Smart realtors will tell you that you must use all your senses to sell property in this economy. These cinnamon sticky buns are the reason one condo-owner had a wildly successful open house and garnered three offers above her asking price. (True story - actual results may vary.)
In a down market, a savvy homeowner must use every advantage to sell her property for top dollar. Maximize the sale price of your home by evoking a safe and inviting memory of childhood, with cinnamon buns warm from the oven.
Cinnamon’s Natural and Supernatural Powers - Where it Comes From, What it Does
Cinnamon comes in whole sticks called quills which are the curled inner bark of Cinnamomum trees. Celyon are light brown, papery, and curl in a single spiral. Southeast Asian cinnamon is also called cassia, is thicker, and curls in a double quill.
You can grate it on a microplane you might use for say, whole nutmegs. You can also chop it into large-ish chunks and then whirl it up in a spice grinder or clean coffee mill. (Keep one coffee grinder just for grinding spices and clean by buzzing a soft piece of bread in it.)
Good cinnamon may be labeled Ceylon or Vietnamese or it may come from Southern China or Indonesia. In the supermarkets, lower grades will simply be labeled Cinnamon. Spice purveyors such as Penzeys can advise you on the merits of various types (strong and sweet Vietnamese with higher essential oils, Ceylon which is more complex and citrusy which they recommend for baking with fruit. Purveyors often custom blend their house cinnamon.
Some new studies suggest cinnamon may also:
- improve cognitive function
- aid in blood sugar regulation
- have antimicrobial, antibacterial properties
- reduce inflammation of arthritis
- aid digestion, stimulate appetite
- regulate NF-kB - cinnamaldehyde lessens inflammation of certain cancers
- lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of colon cancer
Even if the "memory" of warm buns from the oven isn't from your childhood, research still shows this is a nearly universal positive smell. The scent of these buns baking will have buyers swooning. The power of yeasty, gooey goodness may help overcome buyers’ reluctance. Whether you succeed or not, you will be rewarded by enjoying some of the best cinnamon buns ever and putting smiles on many faces.
Some Tips for Selling your Home
Use all your senses to sell. Sight: remove clutter. Hearing: fix drips and creaks. Touch: clean surfaces (patch holes in walls, fix nails in floors that stand out, eliminate grease in kitchen). Smell, taste & touch: these buns, of course. Here are more realtors' tips:
Price it to sell: Many experts say this is not the market that homeowners can expect to make much, if any, money on selling their home. You may actually benefit from realizing that not losing money can be a victory.
Every single realtor will tell you remove clutter. It’s hard to see our own clutter. Spend one afternoon looking at a couple open houses. Look at the photos on the website of the most successful realtor in your area. Compare those kitchens to yours, those offices or desk areas to yours. Think about boxing up 50% of your personal items and storing them for the day with a friend in order to radically de-clutter your home. Remember, someone has to be able to imagine living with their things in your home. If your refrigerator has photos of your kids, it will be harder to imagine putting their kids’ artwork up.
Do all those small repairs that you’ve been meaning to get around to. Potential buyers will notice them. They are just as lazy as you are, seeing an un-done to do list is a turn off.
Making your property look and feel like “home” can be significantly improved by smell. Proust was transported by his madeleine and Anton Ego by Remy’s Ratatouille. These are examples of how the complex sense of smell interacts with the brain and evokes memories.
Recipe for Sourdough Cinnamon Sell-Your-Property Sticky Buns
Sponge:
- 1 C sourdough starter
- 1/2 c buttermilk
- 1/4 c water
- 3 C flour, divided
Dough:
- 1/4 C vegetable oil
- 1/4 C brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 C butter, melted
Filling:
- 1 C brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 C pecan halves
Buzz in food processor till coarse, add optional 3/4 C golden raisins buzz once or twice to distribute.
Technique:
- Make overnight sponge: Place 1 c of fed starter, buttermilk/water, 1 1/2 C flour in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Cover loosely and let proof overnight (at least 8 hours).
- Mix oil, eggs, sugar together then add to sponge.
- Mix remaining 1 1/2 C flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon together, then add to sponge.
- Turn dough onto well-floured board and knead until smooth. Cover loosely and allow to rest about 10 minutes
- Roll to approximately 8” x 18” and brush with about half of the melted butter. Sprinkle filling over dough, roll up dough from long edge to form a log.
- Cut into 12-18 pieces, dipping knife in flour between cuts to ease cutting.
Make topping:
- Melt 1 C butter
- Scant 1/2 C honey
- 1 C light brown sugar
- 1/3 rum or orange liqueur
- 1 C pecan halves
Lightly butter sides of one 9x13 pan and one 8 x 8. Divide topping among two baking pans. Place cut buns on the topping, brush with remaining melted butter and cover the pans loosely with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm place another 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 375. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool in pan ten minutes then invert onto serving platter.
Jacqueline Church - Award-winning writer, speaker, teacher on topics at the intersection of gourmet and sustainable food issues.
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