(365 Chances) #9: Cinnamon Rolls

I made these a couple weeks ago for a brunch. Overnight, the number of people coming to the brunch went from about 8 to about 15. I had planned to make these cinnamon rolls, then when we realized so many people were coming, I cooked them up early and the original six of us were in food/sugar comas by the time everyone else arrived. It's definitely worth the work, but I wouldn't suggest making this more than once a year. I'm planning to make it a Christmas tradition. 

PS -- If you came over from Adventures of Newlyweds, say hi! 

This recipe is from The Weekend Baker.

You'll need

Dough:

1 c milk

8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

3 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1/3 c granulated sugar

1 large egg

Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/3 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tb unsalted butter, melted

Glaze: (courtesy of Paula Deen)
4 tbsp butter
2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 6 tbsp hot water

Do this

In a small saucepan, combine the milk and the butter. Stir constantly over medium heat until the butter melts. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until well blended.

Check the temperature of the milk mixture. It'll need to be between 115 and 125 degrees to active the yeast. Add the warm liquid and the egg to the flour and stir with the wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Dump the dough onto a floured surface.

Knead the dough with your hands. Keep kneading for about 10 minutes, and shape the dough into a ball. Lightly grease the bowl and put the dough back in it. Cover securely with plastic wrap, and let stand for about 45 to 55 minutes until doubled in size. Combine the ingredients for the cinnamon filling, except for the butter, and set aside.

Turn the dough onto a clean surface and roll out into a 12x17 inch rectangle. Pour the melted butter onto the dough and spread the cinnamon filling over that. Roll it up! Then slice one inch thick slices and place into a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise about 1 1/2 times their original size, or about 40 minutes. 

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Prepare the glaze while the rolls are baking. When the rolls are finished baking, smother them in that amazing, amazing stuff.

Then eat them before everyone arrives! 

A smooth start.

Good morning! Today started off a little different: I woke up late and decided in my sleepy haze to work from home today. I made a delicious tomato soup last night and while at the grocery store, I bought supplies for a strawberry smoothie. I was so excited for it that I didn't want to let a little late start keep me from it. So I'm lounging on the chaise from Mike's couch that we moved into the living on Sunday night and getting some work done. Turns out the sun decided to join us today as well, so I'll be going for a walk to the library this afternoon before my writing group for sure. My soup turned out so delicious last night, and it was exactly what I needed on such a dreary day. I'll be sharing that recipe later on. For now, enjoy this simple strawberry banana smoothie:

What you'll need:
5 whole frozen strawberries 
1 whole banana, peeled
4 tablespoons lowfat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup fat free milk
4 ice cubes
A blender

Simply toss all of your ingredients into the blender and pulse until your ice cubes are broken up, then blend until it's reached the consistency you like.

I've been eating too much ice cream lately, so I'm thinking of adding a few chocolate chips to this recipe for some dessert tonight.

I can stand the heat.

I've been on a baking spree the past few days. Yes, the past few in-the-90s days. We're waiting to hear back from the psychiatrist. Until then, I made one super easy recipe that's pretty versatile: Homemade Oreos. Okay, okay, so Oreos themselves aren't super versatile (unless you're making homemade ice cream, etc.), but the chocolate wafer cookies that you make pre-cream center are pretty versatile, and since I'm not really a fan of the cream center in Oreos, I'll probably use this recipe for other reasons. 

First off, I found this super simple recipe at everyday musings, which you should check out not only for her desserts-galore food section, but for her beautiful photos and well, musings. She adapted the recipe from Smitten Kitchen and I just realized Olivia's looked more like the real thing because she used dark cocoa powder. (Note to self made!)

1. My new vintage Tupperware set from the My Girl Thursday June sponsor giveaway! I won these from School of Vintage and they're awesome. 

2. My mixture of the dry ingredients. I love this huge bowl I found stuffed away in one of our kitchen cubbies. 

3. Added the wet ingredients. It kind of looks like ground beef at this stage, but soldier on. 

4. The cookies! After revisiting Olivia's version of these cookies, I really wish I'd used dark cocoa powder, but you live and learn, right?

