Dark & Dangerous Cinnamon Buns

Yum!

I highly recommend this book - King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. We have made many recipes from it now and I feel confident that you will get many healthy and yummy uses from it.

And now for this delicious recipe:

For the dough

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
5 tablespoons honey
1 large egg, yolk and white separated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup dry potato flakes or 3 tablespoons potato flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast

For the filling

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons cinnamon
pinch of salt

For the icing

2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons milk

To make the dough

Combine all the doug ingredients, using the egg yolk and setting the white aside to use in the filling. Mix and knead–by hand, mixer or bread machine– until you have a medium -soft, smooth doug. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it's quite puffy, though probably not doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours. While the dough is rising, make the filling.

To make the filling

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, egg white, cinnamon and salt until completely combined.

To assemble the rolls

Gently punch down the dough and place it on a lightly greased surface. Roll the dough out until it is a 12 x 16" rectangle. Scoop the filling onto the dough and use an off-set spatula or wet fingers to spread it evenly over the dough, leaving a 1" margin along one of the long edges. Roll the dough into a log (not too tight to allow for rising), starting with the long end that has the filling all the way to the edge, turning it so the seam will be flat against the surface. Use a serrated knife and cut the dough into 16 1" pieces.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Evenly space the buns into a 9 x 13" baking dish lightly coated with nonstick spray. They won't touch one another. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1 1/4 hours - they will not double in size, but should rise by about half as large as they started out.

Place in the oven and bake until they are a deep golden brown on top, about 24-28 minutes. Remove the pan and set on a wire rack for about 3 minutes. Carefully turn the rolls out onto a wire rack and then flip them back again (so the tops are up) onto another wire cooling rack.

To make the icing

In a large mixing bowl, mix together confectioners' sugar, vanilla, butter, salt and 2 tablespoons milk. Add in additional milk, if necessary, to achieve a creamy spreadable icing. Spread the icing over the baked rolls.

Makes 16 buns.

White Chocolate Cookies

I had a bag of white chocolate chips that I wanted to use up so I went searching for a new recipe to try and struck white gold! These were really tasty cookies. Definitely worth a try. My last batch got slightly over baked but I have to say they were really good that way. They sort of reminded me of Pecan Sandies when I was a kid. Yum!

Here is the recipe from All Recipes.

Peelin'

Hello and Happy New Year!

Looks like I need to dust this blog off a little bit. I am taking a break from both of my blogs (man, we have really neglected this poor food blog). I have still been researching and I came across this post about peeling a wide range of veggies/fruits.

It is always nice to find out tricks to save time and make the process all the more fun. I remember how much I used to hate chopping garlic years ago. Before I learned to give the garlic a good thump with the side of a knife and my palm, I would cut the top of the garlic and then peel the papery coat off, all the while my fingers getting sticker with garlic juice and my patience running thin. I even bought a jar of the minced garlic in a jar, but I didn't get through it fast enough and it just wasn't like fresh garlic. So needless to say I was so happy to learn the EASY way.

And this method of doing ginger was a new one for me.

I hope you find some of the tips helpful.

Peanut Butter Surprise!

We had peanut butter cups leftover (aww shucks!) from the lack of trick-or-treaters this year. So I decided to make these delicious cookies. These cookies carry a serious punch and require a milk chaser :)

Ingredients
Makes 36

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough
• 36 mini peanut butter cups, chilled and unwrapped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.
3. Scoop off dough by the tablespoon; roll into balls. Place granulated sugar on a plate; roll balls in sugar, coating completely. Place 2 inches apart on a nonstick insulated baking sheet.
4. Bake until cookies begin to puff up slightly, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven. Press one peanut butter cup in center of each cookie. Return to oven; continue baking until cookies are golden brown and chocolate has begun to melt, about 6 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to rack to cool completely.

Nutty for Oats Cookies

These are sooooo delicious! I am definitely nutty about oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate together. I have always altered recipes to get these three ingredients together. When I worked in a bakery I even had my own cookie recipe that sold well - people love this combination. So when I saw this recipe in one of my favorite baking books - King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking- I jumped to try it.

