Cinnamon Rolls February 8, 2010

Let me tell you, there is nothing like pulling a warm pan of homemade cinnamon rolls out of the oven on a Sunday morning.  I’ve been disappointed with the outcome of my rolls in the past but I think I figured it out!  Or, I should say, found the perfect recipe for these awesome cinnamon rolls!  The dough was perfectly tender.  Not too moist, dry, chewy or doughy, and I have to give all the credit to my bread machine’s dough cycle.  It made making these rolls a cinch.

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

1 cup plus 2Tbsp warm milk

3 Tbsp canola oil

1 egg, light beaten plus 2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

4 cups flour (+ 1/2 cup after kneading in bread machine if dough seems too wet, mine did!)

1 tsp salt

3 tsp bread machine/instant yeast

Filling (double recipe if you like filling):

2 Tbsp butter

2/3 cup brown sugar with 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Icing:

1 tsp milk

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

4 Tbls (or less) butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

Put the dough ingredients in the brad machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle.  After the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread with 2 Tbsps melted butter.  Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the butter and press slightly into the dough.

Roll up the dough and cut into 10-15 rolls and place in two greased round cake pans.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned.  Spread the icing on as soon as they come out of the oven.

You can also cover the unbaked rolls with plastic wrap, stick them in the refrigerator overnight, and then bake in the morning.

Recipe from Money Saving Mom

Cranberry White Chocoalte Chip Cookies February 3, 2010

Thanks to my friend Amy over at Amy Aliments who got me hooked on Craisin cookies recently.  I found this other recipe with Craisins AND White Chocolate Chips, that’s like peanut butter and chocolate, a great combination!  These cookies are scrumptious.  If you enjoyed the Craisin Cookies I made a while back and enjoy your white chocolate, you will love these cookies!

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
3/4 cup packed brown sugar 
2 large eggs 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange 
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats 
1 cup white chocolate chips 
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Combine, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl.

3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 1 – 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

Recipe from Maris at In Good Taste

White Bean Ham Soup & Beer Bread January 31, 2010

What to do with leftover ham…sandwiches, omelets, casseroles and of course soups!  This soup turned out great, plus my crockpot did most of the work!  Took me about 20 minutes to chop and blend everything together and then off to work and back home to a ready to eat meal!  I found the recipe at Tasty Kitchen.  Thanks to Christine who submitted this recipe.  At the bottom of her post she mentioned that she makes a super easy beer bread to go with this soup.  Well, I couldn’t pass making that bread up to go along with the soup, so I guess my supper wasn’t ready the minute I got home, but about 45 minutes later it was.  This meal is very pleasing, filling and I would say very economical!

White Bean & Ham Soup

1 pound Dried Navy Beans (I used Northern Beans)

1 whole Meaty Ham Bone (plus some chopped up ham)

2-½ cups Celery, Chopped

2-½ cups Carrots, Grated Or Shredded

1 whole Onion – Chopped Or Shredded

1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley

2 cloves Minced Garlic

1/4 tsp Tabasco Sauce (omitted)

1 teaspoon Salt (omitted)

teaspoons Black Pepper

Sort and wash the beans.  Add 6 cups water and soak beans overnight or about 8 hours.

Drain beans and throw in crock pot.  Add ham bone, ham and enough water to cover (plus some ham juices if you have any).  Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove the bone.  Chop up the ham and return the meat to the soup.

Recipe from Christine on Tasty Kitchen

Beer Bread

Note: Sift your flour before measuring and mix all ingredients together well before adding beer. Less mixing after adding the beer leads to a lighter loaf.

3 cups All Purpose Flour, Sifted

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

1 can (12-ounce) Can Of Beer

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 375F.  Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.  Stir in beer, blending well.

Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan.  Pour melted butter over mixture.