5. Here are the cookies all assembled and filled! I much preferred them as ice cream sandwiches, but perhaps that's more to do with the 90 degree heat plus whatever my oven contributed, so see for yourself. 

I also made When Life Hands You Peaches Cobbler (the best one yet!) and these flourless peanut butter cookies, also found at everyday musings. Needless to say I had peach cobbler and ice cream for breakfast. 

Do you let a little summer heat kick you out of the kitchen or do you power up the fans and power through? 

The Legend of the Pool on Cambridge Street

Thursday was spent working from home, waiting impatiently for the Verizon technician to come fix our Internet, and going to the dentist. After a day like that, I needed a break. And a damn good dinner. Luckily Meg knew what I had in mind. When I got home from the dentist, we threw on our bathing suits and rode our bikes to the rumored pool behind the Portuguese library on Cambridge Street. I'd heard about it from a friend, but I'd never actually laid eyes on it. We rounded the corner, the smell of fresh-baked bread in our nostrils, and there she was. $1.50 in quarters to the lady who paused her iPod to take our money from us, and we were in! I snapped this photo to prove to other Cantabrigians that this pool actually exists. Then Mike said I was creepy for taking it. You win some, you lose some. 

We didn't last very long in the pool before deciding it was time for some grub. The bike ride home was cool and breezy. I wanted something simple but refreshing and filling. So I made some curly pasta, some chopped steamed asparagus, sliced some cherry tomatoes, then mixed it all together with some butter and feta cheese. And let me tell you, it was exactly what I wanted. Add a side of toasted baguette with avocado and you're looking at one happy girl who turned her meh Thursday right around. What are you eating this summer? 

Decided against the sweet peas and basil. Oh well. 

Could hardly wait to dig in.

Is it still baking if you use your microwave?

Many many months ago I came across a recipe for microwaved Nutella cake. Being a sucker for anything that includes Nutella, I jotted it down. (I have since misplaced where I actually found it, whoops!) The other night, hankering for something sweet without the hassle of actually baking something, I went for it. And here is the product of Nutella Cake in a Mug.

What you'll need...

4 tablespoons self-rising flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 egg 
3 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil, and I couldn't tell the difference)
A big ass mug
Microwave


I'm not joking about the big ass mug. I made this recipe in our biggest mug and it still rose over the top (see picture below). I panicked and put a bowl underneath, but nothing actually spilled over, it just rose above the lip and fell again once I stopped the microwave. Grab a couple friends because it's been two days since I made this and there's still a hunk of it in my fridge.

Mix all of your ingredients in your mug. I started with the egg, then the sugar, then mixed in the wet ingredients: milk, oil, Nutella. After that I slowly mixed in the flour and the cocoa powder. I used a small whisk, but the instructions recommended a fork for whisking. Make sure there are no clumps in the bottom edges of your mug. Microwave temperatures and times vary, so keep an eye on it. It took my about-to-crap-out microwave about 4-5 minutes to cook this thing, but the recipe called for 1.5-3 minutes. I plopped the monster into a bowl afterwards and scooped a little ice cream onto it. After a few bites, though, I was overloaded by the richness of it and wrapped the rest for some fridge time.

The cake was pretty good, for something thrown together and microwaved. I imagine it's the same idea behind those Betty Crocker microwavable desserts, except you can use your own ingredients (especially if you've been trying to work through a pound of self-rising flour like I have...). I definitely recommend sharing this with several people unless you want leftovers.

Nothing like the combo of warm, gooey cake and ice cream!

Recipe: When life gives you peaches cobbler.

Monday night my roommate and her boyfriend made a delicious dinner for the three of us, complete with rye whiskey and ginger beer cocktails, marinated steak tips (my mouth is watering at the memory), french bread, and a fresh salad. After a rough day of work, I knew I would need dessert and scraped through the cabinets for some cohesive ingredients. I came across Paula Deen's simple cobbler recipe and cut it in half to fit what I had. It was so simple and was the perfect end to a rough day, sitting on the porch with the evening breeze and a topper of vanilla ice cream. My mouth is watering again.


When Life Gives You Peaches Cobbler


2 peaches - peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel and cut your peaches. Put 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of water, and cut peaches into a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil then simmer until the liquid becomes a thick syrup (~about 6 minutes).

