Making Bread...Cinnamon Bread

I absolutely love cinnamon-raisin bread, it's so yummy...especially if it has gooey swirly bits in the middle! Eating it warm right out of the oven or toasted for breakfast just can't be beat. My favorite recipe for making this stuff is of course by Martha Stewart. It's the Cinnamon-Raisin Bread found in her Baking Handbook. I made it the other day, and well, it just hung on for another day...barely.

Here's the recipe in case you want to make some too. It is a super easy bread recipe, in case you are like me and super nervous about bread/yeast/rising situations in the kitchen. This one is no fail, really, and I've made it a bunch and each time it was perfect. And I'm not exactly the measure to a tee kinda person. Really. Enjoy. You and your family will love it!

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread (makes two 9 x5 inch loaves) -print this recipe HERE-

For the dough:

1 envelope (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

2 cups warm milk

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg that's lighty beaten

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup raisins

1 tbsp cinnamon

vegetable oil for bowl (or cooking spray!) and plastic wrap

For filling:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

2 tbsp water

To make the dough: In bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle yeast over the warm milk and whisk to combine. Add flour, butter, sugar, 2 eggs, and salt. Attach the dough hook to your mixer. Mix on low speed until all ingredients are well combined (about 3 minutes). Increase speed to medium-low and mix until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (about 3 more minutes).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat dough into a 9-inch round (about 1 1/4 inches thick) and sprinkle with raisins and cinnamon. Knead dough until incorporated. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. (I just sprayed cooking spray in the bowl and on the plastic wrap.) Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

Return dough to lightly floured work surface, and pat into a round again. Fold the bottom third up, and then top third down, and the right and left sides over, tapping dough to release excess flour and pressing down to seal. Return dough to the bowl, seam side down and cover with plastic wrap, and let rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes.

To make filling: Mix sugar and cinnamon with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Place dough on lightly floured surface an divide in half. Roll out one half to a 12 x 10 inch rectangle. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with half the filling. Repeat with the other half of dough.

Filling all mixed up...YUM!

Beaten egg plus 2 Tbsp water added to the filling mixture...check!

A 10 x 12 inch rectangle of dough-y goodness...

Brushed with beaten egg...

and sprinkled with the cinnamon-sugar filling.

Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, set aside. Fold in both long sides of dough, about an inch. Then roll dough toward you with short side facing you, making a nice and tight log. Place in prepared pans with seam side down. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough is just above the rim of the pan, about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees at this time.

Time to roll up the goods...

Brush tops of loaves with beaten egg and place loaf pans on a baking sheet to catch drips. Line with parchment for easy clean-up! Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until loaves are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out to a wire rack.

My last rise was lame but the end results still looked good!

See what I mean:

Nice and brown and yummy smelling...

And they tasted Oh-So-Good!

Do you see all the Ooey Gooey swirly bits just oozing out?

Yeah, it's good...

So good!

Easter Fun...Resurrection Rolls

Need a fun idea to help talk about the meaning of Easter to your kids? It's so easy for the Easter holiday to be all about Easter baskets full of candy, no? A great way to do it is by baking up some Resurrection Rolls. They are soooo easy to make and taste super yummy, your kids will love them. If your kids are old enough they can even help you make them...meaning Noah was my little helper and Penny was my little little helper :)

Wanna see what I'm talking about?

Resurrection Rolls are basically crescent rolls wrapped around a marshmallow that hollow as you bake them. The hollowed roll represents Jesus' tomb on Easter morning. I've even heard you can explain the story of Easter as such: Taking Jesus (marshmallow), anointing him in oils (butter) and incense (cinnamon and sugar) and wrapping Him in his shroud (crescent roll) and then placing him in His tomb (the oven)...this version may be better for an older child though. For Noah and Penelope, we just talked about them as empty tombs.

Here's the recipe for ya'll! Have fun with your kiddies :)

Resurrection Rolls

1 can of refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

8 large marshmallows

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease lightly. Separate crescent rolls and flatten out a bit. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together. Dip marshmallow into melted butter, than roll into sugar mixture. Place marshmallow in center of crescent dough triangle and wrap carefully, pinching at seams to seal tightly. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, break open and enjoy the empty center!!

First off, mix up your cinnamon and sugar...

Then, melt your butter.

Dip your marshmallows into the butter first...

Then, roll your buttered marshmallow into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Cinnamon smells so good, doesn't it!?!

YUM!

