Cinnamon Rolls

One thing I always have room for morning, noon or night is a big ole sweet cinnamon roll.  I mean it is very appealing is it not?  Warm, buttery, flaky, tender cinnamon roll topped with a dollop of creamy icing oozing all over.  I am however one of those who has never had a bad cinnamon roll!  Its a cinnamon roll how can it be bad!  Also I love walking into the food court during the holiday season at the mall.  Although I never eat at any of the places, Cinnabon just gives the mall atmosphere that holiday rush and i can immediately find the strength to fight off all those crazy holiday shoppers.  So here it is a pretty quick and easy cinnamon roll recipe sure to please.

I start off with my dough hook on my mixer and to the bowl i add 3 cups of warm water.  You want this water warm enough to activate the yeast.  Some people believe boiling the water and letting it come down to temperature is the best way.  In my opinion ain't no one go time for that.  So I use the hot water straight from my faucet and you know what it works pretty darn good.  1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cups oil ( I used EVOO) and 4 packets of the active dry yeast.  Oh and the secret ingredient a few grates of fresh nutmeg.  I let that sit for about 15 minutes so it can work it's magic, then I add 1 TB of salt, 3 whole eggs one at a time and 10 cups of flour.  Once again about a cup at a time.  Once everything is in the mixer getting all brought together you can wash dishes or something for about 10 minutes while the dough is getting worked.

 After about 10 or 15 minutes of being kneaded with the mixer you are ready to oil your table top, butchers block whatever it is that you have that you do your wok on.  I use oil because I find it doesn't ever stick like it does when I use flour.  Use whatever you like best I am not judging.

For my cinnamon rolls I like them extra cinnamony.  I do 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 3-4 TB of cinnamon.  If you just like the essence of it then by all means use less.  Before sprinkling on the yummy goodness I lather my spread out dough with a layer of butter.  Yes butter.  I never said these were a healthy version.

You can then roll the dough (I spread mine with my hands) and slice off about 3 inches for each roll.  I like them big, I like them buttery and once again if you can't handle it go to skinny girl.com or something.  I lightly spray the baking sheet with a non stick spray to ensure all my hard work won't be for nothing if I cant get them off the pan after baking!  I let them rest about 15 minutes before baking.  Brush them with butter before placing in the oven just to ensure a beautiful browning.

Bake them at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Or of course until they are done.  Some people actually like gooey cinnamon rolls.  You may want to pull them just a few minutes early for that.   I top mine with a simple butter icing recipe.  1 stick of melted salted butter, 1/2 bag of powder sugar, and 2-4 TB of milk.  You can make it thicker and place on rolls after pulling from the oven and let it melt all over, or you can make a more runnier icing and brush on after being pulled from the oven or even after cooling.  

Apple Fritters

Welcome to the first day of fall!!  The wait is over and it is finally here.  Along with the stocked grocery shelves of pumpkin spice coffee, apple cider, fall candles and anything that screams cold weather.  I had in mind a few days ago to make these for today that I could barely wait.  Knowing this morning that when I awoke I was going to get to make these little bits of heaven had me almost to excited to sleep!    Although I would love to say these are five minute fritters they are in fact not.  There is actually no five minute fritter just FYI!!  Sounds appealing though!  From start to finish you are looking at about 30-45 minutes with clean up.  In reality thats not too bad!  An completely worth every minute.

I placed four cups of olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat.  It heated up the entire time I was preparing batter...

Apple Fritters:

Mix Together:

1 Cup of AP Flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1 TB Cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cardamom

1 tsp baking powder

Mix together:

1/2 Cup milk

1 Extra large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 TB Melted butter

2 Peeled and diced apples (of your choice)

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.  Mix just until the flour disappears.   Once the flour is no longer visible add 2 peeled and diced apples and fold in.  The juices from the apples will loosen the batter a bit if you think yours may be just a touch too dry.  

Once your oil is hot enough spoon about 1 Tb of batter into hot oil.  I could fit 7 comfortably in one batch.  Do not place too many in the pan at a time because it will take longer to brown and you will chance combining all the pieces and making a huge mess.

Once golden brown about 2-3 minutes, place on napkin to absorb the oil.

Icing:

3 Cups powder sugar

1/2 cup milk 

Mix until all powder sugar bits are dissolved.

Dip each bite into icing with your own fingers and place on a rack with a pan underneath to dry.

Once the icing is set you can handle them mess free with your hands.  Too easy not to try especially if you enjoy the flavors if fall.  This recipe as well is completely versatile.  Don't like apples but you want something fall then substitute the apples with 1/2 pumpkin puree.  It is really that simple.

I however love apples and decided to have Dunkin' Donuts pumpkin spice coffee on the side.  Yes I am that classy.  I am not impressed with homemade pumpkin spice lattes.  Plus pumpkin spice coffee is a treat.  It is seasonal.  I do not like knowing I am capable of making a fall treat through out the year for myself.  Takes all the simple pleasure of fall away.    

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Bourbon Toffee Sauce

The first time I ever had bread pudding was in 1999/2000 for some cheerleader fall fundraiser.  We as in me, two of my sisters (Amanda & Katie) and a friend (Kate) were helping run a chuck wagon, that belonged to Kate's parents..  We were in cheerleader outfits with leggings, coats, ear muffs and mittens.  It was freezing.  An I just remember getting to eat this warm custard baked cinnamon bread with a whiskey butter sauce.  Although my bread pudding and sauce does not compare to Pats I can at least thank her for introducing us.  My life hasn't been the same since. 

So we had an awesome comfort food for dinna so I thought why not get even more comfortable with dessert!  I had been hoarding bread (cinnamon swirl, whole wheat hamburger buns and ciabatta) all week so it just so happened I had enough for this oh so yummy dessert.  

