Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Bread

I found this recipe on a couple different sites and it seemed like such a cool looking alternative to a cinnamon roll. If this doesn't make you hungry for breakfast I don't know what will! 

INGREDIENTS

2 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces butter

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 ounces butter, melted

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside. 

2. Whisk together the eggs and set aside. 

3. In a sauce pan, melt together the milk and butter. Remove from heat and stir in the water and vanilla extract. 

4. Pour the milk mix into the dry ingredients. Mix. Then add the eggs and stir. Mix until the dough comes together. It should be sticky. 

5. In a greased bowl, set the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Leave for about one hour. 

6. Remove the dough and let rest for half an hour. 

7. Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and melt your butter for the filling. 

8. Here is where it gets fun. Roll out the dough 20"x12". Or close to. 

9. Brush the dough with the melted butter then sprinkle all the sugar mix over the dough. It seems like a lot but do it anyway. Trust me.

10. Slice the dough into 6 strips 12 inches long. If you're looking at the picture above, it was six strips cut from bottom to top with a pizza cutter. Stack the slices.

11. Cut the dough into six pieces again.

12. Stack the dough squares on top of each other and place in a bread pan.

13. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the top starts to brown.

This was a fun recipe to make and even more fun to eat. You peel the pieces apart from the end and in between each layer is lots of sugar and cinnamon stuck to the soft inside of the dough.

YUM!

Cakes!

I love decorating cakes. And I love when people ask me to decorate cakes. I've only taken one class on cakes and a few on other desserts (cookies, chocolates and cupcakes! Oh my!) so I don't feel SUPER confident with cakes but I definitely feel better with each cake. 

This one is a wedding cake I made for a family friend. White cake (did you know you can't use yolks in the cake batter to get a cake super white?) with white frosting and purple scrolling. She topped it with flowers from the bouquets. Pretty!

This one was for a birthday at a baby shower so the colors matched the baby shower theme. Green and brown was a little odd... all I could think of was branches... but scrolling is always pretty lol. It's a safe go to.

And I threw this one in for good measure. I made it for my grandma's birthday. It's the cupcake pan decorated as a flower covered cupcake. I made the purple flowers out of royal icing a few days before. 

Too cute right?

Southwestern Chipotle Pasta

Long time no blog!! Just got back from vacation and I think I need another few days off!!

We sat by the camp fire...

Ate a few too many s'mores...

Grilled up some awesome kabobs...

Ate too much... 

 We stayed in a really cute cottage my mom rented... the pantry was the cutest thing ever...

We even brought the dogs!

Now onto the food...

We stopped in at a shop called Nobel which had some great flavored pastas, nuts and sauces. My kind of place. I took my BF back and we picked out some pasta to take home and try since he is the self proclaimed pasta master. :)

This was the haul of veggies I came back to when we stopped at my mom's to drop off some of the vaca supplies...

So we decided to make the pasta we had bought!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 can black beans
1 diced jalapeño, seeds removed
diced red onions
1 cup frozen corn
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts diced
Pasta
Olive Oil
Taco seasoning

1. In a skillet, sauté the chicken and olive oil.

2. Once the chicken starts to brown, put on a pot of water and cook your pasta.

3. Add all your veggies to your chicken and finish cooking the chicken through. Add in a sprinkle of taco seasoning if desired.

4. Top your drained pasta with the chicken mix and yummy!

The pasta itself was spicy and the topping went with it wonderfully. Sort of. My BF thinks the tomatoes didn't fit but I loved them because they are a hint of sweet plus, the juices really make the sauce. We agreed to disagree and finished it all. :)

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Puppy Treats

My Pug is one year old!! My how time flies! lol 

So, for his birthday, what else do you get a little doggy? TREATS!!!


INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oatmeal

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Mix all ingredients until it forms a ball. It should not be too sticky.

3. Roll out the dough and cut with a cute cookie cutter or, like I did, pull off small pieces, roll into a ball and flatten.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the treats start to brown.

My Dex didn't sit very still with the aroma of peanut butter in the air!

Can I eat them yet??????

He just couldn't stay away!!!!

They smell just like peanut butter and are crunchy like a regular do treat. He loved them and I hope whatever pooch you make them for loves them too!

