Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Let me start out by saying that yeast is my nemesis. I have always struggled with it, and a few years ago I swore it off completely. When I was a kid my grandmother always made rolls that were amazing and I tried for years to duplicate them and I was unable to. After last Thanksgiving, I decided that I would never be able to, so I QUIT. But, I have a weakness for cinnamon bread, I think it is delicious!! It is sweet, but not too sweet. I went through 3 rounds before I was successful, but I was determined. I had trouble getting it to rise, probably because I keep my house pretty cool, but I researched and found a few tricks. The way that worked the best for me was putting a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil and then place the water on the bottom shelf, and put the dough on the top shelf, and VOILA! The moisture gets trapped in the oven and makes it rise beautifully.
Here is the recipe!!
(Look how pretty it is)


Ingredients:
(dough)
1/2 cup milk
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra

(filling and glaze)
1/4 cup sugar
5 tsp ground cinnamon
milk for brushing
1 large egg
2 tsp milk

Instructions:
Begin with the dough. Heat milk and butter together in a small saucepan until butter melts. Cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, sprinkle yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir slowly in a circular motion while adding sugar, eggs, salt and lukewarm milk mixture. Continue stirring a bit more quickly, and add 2 cups of flour until mixed thoroughly, then add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour until mixed through. Add more flour if dough seems extremely sticky. Remove dough from bowl, and knead on a floured surface for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in covered, greased bowl to rise for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until doubled in size. Once risen, punch dough down once in the center, and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix cinnamon and sugar together for filling, and grease 9x5 inch loaf pan. Roll dough into an 8x18 inch rectangle, with the 8 inch side facing toward you. Brush milk over dough, and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over it, leaving a 1/2 inch edge on the side farthest away. Beginning with the side closest to you, roll dough into a log shape, pressing ends together to make sure that it does not become more than 8 inches. Pinch dough ends together to form a tight seam, and push ends of dough toward the center. Pinch outside dough edges together to form a seal. Place the dough seam-side down into the loaf pan, and press down evenly. Let the dough rise more until it is about 1 inch above the edge of the pan (30-60 minutes). Preheat oven to 350, and combine milk with egg. Before baking, brush this mixture over the top of the loaf. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown, and let cool for 45 minutes before serving.

Bacon, Bacon, Bacon

Saturday, September 4 is National Bacon Day!! If there is any food that deserves a day it is definitely bacon. So, in honor of this day I made bacon cupcakes. These cupcakes were born from several different things. A while ago I was watching the Food Network, as I usually am, and they had a show dedicated to bacon, imagine that. And on that show someone made an apple bacon maple doughnut and it looked freakin amazing! I have always been a little against the combination of sweet and salty, but that changed my mind. I made an apple bacon maple cupcake with maple buttercream and garnished it with a little chopped bacon. The result was a yummy salty, mapley (I am not sure if that is a word) cupcake with a great texture. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and when you bite into it you get a little crunch from the bacon and the sweetness from the apples. I know that this sounds weird to some of you, but take it from me, I had my doubts, but they are really good. And, I think because they have bacon in them I can eat them for breakfast too!!
Happy Bacon Day!

Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Apples

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and then cooled
2 eggs
1 tsp maple extract
1/2 cup milk
10-12 slices bacon (chopped)
1 medium apple diced into small pieces (I sauteed the apples in the same pan that I used to cook the bacon, you need to cook the apples first or they will not cook all the way)

Preheat the oven to 350 and line 12 muffin cupsCombine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl

Beat the sugar, eggs, and butter until light and fluffy. Whip in the maple extract. Alternate adding the flour and milk in 3 batches and mix until everything is blended. Fold in the apples and 3/4 of the bacon.

Scoop batter into pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack




Maple Buttercream

2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon maple extract
Pinch of salt
If the frosting is too thick you may need to add 1-2 teaspoons of milk

Beat butter until light and fluffy, add confectioners sugar, maple extract, and salt. Blend until desired consistency, you may need to add 1-2 teaspoons of milk if the frosting is too thick.

Frost cooled cupcakes with maple buttercream and garnish with the remainder of the bacon

Vodka Thyme Lemonade

In an effort to cover the cocktail section of this blog, I thought I would post this recipe. It sounds delicious, and the next time I have a boatload of lemons, I am going to make this. The only thing that would make it better is if it had a little mint. Since it is a million degrees outside, I might have to make some this weekend, and then I will be forced to drink it all!! :)



http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/drinks/vodka-thyme-lemonade/

BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!!