Meanwhile, put butter in your baking pan and melt in the oven. Mix remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 3/4 cup of flour. Slowly pour milk in, whisking to prevent major lumps. Pour flour mixture over the melted butter, ensuring that the bottom of the pan is covered. Spoon peaches into your pan, pouring the syrup evenly over the top. The flour mixture will rise and make little comfy cushions around the peaches.

The original recipe calls for a 30 - 45 minute cook time, but since I halved the recipe, I cooked it for about 25 minutes, letting it sit in the hot oven in the off position for a few minutes to brown the edges. I served with vanilla ice cream over the top.

A few more friends showed up after dinner, and the whole pan was devoured by the end of the night. Not bad for a thrown together mess of ingredients, eh? What are your favorite discovered recipes?

Louder than sirens, louder than bells; sweeter than heaven, hotter than hell.

This weekend is all about getting 'er done. Whether it's catching up on some overdue ladies time or making this apartment feel more like a home, I've got a lot on my plate. Luckily, it's all stuff I want to do. I'll be posting updates and pictures of my progress, but first our delicious Polish dinner before the Florence + The Machine concert on Thursday night.

We also boiled a few frozen pierogis to round out the Polish theme. Meg brought home some beers and apple pie from the coffeeshop down the street. I was stuffed when we left for the concert, which ensured that I wouldn't waste any money on the expensive concessions at the Bank of America Pavilion. It was a chilly and rainy night, so it was a little disappointing to find out our seats were of the uncovered variety once we got to the venue. (Meg scored these tickets for free from a friend who ended up having to work, so it makes up for the surprise.) We made the best of it, though, especially after Mike befriended a ticket scanner and ran back to the car for a big picnic blanket and an umbrella. By the end of the concert, I was wrapped entirely in the blanket, dancing my tush off. 

For some reason, I tend to listen more closely to song lyrics when I'm hearing them live. Last night was no different, and I officially am enamored of Drumming Song. I can relate to the theme of being driven almost mad by someone, feeling that intensity inside your body that you can't seem to control. It's almost a cautionary tale about how hypnotic that feeling can be and eventually take over to the point of consumption. Go down to the river and dive straight in. I pray the water will drown out the din. 

 Turkey kielbasa stuffed with sauerkraut sauteed with onions and cheese. 

 Twice baked potatoes. 

And mini salads with romaine, cucumbers, tomato, and cheese chunks

If you're interested in a super simple recipe, check it out below the jump!

In which I bake a cake.

Wow, what a beautiful day. I woke up at 6:30 when Mike left for work, threw on some clothes, and walked down to the Radical Roaster, their local coffeeshop. I had an English muffin with jam and a latte. I did a little reading, some conversation eavesdropping (a writer's job!), and a bit of writing. It felt so nice to wake up early and have a bit of my own day before work began. I came back around 8, took a shower, and now I'm working from Mike's home for the second day in a row. I must admit, I get a little antsy working from home so much. It's been such a blessing, having this option to come visit and work from here without worrying about missing work or not seeing each other very much. But when I work from home so much and am hardly in the office, I get this weird paranoia that I'm going to get fired. Old habits die hard, I suppose. I just need to trust that I am doing all of my work well, and that my boss would let me know if I was slipping or not performing up to par.

Today is Twinkie cake day! It's in the oven right now, and I'm excited to continue the process. First step? Beat four egg whites, and since Mike doesn't have a beater, I had to use the good old by-hand method. I thought I was going to go insane, beating egg whites until they were firm by hand. Do not try this at home. Oh well, that boy knows I love him and now, so does my right forearm. Phew!

I tweaked a recipe I found online, so if you ever need to make a larger-than-life Twinkie ice cream cake, here you go!