Anniversary Cake and Frosting Images

I had the honor of making a 25th wedding anniversary cake for a coworker of mine. It was a surprise too so it was that much better!

I'be always liked images on cakes. Yes, it's kinda cheesy but who doesn't love eating someone's eye, nose or ear? The kids especially always want a "part" of someone!

So I got a hold of this beautiful pic from their wedding album, very sneaky like, and took it in to have a rice paper made. When I got there the clerk told me they make the images on a "fondant type frosting" sheet that has much better resolution than rice paper.

Of course I went with the frosting sheet and it was beautiful! (I apologize for the pics I have posted. At the time they didn't seem to dark, then again it was 11pm!) Until I had to put it on the cake... it was almost stretchy when I removed it from the sheet it was adhered to. It gave me a panic attack and tore just between their heads. Luckly that part was black and any little white that showed through I tapped with a toothpick dipped in black food coloring.

Crisis averted.

Anyway, I'll have to research how to better apply this type of decoration because it really was beautiful. Just like the couple!!

Happy Anniversary Dan and Vikki! 

Whole Wheat Pasta Dough

Last year for my birthday my mom got me the pasta attachments for my kitchen aid mixer. Then for Christmas, my dad and step mom got me a lesson with their neighbor on how to make homemade ravioli with homemade pasta dough.

 Those were amazing and ever since then I've tried a few times to make pasta again. Mostly it has turned out tough or too thick and more like a dumpling but I found a good recipe that was soooo close to the right thickness this time! Pasta has to be really thin!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 cup white flour

1. In one bowl mix the two flours.

2. In a second bowl mix the eggs and water with a fork or whisk.

3. Create a well in the flour and pour in the wet mix. Using your hands, slowly mix the eggs into the flour and create a loose dough ball.

4. Turn out the dough ball and kneed until smooth. DO NOT OVER KNEED!

At this point, it's up to you. Roll it into sheets for ravioli, cut it with a knife, through a machine, pinch some bow ties... endless.

I made some fettuccine. The dough is sticky of course so I had some boiling water ready to go.

I improvised when drying the pasta. :)

Then of course we topped it with my BF's signature pasta: olive oil, mushrooms, garlic, cherry tomatoes, yellow peppers and secret seasoning!

 My pasta was still a bit thick but it was cooked perfectly and the taste was great. Just a notch thinner next time... and there will be a next time!

I just love that as much food as possible is homemade and good for me. I know what is in this dish. And when I can it's from my own garden or organic or local even. It's not easy. No way. But it is delicious! 

And on a side note, drying pasta on a chair is a bad idea. the thick bend in the pasta was going to make it hard to put in a bag so I gently bent it and let it dry on the table. Some stuck together but it still cooks up great.

Man I love pasta!!

Chocolate Roll Out Cookie Dough

Now, a good homemade sugar cookie is a classic. But sometimes we want a little something... more. So here is a great chocolate "sugar" cookie roll out dough. You can roll it out, cut it and frost them if you want! I think I might do these at Christmas instead of my usual sugar cookie! This recipe I use is from the Martha Stewart Magazine (yes I'm the girl who tears pages out of magazines whether they are mine or not, keeps them until she forgets then finds them and is giddy like a kid on Christmas!)

INGREDIENTS

2 2/3 Cups flour

1/3 Cup cocoa powder

3/4 Teaspoon baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon salt

2 Sticks unsalted butter

1 Cup sugar

1 Egg

2 Teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Beat butter and sugar in a mixer until fluffy. Add in the vanilla and egg. 

2. Add all the dry ingredients slowly until it forms a dough ball. 

3. Chill for a few hours, I did it over night. 

4. Preheat oven to 350F. 

5. Roll out the dough with a little flour and cut desired shapes.

 6. Put cut shapes on a non stick baking sheet or parchment paper.

7. For the small sized cookies I made, I baked the cookies for 7 minutes. Larger cookies will need a few more minutes. 

I thought the cookie was a little plain as is so I dipped the edge in chocolate gnache. You can buy it already made in a store or make your own. I did option 1. These are soft and have a rich dark chocolate taste to them. I took a few to work each day and my sweet tooth was definitely satisfied!! Enjoy!