Cinnamon Rolls

lo and behold, Sandy has given me yet another recipe that is another go-to. She recently purchased a bread machine and tells me that it's on practically every single day in her house. One of the most requested items? Homemade cinnamon rolls!

before the rise

Now I'm sure if you were as daft as me, you're sitting there scratching your head wondering how a rectangular contraption like a bread machine, can produce cinnamon rolls. As in, how you toss in all the ingredients, walk away and POOF, voila, out come a dozen perfectly formed cinnamon rolls in a couple hours. Yeah, not one of my finer moments. Apparently you only do the dough until after the first rise (the dough needs to rise twice). After it rises the first time, you have to take it out, roll it, sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar, roll and then wait for it to rise again.

Well, I haven't convinced myself to buy a bread machine yet so I had to use my parents. Now, my parents own EVERYTHING under the sun. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that what they own is new, or even usable. So when I attempted to make this for the first time at their house, I made a few key errors:
1. The order in which you add ingredients to a bread maker is CRITICAL. I did not realize this and apparently dumped everything in the wrong order.
2. Everything needs to be room temperature. I was trying to rush it and added the eggs in cold.
3. The yeast was kinda expired. Ok, it was expired but only by a month so I figured it would be ok.
4. They only had whole wheat bread flour.
5. My mom wasn't 100% sure if the bread maker worked.
6. It doesn't help if you fall asleep and then forget about the contents of the bread maker for a day. Ok, ok, I admit I didn't' *forget* about it, but when I took a peek inside and realized it was nothing like how it was suppose to look, I couldn't face it and escaped to work instead.

It was probably a combination of all the errors above that resulted in my failed first attempt. So gathering my wits about me (and after a few emails to Sandy), I summed up the courage to try this again at home. Without a breadmaker!

after the second rise, before the oven

And you know what? It worked! I took them to work and got thumbs up all around. I personally thought they were above average but not GREAT.

Then I made it again at my parents house. Then again at home, then again at my parents house, then again for a girls night. In a week. Yup, Nica overdosed on cinnamon rolls the last couple of weeks and now he's in recovery mode. lol.

After the oven

If I get it right, I'd give this a solid 9.5 out of 10. I did a couple of batches with whole wheat bread and it wasn't too bad. I have to research how to substitute whole wheat bread flour for regular because it seems like whenever I use it, it's always more moist and sticky before the rise. Also, for one of the batches I made (for girls night), I took some cream cheese out of the freezer and let it come to room temp naturally. Unfortunately, after whipping it in the kitchenaid for practically ten minutes, it still had lumps. When Ali put it in the toaster oven for a couple minutes, the lumps melted but still - lumps in cream cheese icing? Yuck. Next time I'll remember to nuke it right off the bat to melt.

All in all, it's actually a pretty straightforward recipe, it just takes a LONG time because of all the waiting you have to do because of the double rise.

So let me finally get to it. Here is the link on the allrecipes website:
 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cinnamon-rolls-iii/detail.aspx

and as usual, here is the recipe for laziness sake:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup warm water 1/4 cup butter, melted 1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix 1 cup warm milk 1 egg, room temperature 1 tablespoon white sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 cups bread flour 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon 3/4 cup chopped pecans 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Directions:

1.	In the pan of your bread machine, combine water, melted butter, vanilla pudding, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast. Set machine to Dough cycle; press Start.
2.	When Dough cycle has finished, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 17x10 inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over dough.
3.	Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4.	Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While rolls bake, stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Remove rolls from oven and top with frosting.

This one reviewers comments was the most helpful for those who don't own a bread machine:

Reviewed: Sep. 25, 2006

Absolutely wonderful!!! I used the traditional method, without the bread maker. I dissolved the tbs. sugar (I used brown) in the water, along with the butter. If you use cold butter, just boil the water, and pour it over the butter while stirring. By that time the temp is quickly brought to the ideal temp for adding the yeast. Cover with plastic wrap, and fix the pudding while the yeast foams. I add the egg, pudding mix and milk together and stir. Then, I measure out the flour, adding 4 tsp of vital wheat gluten to all purpose flour, (I had no bread flour). By that time, the yeast is ready for mixing. I add the pudding mixture, mixing well, followed by the flour. I knead the dough until it forms a ball-all done in same bowl. After I remove the ball, I pour a bit of oil in, and replace the dough and roll it in the oil. The rest is pretty self-explanitory. After rising for about 1 hr. I roll out, spread filling, cut, and rise again. I cook for my boyfriend and the mechanics at his shop and they wont stop raving about them! My boyfriend says that it's the only time the ENTIRE SHOP just sits in silence, awing over how good they are!! A++++ recipe! Thanks Miss Alix!

815 users found this review helpful

Update Feb 2013:

The sad, never-rising defrosted bun.

