Cinnamon Bun Muffins

This is not really a new recipe, but I  thought I'd share this method - just a different twist to the regular cinnamon bun. The grandkids declared them awesome!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup ice cold water
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1  1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

filling

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

icing

• 1 tablespoon soft margarine
• 1 cup icing sugar
• milk to make a smooth, runny consistency (start with 2 tablespoons)

Method:

1. Scald milk with the butter (to melt) and then add cold water to cool it down.
2. In mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Add salt.
3. Stir in warm milk and butter. If it's still quite hot, start with just a tad at a time while stirring.
4. Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing one cup with the yeast. 
5. Knead until soft and you can shape it into a ball. 
6. Cover the bowl and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.
7. Roll dough out into a rectangular shape ( about 18 x 10 inches) on lightly floured surface.
8. Spread with melted butter and sugar/cinnamon mixture.
9. Roll up, starting on longer side. Cut into 12 slices. (in half, in half again and then each quarter into three) 
10. Prepare muffin tins with parchment paper cups or spray. 
11. Take each bun and push up the center from underneath, while you pinch the bottom to shape it like a tulip. ( you can also unroll and re-roll to make a stepped, tower look.) 
12. Place into muffin tins, cover loosely with plastic bag and let rise 30 - 45 minutes.
13. Bake at 350° F for 18 - 20 minutes.
14. Drizzle with icing when almost cooled off. Yields 12 large muffin/buns. 

(unbaked)

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

These have become one of my favourite oatmeal raisin cookies. 

 They are chewy and have a hint of spice.

I've added a handful of chopped dried cranberries in with the raisins for another layer of flavour.  

The dough needs a couple of hours in the fridge before placing on the pan so you can mix them ahead of time and have fresh cookies ready when the children get home from school.

• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup golden cane syrup ( I used Roger's)
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal
• 4 teaspoons baking soda **
• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
•  1 cup chopped raisins 
• 1 cups chopped dried cranberries 

** I've had questions about the amount of baking soda in this recipe.  I wondered about it myself the first time I made it but the cookies turned out fine.  By all means try reducing the amount if it doesn't seem right to you.  Or you can reduce or eliminate the salt.  Let us know if you come up with a better ratio of baking soda.  We're always open to learning from our readers.

1. Mix butter, shortening and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
3. Add golden syrup and mix well.
4. Mix in oatmeal, baking soda, spices and salt.
5. Add flour, one cup at a time and mix well.
6. Add raisins and dried cranberries and mix again.
7. Cover cookie dough and refrigerate for several hours.
8. Scoop out cookies on to pan and roll each into a 1 inch ball.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes or until cookies are evenly browned and beginning to set.
10. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and remove to racks or brown paper to cool.
11. Makes 8 dozen.

Cinnamon Twists

This recipe was given to me by a friend thirty years ago and is still at the front of my file...hand-written on the original card. Cinnamon twists were always a favorite on picnics and camping trips in days gone by. Let me warn you, it is impossible to eat only one! 

Cinnamon Twists

• 5 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 pound butter or margarine (2 cups)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk

Topping:

• 6 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

1. Combine flour and baking powder.
2. Cut in margarine.
3. Beat eggs slightly with a fork; mix with milk.
4. Combine with flour mixture to form a soft dough.
5. Form 10 balls. Cover and chill for several hours.
6. Sprinkle topping mixture onto working surface.
7. Roll each ball of dough into a circle (about 9 inches).
8. Sprinkle with a generous layer of topping.
9. Cut into 8 crescents. (A pizza cutter works great.)
10. Roll up to form crescents (from outer edge to inside).
11. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 - 20 minutes.

Yield: 80 twists

 

Enjoy!

Potato Pancakes

These are an easy blender version of potato pancakes that we enjoyed recently.

• 3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes or 3 cups peeled chopped raw potatoes
• 1/2 onion coarsely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 green onions (scallions) chopped

1. Put all ingredients but the green onions into blender container. 
2. Cover and blend, stopping to make sure all ingredients are getting chopped. 
3. Push down onions or potatoes with a spatula if necessary. 
4. Continue till blended well. Some coarseness of the potatoes and onions is O.K.
5. Stir in green onions.
6. Pour batter onto hot greased griddle. Brown then flip once to brown the other side.
7. Serve with sour cream and applesauce.