What You'll Need

• A hand or stand mixer, or a really strong arm
• 4 egg whites
• 16 oz pound cake mix
• 2/3 cup water
• Whipped vanilla/white frosting
• Vanilla ice cream, softened
• Bread pan (roughly in the shape of a real Twinkie)

First is the hard part (silver lining: It's all easy from there!): Beat four egg whites until firm. They will roughly resemble whipped cream. This is what mine looked like halfway through:

Then beat the egg whites, cake mix, and water for about 2 minutes on medium speed (or until your arm falls off). Pour into greased Twinkie-shaped pan. Then stare at it while it bakes (for about 25 - 30 minutes). [This post was getting a little photo-heavy, so scroll down for a slideshow of the process.]

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut the cake longways in half, like you're going to make a sandwich out of it. Hollow the cake out, leaving a good inch of cake on each side of the hollow area to make sure the ice cream mixture does not leak through.

In another bowl, mix together several scoops of ice cream, two tablespoons of frosting, and a few good chunks of the cake bits you just hollowed out. This part is mixed according to taste. Get creative and add candy pieces, sprinkles, or chocolate! Since I'm going for a Twinkie-esque experience, I kept it simple. Once the mixture is combined, pour it into the hollow areas of your cake. I then lined the outer edge of the cake with frosting to work as glue when I placed the top back on. Cover the cake in plastic wrap and put in the freezer to set!

Tonight, I plan to add a little more frosting to the top, pop in a few candles and put some strawberries around the edge of plate. I cannot wait.

What weird birthday cakes have you seen/made lately?

(Pictures after the jump.)

Twinkies + Ice Cream = My Weekend

This weekend is my boyfriend's birthday. For some reason, whenever it's someone I love's birthday, I feel it's my responsibility to make a cake. And since this is the first time I've ever had a significant someone on the day commemorating their birth, I gotta make this one good.

My first major undertaking for a kick-ass birthday cake was my good friend Crunchy's (short for Crunch Granola, a loving nickname) 21st birthday. She loves chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches with all of her tree-hugging heart, and so I made her one. A huge one, which we hacked away at for a good week or so after her party.

And so, for Mike's birthday, I plan to make another overly-large ice cream cake except in imitation of his favorite ice cream: Herrell's Twinkie ice cream.

Please, enjoy my paint skills.

So, my major undertaking for this week (hopefully Friday while he's at work), is to make a larger-than-life Twinkie stuffed with vanilla ice cream that has frosting and cake bits mixed in.

Wish me luck, and keep an eye out for pictures of the process/finished product on Friday! I'll take tips or suggestions in the comments section or on Twitter, please!

What are your most memorable birthday cakes or celebrations?

Don't sit down! (and a quick recipe)

Seriously, though. My coworker sent me this link this morning, and we both proceeded to freak out. Even if you exercise, your risk increases. It's just another reminder that I need to keep working toward my ideal career, whatever that may be. Also a great reminder that I need to become more active, if only to stagnate this terrible process undergoing my body via this office job. I'm so blessed to have a boyfriend who's sports crazy to push me to try new things and stay on my feet.

Mike and I got back to Cambridge last night and made dinner and some molten lava cakes for Jenna's birthday. She and Ron get back today from San Fran, and we're celebrating at her apartment after work. I'm excited to give her her gift; I think I did pretty well this year! I just need to grab a white frame after work and head over.

I braved the impending rain today, and rode my bike. The cool wind was pretty refreshing, and I always feel so awake (even sans coffee!) when I ride my bike. Granted, I only rode it to the train, but one of my goals this summer is to ride it all the way into Newton one day. There's a company gym in our building, so I can just shower when I get to work. I'm excited to have a goal, and hopefully one day I can build up to training for a triathlon or something. Cheers to resolutions in the middle of the year!

For dinner last night, Mike and I had some pasta, chicken apple sausage, mushrooms, onions, and red sauce. It was guh-lish. I knew I wanted a salad with the pasta, but I was hesitant to buy a whole bunch of greens, since I'll be heading back to Ludlow tomorrow for birthday celebrations. Then, standing in the cheese area of Market Basket, my lightbulb flicked on. Of course! A caprese salad!

I bought a little ball of mozzarella, some on-the-vine tomatoes, and a little bunch of basil. Simply slice the mozzarella and arrange on a plate. Slice the tomatoes and layer on top of the cheese, then place chopped bits of basil on top. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper and balsamic vinegar to taste. We used some basil for our pasta too! It was refreshing and a great reminder that summer's on its way. Plus we used all of the ingredients (totaling about $6 in all - cheaper than a caprese salad for one at a restaurant!), so there's no waste.

