Today I’m bringing you another great freezer recipe that you can make ahead of time and pop in the oven on a busy morning or for a quick bite size dessert after supper. These Stuffed Cinnamon Toast Sticks are everything that’s good in cinnamon toast combined with a cream cheese filling. Once they’re waiting in your freezer, the only work left to do is put them on a pan and bake for a few minutes in the oven. Convenience food from your own kitchen anytime the need arises! I like that. 🙂
In one of my recent posts I shared a little story of my baby girl and have plans to highlight each family member in their own future post. Today, since my son has always loved cinnamon toast sticks, he’s the lucky one. If you’d rather not sit and visit with me a while, just scroll on down to the first picture and start reading the recipe. If you have a few minutes to spare, grab a cup of coffee or whatever your choice of beverage is and sit a spell because I feel like chatting :).
Ready? Here we go… ~takes a sip~
Brady was the child who made me a Mama, which was and still is the greatest dream I have ever had. When I found out I was expecting, Ricky and I went to a doctor’s office to double check, the news being too good to believe without a professional opinion, and when they told us, we both lost it, crying and squaling like a bunch of idiots in that doctor’s office. People were coming to check on us because they thought something was wrong the way we were carrying on.
He was born on July 6, 1999, or as my daughter likes to say “Brady was born in the nineteen hundreds…”. and his entry into this world was in a crowded hospital, in the one labor and delivery room with no air conditioning, with a doctor whose only words to me were to yell at me to shut up. That’s the nice glossed over version :).
Brady and Daddy, Age: 1 day
Even though I was on the downhill slope of my twenties at the time, I had serious concerns about my skill as the mother of a newborn. I remember at the hospital, I was so worried and nervous that they would realize I didn’t know what I was doing and not let me bring him home. Every time I would go to change a diaper or feed a bottle, if a nurse came in, I just stopped and held him to me for fear they would see how piteous I was at performing the task. But surprisingly, they let me have that baby of mine and as we pulled out of the hospital parking lot, I looked back in relief as if we’d managed to con our way out of a prison.
Me and my sweet baby had made it out!
The next year was a blur of photographs, spitting up (everywhere, at all times), colic screams, postpartum depression (which the “shut up” doctor told me to “get over”) and very little sleep.
When I say “very little sleep” I’m not kidding. There is a huge difference between not getting “enough” sleep and not ever being able to sleep for more than an hour at a time, being awakened by screaming, staying awake for an hour or so, and then going back to sleep only to have the process repeat, every day, week after week, month after month. THAT is sleep deprivation and it’s brutal.
~All my parents of colicky babies raise your fist in solidarity yo!~
Around seven or eight months, our family doctor gave me something to help Brady with the colic. It helped immensely. He and I finally got to settle into our relationship a bit more with a lot less crying on both of our parts.
Brady was a strong willed baby, toddler, and child. I like to say he “showed significant leadership potential at an early age“. He was a good kid, but knew his mind and had a definitive idea of how he wanted things. He would spend hours lining up his hot wheels cars in a perfect line going through the house and then get down on the floor to examine the line from all angles, pushing one this way or that just a fraction of an inch to achieve the precision he wanted. Talking to him was, as one neighbor described it “Like talking to a little thirty year old trapped in a toddler’s body.” It is no surprise now that he plans on becoming an engineer once he graduates.
When he was four, he began shortening my name of “Mama” to “Ma”. I wasn’t too fond of the moniker at the time and preferred Mama so whenever he would call me “Ma” I would shorten his name in reply and say “Yes, Bra?”. You can imagine how that went over ~grins~.
After a week or so of this, he came into the kitchen one day and casually learned up against the cabinets and said “We need to talk.”
I turned and said “Okay baby, what do we need to talk about?”
“Well, I’m getting older…” the words came so naturally out of the mouth of my four year old as he continued “and when I say words like ‘Mama’ it kind of sounds like baby talk. So that is why I am calling you ‘Ma’ instead.” I looked at my baby boy and tried to see the man he saw himself as. Nodding in purposeful understanding, I kissed his head “Okay then. I guess I’ll be Ma“.
Both kids have called me that ever since.