Place the cinnamon-sugared marshmallow in the center of a crescent roll and roll it up nice and tight. I flattened out my crescents first to make a bigger marshmallow-covering surface area!

Place on a greased baking sheet...preferrably one lined with parchment paper (as the marshmallows can ooze out onto your baking sheet and get pretty sticky!) I just ran out of parchment paper, total poo I tell ya! If you do it this way, wash your baking sheet quickly so your can get the baked on marshmallow off easier!!

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

When they are golden brown they are done!

Oooh, aren't they cool looking?

They totally look like they are full in the centers!

These would also make a great April Fool's Day joke...

Empty in the inside...so cool!

Crockpot Banana Bread...for Real!

Yesterday for the kidlet's after naptime snack I made Banana Bread. But not just any banana bread, a super yummy and moist bread that was really easy to make...in my CROCKPOT!!! Yup, that's right, I said my crockpot!

I bought a crockpot cookbook late last spring and had vague memories that there was a bread section in it. So, I pulled it out yesterday and low and behold there was! I was a little hesistant at first, I mean my crockpot has been making dinners for our family for a couple years now but never a bread or sweet type of food. I thought it might come out tasting like chicken and was ready to throw it in the trash upon first taste but boy was I wrong. It was soooo good! The kids gobbled it up when they woke up and my hubby was only left with 2 small pieces when he came home from work last night. Pretty good considering it made a nice sized loaf. As Noah told me yesterday, 'I like this nana bread, it's healthy for me and nummy for me!'

What did I tell you, it's for real!

Here is the recipe, really you must try it. You won't believe your crockpot can do such amazing things to breads :)

Crockpot Banana Bread -print this recipe HERE-

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

2 tbsp dark corn syrup

3 ripe bananas, well mashed

Grease and flour a 4 1/2 quart crockpot. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl, set aside. Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly add sugar, eggs, corn syrup, and mashed bananas. Beat until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture. Pour into crockpot, cover and cook on high for 1 1/4 to 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool, then invert bread onto serving platter.

*My bread actually took about 2 hours to cook/bake, just so you know :) *

**You can also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts if you like, I just majorly dislike nuts in my breads!**

First, mix up all your dry ingredients...

Then, mash up your bananas...

Then, cream your butter until light and fluffy...

Then, add your wet ingredients to your butter including your mashed bananas...

Pour your batter into a greased crockpot and cook for 1 1/4 to 1/2 hours (or 2 hours if you're like me!)

When it's done the bread will pull away from the sides of your crockpot and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.

Amazing...banana bread from a crockpot, who knew!

Healthy and delicious...

'Nummy!' as said by Noah :)

A Wacky Birthday Cake {and Fluffy White Frosting}

So, here is the recipe for the birthday cake that the kids and I made for their Grandpa Sam's 69th birthday this past weekend. It is a really yummy chocolate cake that uses no eggs or dairy (the cake, not the frosting) so if you have allergies to either this is a great tasting cake to try out. I know, that finding egg or dairy free recipes that actually taste good can be hard to find but seriously, this one is a winner!!

And no, we don't have any of these allergies (that I know of anyways) I just like to find and try recipes like this for the pure fun of finding them! Weird, I know. Wanna know a little random fact about my hubby and I? Our wedding cake was an absolutely gorgeous and great tasting vegan cake...yes, they do exist! I just wish I still lived near Washington DC so I could visit the bakery that made ours for us...so good! If you live near DC you MUST buy something devine at Sticky Fingers Bakery, you will not be sorry!

Anyways, here's a look-sie at the cake we made:

Pretty, huh?

The kidlets with Grandpa Sam

Celebrating in style!

Wacky Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cup white sugar

8 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp cider vinegar

12 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa together in a large bowl. Make a depression in the center and add oil, vinegar and vanilla. Then, pour water over everything. Mix until just combined with a fork. Pour batter into two greased round baking pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan and then invert cakes onto a cooling rack to cool.

Fluffy White Frosting

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup water

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract (I added this cause I like the flavor but if you want add it dead last to see if you are happy with just the vanilla flavor, if so then just omit it!)

In a saucepan, stir together sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly.

In a medium bowl, whip egg whites, vanilla and almond extract until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form. This will take 7-10 minutes.

First, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt...

**FYI**don't use a small bowl like I did here! You'll definitely want a LARGE mixing bowl for this recipe!!

Then, add in your wet ingredients and mix until just combined with a fork.

