Cinnamon Rolls

My amazing husband turned 28 this past November 21st. So first, let me again wish a very happy birthday to the world's greatest hubby (as should you, reader, since he suggested this blog in the first place!).

Now then. I decided to make some cinnamon rolls for my husband's birthday breakfast, as he LOVES those Cinnabon cinnamon rolls they sell at the mall. It's been awhile since I've had a Cinnabon, but I think that these are a bit less dense than Cinnabon--though every bit as delicious. Huge, soft, cinnamon-y, and with loads of gooey frosting, these are sure to become a staple in our breakfast line-up! (And if you can't eat 16 at once, you can freeze them for future breakfasts, too!). Original recipe found here.

 You will need:

For dough:

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

For cinnamon filling:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional: I did not use these)

For frosting (doubled from the original recipe--I like a lot of frosting):
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons milk

First, add yeast to warm water (be sure the water is warm--the yeast needs warm temperatures to activate). Set aside for ten minutes or until it becomes foamy. Meanwhile, cream together the pudding, butter, and sugar. Add milk, egg, and vanilla. Add the yeast mixture. Finally, add the salt and flour, one cup at a time until combined. Knead by hand on a floured surface until dough is elastic. Place dough in an oiled bowl for an hour and allow to rise until double in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Cream together butter, sugar, cinnamon, and, if desired, pecans or raisins. Set aside.

When dough is ready, roll out the dough into a 17x10 inch rectangle. I am terrible about guesstimating sizes, but this is about the size of a large cutting board. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling on the inside of the rectangle. Next, roll the dough from the longer side until you have a cinnamon roll log. Cut into 16, one-inch slices and place in a greased pan for an additional hour, until the rolls have doubled in size. (You may want to refrigerate the rolls first to make cutting a bit easier).

Bake cinnamon rolls at 350 degrees for 12 to 16 minutes. When they come out of the oven, the dough should be firm but not brown and look something like this:

Finally, prepare the frosting. Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add milk and vanilla extract. Then, in batches to avoid a sugar explosion, add in the powdered sugar until the frosting thickens. Spread liberally over all cinnamon rolls while rolls are still warm. See below:

And that's all there is to it! With the wait time for the dough rising, the process does take a few hours. BUT, most of it is not active cooking time, and if you have a family of four, you can enjoy delicious, homemade cinnamon rolls four times for only one day's worth of cooking. And since the husband ate two, the recipe passes the seconds test--so you won't regret the effort once you bite into one! So, break out your rolling pin and inner baker, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

This will be the last of the pumpkin recipes...at least for now. I had a bit of a pumpkin baking outburst this past week, but I have officially used up all the pumpkin in my possession and will try to find new ingredients for you in the near future.

But for now, I give you the spiced, the delicious, the moist, the buttery (and yes, the slightly orange) pumpkin bread!!

• 
  
• You will need the following (note: ingredients modified based on recipe reviews):
• 
  
• Bread:
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping (optional):

1/4 cup butter (melted)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sift your dry ingredients (i.e. spices, flour, salt, baking soda) together in a medium bowl.

Next, mix your wet ingredients (i.e. pumpkin, sugars, oil, applesauce, water, eggs) in a separate, large bowl. Once all ingredients are well-mixed, add in dry ingredient mix a little at a time. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, taking care to not over-mix the bread dough.

Once everything is well-incorporated, pour the mix into three 7x3 pans (I only have a 9x5 and came out with enough for two loaves). Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the dough comes out clean.

Now, you can either stop there (the bread is still amazing by itself), or you can pour a sugary/buttery topping over the bread (it makes it a bit sweeter and more dessert-like and is delicious). If you do decide to add the topping, poke holes all over the tops of the loaves while the bread is still warm. Mix butter, sugar, and cinnamon together and pour over the top of the bread. Serve warm, and enjoy!

Sarah's Banana Bread

I found a baking buddy! Sarah and I met through mutual friends, and while at first I was simply impressed by her spirit and optimistic attitude, I later discovered that she also shares the same love for cooking and baking that I do--a kindred spirit! Hence, the next few recipes are inspired by or are directly from her, beginning with an amazing chocolate chip banana bread.

Here is Sarah's list of ingredients:

2 cups brown rice flour (*I used regular bread flour, since I could not find this)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (you can also substitute Greek yogurt for additional nutritional value)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or honey is good if you're out)
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

 All ingredients

 Mashed bananas!

Now, when the recipe calls for "very ripe" bananas, it means very ripe-like brown all over. I can tell you from experience that you cannot force bananas to ripen by glaring at them, no matter how hard you try. So try to buy bananas that are already at least yellow, or you will be waiting a few days for your banana bread. Since my bananas were not ready yet, and I was banana-bread obsessed for those few days, I performed several unnecessary Google searches about bananas and can tell you why they should be brown. Apparently, the riper the banana gets, the more sugar it releases, making for a sweeter bread. And, you know...it's easier to mash a riper banana. WARNING NOTE: Do NOT place your bananas near other fruits while you are waiting for them to ripen. I lost three peaches with a lot of potential yumminess that way (bananas release a gas which causes other fruits to ripen faster). At this point, I could also tell you all the facts I learned from Shark Week (I spent some quality time with Google and the Discovery Channel this week), but I will spare you.

So, on to the baking (instructions from Sarah)!

Adjust a rack to the lower middle position of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, yogurt, eggs, melted butter and vanilla, mixing well.

Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, just to blend--do not over mix. Add in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 50-60 minutes (most breads will take the full hour). Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely. (Or at least for 10 minutes if you really can't wait any longer :))

This was my first attempt at baking bread, and it was hugely successful--the hubby, who hates bananas, actually enjoyed the banana bread, and since he's my litmus test, I was fairly proud. It is also tasty microwaved for about 20 seconds and buttered (and I intend to use stale pieces--if the bread lasts that long--to make banana bread french toast in the future). Mmmm! Thanks again, Sarah, and to everyone else: enjoy!