What simple spring/summer recipes are you rediscovering this time of year? Please share!

Short story month!

May is Short Story Month, and all of the chatter about stories around Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook has me aching to get to writing and reading! Tonight I have Writles reading, and then hopefully hours of getting lost in writing. I requested a few books from the library today, and I'm so close to finishing Joyce Carol Oates' memoir, A Widow's Story (highly recommended). I'll be writing a review for that for this Friday at the Daily Genoshan, and I need to write a little something for 5x500.

I've been trying some spring cleaning in all areas of my life. Last Friday I woke up at 7 am and cleaned the whole apartment. We're talking dishes, sweeping, mopping, scrubbing the tub, the whole deal. Then I opened the windows and let the breeze remove the cleaning product smell. It was perfect and invigorating! I'm trying to apply that go get it attitude to other areas of my life as well: Eating, exercising, reading, writing. I want to clear out the things that I've let build up out of pure laziness (and I'll blame a little bit on the weather) and get rid of those bad habits. I've been struggling lately with where my head has been in regards to my career and ambitions, and I definitely think this is a push in the right direction.

Hopefully short story month + spring cleaning = hurry, summer!

That said, I can't wait to try the recipe for these Citrus Bars over at From Scratch!

Back in the 'Bridge.

As usual, the weekend went too fast. Here I am, back in Auburndale. The rest of our weekend was pretty awesome. Saturday we went to the Eric Carle Museum. He's the author and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and they had other exhibits with illustrations from other children's books. Some of our favorites were I Still Hate to Read! and How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? Afterward, we browsed the bookstore and saw the most impressive Alice in Wonderland pop-up book ever. Maybe someday I'll write children's books. I bought some postcards to send to Nabi and Dad, and then we headed to Northhampton for a sober romp.

We had planned out all of our meals for the weekend, but by this point we were hungry, so we decided to get a bowl of soup and some Herrell's ice cream to hold us over. A cup of clam chowder (tomato basil cheddar for Mike), a cup of coffee, and a cup of cookies 'n' cream (Twinkie ice cream for Mike) later, we were satisfied and headed over to Faces. Guh. We spent a good hour or two browsing the rando but awesome stuff they have, took pictures in the (overpriced but worth it) photobooth (hello, new bookmark!), and laughed pretty hard over a book called Cake Wrecks. There's a blog, too, that I want to check out, though I'm nervous to do so at work. The book had me crying, borderline hyperventilating, and overheating in my coat. God bless Mike for standing next to me while I freaked out.

I bought Makani a Yo Gabba Gabba! tub set, and Mike got some mugs for his apartment. We headed home and made some delicious Portuguese rice, chorizo from his landlord's store, and baguette. OH, and homemade peanut butter cups. That's right, straight from Delightfully Tacky's recipe. We also made a huge one that did not get eaten. I'm heading back to the Lud on Thursday night since March is a hectic month with visitors at my apartment, so I'm trying to get as much Lud + Mike time in before then. Maybe we'll crack into that bad boy on Saturday night, when Mike plans to make fake Goten noodles. Maybe he'll get to show off his seasoning juggling skills.

I was feeling a little out of it last night after our impromptu two hour nap (guh), so I wasn't too social at bowling. I felt like a bummer and a weirdo, so hopefully I'll be more awake and make a better impression this weekend.

Yesterday before bowling and the infamous nap, Mike and I got some work done, and I made a little progress in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, and I made some more on the train this morning. It's actually growing on me, and I'm picking up speed.

Tonight is reorganizing my life and my brain with a quiet night in: Laundry, dinner, catching up on Writles reading/writing, and an early night to bed. Ploughshares' contest ends next week, so I better get cracking on my story! My first issue of the Paris Review came while I was away, so I plan to crack that open at some point tonight.

I'm taking the bus to Ludlow Thursday so maybe I'll get some quality reading/writing time in then, too.

Mmm, homemade peanut butter cups. I love practicing for my future bakery.