My mom had some strange rules. We couldn’t have any “fun” cereals…during the school year. No Lucky Charms, no Cocoa Krispies, no Cap’n Crunch. It was all Special K and Raisin Bran. Come summertime, I guess she stopped caring about feeding our brains, because my sister and I would go nuts on Cookie Crisp and, my favorite, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But I found a loophole during the other months of the year, being the cheeky brat that I was. I learned to make my own CTC by toasting chopped pita in butter and then tossing them in cinnamon sugar. They would tide me over until summer. The older I got, the more I craved my CPC more than the OG stuff. I’ve since perfected the recipe, borrowing a technique from saltine bark. And like true CTC, CPC is just as delicious dry as it is in some milk. Store it in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for maximum freshness.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour
Yield
Makes 8 cups
Ingredients
6
Cinnamon Glaze
¾
¾
2
1
Cinnamon Sugar
¼
1
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Step 2
Spread 6 pita, cut into ½" square pieces, in one even layer on a large sheet pan and bake until fully dry but not deeply browned, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
Step 3
While the pita bakes, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine ¾ cup unsalted butter and ¾ cup (packed) brown sugar and cook until the sugar melts and bubbles vigorously. Kill the heat and add 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and a large pinch of kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
Step 4
In a large bowl, combine the baked pita with the glaze and toss to combine. Return the pita pieces to the sheet pan and spread them out in one even layer. Bake until the sugar bubbles on the edges and the pitas are a deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes to cool slightly.
Step 5
While the pita cools, whisk ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon in a small bowl until evenly combined.
Step 6
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the warm pita pieces to taste. Once fully cool, eat immediately or transfer to a resealable plastic bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