Bake 35 minutes, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

Recipe from Frank on Tasty Kitchen

Graham Crackers & Nanamio Bars — January’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge January 27, 2010

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

“Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian dessert created in none other than Nanaimo, British Colombia.  It’s pronounced Nah-nye-Moh.  These bars have 3 layers: a base containing graham crackers, cocoa, coconut and nuts, a middle custard layer, and a topping of chocolate.  They are extremely rich and available almost everywhere across the country.”

Lauren picked the Nanamio Bar in honor of the 2010 Olympics being held in Canada.  I can’t wait for the hours and hours of Olympic watching in February!  So much better than all the junk on tv these days, besides, of course, Blackhawks games!  

We had the option this month of completing one or both of these challenges (graham crackers & nanamio bars).  I decided to go for it and complete both, and successfully I did!  I think I left my graham crackers in the oven too long…I didn’t make gluten free because of the number of flours I would need, so I stuck with all-purpose.  The baking time asked for 25 minutes–which I think I stuck to, but when I make graham crackers again, I would take them out earlier, 20-maybe 18 minutes, even though my eyes and finger pricking may urge me to keep them in longer.  No matter what, the graham crackers were tasty–a bit too crunchy, but still good; the Nanamio Bars were rich and satisfying!  A small bar is all you need to fill a sweet tooth! 

If it isn’t understood yet, the point in making our own graham crackers were for the graham cracker crumbs that were called for in the bottom layer of the Nanamio Bar.

Graham Cracker

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.

Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line.

Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the tough, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

Yield: 10 large crackers

Nanaimo BarsFor Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup Almonds/Walnuts (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.  I substituted equal amount of Corn Starch + 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract)
2 cups Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer

4 ounces Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bread January 21, 2010

It was about time I took out Baking: From My Home to Yours again by Dorie Greenspan.  (You can find all the other recipes I made from her book here.)  It’s been some time and I have been in the baking mood, unfortunately not having enough energy on weeknights these days, but I pushed myself last night, and I’m glad I did.  This bread turned out wonderful.  Super moist and delicate with raisins scattered about and a nice sweet topping.  Before making this recipe I wasn’t sure what I would need to spread on top of a piece of this bread, but to my surprise, nothing is needed, not even a slab of butter! 

I really wouldn’t change a thing to this recipe, especially if I were serveing it to some friends.  But if I was up for experimenting, I would replace some of the flour for whole wheat flour, to make it a bit more healthier.  Try it for yourself, if you like your quick breads, I’m sure you’ll love this one.  If you’re not all about the raisins or other dried fruits, leave them out, I bet you would still be happy with the outcome.  Let me know what you decide!

Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

For the topping:

1/4 c. (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the bread:

2 large eggs

1 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/3 c. flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower

1/4 c. buttermilk or whole milk

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

1/2 c. diced dried figs, apples, or apricots or moist, plump raisins (I added raisins soaked in hot water for about an hour)

1 c. old-fashioned oats

Center a rack in oven; preheat to 350 F.  Butter 9-by-5-inch loaf pan (I used two medium size ones), dust with flour, and tap out excess. Put pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Make the topping:  In a small bowl, use your fingers to toss together the sugar, nuts, and cinnamon until evenly mix.  Set aside.

Make the bread:  Whisk together the eggs, applesauce, oil, and buttermilk until well blended.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Remove 1/2 teaspoon of mix; toss it with the fruit to coat.  Set aside.  Stir the oats into the bowl.  Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry, and, using a large rubber spatula, stir just until everything is evenly moistened.  Don’t overdo the mixing.  Scatter the dried fruit over batter and stir it to blend.  Scrape batter into pan; sprinkle over topping, taping it down lightly with fingers so it sticks.

Bake 55 to 65 minutes (my smaller loafs took about 40 minutes), or until the bread is browned and a thin knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Transfer bread to a cooling rack for about 5 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of pan and unmold.  Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

Which would you prefer? January 10, 2010

Oatmeal Craisin OR Oatmeal Chocolate Chip? 

