Cinnamon Roll Cake

I've been spending way too much time on pinterest, especially when it comes to finding recipes. The other day I realized that I had pinned upwards of 30 recipes but had not considered actually making one of them.  So last week I did a week full of pinterest recipes, one of which was this cinnamon roll cake!  It's warm and gooey, and I'm telling myself it's a breakfast food....  I think it's the cinnamon that helps it qualify.  This would be extremely easy to whip up for a brunch or the morning of Christmas, and it's just the right thing to get your day started. 

Cinnamon Roll Cake
from Cookin' Up North via Pinterest

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. buter, melted

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbl. flour
1 Tbl. cinnamon

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbl. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

In a large bowl mix the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla until throughly combined.  Slowly add in the butter stirring as you add it, then pour into the greased 9x13 pan. 

In another bowl combine the ingredients for the topping: butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon, and mix well until everything is combined.  Drop spoonfuls of the topping evenly over the batter and then use a knife to swirl around.  (Side note: if you spread it well enough you may not have to do a lot of swirling, it's a good amount of topping).  Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, make sure the middle is cooked through and not jiggly.

Mix together the glaze and pour over the cinamon roll cake while still warm.  Enjoy!

-D

Cinnamon Ripple Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

I always like the idea of breakfast foods that could also be dessert...then you don't have to feel guilty about the large amounts of sugar you're consuming before noon.  I took three different recipes I found online and combined them to make one mega-muffin so there are three different components, the muffin, the topping, and the cream cheese filling.  I think it would be good without one of them, but with their powers combined (Captain Planet shout-out) they really make a great treat for the morning.  This recipe definitely doesn't save you from calories, but if you need a pick me up in the morning to get you to lunch, these should definitely do the job.

Cinnamon Ripple Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Makes 12 muffins

For the cinnamon ripple:

1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed

4 tbl butter, softened and cut into small pieces

1/4 c. flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

For the batter:

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. oats

1/2 c. flour

4 tbl. butter, softened

For the cream cheese filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12 muffin tin.

First, let's make the cream cheese filling since it needs to sit in the freezer for awhile.  In a bowl combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Spread the mixture into a log formation on a piece of saran wrap.  Wrap tightly with the saran wrap into the log shape and put in your freezer for at least 1 hour, but preferably 2. 

Next,  make the cinnamon ripple by combining the brown sugar, butter, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl with a fork until completely combined.  Set aside.  Then, make the topping by combining the brown sugar, oats, flour, and brown sugar in a bowl with a fork until combined, set aside.

Now onto the muffins!  In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In the stand of a mixer beat the butter and the sugar until fluffy and light in color.   Add both eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.  Pour the cinnamon ripple mixture on top and fold with a spatula just a few times.  Use a scoop (I used an ice cream scoop) to fill the muffin tin (this made 12 muffins for me).  Next, take the cream cheese mixture from the freezer and divide into 12 equal sized pieces.  Drop one piece into each filled muffin tin, pushing it down into the middle of the muffin.   Then, evenly divide your topping between the 12 muffins.  (Are you exhausted yet from all these steps?  I'm exhausted from typing them.)

Bake the muffins for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the muffin (be careful not to prick the side with the cream cheese) comes out clean.  Let cool for about 5 minutes and then enjoy!

-D

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

For some reason I have recently become obsessed with lemon baked goods.  I think it's the smell of it in our house while it's baking.  And the zest, it's so......zesty! These muffins smell and taste great, and would make a perfect addition to any Easter brunch.  They're moist and fluffy with a sweet and tangy glaze on top, just perfect.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
adapted from Annies Eats

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. yogurt, plain

Glaze:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a mixer beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy and light.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure it is fully combined before adding the next.  Mix in the lemon zest and the vanilla.  Then, add the dry ingredients and yogurt, alternating in three batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture. 

Fill the muffin pan with the batter, filling each one 2/3 full (these puff up nicely).  Bake for 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until a knife inserted into the muffin comes out clean.  Let these cool in the pan slightly then finish on a wire rack.

For the glaze: mix the powdered sugar and the lemon juice together in a small bowl and drizzle it over the muffins while still warm.

Enjoy!

-D

Easy White Bread

If there's one thing  I'm afraid of (besides birds...don't ask) it is making anything bread related.  Particularly pie crusts, but not limited to loaves of bread.  This recipe has six easy ingredients and doesn't take too much work on your part to get it all together.  I will say that I have found that my biggest weakness is kneading dough, so next time I will definitely whip this up in my Kitchenaid mixer and save myself some trouble.  This bread is sweet on it's own, but delicious with some butter and honey.

Easy White Bread
yields 2 loaves
from Allrecipes.com

2 c. warm water (110 degrees F at the max)
2/3 c. white sugar
1 1/2 tbl active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
6 c. bread flour

In a bowl dissolve the sugar in the warm water then stir in the yeast.  Let it sit until the yeast has become foamy (and has that incredible yeast smell), this took me about 10 minutes.

Then, mix the salt and oil into the yeast.  Add the flour one cup at a time until incorporated.  Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth.   I found that this dough was pretty sticky so keep lots of flour on hand.  Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in size (took me a little over an hour.

When the dough has doubled punch down the dough then divide the dough in half (this is where you'd freeze half of it if you don't want to make two loaves that day).  Allow to rise in a greased loaf pan for about an hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until slightly brown on top.

-D

Buttery Brioche

This bread doesn't have crazy ingredients and really the steps for it are very simple if you just take a glance at them, but the time it takes to make it really will blow your mind.  That being said, if you love soft and buttery bread then it is totally worth it.  Better than that if you make the full recipe (which Dorie Greenspan says you should...so you definitely should) it makes enough dough for two loaves OR a loaf AND honey buns.  Buttery, gooey, sticky, honey buns.  So good. I've linked to another website with the ingredients and directions because honestly I just don't have enough patience to type it all out.  I will say that the hardest part is being patient enough to wait for the butter to be incorporated, so make sure you pull up a magazine and get ready to sit for a litle bit!

-D

Homemade Waffles

Who doesn't love a warm toasty waffle in the morning? Our waffle maker was one of the wedding presents I was most excited about and we have definitely put it to good use. These waffles are crispy and light, and when you use a belgium waffle maker it holds so much delicious syrup. Or you can always serve them like my grandpa who serves them with strawberries and whipped cream, like a strawberry shortcake for breakfast!

Homemade Waffles
from Allrecipes.com

2 eggs
1 3/4 c milk
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 tbl white sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the eggs in a stand mixer until foamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix only until incorporated. Pour the batter into a greased and heated waffle iron. Cook according to waffle iron's instructions.

-D