We enjoy our potato pancakes with maple syrup or fruit syrup, also.

Lemon Tarts

These  little lemon tarts are perfect for a tea tray.  The easy filling is baked right into the tart shell and they freeze beautifully.

You can buy little unbaked tart shells or you can use your own pastry. There are several different options for pastry here. I baked these little tarts in mini muffin pans.  The perfect size cookie cutter for the pastry is  3 1/16 in / 78 mm.

• 24 unbaked tart shells
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• juice from 1 large lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. F
2. Place all the filling ingredients into a blender jar.  Pulse a few times to combine.
3. Divide the filling between the unbaked tart shells.
4. Bake for 12 minutes or until crust has browned around the edges and the filling has set. 
5. Refrigerate until serving time.

Whipped Cream Topping

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 package whipping cream stabilizer or 1 tablespoon vanilla instant pudding
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (omit if using pudding powder)

1. Whip cream together with stabilizer until soft peaks form.  Add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. 
2. Pipe the whipped cream onto each tart.  Garnish with a bit of lemon zest.
3. Serve chilled.

Choux Pastry filled with Coronation Salad

My friend, Doreen, shared this recipe with me. Although she has given me liberty to share it, I have tweaked it a bit, not to give away all of her secrets. I love this chicken salad in a puff pastry. A wonderful addition to a girls' lunch or shower.

Puffs or Choux Pastry Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup white Cheddar Cheese, grated
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard

Method:

1. Bring butter, salt, pepper and water to boil in a small pot.
2. Remove from heat and quickly add flour, stirring vigorously, until it completely loosens from sides of pot.
3. Beat in eggs, separately, until smooth.
4. Stir in cheese and mustard.
5. Drop by (regular) teaspoon on greased and floured cookie sheets.
6. Bake at 450° F for the first 10 min. Lower temp to 350° F and bake another 25 min – 30 min.
7. Cool and slice open. these can be made ahead and frozen. Yield 24 -28

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 cups roasted chicken, diced
• 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups grapes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix ingredients and refrigerate. Fill puffs just before serving.

Bread For the Journey

Psalm 37:34 (a) Living Bible

Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! 

Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing.

Do you find that you pray for something and get impatient for the Lord to act? It is not uncommon for us as believers to get impatient. I know that I do, especially if it something that I have been praying for a long time. To wait upon the Lord means you are expecting something wonderful to happen with confidence and hope that surely God will answer. But why does it seem like God is silent at times?

Something happens while I wait during these times. I can either become anxious and impatient or allow God to transform me from the inside out. His desire is to change my heart and character to become more like His as I learn to trust Him. (I must admit that I am not fully there yet). It is during those times that I have become more familiar with God's grace, love and power in my life. When I come to that place of surrender to allow God to be in control then I have truly experienced His Peace that passes all understanding inspite of my circumstances. When I try to take control it just brings more anxiety. (Trust me I know). 

I am trying to learn to embrace the process of this journey God has me on and rely on His power in my own life as I wait for my prayers to be answered in better ways I ever dreamed possible. I am choosing to focus my attention on God rather than the challenge that lays before me. 

I want to encourage you my dear reader, with this verse as you too surrender and trust Him as you wait. May the Lord bless you in the journey. 

Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

Puff Pancake- Valentines Day

Welcome to my kitchen table on this Valentines Day morning. We enjoyed this breakfast on Monday, which was Family Day here in BC. My husband was most impressed by the high inflation of these orange zest infused individual puff pancakes, filled with fresh sliced strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar. Served with warmed maple syrup and my homemade Blackberry Syrup, it was a sweet treat. 

Do something unexpected for someone today......just because you care.

We all could use a touch of love where nothing is expected in return.

