15 minute posts

The Power of Suggestion aka Cinnabon

I was listening to Where’d You Go Bernadette on audible the other day when I was suddenly struck with a very strong desire for a Cinnabon. The narrator was describing being enticed by the wafting smell of Cinnabon and then eating it…I don’t know what got me. I think it was her description of it being a “puff of deliciousness.”  Let me just quote her because it was such a great paragraph:

“The Cinnabon wasn’t going to eat itself, so I sat. Trams came and went as I pulled apart the puff of deliciousness, enjoying every bite, until I’d realized I’d forgotten napkins. Both my hands were plastered with icing. My face, too. In one of my vest pockets was a handkerchief. I held up my hands, surgeon like, and asked a lady, “Please could you unzip this?” The pocket she unzipped contained only a book on Antarctica. I lifted it out and wiped my hands and, yes, my face, with it’s clean pages…”

I remember exactly where I was walking with the dogs when I heard that passage read. I was standing by the dog drinking fountain by the tennis courts with the courts to my left and the lake to my right. I was heading home. It is of no importance where I was other than it makes me laugh that my lizard brain paid such excellent attention. I suddenly wanted a Cinnabon very badly.

I haven’t had a Cinnabon in over twenty years. I think I’ve only had two in my entire life! I had no reason to want one until I heard that passage. First of all, I rarely let myself eat giant pastries (except maybe an apple fritter once a year) because I am convinced they will give me diabetes. (It’s really a crying shame).  And secondly, they don’t sell them where I live. The nearest mall that had a Cinnabon store was 23 minutes away.

Oh, you know we did.

We made an excursion of it!  I waited for the girls to get out of school and then Lubna and I kidnapped them and headed off to the destination mall. It was a total adventure and completely fun because it felt like we were doing something forbidden. Neither Lubna nor the girls had ever had a Cinnabon. The cashier laughed at us when I told her so. We were Cinnabon virgins, except I was like Madonna and *like* a Cinnabon virgin because it had been so many years.

Was it as good as I anticipated? Totally! The liberal sticky smears of cinnamon sugar between unraveling pieces of warm yeasty bread, the ooey, gooey frosting… it was so good! It was amazing, plastic fork and all.

The girls were starving because they had skipped lunch at school so they insisted on having orange chicken from Panda Express and some kind of Philly cheese steak sandwich from the food court BEFORE they had their Cinnabons. I know, so boring like that. What kind of kids want desert second?!

Sadly, by the time the girls got around to trying their Cinnabons, they were full from over-eating their late lunch and the excitement was definitely not as brilliant and vivid as it was for me.  I was meanwhile having a full-on psychedelic trip with all my pleasure centers going off in my brain. But whatever. At the end of the day we were a pack of laughing, silly girls hanging out at the mall on a school day. It was completely novel.

Everyday I write down three things in my journal that would make today great.

Eating a Cinnabon was on today’s list.

I dare you to add it to your list. Or better yet, make some from scratch.

6 Comments

  • BeachMama

    Oh I do love a good Cinnabon! But, like you, I have to make an excursion out of getting one.. so yes, you guessed it, I make my own. It is a long process so it only happens a couple of times a year. Last year we (Ivy and I) made a special batch so she could gift them to all her friends at the barn for the holidays. Many people enjoyed the sticky gooey yumminess!!

  • Isaida

    Cinnabons are so good, but I hate the mall and I think that’s the only place they are. I can’t remember the last time I had one. I love the journal writing 3 things that make a day great. I might need to start that!

  • Brooke

    Oh my word–they are the best! I found a great Cinnabon knock off on recipe czar about 15 years ago and it’s become my go to recipe. I always double or triple the recipe and keep a couple pans in the freezer for days when cinnamon rolls are a NEED. It’s amazing how many emotions that picture of your partially eaten Cinnabon can evoke :)

  • Gingermog

    Nooo now I want one too and I’m still at the farm and a gazillion miles away from a Cinnabon outlet… I think.

    Cinnamon buns, now this is a subject I can get behind, although I have a sensitivity to wheat yadda, yadda, yadda boo. My passionate favorite are Swedish, cinnamon buns… usually very dense and have no icing. Seriously I can rate the bakeries and coffee shops in a mile radius from my studio on a scale of 1-10 depending on the quality of their cinnamon buns and, good, rich, strong. coffee and if they do oat milk ( lactose issues).

    MMMMmmmm now I’m dreaming of buns, see if you came to London again I’d take you to the best bun shops. Any happy occasion to celebrate at the studio I break out the buns from The Scandinavian Cafe, at Golden Square the Queen of Buns!

    I have had the experience of a Cinnabon once at a service station on the way to Philadelphia, pretty good experience, very sweet and big and floofy.

    I also once bought the book you mentioned because of the cool graphic cover and the blurb sounded intriguing, but I was being frugal and put it back on the shelf. I should use up some of audible credits and give it a ago.

    Now I’m off to find a fig roll as I need something sweet. Is this years Bake off on your screens yet?

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