My Brady has a deep and wide compassionate streak, as witnessed by anyone who has ever been belittled or bullied in his presence. In kindergarten, the kids colored pictures of themselves as Native Americans and one child told a girl her picture was ugly. She immediately began crying. Brady got up from his seat, went over to her and said “Let me see that. Oh wow! that is the best picture of all. I wish my picture looked like that!“. He then proceeded to bring his picture and critique it next to hers, showing her how each of her features and strokes had been a better choice until she was smiling again.
He spent that entire year guarding over his classmates like that, anytime someone needed encouragement or lifting up, Brady was there. The school took notice and started pairing him up with kids who were shy, didn’t have many friends, or were perhaps not being treated well. Brady just had a natural tendency to become best buddies with whoever was sitting by him and, just like he does now, he always made sure to bring them all along to the party.
Brady trying on a new suit.
Age 6.
He loves suits and we have always had to have one hanging in his closet ever since he was two years old – because a big part of our world is that you just never knew when Brady was going to wake up and want to wear a suit.
When he was just seven, the attorney general of our state came to speak to his school as a favor to my family and they let Brady meet him at his car and show him around the school. Brady went in his best suit and happily played tour guide as if it was his job every day of the year.
The school assembled in the auditorium and they asked Brady, at the last minute, if he would like to introduce him. “Sure” he said as he took the mic and walked up on stage. “Boys and girls, can I have your attention please? We have a very special guest today…” He began and went on to explain why it was an honor to have the state attorney general there to speak to them before finally introducing him amid a round of applause.
I stood at the back of the auditorium watching this child and marveling at the amazing young man who had been entrusted to my care. The mayor leaned over to me and said “Who IS that kid?”. As always with my son, I felt like I was still learning who he was as well.
But that’s my boy. He’s always been that way and as he has grown he has become even more of the Brady
Brady in last year’s suit. I plan on taking him shopping for a new one either tonight or this weekend.
we know and love.I tell both of my kids that God has a special purpose for their lives and they have each grown up knowing that it is their responsibility to become educated spiritually, intellectually, and to grow in the wisdom they are going to need to fill that role when the time comes. I have no doubt that Brady has already been filling that role for years and will continue to do so.
I do have regrets as his mother, but they all stem from the times where I intervened and didn’t let him go out on the limb he was gung ho to go out on. I’ve learned my lesson and pray that God will give him more opportunities to go out on as many limbs as he would like, so I can have opportunities not to intervene. That’s the hard stuff, but I’ve learned that one of the greatest things I can do as his mother is stand back and cheer him on, even when I can’t breathe for watching. Loving Brady kills me like that sometimes.
And here is a treat he has always enjoyed. I hope to make it for his son one of these days.
To make this, you’ll need pretty much the same ingredients you’d use for cinnamon toast Bread (I prefer wheat), Sugar, Butter, and Cinnamon, plus Cream Cheese, an Egg, and Vanilla.
I try to get one of the nice long squared off loaves of bread for this and the store brand usually has what I am looking for. We save the more expensive bread for our sandwiches and such. I don’t use leftover bread of this but rather buy a brand new loaf so I can make enough to freeze and last a little bit.
Place softened cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
I know the color is a bit yellow in this photograph and you’ll see it a bit whiter looking in the next photo. This is because I was taking these at precisely 3:36 in the morning, because I happened to wake up around 3:00 AM and I thought “I should do that tutorial now and then I can freeze them and bake them when everyone wakes up later!”.
Yeah, so anyway the lighting wasn’t what it could have been. Because the sun was asleep – like the rest of my family. Like I would have been were I sane but honestly, where is the fun in that?
So what I do is lay out all of my bread on a baking sheet in twos. Then, I go and spread filling in between each set of slices like this.
Once all of the little cream cheese filled sandwiches are made, I place this pan in the freezer for about ten minutes. What this does is help toughen up the bread just ever so slightly so that it doesn’t smoosh when we cut it into fingers.
After that, I cut the crusts off and cut each sandwich into three sticks.
I place those back on that same baking sheet and freeze these (uncovered) for about twenty to thirty minutes.
During this time, melt your butter so it has time to cool down a bit before we have to use it.
Also, stir your cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl.