I wanted to give these to a friend who likes hot cinnamon buns but how to get this to him right out of my oven?!. I thought I'd give him frozen ones instead that he could bake at home so he'd have warm cinnamon buns. I froze the dough after I had rolled it out with the cinnamon and sugar and before the second proofing. I had it in the fridge for a few days but when I took them out to try and bring them to room temp and have them rise again... it never happened. The rolls looked so pitiful I didn't even bother trying to bake them in the oven. I don't know when in the process you're suppose to freeze this, but I have decided I will never freeze baked goods ever again. Fresh is best! Frozen is gross.

New years breakfast

Strips of bacon under seasoned potatoes. Going to throw this bad baby in the oven. Could be brilliant, could be the worst idea ever...

Peppermint Marshmallows

Sandy has done it again. She wow'ed me with her mad baking skills by bringing over peppermint marshmallows. HOMEMADE! Yeah, who knew you could make your own marshmallows? To me, they were always those dry sticky things you bought in a bag from Safeway before you went camping.

But these things - ohmigod (I'm rolling my eyes to the back of my head right now as I wipe drool off the side of my mouth) they're so good you can eat them just as they are. Also, since they're homemade, you can eat them FRESH. I've never had fresh marshmallows before and now I will never have them any other way. They were fluffy and soft with just a hint of peppermint. YUMMY.

Nica ate a few. Ariana ate a couple. I ate quite a few. I took them to a party and they disappeared. I can't wait to make these! If I can successfully make this, then I will never ever buy marshmallows again. Also, people may be receiving this from me as a future xmas gift. :)

Here's a link to the blog it's originally posted on. The author has some GREAT photos and lots of other crafty ideas and recipes too.

But for laziness sake, here's the recipe:

Peppermint Marshmallows:

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy canes (about 6)
1/8 tsp. salt

*Tip: to crush your candy canes, break them up in large pieces, then seal them in a Zip Loc bag. Put your bag on a sturdy cutting board and use a hammer to smash them into a powder. The finer the powder, the better.

1. Into a small bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Line a 9x13" pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Sift 2 Tbsp. of the powdered sugar mixture into pan and tilt to coat all sides. Leave excess in pan.

3. Place 2/3 c. water in a large bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.

4. In medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, heat sugar, corn syrup, candy cane, and salt over medium heat until completely dissolved (about 7 minutes).

5. Pour into bowl with gelatin mixture and beat on high speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy (10-15 minutes). 

6. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Smooth top and dush with powdered sugar mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

7. Lift from pan with foil. With a small, wet cookie cutter, cut shapes and dip sides in sugar mixture. Cut up remaining marshmallows into small, irregular pieces (these are the ones I let my kids and husband eat!). Or, using a wet knife, cut into 6 large squares and dip sides into powdered sugar mixture. Then cut each of those squares into 9 pieces and dip in sugar mixture.

8. Store at room temp, loosely covered.

Hope she doesn't mind, but Sandy said she modified this recipe by:
"I make double the recipe bc one is not enough-trust me on this.  Plus, two batches fill up a 9x13 Pyrex pan nicely

If u make two batches, double everything except the cornstarch & icing sugar.

I only use 1 cup sugar per batch.

Green & red candy canes are ok.  I just add a drop of red food colouring."


I have no idea how she figures out how to modify recipes, but she has not failed me yet. So I am going to follow her modifications to the T!

Update July 2012:
How sad am I... it took me almost half a year before I found the time to make these. It's SUMMER! Anyway, first attempt went all sorts of horrible. I think I might have made myself sick. I stored them in an "airtight" container but they were so moist that the corn starch/icing sugar kept absorbing so they were constantly sticky balls of mess. Something about eating corn starch directly irks me. Maybe it's a mental thing.

Anyway, the second time I tried it, they turned out not bad. No one really wanted to eat them though because it would be perfect in a hot cup of cocoa, not something normally craved for in the height of summer. lol. Oh well. If I procrastinate just 6 more months it'll be perfect.

Caramelized Onion Spread

With the festive season comes... dinners! Lots of them this year. It's the time of year when we get to catch up with friends and family and for me, sample new appetizers and food. There were a few key dishes this year that caught my interest of my tastebuds.

One of them, was a caramelized onion spread. My sister's hubby made it as a Christmas Eve appetizer. Nica and I attacked it - eating so much that by the time we were suppose to eat our entree, we were stuffed. We couldn't help ourselves - this spread has roasted garlic and the Nicas LOVE garlic!

I will be honest - visually, it didn't look that appetizing. It's a caramel coloured brown and creamy. Kind of like hummus. But the taste was out of this world. The caramelized onions gave it a sweetness. The roasted garlic added lots of flavour while the cream cheese and mayo contributed the smooth and creamy texture and harmonized the onion and garlic. Served on crispy slices of toasted baguettes, the texture was a nice complement of crunchy and smooth. Yum.

Here's the recipe:

Caramelized Onion Spread

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups chopped yellow onions (or thinly sliced)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup (4 oz) block-style cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1. Heat large skillet to medium-high. Add oil, swirl to coat bottom. Add onion and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 35 minutes or until onions are very tender and caramelized, stirring occasionally.
3. Add cream cheese, stir to combine.
4. Removed from heat. Stir in mayonnaise, chives, pepper, salt.
5. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Refrigerate up to 2 days.

