Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been super busy the past week! I made care packages for my brother and his friend in Korea, baking goodies for my family, and trying out new recipes.

Winter is my favorite time of year and the holidays are the perfect excuse to bake homemade goodies. Having someone to send them to makes it more fun!

I put chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, cinnamon pecans, and the easiest and tastiest cocoa brownies ever! The cinnamon pecans are a huge hit with my hubby, girls, and really everybody that eats them! I made them once and a friend of mine said "I don't like pecans." I said, "Ok, but just taste it." She did, smiled, and said "You have just changed my mind about pecans!" The recipe is simple, but the end result is so tasty!

I made praline iced brownies for my family and they were amazing! I loved the praline topping and would have been happy to eat it by itself! The brownies were almost fudge like and they were delicious!

I tried my hand at monkey bread and it was good, but I have a pretty cheap bundt pan, and the topping stuck to the pan so I had to scrape it out and place it over the dough balls. Maybe I'll spring for the more expensive one next time! The topping was awesome though and my hubby and I kept snacking on it all day!

I will be baking more throughout the holidays. I'll be making my hubby's favorite cookies, Thumbprint cookies, more cinnamon pecans, and who knows what else I'll get into!

My New Toy

My husband and I received a Sunbeam mixer when we got married almost ten years ago. It was a great mixer, worked well, and I got a lot of use out of it. My middle daughter recently ran off with one of the beaters and after searching this house multiple times, I still haven't found it. I'm sure when we move it will show up! Anyway, I've still been using my mixer, with one beater. That beater mixed up things well, but I could tell it was tired of trying to mix cookies and cupcakes all alone. It never gave up though! I have had my eye on the KitchenAid mixer for a while, but could never justify the purchase because my mixer was still working.
I got my Christmas present early from my sweet hubby! A new mixer, the fabulous KitchenAid mixer I've had my eye on for a while! It's an awesome mixer and I have had so much fun using it the past couple of days!
I was sad to see my old mixer go...it has been loyal and hardworking. When we threw it out my oldest daughter petted it and said, "Good-bye old mixer, we'll miss you."

Breakfast Pinwheels

I decided to try something new for breakfast since I'm pretty sure my family is tired of muffins! It would be my first disaster of the day! The recipe was simple enough, but my dough rolling skills need work! I found the recipe on www.bettycrocker.com. They are not pretty, but they are tasty and I guess that is what really matters! The recipe calls for currants, but I used dried cranberries.

What you need for the Pinwheels

2 1/4 cups Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1/4 granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried currants
1 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk

What to do

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and 1/2 cup of milk until soft dough forms.

Place dough on a surface that has been generously sprinkled with Bisquick . Roll the dough in the Bisquick and coat. Knead the dough 5 times.

Press or roll the dough into an 11x8 rectangle.

Spread dough with 1 tbsp softened butter.

In a small bowl mix granulated sugar, cinnamon, walnuts and currants; sprinkle over the top of the dough ; press in slightly. Starting with an 11 inch side, roll up dough tightly; seal the edge. Cut into 3/4 inch slices. Place slices on cookie sheet. Brush slices with melted butter.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix the glaze ingredients adding milk, 1 tsp at a time, until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle the glaze over the warm pinwheels. Serve warm.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cinnamon-Orange Mini Muffins

I found this awesome recipe at www.bettycrocker.com. They are easy to make, but they taste fabulous!

What you need

2 cups Bisquick mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

What to do

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease the bottoms only of 24 mini muffin tins with shortening or cooking spray or line them with paper baking cups

In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, 1/4 cup sugar, the softened butter, milk, orange peel, and egg until blended; beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. In a small bowl, stir together 2/3 cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Immediately roll tops of muffins in melted butter, then in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm.

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Scones

One of my hubby's favorite foods is the scone. I had never made them before, but I found this really easy recipe from www.bettycrocker.com. So, I made them Sunday night for breakfast on Monday. The actual recipe is for Cherry-Chocolate Chip Scones, but I decided to use dried cranberries and I was looking for white sprinkles, but couldn't find any, so I used green. The recipe says to finely chop the fruit, but I put it in whole. They looked like Christmas with the red cranberries and green sprinkles...these will probably become a regular breakfast treat in my house!

What you need

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
1/3 cup finally chopped dried cranberries, cherries (any dried fruit)
1/3 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg
About 1 tbsp milk
About 1 tbsp decorator sugar sprinkles

What to do

Heat oven to 425 degrees

Grease a cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.

In a medium bowl stir Bisquick, fruit, chocolate chips, granulated sugar, whipping cream, and egg until soft dough forms.

Place dough on surface sprinkled with Bisquick mix; gently roll in Bisqucik mix to coat. Shape into a ball; knead 10 times. Pat dough into 8 inch circle on cookie sheet, Brush dough with milk; sprinkle with sugar crystals. Cut into 8 wedges, but do not separate.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown; carefully separate wedges. Serve warm

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Sunday morning I made Chocolate Chip Muffins for breakfast. I have made them before and they are always a hit! They are super simple and delicious! I found the recipe at www.allrecipes.com.

What you need:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar

What to do

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Grease the bottoms only of 12 muffin cups or line them with baking cups

In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips, and salt; mix well. In a small bowl combine the milk, oil, and egg; blend well. Add dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy.)

