Middle-Earth Menu: Ori’s Cinnamon Sticks

You might remember that Balin was featured in my last post. Balin was a kind dwarf who became rather friendly with Bilbo Baggins. He wore a scarlet hood and played a large viol. Relatively long-lived, he knew both Thrain and Thorin; eventually he settled in Khazad-dum where he became king. Unfortunately, he was killed by Orcs there—the Fellowship sees his tomb later on, and Gimli is quite upset about this.

Ori, however, is another story. Apparently he wears a grey hood and can play the flute. Other than that, he doesn’t exactly stick out in one’s memory. Let’s face it—a few of the Dwarves who belong to Thorin’s party are a bit like those unnamed, red-shirted ensigns from Star Trek. They hardly have any lines and you shouldn’t become too attached to them. The mysterious Ori accompanied Balin to Khazad-dum and also met his fate at the cruel hands of an Orc in the Chamber of Mazarbul.

“Ori’s Cinnamon Sticks”

¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons packed golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon plus ½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup soft salted butter
1½ tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325°. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray or grease lightly. In a large bowl, combine the flours, 2 tablespoons sugar, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter and mix until well combined. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times until smooth. Pat the dough out to a 4″ by 10″ rectangle, about ½” thick. Cut 2″ by ½” strips and place on sheet ¾” apart. Bake 17 minutes. Combine the 1 tablespoon sugar and the ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Brush cookie tops with heavy cream and liberally sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over. Bake another 3 minutes. Cool on pan 2 minutes. Carefully remove to a rack. Store covered at room temperature. Makes around 30.

These are known as Donald’s Cinnamon Sticks in my cookbook.

Astrid Tuttle Winegar

Astrid Tuttle Winegar is the author of Cooking for Halflings & Monsters: 111 Comfy, Cozy Recipes for Fantasy-Loving Souls, which is currently available exclusively in e-book form on the Amazon Kindle, but will soon be released by Oloris Publishing! Stay tuned for details. For now, she is mostly telling a culinary Middle-earth story here on Legendarium. Astrid has loved C. S. Lewis since childhood, J. R. R. Tolkien since middle and high school, all Star things, both Trek and Wars, all things Whedon, and many other things besides… She lives in the enchanted city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and dog. She blogs occasionally at . You can check out (and like!) her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/astridtuttlewinegar or visit her Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/astridwinegar.