I have struggled with chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years, I have never found one that has made me really happy...until now!! These cookies are amazing. They are a copycat recipe from the Levain bakery in New York City. If you have not heard about it, it is famous for the chocolate chip cookies, they have been on the Food Network. I like them because they don't flatten out. It is a very different recipe than a traditional cookie recipe, it is very specific about the temperature of the ingredients. But trust me, it is GOOD. The recipe calls for nuts and I didn't put them in because I didn't have them, but they don't need them

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, cool but slightly softened
2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs, straight from the fridge
2 3/4 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 375

In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, mix together butter and sugar on low speed until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed until incorporated.

Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 13-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the tops are just lightly browned. (For smaller cookies, of course you'll need to watch them because they'll bake much faster.) Cool completely on wire racks. Store airtight until you eat them all!


Recipe borrowed from howtoeatacupcake.net

Vanilla Bean Paste (product review)

I recently discovered a product called vanilla bean paste. I bought a magazine that had a whole section devoted to vanilla in all it's different forms. There was of course plain old vanilla extract, which is good in a pinch. And the actual vanilla bean, which I enjoy as well. The bean doesn't have as much flavor as the extract, but it has the black flecks which is fun. And you can seep it in liquids and make vanilla flavored things, like simple syrup. You can also make vanilla sugar with the bean!

But my favorite by far is Vanilla bean paste. It is a little expensive (like about $7-$10 for 4 ounces) It lasts for a long time, and it is hard to find. They do not have it at the grocery store, you will have to go to a specialty store or order it online. I found it at a cake decorating store here in Phoenix. I use it in a lot of recipes instead of regular vanilla, and it is awesome in homemade ice cream. It is one of my things to bake with, I made some really yummy butter cream yesterday, stay tuned for the recipe soon

Vanilla Brown Butter Cupcakes

I found this recipe and I had to try it. I did not think that the brown butter would make it taste that much different, but it gave the cupcakes a whole different flavor. The brown butter tastes kind of toasty, and it makes the cupcakes delicious. The recipe goes together really easily also, once the butter is browned and cooled you just kind of throw it all together. The frosting on these wasn't bad either. I used a vanilla bean butter cream and it was delicious. I could have eaten the whole bowl of frosting by itself, but I didn't, which I think shows remarkable restraint. I have discovered product called vanilla bean paste and I have fallen in love. It is a little expensive, but I think it is worth it. It is like a magnified vanilla taste, and it has the beans in it so you can see the little black flecks in whatever you put it in. It is also hard to find, but it lasts for a while, so if you can find it, you'll be in business!! These are possibly the best cupcakes that I have made, or had in quite a while.
Hope you enjoy

Vanilla Brown Butter Cupcakes
Makes 12

1/3 Cup Butter
1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon of salt
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (if you have vanilla bean paste, use it instead, TRUST ME)
3/4 Cup Milk (I used 2%)

Preheat oven to 350 and line 12 muffin tins

Melt butter in a small saucepan and cook over low-medium heat until butter has turned an amber color and smells toasty, but not burnt. Butter will darken quickly once it begins to turn. Pour from saucepan, scraping all the browned bits from the bottom with a spatula, into a small bowl to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cooled butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Distribute batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.


Vanilla Bean Buttercream (best frosting EVER)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (if you don't have it, you can use vanilla extract, but it is not as fantastic)
Approx 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-4 tablespoons milk

Cream butter with an electric mixer until soft. Add vanilla and gradually add in sugar until most has been incorporated. Mixture will look a bit sandy. Add in milk as necessary (start with 2 tbsp), along with any remaining sugar, until frosting reaches an easy to work with consistency. The amount of sugar necessary will vary according to the weather and season, so you might need a bit extra if it’s humid out!

Frozen Fruit Pops

It is HOT!! At least for those of us here in the dessert of Arizona, it is roasting outside. So baking and cooking are not as fun, so I made homemade popsicles last week and they were a HUGE hit with my kids, and a few other ones too. I used paper cups and lollipop sticks since I do not have popsicle molds.

Here you go

8 3 Oz paper cups
8 Lollipop Sticks (or popsicle sticks)
12 Ounces of cubed up fruit (I used a combination of watermelon and blueberries one time. And also a combination of strawberries and blueberries, both were delicious. If you use watermelon you need to add a little sugar)
1/2 Cup of Simple Syrup *
2 Teaspoons of Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Water

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into the paper cups and put in the freezer. When it gets a little slushy (the stick will stand up) put the stick in and let them freeze the rest of the way.

When you are ready to eat just peel the paper cup off!!