- Cooking Light magazine, December 2011

Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

Well Sandy has done it to me again. She has introduced me to a new food that I can't get enough of! We went for coffee the other day at Starbucks and she convinced me (didn't take very much, mind you) to buy a Cranberry Bliss bar.

OMG, it was DIVINE. I meant to share it but ended up eating the whole thing.

I found this website that has the "secret recipes" to everything. Here is the one for Starbucks' cranberry bliss bar:

Cake
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries
4 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks

Frosting
4-ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries

Drizzled Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening



1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Make cake by beating the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, ginger, vanilla, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder until smooth. Mix the chopped dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks into the batter by hand. Pour the batter into a buttered 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is lightly browned on top. Allow the cake to cool.

3. Make the frosting by combining the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped dried cranberries over the frosting on the cake.

5. Make the drizzled icing by whisking together powdered sugar, milk, and shortening. Drizzle this icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion with a squirt bottle or fill a small plastic storage bag with the icing and cut off the tip of one corner.

6. Cover the cake and let it chill out in the fridge for a couple hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times, making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.

Makes 16 bars.

I have no idea where to buy crystallized ginger. I know Trader Joes sells it but the last couple of times I've gone down, they've been out of stock. One of the staff told me there was an issue with their packaging. d'oh!! I can't WAIT to try this recipe out.

Update December 20, 2011: 
I made this after finding crystallized ginger at my local Save-On-Foods. It wasn't bad but it was so SWEET! It seriously hurt my tooth when I ate it. Nica kept sneaking into the fridge to eat it. I meant to take some into work but by the time I went to plate it, it was half gone. *sigh* I did let a couple girls at work try some since I took one piece in as an after-lunch snack and they said it was really good. Not sure if they were just saying that though.

Things to remember for the next time I make this: 
* I cut a hole much too large when I was covering it with the drizzled icing. I think I could have skipped that part of the bar entirely and it would have been fine. 
* The entire bar was WAY too sweet. Next time, I will definitely cut back on the sugar. 
* Don't put crystallized ginger in the mini food processor. The ginger gets caught in the blades and just makes it a gooey mess. I'm guessing it would be ditto for the cranberries although I smartened up and chopped them with a french knife after the ginger fiasco.
* line the baking pan with parchment paper to prevent it from sticking to the sides.

Interestingly, it seemed to taste a lot better after a few days in the fridge and then eaten at room temp.

Pulled Pork

I swear I'm not pregnant again, but I have been CRAVING pulled pork. So when my latest tv show addiction, Recipe to Riches, had it on an episode, I started salivating. The reviews looked amazing too! Luckily for me, they actually post the recipes on their website. So here's another dish I'm going to attempt tomorrow when Debs comes to visit.  Here's the link for the recipe:

Pulled Pork

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 kilograms bone-in pork shoulder picnic roast
• 8 unit sandwich buns, such as Portuguese buns or soft white buns, halved
• 1 package coleslaw mix
• 1 cup coleslaw dressing

Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup cola
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions

Pulled Pork

1. Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
2. In small bowl, stir together paprika, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, mustard, cayenne, coriander and cumin. Measure out 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the spice mix; rub remaining spice mix all over pork. Place in metal roasting pan. Tightly wrap pan in foil. Bake in oven until meat is tender and falling off bone, about 5 to 6 hours.
3. Meanwhile, make Sauce: In saucepan, combine ketchup, vinegar, cola, maple syrup and reserved spice mix. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to simmer; cook uncovered until reduced to 1-1/2 cups (375 mL), about 25 minutes. Set aside.
4. Unwrap pork. Pull meat away from bones. Shred meat with two forks. Combine pork with half of sauce. Slather remaining sauce on cut sides of bottom buns; top with pork. Mix coleslaw mix with dressing; mound on top. Top with bun lids.

Luscious Lemon Pudding

I am addicted to this new show called "Recipe to Riches". A couple of recipes have intrigued me and just so I don't lose them, here is one of them. It's called "Luscious Lemon Pudding".

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 unit eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Butter 8-inch (2 L) square glass baking dish. In bowl, sift together sugar and flour; set aside.
2. Place egg whites in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Transfer whites to another bowl.
3. Add egg yolks to same bowl and return to stand mixer. Using whisk attachment beat on medium-high speed until yolks are thick and lightened in colour. Reduce speed to medium and add butter, lemon rind and juice; beat for 1 more minute. With machine running on medium speed, alternately beat in flour mixture and milk, making 5 additions of flour and 4 of milk.
4. Remove bowl from mixer. Fold in egg whites. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Place dish in large shallow roasting pan. Add hot water to half way up side of baking dish.
5. Bake in centre of oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Top two-thirds will be cake consistency and bottom third will be pudding consistency.

I can't wait to try baking this! My best friend Debbie is visiting tomorrow so I might just give it a shot.