I’m headed into the kitchen to toast some cinnamon. Can’t wait to report back on how my Snickerdoodles turn out!