Note: You will most likely need to melt more butter and stir more cinnamon and sugar together halfway through. I always have to and those will be the measurements given in the recipe at the bottom. However, I coat my sticks on all sides. If you just coat top and bottom your butter and cinnamon mixture will go further and your stuffed cinnamon sticks won’t be as sweet.
Now dip each stick into melted butter and then cinnamon sugar.
Repeat until all sticks are coated. Place this baking sheet back in the freezer until sticks are frozen firm, about an hour. Then, remove from baking sheet and place in zipper seal bag before returning to store them in the freezer.
To bake, place frozen sticks on baking sheet and bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Serve warm.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Wheat Bread
For filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temp
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup sugar
For cinnamon coating
- 1 cup sugar may need to double
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon May need to double
- 1/2 cup butter melted and cooled (may need to double)
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl place cream cheese, egg, vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat with electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Lay out bread in stacks of two on a baking sheet. Spread filling in between each stack to make a sandwich. Place baking sheet in freezer for about ten minutes.
- Remove from freezer and trim crusts off bread. Cut each sandwich into three sticks and place all sticks back on baking sheet. Return to freezer for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Remove from freezer. Stir together cinnamon and remaining sugar in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl.
- Dip each stick quickly in butter and then cinnamon sugar mixture, turning to coat. Place back on baking sheet. Repeat until all are done. Return to freezer and freeze for one hour. After they are completely frozen, remove from baking sheet and place in zipper seal bag in the freezer until ready to use.
- To bake: Place desired number of stuffed cinnamon sticks onto baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
If you dip all sides (as pictured), you'll need to replenish your butter and cinnamon sugar mixture halfway through.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm.” ~Winston Churchill
Yum 
Ok, have to make these for my husband he is a cinnamon toast freak.
I hope he loves them as much as we do Eva!!
These look scrumptious! You have inspired my Mom and I to put together a family cookbook to pass down through generations. Thank you.
Now I understand why we never see Brady smile much. He’s too busy with his deeper thinking way of life! What a joy it is to have a deeper thinker though as a son! I love the recipe!
Yes Marsha, he is a deep thinker indeed!!
Those look delicious and I am going to make some for myself. I very nearly did not read the recipe because I was thinking french toast which I despise as too soggy and eggy to be appealing. I have followed the blog since the beginning though so wan ted to hear the Bradybug story. Whenever I read a recipe I start thinking creatively and in this case I was thinking a layer of freezer strawberry jam as well as the cream cheese filling would be delightful and perhaps a denser, chewier French or Italian. That is the beauty of home cooking–you can make whatever your little heart desires.
So when and where do I need to be to taste test your personal twist on this wonderful recipe? Love the way you think, Elaineraye! 😀
You are so right Elaine!! It is great that you can change it up a little to suit your tastes, I can’t wait to hear how they turn out if you try them!!
Enjoyed your story of your young man Brady and wishing him great success in his future endeavours, may God Bless and watch over him always. Your cinnamon stick recipe has my mouth watering sounds so good. Thank you lmxxx
Thank you!!
Brady is so much like my son, Isaac, who is the same age. He, too, was a talker when he was little. People would look at me and say, “How old is he??” Same tender, compassionate heart. Seeks the company of the cool kids and the “geeks” alike. (Give me a band geek any day)!! I can see Brady’s sense of humor in your family photos, and it really reminds me of my Isaac. I think they’ll both go far in this life. Born leaders with a heart for people. I’m like you, though, it’s hard to breathe sometimes when they walk out that door…
God has surely blessed us hasn’t he Sharon?!
I’m sure the cinnamon sticks are great but my comment is regarding your “chat” about Brady. It made me smile, get teary and all other emotions in between. You have a fantastic son and he has a fantastic “ma”.
Thank you Saundra!!!
What an amazing story your son has already lived…sounds like you and God have prepared him for an amazing life. We each have a purpose in this life but some don’t live up to that purpose or know what it is….so thanks to you as a mother for teaching your son/daughter to find out their purpose and live up to what God has in store for them. God bless you!!!
Blessings to you Anne!! God brought him into this life with his purpose in hand, didn’t have much to do with us 🙂
I like this recipe for cinnamon sticks, but loved the story about your son! Best wishes to you Brady, in whatever the future holds for you!
Thank you Joanne!!