Ingredients: (for 2 individual or one 9" pie plate which serves 2-3)

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• fresh strawberries, unsweetened
• powdered sugar
• syrup

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 425º.
2. Add eggs, milk, flour, vanilla, orange zest and salt into a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Place butter into oven proof glass pie plates. I used two individual 7"pie plates that are 1 1/2" deep, but you can use one 9" or 10" pie plate. If using two, place 1 tablespoon butter in each. If using one larger pan put all the butter in the pan.
4. Once the oven is up to temperature, place pans with butter in oven until butter is melted and small bubbles begin to show,  but don't allow the butter to brown. It will melt quickly. 
5. As soon as the butter is melted quickly pour your pre mixed batter into the pans. Do not stir. 
6. Close the oven door.....and do not open for 18 minutes. Turn on the light and watch as the pancake begins to rise up....but please listen...DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO PEEK...THE PANCAKE WILL FALL. Through the window of your oven door you will see it become golden brown as the sides puff up and there will be a deep hollow in the centre, creating a bowl. It's beautifully baked through when it's done. The bottom is very thin, and the sides will be thicker and done to perfection.
7. During the last few minutes of baking I put my plates into my warming oven. These pancakes cool off fast, so it's nice to have a warm plate to serve it on. 
8. Fill with fresh cut strawberries or a mixture of any fruit. Peaches, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are some of my favourites. Dust with powdered sugar and syrup on the side.

As shown I made individual which are served whole.  If you make it into one large pancake, cut and serve in a wedge. If you have small stoneware ramekins that are approximately 5" round and 1 1/2" deep you could use those and get 4 small individual puff pancakes from this recipe. 

Here's a peek right after they came out of the oven. See how they have pulled away from the pan. There is not sticking.
You may think these are hard to make....don't be fooled. So simple, so good! Just don't open the oven door and peek....

Simple Hearty Desserts

With February 14th  just around the corner, I thought I would share a few simple dessert ideas for the grand finale to your Valentine's Day dinner.

A heart shaped mini-cake pan works beautifully for baking up individual chocolate cakes.  Add some cherry berry topping and a dollop of whipped cream for a simple Valentine's Day dessert. 

Cherry Berry Topping:

• 1 can cherry pie filling
• 2 cups sliced strawberries

Mix cherry pie filling and strawberries.

Don't have a heart-shaped mini-cake pan?  No worries.  Bake a chocolate sheet cake and cut out heart shaped pieces with a cookie cutter. Betty sent me the photo above along with that idea.  Serve with cherry pie filling, whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Or how about Raspberry Cream Parfaits made up in mini mason jars and topped with a chocolate heart? I posted that recipe here several years ago.

I happen to have the Heart Tasty-Fill Cake Pan from Wilton which makes it easy to add a mousse filled heart to the center of a cake.

Those are just a few suggestions from my kitchen.  What are your favorite 'hearty desserts'?

Biscuit Mix Rolls (Cinnamon OR Pizza)

With Valentines coming up I borrowed an idea from my daughter-in-law to shape the rolls like hearts. You can use the same recipe to roll them up like regular cinnamon buns. Click here for the large biscuit mix recipe.

CINNAMON HEART ROLLS

Ingredients:

• 3 cups biscuit mix
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp soft butter for spreading
• 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon for spreading
• 1/2 cup icing sugar mixed with 1 1/2 Tbsp milk for drizzle

Method:

1. In medium size bowl, using a fork, stir milk into 3 cups mix. Stir until dry ingredient are well incorporated.
2. Remove dough onto flour dusted surface
3. Dust with flour, press gently and shape into rectangle. Then roll out to 9 X 14 inches.
4. Spread with butter and sugar/cinnamon mix
5. Mark centre and roll up tightly from both long sides toward the centre. Slice and put on parchment paper lined pans. Shape by squeezing the tip of the heart shape. 
6. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes or until light golden in color.
7. Mix icing sugar in measuring cup, starting with one Tbsp milk and adding a few more drops as needed. Drizzle over cooled rolls.



PIZZA ROLLS

Ingredients:

• 3 cups biscuit mix
• 1 cup milk
• 2 - 3 Tbsp pizza sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 2 - 3 Tbsp bacon bits
• dried basil

Method:

1. In medium size bowl, using a fork, stir milk into 3 cups mix. Stir until dry ingredient are well incorporated.
2. Remove dough onto flour dusted surface
3. Dust with flour, press gently and shape into rectangle. Then roll out to 8 X 15 inches.
4. Spread with pizza sauce, cheese, bacon bits and sprinkle with dried basil
5. Roll up, starting from long side, slice into 12 buns and place on parchment paper lined pan.
6. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes or until light golden and bubbly. Serve warm or cold.