Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

Muffins that taste like donuts=genius! I made these way back in October while visiting my sister and her family in Dubai. We actually ended up making them twice, one batch for us and one batch to take to Mason's school bake sale. Mason was my little sous chef! I got the ingredients ready and he did all the batter mixing, filled the muffin tins, watched them bake, dipped the muffins in butter and then in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. He was quite the helper and I think he was pretty proud of himself.

These muffins come together in a flash and truly taste like a donut. I actually forgot about them for awhile, but I think I need to make them again soon.

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins
Source: Bella's Bistro, originally from Tasty Kitchen

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4C. Flour
1 1/2t. Baking Powder
1/2t. Salt
1/2t. Nutmeg
1/2t. Cinnamon
1/3C. Vegetable Oil
3/4C. White Sugar
1 Egg
3/4C. Milk

For the topping:
1/4C. Butter
1/3C. White Sugar
1T. Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
In small bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.

In large bowl combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add the dry ingredients and stir only to combine.

Bake in well-greased muffin tin, at 350 degrees, for 15-20 minutes.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl.  Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.

Shake muffins out while still hot.  Dip muffin tops in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix.  Let cool.

Makes 12 muffins.

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

Sometimes there's nothing better than a hot cup of coffee in the morning. Add in one of these crunchy biscotti and you have the perfect breakfast. I've never made biscotti before, but it was surprisingly simple, and tasted as good as I imagined.

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti
Source: Joy the Baker
makes about 24 cookies

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla

For Topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg (for brushing biscotti before baking)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and arrange two baking racks in the upper portion of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Also whisk together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the down and beat in the egg followed by the egg yolk. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter all at once. With the mixer or just with a spatula, bring all of the ingredients together until a somewhat stiff dough is formed.

Divide the dough in two on the two baking sheets. Shape each half of dough into a 9-inch long and 1 1/2-inch wide log. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle very generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake the two sheets on two different racks in the oven for 20 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheets for even baking and bake for 20-25 more minutes until golden and firm to the touch.

Remove from the oven but keep the oven on. Let biscotti cool until able to handle. Using a serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch wide diagonal slices. Place biscotti cut side down on baking sheet and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Bake again until pale golden, about 10-15 minutes.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Cinnamon Rolls

Since this was our first Christmas together as a married couple, and knowing that kids will hopefully be in our future soon, I wanted to start a "family ritual" of some sort. Of course, the hubby found this a bit weird, but I was excited about it. I decided that having homemade cinnamon rolls would be a perfect and delicious ritual to start.

Knowing that at some point every Christmas we will be traveling, cinnamon rolls seemed like something that could be adapted to our schedule. This year, we enjoyed them Christmas Eve morning before we exchanged our gifts, and the dog even jumped up to the counter and found one to steal, they were that good!

These do take a bit of time, but they can be started the night before you bake them and put in the refridgerator overnight. Other than that, this is actually a pretty simple recipe and I think it will be my go-to cinnamon roll for awhile.

Cinnamon Rolls

Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles, adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Dough:

½ cup milk

7 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (2¼ teaspoons yeast)
¼ cup (1¾ ounce) sugar
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4-4 ½ cups (20 to 21¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface

Filling:
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Glaze:
1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners sugar, sifted to remove lumps
1 ounce cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk


1. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside until the mixture is lukewarm (about 100 degrees).

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the water, yeast, sugar, egg, and yolks at low speed until well mixed. Add the salt, warm milk mixture, and 2 cups of the flour and mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook, add another 2 cups of the flour, and knead at medium speed (adding up to ¼ cup more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary) until the dough is smooth and freely clears the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a round, place it in a very lightly oiled large bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours.

3. Mix together the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.

4. After the dough has doubled in bulk, press it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a 16 by 12-inch rectangle, with a long side facing you. Mix together the filling ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border at the far edges. Roll the dough, beginning with the long edge closest to you and using both hands to pinch the dough with your fingertips as you roll. Moisten the top border with water and seal the roll. Lightly dust the roll with flour and press on it ends if necessary to make a uniform 16-inch cylinder. Cut the roll in 12 equal pieces and place the rolls cut-side up in the prepared baking dish.*** Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours.

***At this point you can put the rolls in the refridgerator overnight. In the morning, take them out and then them warm/rise on the counter for 1-2 hours***
5. When the rolls are almost fully risen, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of one reads 185 to 188 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Glaze the rolls and serve.

Gingerbread Muffins

Gingersnaps are one of my favorite cookies, but it's always hit or miss when I make them. They either turn out rock hard or taste funny. I found this recipe and wondered if it would be too good to be true.

As it turns out, I did not like these at first, but they grew on me. I've never actually had gingerbread, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I think the trick to these, that I did not make sure to do, is make sure everything is incorporated together at the end. As I was filling my muffin cups I noticed there were some big streaks of the molasses mixture, and those muffins turned out kind of weird!

In the end, most of the muffins turned out great! These were very moist, fluffy and full of gingerbread flavor. I was hesitant to make these because I had to buy buttermilk, but stay tuned to see how I used the rest of the carton:)

Gingerbread Muffins
Source: Vintage Victuals, adapted from Nathalie Dupree's recipe for Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
 2 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup coca cola, apple cider or apple juice
1 tsp. brandy flavoring or vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease well a muffin tin, and set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the molasses and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, the coke or juice, and the brandy or vanilla flavoring. Add these two mixtures to the molasses mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Beat until the batter is smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when lightly touched with a finger. Yield about 18 muffins.

Bacon Potato Frittata

Growing up, I loved having breakfast for dinner. Something about pancakes at night was comforting and fun. However, I am now married to someone who has never allowed me to cook breakfast for dinner. This frittata was my way of tricking him into it, and we paired it with blueberry muffins so it really was like breakfast!