What a wonderful story about Brady. :o)
And the cinnamon toast sticks are similar to a recipe I have, but your recipe is so much easier that I will be making it from now on!
I hope you enjoy them Carol!!
I feel like my future self wrote this blog post about my son. The only thing that I’ve ever been most certain of is that I wanted to be a “Mama”. When you were describing how your son was as a baby & toddler, that is exactly how my toddler is now! I tell my almost 2 year old daily that God has a special plan for him. Oh & he LOVES cinnamon toast sticks too!
Enjoy your journey Stephenee!!! Treasure every moment.
enjoyed this so much….appreciate your love for the Lord, your family, and helping provide ideas on how to feed ours…you are indeed a special “ma” and sounds like Brady is such a special gift from God.
Thank you Becky!!
Christy:
Thanks for the story about Brady. I don’t have any kids, but I have been through the same deep deprivation of sleep that you described, and it is ghastly. Every time I am tempted to eat a fresh tomato, or another food that I can’t have, I ask myself if I’d rather sleep, and sleep always wins.
Brady looks a lot like you, too.
I think the Cinnamon French Toast Sticks look great. Now if I only had room in the freezers! 8)
Sleep would always win in my book too!!
Oh gracious DAY!! This sounds so amazing, yet simple! Will have to ‘throw’ some of these puppies together. We LOVE cinnamon how great to have these waiting for us in the freezer. Love the story about Brady. You have been given an extra special son, haven’t you?!!
I hope you get the chance to try them soon Debbie!! He is special indeed, love you!!
Had the chance to whip up these and they are GREAT!! Ok… I was a bit lazy and left the crusts on, but they were still yummy. Love how they can be made ahead and frozen. What a quick breakfast or something different to have when making breakfast for supper. 😀
Curiosity is killing me! I hope you put the ends of the bread in a ziplock bag to use for turkey stuffing or bread pudding. I can’t imagine you wasting it. Love all your useful tips and recipes! Continued success in all your book endeavors.
Christy, since I wrote you my comment, a lot has changed. Hubby has landed in a Memory Care facility and me in Asst. living facility, due to health conditions. I appointed our daughter as our POA and she found this well operated Asst. living for me, and we sold our home which was in a Sr. Citizen’s community for cash. We had lived there 10 great years but Life must go on. I get to go see my husband of 51 years about every 10 days. He has adjusted very well, and our previous next door neighbor is in same facility as my husband so it’s a familiar face. Both persons have adjusted to their new surroundings. I still follow your website/blog as I have for years.
We have a fantastic Executive Chef who cooks our meals, plus two other chefs that he is “trying to train” but they will never be able to match his skills. You should have seen the Birthday cakes he made for me earlier this week.. a Coconut Cream poke cake from the Countrycook.net website. When our home was sold, our daughter got rid of all my cookbooks. Probably donated them to the Humane Society Thrift shop..a great place.
Oh my goodness, lots of major life changes!! It does sound like your daughter found you a wonderful place…and how awesome that the chef made you a cake!! I hope you had a good birthday Betty!! Hugs and Blessings, Christy
LOL, you know me too well Betty!! They are in the freezer, just waiting until I need them!!
I always get such enjoyment reading your posts about Brady and Miss Katy. You and Ricky have done a marvelous job of raising 2 wonderful and thoughtful children whose accomplishments would make any parent proud. BTW, here in the Midwest (must be a geographical thing), our children refer to their moms as “ma.” My, now adult, son has been calling me that since he was a small child.
And, YES! I am going to have to make these cinnamon toast sticks in the very near future. I know french toast is mostly thought of as a breakfast dish but these would also qualify as a dessert. 😀
They make a great dessert Jane!! 🙂 I hope you enjoy them!!
I loved your story. Brady is an Earth Angel with a gentle, kind, intelligent and loving Spirit. As for the doctor who yelled “shut up”, I’d like to personally kick him in the tush. Thank you for brightening our days with your stories, recipes and smile.
Thank you Barbara!! 🙂
Those look so yummy!! And I love to read about your family. I can feel the love you have <3 <3 <3
Thank you Erin, I hope you get the chance to try them soon!
What a sweet story. I know you must be the best Ma ever! I do enjoy your blogs and your clearly detailed recipes. May God bless you<
Thank you Lucia!!!
