Cinnamon Rolls

My friend requested Cinnamon rolls for Easter, of course I had to oblige. Here is the recipe that I have used for years. I make them a couple of times a year. They are so easy and good and make enough rolls to freeze for later or to give as gifts.

Cinnamon Rolls

Preparation time: 30 minute(s) (plus additional rise time)

Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Yields: 12 huge “Cinnabon” size or 18-22 regular sized rolls.

Dough
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 Tbs. ground cinnamon
2 Tbs. yeast)
1 tsp. granulated sugar
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup water (110 °)
1 cup warm milk
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Up to 8 cups all-purpose flour
Coating
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

• Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and the cinnamon; set aside (this will be used later to spread on dough)
• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in warm water; set aside
• In a large bowl, mix together milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup melted butter, salt, and eggs; add yeast mixture and 4 cups of flour to mixture; beat until smooth; stir in enough flour to form a slightly stiff dough.
• Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8 minutes, or if you have a mixer that can accommodate this many ingredients. I always know when my dough is finished kneading (either by hand or machine) when it can stretch quite well. It must be elastic enough.
• Place dough into a large greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a 15″ X 20″ rectangle.
• Brush 1/2 cup melted butter over dough; sprinkle cinnamon sugar liberally over dough
• Tightly roll up dough and pinch edges together to seal; cut the roll into 12 – 18 slices using unflavored dental floss or thread.
• Lightly grease a couple of 9″ pie pans. Place 6-8 rolls in each pan. You can either cover with plastic wrap and foil and freeze at this point or place in refrigerator overnight.
• If you are going to bake them right away then cover pan and allow to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until they have nearly doubled in size.
• Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

***If you are going to bake the frozen rolls, pull them out the night before and place them in the refrigerator. About an hour before you are going to bake them then set the rolls on the counter to allow to rise the final time. Then bake according to the directions above.***

Cream Cheese Frosting ***if you aren’t planning on baking all the cinnamon rolls at once you can easily half this recipe***

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz.  Butter

1tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
16 oz. powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Spread frosting on warm rolls.

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Easter Doughnuts

Just a quick post before I head out to my friend’s house to have a little get together for our kids. I made Baked donuts. They were super easy to make. I hope they all love them. I also may cinnamon rolls or breakfast tomorrow but I will post more about those once they are baked. I picked up a Wilton’s doughnut pan at Hobby Lobby the other day. I was supposed to make cupcakes for the get together today but I think the donuts will be a nice treat for the kids.

Wilton’s Baked Doughnut

source: Recipe on the doughnut pan wrapper

makes 12 regular-sized doughnuts      

Ingredients:

2 cups cake flour, sifted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425°F.  Spray the 6-cavity doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk in buttermilk, eggs, and butter and beat until just combined.  Fill each donut cup until about 2/3 full.

3.  Bake 7-9 minutes, or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched.  Cool in pan for about 4-5 minutes before removing from pan.  Complete donuts with either a dusting of powdered sugar, glaze, or cinnamon-sugar topping.  Best served fresh on the same day.

I took half of the donuts and topped them with powdered sugar. Just but about a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a plastic bag and place one doughnut at a time in the bag and shake gently. Tap the doughnut a bit to remove excess sugar.

Cinnamon Sugar topping:

2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
2 Tbs. butter, melted

Cheap and good

Just a quick post. I whipped up a batch of granola today for the kids…oh yeah and me. This is a really easy recipe. The kids love it and it can be altered pretty easily. This picture is of a batch I made in February. I didn’t have any chocolate chips on hand so I added plain M&M’s. I don’t think the kids will mind do you?

Banana Peanut Butter Granola (adapted from Annie-Eats)

3 1/2 c. rolled oats, not quick oats

2 1/2 c. puffed rice cereal, I used rice krispies

2 TBS honey

1/3 c applesauce *

1/3 c mashed bananas

1/3-1/2 c. creamy peanut butter, warmed slightly

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon **

Add-ins: any combo works well

1-1 1/2 c. dried banana chips

1/2 c honey rosted peanuts

3-4oz. bitter sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or chocolate chips (any flavor) or M&M’s)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. In a large bowl combine oats and rice cereal. In a small bowl or 4 cup measuring cup, combine honey, applesauce, bananas, warmed peanut butter, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar. Stir mixture til smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Spread mix evenly onto baking sheets. Bake for 35-45 mins turning granola with a large spatula. Also rotate baking sheets and move the top sheet to bottom rack and visa versa, every 15 minutes or so. If edges of granola are becoming brown remove them and place baking sheet back into oven. Be careful not to burn. I’ve burnt almost a whole batch because I had forgotten to set the timer. Not good. Makes the house stink. Place baking sheet onto cooling rack. Once granola is cooled add in the goodies.