I have never made a frittata before, and it is so quick, easy and versatile that I foresee more in the future. However, I do not have a non-stick skillet so we had some trouble getting this out of the pan. I will add a non-stick skillet to my neverending list of kitchen gadgets and tools I want.

Bacon Potato Frittata

Source: Recipezaar

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
2 teaspoons finely snipped fresh basil or dried basil, crushed  (I used parsley)
salsa (optional) or sour cream (optional)

Directions:
Using a large, nonstick skillet, cook bacon pieces until crisp; Reserve 2 T. of bacon drippings; Drain bacon pieces on paper towel.

Add potato slices to skillet with reserved bacon drippings; Cover and cook over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes until tender and lightly browned.

Turn potato slices over and turn down heat to prevent over-browning (if necessary).

In large bowl, beat eggs, milk, pepper, and salt until combined. Stir in cheese, green onion, and basil(parsley). Set aside.

Spread cooked potatoes in an even layer over the bottom of skillet.
Sprinkle the bacon over the potatoes.
Pour in egg mixture.

Cover, reduce heat to medium low.

Cook 15 to 20 minutes until top surface of egg is set.

Decrease heat to low if necessary, to allow center to cook without over-cooking the edges.

Loosen edges of frittata from pan, carefully invert onto large serving plate.

Cut into wedges.

Put a dollop of sour cream or salsa on top right before serving, if desired.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Wow. I don't even know what else to say about these 'cupcakes.' They are like bite-size cinnamon rolls and I can't stop eating them (I've already had two tonight:/) These are a bit time consuming but are so worth the work.


This was actually my very first experience baking with yeast, and it turns out that yeast isn't really that scary. I have pushed aside all recipes that use yeast because I was scared of it. So today, I went out and bought a candy thermometer (to make sure the milk was the right temperature) and decided I have nothing holding me back and I needed to get over my fear of the yeast.

Thank god I did, or I would have missed out on the amazingness of these cupcakes.

One thing I did change about this recipe was the frosting. I'm not really a fan of cream cheese, or frosting made with cream cheese, so I made a glaze instead.


Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes


Source: Beantown Baker, taken from La Fuji Mama

Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp. or 1 packet (1/4 oz./7 g) dry active yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened


1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbls. milk


Dissolve the yeast and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in the warm milk in a large bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy.

Mix in the eggs, butter, salt, and other 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Add flour and mix until well blended and the dough forms a ball. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour).

After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (I like to double them up because these cinnamon rolls are so moist), and lightly spray over the top of them with cooking spray.

Roll dough into a 12x22 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 24 rolls.

Place each roll in a cupcake liner. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Let rolls cool completely before frosting.


Glaze:

Source: Cooks.com

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk until drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm cupcakes.

Egg Bake

I don't have a picture for this because it was just too yummy to wait for a picture. Egg Bake pretty much looks just like it sounds, and for this being my first attempt at it I received many compliments. Even though Andy hates breakfast for dinner I may have to make this again soon since he missed out on it.

Again, this is a recipe from my mom, taken from a church cookbook. Apparently my mom is the queen of egg bakes, and I would guess it is the number one requested dish when people stay at the duck cabin.

Egg Bake
Source: my mom, and some church cookbook

Ingredients
1 lb pork sausage(jimmie dean type)
6 eggs
1 1/2- 2 cups milk
1 tsp. dry mustard
3/4 tsp. salt
2 slices bread, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* I added about 3/4 tsp. black pepper

Brown sausage and drain well. Beat together eggs, milk, mustard, salt, pepper and bread. Mix well and put in a greased 8x8 glass pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Uncover and bake at 325F for 45-50 minutes.

Double for a 9x13 pan and increase cooking time to about an hour.

Enjoy!

Fruit Pizza

Last weekend I hosted a brunch bridal shower for my sister at our house. We settled on a menu of mimosas, egg bake, fruit pizza and cinnamon rolls. It was a lot of work to get everything ready and the house presentable, but it was worth it and I hope she had a special day!

I adapted this recipe a bit from Paula Deen. I omitted the orange and blueberries, and only used chocolate chips for the ending drizzle.

Fruit Pizza

Source: Paula Deen

Ingredients

Pizza Dough:
1 package store bought sugar cookie dough

Toppings:
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large peach, sliced
1 large green apple, sliced
1 large orange, sectioned
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
6 ounces fresh blueberries
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup chocolate syrup

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Flatten cookie dough onto a 6-inch pizza pan. Bake until firm to touch, about 11 to 15 minutes. Cool. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and sugar. Spread the baked cookie with the cream cheese mixture and decorate with sliced fruit. In a small bowl, combine melted white chocolate with chocolate syrup. Top the pizza with remaining berries and chocolate mixture. Slice and serve immediately.

Banana Bread

Ah, long time no blog! Things have been so busy lately, I have not even had time to make dinner at night. Andy has gotten pretty good at fending for himself, but now that I am ALL DONE with graduate school classes I will have more time for the kitchen.

I was supposed to have a client today at 1 but she never showed, so I decided to spend the rest of my afternoon baking. We had some banana's calling my name from the freezer so I started with Banana Bread. I wanted to keep some at home and still be able to bring some to work, so I made 3 small loaves instead of one large one.

My mom has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember, and I love it because it's so simple (I loathe banana bread with nuts added.) The cooking time ended up to be about the same for the mini-loaves, and I added mini chocolate chips just for fun.

Banana Bread

source: my mother

Ingredients

3-4 small bananas

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

Blend all ingredients through baking soda until smooth. Add 2 cups flour, mix by hand. Pour in greased bread pan.

Bake 350 for 45 minutes- 1 hour

Enjoy!