I chopped all my bread about the same size, but it does not matter if you just through it in whole or even just tear it apart.  I guess it depends on your mood?!  If you were OCD like me today you will want to cut them =)  

I butter the side and bottom of the baking dish I am going to use, and I place the bread in it.

In a mixing bowl add 1 qt of whole milk, 6 eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 TB of cinnamon.

My awesome brother-in-law bought John and I several different kinds of cinnamon from Minneapolis, so today I used Vietnamese)

Be sure to whisk this until your arm wants to fall off.  Since the milk is cold it will take a little elbow grease to dissolve the sugar.  Of course you don't have to dissolve it all but you also don't want it to just sit on the bottom of the bowl either.  Once it is mixed pour over your bread bits.  I let it soak in about 15 minutes before I place it in the oven.  I don't want the custard to start cooking before the bread has a chance to absorb some of it.  Also I don't stir mine around like crazy I leave what wasn't touched by the custard base alone.  It will crisp during baking and that with the consistency of the baked custard and tender bread is very nice.  

I also like to sprinkle just a few old fashioned oats on top of my bread as well.  You can skip this if you want.   

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 45 minute - 1 hour.  

     

For the Whiskey Bourbon Toffee Sauce I start with 1 cup of sugar, 1 TB of karo syrup, and *1 TB of bottled water. 

I place the sauce pan over medium heat stir it around a bit then I let it alone.  

Place that dirty spoon in the sink and get another.  You do not want the sugar crystals left on the spoon to get back in this syrup once the other sugar is dissolved.  It can cause the sauce to recrystallize. 

    

 Once all the sugar is dissolved you are left with a clear bubbly syrup.  See below =)

  You can now add your 1 stick (cut up) of salted butter.

Stir in butter until melted and continue stirring until you reach a tawny hue.

Once the desired color is reached then add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1TB of whiskey bourbon.  Be careful because when you add this mixture to the syrup it will bubble up and boil.

Whisk, whisk, whisk, then whisk some more and it should begin to start looking like caramel.  The more you stir the sauce once the cream is added the sooner the sauce will reach the right consistency to drizzle over the bread pudding.

It makes just enough to fit in a 16oz mason jar.  Yes I too am obsessed with these old contraptions.  They are just so timeless and classy, even if you aren't from the country.  

My finished product of just about an hour in the kitchen is a golden hot custard bread pudding with a warm bourbon toffee sauce and some whip cream.  I also add a few scrapes off the grater of fresh nutmeg just for some pizzaz!   

*If you are from Pampa please refrain yourself from using tap water for this sauce or any sugar cooking what so ever.  The results will be like the picture you see below.  It has something to do with the impurities in the water, it recrystallizes it and its no bueno.  

Snickerdoodles! You know you want one!

So me in my oldest sister once owned our very own bakery.  The end.  Although anyone who came into the bakery knows these cookies as The Sweet Escape this recipe has actually been in the family awhile.    When me and my three sisters were little, my mother had a new junior cookbook that had this cookie recipe in there along with some other secret recipes to be shared later =)  Getting to make these cookies with my mom as a kid you would think she was letting us flambé bananas or something.   I can remember the kitchen smelling of warm sweet cinnamon.  Still one of my most favorite memories and still one of my most favorite cookies.  

Snickerdoodles

Preheat oven to 350

2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

3 cups / 330 g ap flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (not to be confused with tartar sauce...seriously)

1/4 cup sugar
1TB cinnamon

When I decided to make these cookies today I thought I was so smart because I was going to get my butter soft by sitting it outside instead of microwaving it.  Well my new cook books distracted me longer than I had planned.   Lets just say I could have microwaved the butter for three minutes and it would have been firmer than leaving it outside!  So I started with 2 very soft sticks of unsalted butter and I add 1 1/2 cup of sugar.  I use my hand mixer to beat it until light and fluffy.  Once you are at the right consistency add both eggs at the same time and once again beat until light and fluffy.  With this recipe you can not over beat in my opinion.  Not with the results that I am looking for anyways.  

Once you have that done go ahead and mix up your dry ingredients.  Weigh out your 330g of AP flour (in baking I ALWAYS weigh my flour so I do not add to much) and add your 1/2 teaspoons of salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda.  Give that a good whisk then add that to your "wet" ingredients.  As you will notice in my picture I am doing it the opposite way.  In another picture not posted is me trying to beat this mixture on a high enough speed so it will pick up the excess flour mixture off the bottom of the bowl that needs to be mixed in!  Once again though I was not afraid of over mixing.


In just a small bowl I add my 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 Tb of cinnamon.  I could actually add more cause I like my snickerdoodles with a little spice.  With a name like that it needs to have a little kick (just not too much to where it taste bitter.)  Mix well and get ready to either spoon out dough balls or scoop them out.  All depending on what kind of gadget you have in your kitchen.  

Once the dough has been rolled in the cinnamon sugar place 6 of them them evenly apart on the baking pan. My cookies spread and they are about 4'' wide, they need their growing room.  Once on the sheet smash them just a bit to where they are no longer round on the top.  This keeps the center from keeping that small pillow of dough that will never cook down.  I have nothing against raw cookie dough trust me, I just don't want my snickerdoodles to look like that.. Slight perfectionist here.  

  

After baking for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees you will see a beautifully risen cookie that looks and smells amazing.  You may want a picture now cause they fall!  The air escapes them shortly after leaving the heat of the oven and you are left with this amazing chewy cinnamon butter cookie that will just put a smile on your face.  Not sure if it has a special power or what.  Seeing people react as adult the same was as I did as a kid while eating this cookie was probably the most memorable experience at the bakery.  Still one thing that makes me =)