I separate granola into snack sized ziplock bags so that they are ready for snacking or yogurt. Enjoy.

* a single serving size of applesauce snack pack is about 1/3 cup.

** omit cinnamon if you use cinnamon flavored applesauce.

 

No more Store bought frozen waffles in this house

Last week before my in-laws came to visit we went to Wal-Mart to get some things for the house. While we were there we saw a waffle maker for $20. I’ve been seeing lots of waffle ideas on pinterest and I’ve really wanted to try homemade waffles. I really don’t like waffles, but I guess that’s only because I have only ever eaten the frozen kind that you can get at the grocery store. My kids love waffles and request them regularly but I rarely have a coupon for them so I don’t buy them often. Well long story short, yeah right, I will NEVER buy waffles again. I am completely hooked on waffles and have made them 3 times this week 🙂

I have made two different kinds of waffles. One is definitely my favorite but I will post both of them.

Yeasted Waffles:

½ cup warm water

1 package (2 ¼ tsp.) dry yeast

2 cups whole milk, warmed

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

large eggs, lightly beaten

¼ tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. (The batter will rise to double its volume, so keep that in mind when you choose the bowl.) Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes.
Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flour, and beat until well blended and smooth. (Electric beaters do a nice job of this.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it stand overnight at room temperature.

In the morning warm up oven to lowest setting, mine is 170°. Place an oven safe plate in the oven so that when a waffle is done you can place it on the plate to keep warm while you make the others.

Just before cooking the waffles, add the eggs and baking soda, and stir to mix well. The batter will be very thin. Pour an appropriate amount of batter into your hot waffle maker: this amount will vary from machine to machine, and you should plan to use your first waffle as a test specimen. Cook until golden and crisp.

***NOTE***

These waffles are pretty good, but I think that this recipe was ment for a regular waffle maker, not a belgium waffle maker. The batter is a bit thin and as a result waffles were pretty thin as well.

Don’t be scared to let it rest overnight. I was but there were no problems in the morning. Make sure that you bowl is big enough because the batter does expand because of the yeast.

In the morning when you take plastic off the bowl you will definitely smell yeast. Almost reminded me of beer haha. The end result tastes similar to sourdough.

Source: As seen on Annie-Eats

NOW ON TO MY FAVORITE! The one that has made a waffle hater love waffles.

 

These are called Brown Sugar bacon waffles but I omit the bacon part. Just the waffle recipe has been made by me so far. I think I will be trying the addition of the bacon soon.

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

• 10 slices of bacon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, and line with foil.  Spray the foil with cooking spray, and line the bacon in a single layer on the foil.  Sprinkle each slice with brown sugar.  Bake until the bacon is crispy, and the sugar is caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.  Immediately transfer the bacon to a cutting board, and when cooled enough to handle, break into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. For the Waffles

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cups canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk

Set your waffle iron a clean level surface, and set to preheat.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar together in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and fold in the wet ingredients.  Stir until just combined (its okay to still be lumpy).  Gently fold in the bacon, being careful not to overmix.
Cook in the waffle maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Serve with maple syrup and fresh berries.

Source: Pink-Parsley

***NOTE***

When I made these waffles I did have one or two left. They can be frozen and used for another day.

 

Banana Bread

I don’t know what is going on in this house but the last couple of weeks I have bought bananas but nobody seems to be eating them. So what do we do when we have very ripe bananas in the house? Well, make banana bread of course. This is going to be a picture heavy post. I am obsessed with banana bread. Love it! Can’t you tell?

I used the recipe that my sister uses with a few modifications. It turned out so good. Love to eat banana bread with a nice cup of coffee.

 

Banana Bread – heavily adapted from Crust and Crumb

• 8 ounces flour (1 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 TBSP baking powder
• 1  tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 TBSP butter, room temp
• 8 ounces sugar (6 ounces brown, 2 ounces white), I used 3/4 c Brown and 1/4 c white sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 11-12 ounces very ripe banana (about three medium), mashed
• 3/4 cup lightly toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts, I omitted this. I don’t like nuts in my bread. yuck! 🙂

Directions –

1. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. Using a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes.

3. Mix in eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next. Mix in vanilla and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. Mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/3 of the buttermilk, then 1/3 of the mashed bananas. Continue in this manner until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stir in walnuts.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease one 9×5 loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until baked through. The safest way of knowing if it is finished is to test them with a probe thermometer. The internal temperature should be 180 – 185 degrees.

6. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out on a rack to cool for at least one hour before slicing.