I will have to be honest and say, it depends on the day.  Today…Oatmeal Craisin, they were delicious!

Thanks to my friend Amy at Amy’s Aliments who discovered this cookie recipe.  I would have to agree with her, they were extremely tasty!  Like she said, not too sweet, but the cookie had a nice flavor and texture. 

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

3/4 cup Craisins (or, in my case, half chocolate chips and half Craisins)

2 Tbsp milk (Amy’s addition)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars.  Add egg, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add flour, oats and milk (I may try leaving the milk out the next time I make these to see if there is a big difference in the texture/form of the cookie) and craisins/chocolate chips.  Scoop onto cookie sheets and bake for 6 minutes, turn pay 180 degrees and bake for another 6 minutes.  Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes and move to cooling rack.  h

Recipe from Amy

Stromboli Sandwiches January 5, 2010

Unfortunately I don’t have a picture for this post.  The sandwiches looked and smelled too good to ‘quick get a picture’ before giving them a try.  As I was making this recipe, I thought to myself “this reminds me a lot of making bbqs”, and then I was thinking “I’m not a big fan of bbqs…”, but I think knowing the meat was going on a type of roll instead of the hamburger bun and with the added butter/garlic/paprika spread and mozzarella cheese layered on top, I didn’t hesitate to continue on. 

Do you want to know what I thought of the end result?  It was delicious!  I loved it and think this is a great recipe to make for dinner and freeze leftovers for later (the meat off the bun), or make to feed a number of people at once on a budget.  In other words, this recipe is staying in my recipe box.  Give it a try for yourself, I bet your family would love it!

Stromboli Sandwiches

1 lb. ground beef

1 tsp minced onion

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup catsup

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp fennel seed

1/8 tsp oregano

1 pkgs Tiebels rolls, sm pepperidge farm buns or other small to med size firm rolls

2 Tbsp soft butter

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp paprika

1 pkg slice mozarella cheese (or shredded)

Fry ground beef and onion until browned; drained off excess fat.  Add tomato sauce, ketchup, parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, fennel seed and oregano.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Mix butter with 1/4 tsp garlic salt and paprika.  Spread on top half of buns.  Spoon meat mixture on bottom half and top with cheese.  Wrap in tin foil and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Recipe from Jamie R.’s Mom

Sour Cream Pancakes with Pomegranate Syrup December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!  I know, it’s not quite the New Year, I have about 13 hours until it’s actually here, but I’ll probably be out cold…unless I get a nap in today. 

I hope you all had a nice Christmas.  Ours was very nice and busy.  My sister, brother-in-law and new nephew were in town all of December so we tried to spend as much time with them as possible before they headed back to Nigeria.  Plus other family and friend parties made our December overall go by quickly, but that didn’t stop me from posting, which you probably  noticed if you’ve been following my blog closely this month. 

I took off work this week between Christmas and New Years.  As much as I would have loved to have the week before Christmas off to prepare, I’m so glad it was the week after so I could recover from the busyness and prepare for our little one in late March!  I decided to make pancakes a couple of mornings ago, a recipe from my new cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  As suggested, I got out my iron skillet and cooked them up in that.  The pancakes unfortunately were not up to par.  They were extremely moist which could be a good thing, but it was a bit overboard.  I will probably try this recipe again on my electric griddle to see if they would turn out any better, maybe I didn’t let them cook long enough, I won’t give up on the recipe or the cookbook yet!

To go with the pancakes, I made a Pomegranate Syrup with some POM juice samples thanks were mailed to me thanks to Kristen over there at POM Wonderful.  The syrup turned out wonderfully, with a nice tang of pomegranate.

Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes

1 cup sour cream

7 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

butter

pancake syrup

Place an iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat.  You want it to get nice and hot. 

Place the sour cream in a medium bowl.  Dump in the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

Stir together very gently, just short of the mixture being totally combined.

Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl.  Add the vanilla and stir to combine.