Nutty for Oats Cookies
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter (I used Adam's Chunky peanut butter)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick, 2oz.)
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, ground for 30 seconds in a food processor
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups (12 oz.) chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chips, but milk chocolate would be tasty too)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

Cream the peanut butter, butter, sugar, vanilla, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat in eggs, scraping the bowl once they're incorporated, then add the ground oats, old-fashioned rolled oats and chocolate chips. Drop the dough with small ice cream scoop (I prefer the ice cream scoops) or a tablespoon on to the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies 11-13 minutes, rotate pans midway through. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on the pans.

Pour a glass of milk and enjoy!

Pesto Pizza + Salad

This is one of our favorite meals. Try it!

Pesto
1/2 c. walnuts
4 c. fresh basil
1/2 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil (we usually only put in 1/4 c. to lower the fat)

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, tossing occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

2. In a food processor, combine the toasted nuts, basil, Parmesan, and garlic; season with slat and pepper. Process until finely chopped. With the machine running, pour the olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Makes 1¼ cups.


Thin Crust Pizza Dough
1½ c. water
1½ tbsp olive oil
1¾ c. whole wheat flour
2 c. bread flour
1½ tbsp sugar
1½ salt
1½ tsp active dry yeast

We use a bread machine to mix and rise the dough. The basic dough setting on my machine does: 21 min. kneading, 45 min. first rising, 22min. stir down and second rising.

1. Flour hands lightly. Shape dough into a ball. Divide ball in quarters. Press each quarter of dough into greased, 12 inch pizza pan forming 1 inch edge. Makes four 12 inch pizzas. Alternatively the dough can be safely frozen in sandwich bags or an airtight container, to defrost the dough move to the fridge the night before.

2. Brush crust with oil. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

3. Spoon pesto over dough, top with cheese and toppings of your choice. We top it with mozzarella and Parmesan with green peppers, olives, mushrooms and tomatoes.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 400˚ F or until cheese gets bubbly and crust is golden.

It is my favorite Friday meal!

Maple Granola

Another great recipe success from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book. This granola is so great! Chris made a second batch today. We gobbled up the first batch like it was going out of style. As a cereal nut this is a keeper.

The biggest time sink is prep of all the ingredients, but once you are past that it is a breeze. I think it is well worth the effort - Yum!

Maple Granola
You can also get the same recipe at this link.

7 cups (1 1/2 pounds) rolled oats, uncooked
1 cup (4 ounces) flaked unsweetened coconut (optional, but good)
1 cup (4 ounces) stabilized wheat germ
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sliced almonds
1 cup (4 ounces) diced pecans or walnuts
1 cup sunflower seeds, raw or toasted
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (11 ounces) pure maple syrup*
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) vanilla extract
5 cups (about 20 ounces) mixed dried fruit** (raisins, cranberries, cherries, diced pineapple, diced apricots, chopped dates, or the mixture of your choice)

*Pure maple syrup (as opposed to maple-flavored cane sugar syrup) makes a MUCH tastier granola. If you use "fake" syrup, be advised you’ll have to use a lot more to get the same degree of sweetness; probably an additional 1/2 cup.

**Our Fruitcake Fruits, 20 ounces of tasty dried apricots, raisins, pineapple, dates, and cranberries, is the perfect size for this recipe.

(Chris puts in apricots, golden raisins and cranberries for our dried fruit selection)

In a very large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour over the dry mixture in the bowl, stirring and tossing till everything is very well combined; a spoonula or large stirring spoon work well here.

Spread granola on a couple of large lightly greased baking sheets; a half-sheet pan is ideal. Bake in a preheated 250°F oven for about 2 hours, stirring the mixture after an hour or so. You want to bring the granola at the edge in towards the middle, so it all browns evenly. And reverse the baking sheets in the oven (top to bottom, bottom to top) after you stir.

When the granola is a light–to–medium golden brown, remove it from the oven and cool completely on the pans. Transfer the granola to a large bowl, and mix in the dried fruit. Store in a tightly closed container at room temperature for several weeks; freeze for extended storage. Or portion into pretty patterned plastic bags for gift-giving.
Yield: about 18 cups, about 4 1/4 pounds granola.