Wow, Brady is certainly a very special young man…but I wouldn’t expect anything different with you as his “ma” 🙂 Now, does he call his dad “pa”? I’m looking forward to further stories about Brady and Katy, Ricky and your Mama! Love this recipe…I’ll have to make it for my dad so he can change up the breakfasts he makes for himself – he likes french toast, just not sure how to make it! BTW, you can tell Brady that all three of my kids call me “momma” and they range in age from 25-35!! I don’t even answer to “mom” any more!!
Susan, the crazy thing is…they both call him Daddy. Go figure.
Loved the Brady story – What a guy!
🙂 Thank you Karen!!
Oh my, you are so stinkin awesome! This has to be made soon…..sounds absolutely delicious.
And thank you so much for your many words of wisdom and blessings, you inspire me to the moon!
Thank you Lisa!! I hope you enjoy the cinnamon toast sticks!!
You made it and now can look back on “Brady” with a sense of humor I am sure you found hard to find at the time. My daughter became a first time mom at 43 after about 2 years she shared this with me “this mother thing is REALLY HARD” yup she is right it IS. 🙂
Yes, it is!! I don’t think any of us really just how hard it can be, or just how rewarding it can be until we are knee deep in the middle of it 🙂
So very true! I have 7 kids and I NEVER knew how much I would cry… from fear, from joy, from frustration, from feeling proud …. mothering is the BEST adventure of life!!!
Amen!!
Love your stories of your family; your son is a great kid no doubt in part to his awesome “ma” and dad too I’m sure. Can’t wait to try these stuffed french toast sticks. The picture has my mouth watering.
Thank you so much Debbi!!! I hope you enjoy the cinnamon toast sticks!!
I enjoy reading your wonderful stories about your family. The children are lucky to have such caring and loving parents. Your words of wisdom are a great inspiration to me.
Am going to make these cinnamon fingers, sound tasty.
Thank you and God bless you and your family.
For Pete’s sake, Christy! You’re gonna have to start rating these posts so I’ll know whether or not to read them at work on my lunch hour. You know, like “this is a three hankie post” – just something to give us a hint that a bit of private reading time might be needed. My coworkers tend to get a bit concerned when they walk by and see my eyes dripping a bit over (what they assume to be) a recipe!
Wishing you and yours the very best. Thanks for sharing your family with us.
A son to be proud of… Brady sounds like a real blessing. May God guide you to (continue to) be the mother he needs!
Yum, another amazing sounding recipe. I too thought it was a French toast recipe and had to do a double take… or three. : )
Love the posts about your kids!
I wanted to tell you I have used a variation of this recipe for years! I got it out of a cookbook for kids and the recipe was called “Cinnamon Snails”. The ingredients are the same, but after you spread the mixture on the bread (with crusts already removed), you roll the bread up beginning on the long side. Then you slice off “rounds”, dip in butter and bake. They are little appitizer-sized bites that make a fun treat for the kids and we’ve even had them at parties.
Hi Christy, these look so good. I was wondering if you think these be able to be microwaved our mornings are pretty busy and 10 minutes in the oven we just don’t have time for so I wasn’t sure if you had tried to microwave them or if anybody else has tried to microwave them otherwise if not they will probably end up being saved for dessert thank you in advance for any help.
Give me just a little bit and I’ll try one and let you know. Microwave is in use right now (teenage boy and ramen is in the house!)
That’s no problem. Thank you for replying and I look forward to seeing how they turned out.
Eek I forgot! Gimme a min…
Okay! Here is the verdict. I put one on a saucer and microwaved it for about 40 seconds. The taste was still excellent but the texture was just completely different, not bad, just different. It was very soft and pillowy, like a thick soft pancake with a filling. It would have to be eaten with a fork but was still very good, just different! I certainly wouldn’t mind having them this way from time to time and then toasted when time allowed. Hope that helps and holler if you have any questions!
Thank you so much for trying it out for me. I really appreciate it. I made a batch today and plan on trying them out tomorrow morning.
May I pass this recipe to our Executive Chef ?He makes a delicious bread pudding that melts in your mouth, so he’d probably use up the cut off crest maybe in his bread pudding.