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30 July 2010

PW's Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe source:  thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

Here's Pioneer Woman's recipe for cinnamon rolls.  I thought they were delicious.  I have another recipe that I love, too, but I will not deny that these were awesome!  I loved the maple flavored frosting.  I also love cream cheese frosting on cinnamon rolls, so I guess I'll have to alternate. :-)  The only thing I would do differently with these is make them bigger.  I think I rolled out the dough too much and so the rolls themselves were small.  But then I guess you can eat more of them, right? 

I made these rolls for a special breakfast for Russell on Father's day.  Since I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night to start said breakfast, I discovered the fridge and freezer methods.  This is so nice, because I halved PW's recipe, and it still made a lot.  So now I've got a couple dozen cinnamon rolls in the freezer to have whenever we want without as much work! 

Here's what I learned:  Make the cinnamon rolls all the way up to where you roll the dough into a log and cut them into individual rolls.  Then if you are going to have the rolls the next morning, you can put the rolls into the pan they will be baked in (in PW's case, in the pan with the butter), cover them with saran wrap or a lightweight towel, and leave them in the fridge overnight.  The rolls will slowly rise overnight.  In the morning set them in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, then bake like normal. 

If you don't need to use all of the rolls, or if you'd like to make the rolls way ahead of time, after you cut the dough into individual rolls, lay them in a pan and freeze immediately.  Once they are frozen, stick 'em in a freezer ziploc bag, and keep them in the freezer till you need them.  When you are ready to use the rolls, place them in the pan you will bake them in and sit them on the counter overnight, covered with saran wrap or a lightweight towel.  Then bake them in the morning.  Voila!

Ingredients

1 quart Whole Milk
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
Plenty Of Melted Butter
2 cups Sugar
Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

_____

MAPLE FROSTING:
1 bag Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
½ cups Milk
¼ cups Melted Butter
¼ cups Brewed Coffee  (I left this out and used more butter or milk to replace it.)
⅛ teaspoons Salt


Preparation Instructions


Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.

27 July 2010

Cheddar Biscuits

Recipe source:  cassiecraves.blogspot.com

These are supposedly a knock-off recipe for Red Lobster's cheddar bay biscuits.  I don't know how close they are because I've never had Red Lobster's biscuits or even been to Red Lobster, for that matter.  But I can say that they were super simple to make and really yummy!

2 cups Bisquick
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup butter, melted (I used spray butter.)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I used Lawry's garlic salt.)


1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix Bisquick, parsley, onion powder, pepper, milk and cheese until a soft dough forms.

3. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I got 10 biscuits out of my dough.) Bake 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Mix butter or margarine and garlic powder. Brush mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.  (I used spray butter and Lawry's garlic salt here.)

20 July 2010

Giant Cookie

Recipe source: melskitchencafe.com

This is such a fun thing to make to take to a neighbor or for a special occasion.  I was REALLY impressed with how this cookie turned out the perfect texture.  It was so yummy.  I made this as a surprise for Russell when he came after taking his BIG test last month. 


1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugars and butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a large (11X17-inch) baking pan with foil and press the cookie into a circle. I press my cookie into a 9-inch circle, about 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick. When it bakes, it spreads to about 11 inches, which fits perfectly onto a 12-inch round cardboard circle you can find at most craft stores.

If desired, top the cookie with M&M’s or any other garnishes. Bake for 13-16 minutes until the cookie is lightly golden brown. Let the cookie cool completely on the baking pan – this helps the cookie stabilize and set so it can be easily lifted off the pan. Once cool, gently use the foil to lift the cookie off the pan.

16 July 2010

Barbecue Chicken Salad

Recipe source: sisterscafe.blogspot.com


I was surprised how delicious this salad was.  This is pretty fast to throw together.  We made and ate this after the kiddos went to bed while we watched a movie together.  You can cook up your own chicken, or even easier, you can grab a rotisserie chicken from the store on your way home, pull off all the chicken and mix w/ barbecue sauce.  Fast and easy! 

Oh, yeah, and the recipe gives instructions for making some crispy tortilla strips out of tortillas to put on the salad, but I forgot to do that, so we used lime flavored Tostitos.  Also delicious.  I may try the tortillas next time, or I just might use my favorite:  Fritos!

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped (I just dumped in a bag salad.)
1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 can corn, drained (I left this off.)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 Haas avocados, diced

shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar
crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it's up to you! Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy! (We found that the salad didn't need any dressing because of the bbq sauce on the chicken.)


*to make crispy tortilla strips simply slice about 10 corn tortillas in narrow strips and place on cookie sheet. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle generously with salt. Place under the broiler and let bake until crispy and brown around the edges.

11 July 2010

New York Times Ch.Chip Cookies

Recipe source: New York Times

These cookies are THE perfect chocolate chip cookies.  (in my humble opinion...)  I love these.  They are super good.  They do take a little advance preparation because the dough is supposed to sit in the fridge for a few days, but to me it is well worth it.  If I know I'm going to make these, I just make the dough a few days ahead of time, and it's no big deal!

P.S. The recipe says to use 3 1/2 ounce scoops of dough for each cookie.  That makes a REALLY big cookie, which is sometimes really fun.  But I've also found that anywhere from 2 1/2 ounces up also makes a big cookie, and you can get more out of the batch.

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (I couldn't find disks, so I just used whatever dark chocolate chunks, chips, whatever that my grocery store had.)
Sea salt

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.