Fill cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops of muffins before baking with the 3 tbsp of white sugar and the 2 tbsp of brown sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool one minute before removing from pan. Serve warm.

On a personal note, my brother is in the Army and recently spent a year in Korea. Friday night he told me one of his friends that is still stationed there wanted to know if I would make him a care package with baked goods. I of course said I would be happy to! It made me smile to think that someone besides my family wanted some of the stuff I love to bake! I hope it puts a smile on his face!

Sweet Sticky Buns

I have always bought cinnamon rolls in a can and everybody loves those, but I got a wild hair and decided to try and make them myself. I was worried about how they would turn out, I always worry about how new things will come out. The dough was super sticky and I had a hard time getting it rolled out and then rolled back up into a jelly-roll shape once it was filled. Finally, I got it rolled up, sliced, and placed in the brown sugar pecan topping. I put them in the fridge overnight. So I got up this morning and baked them...they smelled amazing...once they were done I flipped them onto a serving tray and served them to my kids. My hubby was upset that he was going to miss out on them, but I told him he could have reheated ones tomorrow...I'll have to make a batch next week so he can have fresh ones! Anyway, I guess my first attempt at homemade sticky buns didn't go too badly!

I found this recipe in The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. The recipe calls for currants in the filling, but I didn't put them in mine.

Overnight Sticky Buns

Dough

1/4 Cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 tsp plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 tbsp butter or margarine, softened
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp salt
about 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup dried currants
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Topping

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp honey
1 1/4 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Prepare dough: In cup, combine water, yeast, and 1 tsp granulated sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, blend yeast mixture with milk, butter, remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, egg yolks, salt, and 3 cups flour until blended. With wooden spoon, stir in 3/4 cup flour.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, working in enough of the remaining 1/4 cup flour just to keep dough from sticking.

Shape dough into ball; place in greased large bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare filling; In small bowl, combine brown sugar, currants, and cinnamon; Set aside. Reserve melted butter.

Prepare topping; In a 1 quart saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and honey; heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until brown sugar and butter have melted. Grease 13" by 9" baking pan; Pour melted brown-sugar mixture into pan and sprinkle evenly with pecans.

Punch down dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; cover and let rest 15 minutes. Roll dough into 18" by 12" rectangle. Brush dough with reserved melted butter and sprinkle currant mixture. Starting at a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion; place, seam side down, on surface. Cut dough crosswise into 20 slices.

Place slices, cut side down, on brown sugar mixture in prepared pan in four rows of five slices each. Cover and refrigerate overnight at least 12 hours or up to 15 hours.

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Bake buns until golden, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately place serving tray or jelly-roll pan over top of baking pan and invert; remove pan. Let buns cool slightly to serve warm or cook on wire racks to serve later.

No Sugar, No Problem

I made some yummy Apple Cheddar Muffins a couple of days ago and the family enjoyed them! Yesterday I was searching for a new muffin to make, but had used all my sugar in some cupcakes. So, I searched the web and found some sugar free apple raisin muffins made with applesauce...I wasn't sure how my family would react to those but decided to make them anyway. I mixed everything, popped them in the oven, and then served them...they were a hit! I didn't top them with warm cream cheese like the recipe recommended, maybe I'll try that next time!

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

My friend told me about a cupcake she had and how fabulous it was...I was interested in seeing how it would taste so I found a recipe and made this cupcake last night. It was amazing! A chocolate cupcake filled with caramel and sea salt topped with dark chocolate frosting and sprinkled with more sea salt....Oh my gosh how could you not love it!! The frosting isn't very pretty, I'm still practicing the frosting thing!

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. Here are the recipes for the cupcakes, filling, and frosting. This recipe makes 56 mini cupcakes, but I made 24 regular sized cupcakes instead.

What you need for the cupcakes:

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 Cup Warm Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and the water. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the lined muffin tins, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature or frozen up to one month in an airtight container.

To finish use a paring knife and cut a cone shaped piece about 1/2 in deep from the center of each cupcake and discard. Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of the warm caramel filling into each hollowed out cupcake. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the filling.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium open star tip with frosting. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Garnish each cupcake with a pinch of sea salt. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted. Store at room temperature in airtight containers. Do not refrigerate.

Salted Caramel Filling

2 1/2 Cups Sugar
2/3 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
2 1/2 Cups Sea Salt

Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear, clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Stop stirring, and cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush as needed. Boil, gently swirling the pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360 degrees. Remove from heat; slowly pour in cream ( mixture will splatter) and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt. Use immediately; if at any time caramel begins to harden, reheat gently until pourable.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

1/2 Cup Plus 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Plus 1 Tablespoon Boiling Water
2 1/4 Cups (4 1/2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
3/4 Cup Confectioners' Sugar Sifted
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Pounds Best- Quality Semi-Sweet Chocolate Melted and Cooled

Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl sides as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

About this Blog

I love to bake cookies, cakes, any kind of treat, but baking cupcakes is my favorite thing! I think that trying a new recipe is exciting and I find baking to be a creative outlet! My hubby and daughters are my guinea pigs...sometimes they love what I've created and sometimes not, but it's all a process! My mom got me in the kitchen at a young age and taught me a love of baking. I enjoy getting my daughters in the kitchen with me and helping them develop a love of baking that hopefully they will pass on to their daughters someday! The purpose of this blog is to catalog my creations! Someday maybe I'll have a bakery!