Pour the egg mixture into the sour cream/flour mixture and stir gently until just combined, a little white/yellow swirling is fine. 

Melt about a Tbsp of butter in the skillet.  Pour the batter into the skillet 1/4 cup at a time.

Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes then flip the pancakes over.  Cook for another 45 seconds and remove to a plate.  Repeat with remaining batter.

Stack up the pancakes and serve with butter and syrup.  Enjoy!

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Pomegranate Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp cinnamon

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of salt

Pour in 1 cup of POM juice and whisk over heat until the mixture comes to a boil.  SImmer for 1 minute then remove from the heat and add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.

Recipe from Brownie Points

Gingersnaps with a White Chocolate Drizzle December 28, 2009

In my opinion, most people turn their heads when they see gingersnap cookies.  Have they tried them before?  Maybe, and not liked them or maybe they haven’t and just don’t think they would like the taste, but I suggest they give them a chance (or a second chance, if that’s the case).  I made these a couple years ago and loved them!  I got a lot of good comments from the people I shared them with, I can’t believe how long it took me to make another batch of them!  I decided to use this cookie as my Cookie Exchange cookie at BKS (work).  Instead of dipping the cookies in white chocolate, as the recipe directs, I decided to drizzle the chocolate over the cookie.  I liked the drizzle better so that each bite of cookie you get a taste of the white chocolate. 

The texture of these cookies are crunchy.  I’ve made soft gingersnaps before and I wasn’t so fond of them, so if it would be your first time baking/trying gingersnaps, I suggest these crunchy ones.  Plus, they would be great for dunking!

Gingersnaps w/ White Chocolate Drizzle

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups canola oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp baking soda

3 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

additional sugar

1/2 pkg white baking chips

3 Tbsp shortening

In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil.  Beat in eggs.  Stir in molasses.  Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Shape into 3/4 inch balls and roll in sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until cookie springs back when touched lightly.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

In a small microwavable bowl, melt chips with shortening in 30 second increments, stirring each time until smooth.  Using a fork, drizzle white chocolate over cookies and let harden.

Makes 6 dozen

Recipe adopted from Taste of Home

Chocolate Toffee Bars December 26, 2009

I love finding recipes that use up some random ingredients I have sitting in my kitchen cabinets, for instance, a small amount of toffee pieces that I had leftover from I think it was a cake I made this summer, and it was time to use them up!  Recipe Girl posted this recipe just in the last week or so.  I love how festive her’s looks with the Christmas sprinkles.  The bars are so tasty and has a wonderful flavor of chocolate and toffee.

Chocolate Toffee Bars

1 stick (4 ounces or 8 Tbsp. ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (4 ounces) firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup ( 4 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup packaged toffee pieces (or chopped Heath or Skor bar)
festive sprinkles, optional

1. Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with a removeable bottom.

2. In a large bowl, combine butter, dark brown sugar and salt. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well-blended. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat just until combined. Pour in the flour and beat on low speed until the dough begins to clump together. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan, scattering the pieces evenly. Using your fingertips (lightly floured, if necessary), pat the dough onto the bottom (not up the sides) of the prepared pan to form an even layer. Bake until the top looks dry and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 25 to 27 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate with the cream in a double boiler or in the microwave (30 second bursts, keep stirring after each burst, until smooth). When the crust is baked, transfer the pan to the rack. Pour the warm chocolate ganache over the warm crust and spread evenly to within 1/2-inch of the edge (an offset spatula is a good tool to use for this). Scatter the toffee pieces evenly over the ganache and gently press them into the chocolate. If you’re using festive sprinkles, sprinkle those on top and gently press into the chocolate too.

4. Let cool completely until the chocolate is completely set, about 4 hours at room temperature or about 2 hours in the refrigerator. Remove the outer ring of the tart pan and cut the “cookie tart” into 16 wedges. Serve the wedges chilled or at room temperature.

Recipe from Recipe Girl