Pour batter into your greased baking pans and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Let cool on a cooling rack completely before frosting!!

While your cake cooling, mix your sugar, water, and cream of tartar over medium-high heat and stir until bubbly.

While you are waiting for the sugar to dissolve and the bubbles to form, whip up your egg whites, vanilla and almond extracts...

until soft peaks form like these.

When your sugar syrup gets a bubblin' take it off the heat...

and slowly add it to your soft-peaked egg whites...

until you get stiff peaks like these.

Then frost your cake with that awesome-ly fluffy frosting you just made.

And don't forget to lick the bowl!!!

What a beauty!

Chocolate-y Birthday Goodness!

More Please!

Twix Bar Fake-Out Recipe

I just love me some candy...and being pregnant has only made my sweet tooth that much worse, I hope I don't gain ridiculous amount of poundage this go-round! The other day I just had to stuff my face with some Twix bars. They are soooo good...chocolate and caramel all sitting on top of a delicious shortbread base, what could be better!?!

Unfortunately, my house had no Twix bars in sight...totally crap if you ask me, the husband is so getting an earful for eating the last one and not writing it on the list! Hello people, that is what a list is for, I bought a magnetic dry erase board to hang on the fridge clearly in visible sight for a reason! There wasn't even one of those little gems in my private, hidden from the kidlets stash (anyone else have one of those?)...it was sad.

So, I dug into my trusty recipe box and found my Twix Bar Fake-Out Recipe that I adore but don't make all too often...that is going to have to change starting today. I LOVE it. It is sooooo good and tastes just like the real thing. Really it's that good and actually not too hard to make given the three layers of greatness that you need to have in order to have that Twix bar in your greedy little hands.

Case in point, I give you exhibit A:

Behold...the Twix Bar!!!

Seriously, I wasn't lying to you!

So, are you ready to eat something totally awesome?

Get to makin' on this recipe ASAP then!

Twix Bar Fake-Out

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup butter

3/8 cup white sugar

3 tbsp light corn syrup

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Beat butter and 1/4 cup sugar in mixer until pale in color. Add flour to form a crumbly dough similar to pie crust. Press dough into an 8 inch square baking pan that has been greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake shortbread base at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Leave in pan, cool in fridge.

To make caramel layer, bring to boil: 3/4 cup butter, 3/8 cup sugar, syrup, and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan. Stir constantly once boiling for 7 minutes. Caramel mixture will thicken and become pale in color. Spread caramel on COOLED shortbread base. Let caramel layer cool for 30 minutes in the fridge and then an additional one to two hours in the freezer to get the caramel layer stone hard.

To make the chocolate layer, melt chocolate chips over low heat. Spread melted chocolate directly onto cooled caramel layer. Let cool for hour and then stuff your face!!

Ok, so we first cream the butter and sugar until pale...

Add in the flour until you have a nice crumbly, soft dough like this.

Press dough into your parchment lined pan and poke holes in the shortbread to reduce breakage when cutting your final product!

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until just golden brown on the edges.

Now, on with the caramel layer!!

Melt the butter into the sugar, sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup.

Heat through until boiling, then stir constantly for 7 minutes!!

**Side Note** I had a kidlet crisis halfway through stirring for my 7 minutes, that's what I get for not waiting to make this until nap time!!!! If you do too, your caramel mixture will start to separate, mainly the butter will separate (like in my picture above). It is nearly impossible to get the butter mixed up again especially when you are stirring an extremely hot and boiling crazy mess of yumminess. If this happens to you, don't worry, it totally does not affect your outcome!!

After 7 minutes of stirring and boiling, pour your caramel on top of the shortbread...it's lookin' mighty fine right about now, right!?!

Place in the fridge for 30 minutes and then in the freezer for a few hours to speed up the hardening process.

Once your caramel layer is hardened and cooled melt your chocolate.

See, I told you I had some butter separation...no big deal, you won't even see it once your delicious chocolate layer goes on!

Ok, so again, melt your 1 cup of milk chocolate chips...

And pour on top of your cold caramel layer.

The chocolate will start to harden up immediately. Score your bars with a sharp knife, this will help with chocolate breakage when you are cutting your final product. Place back in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

Then, take your parchment paper wrapped bars out of the baking dish...

And start cutting them up into little Twix Bar pieces of joy...YUM!

A fake-out Twix bar recipe just can't be beat!

Gold!