Posts Tagged ‘yeast’
Peanut Butter Banana Bagels
May 20, 2013 | 
Author The idea for these bagels spawned from reading a post on A Beautiful Mess, where Emma mentioned that her favorite bagel was from Panera – a peanut butter and banana bagel in fact! I never had the chance to try this gem, as it has been discontinued, but decided to take on this challenge of recreating what I imagine they would have been like. The execution of making these bagels however, poses the problem of adding two wet ingredients to dough, which would just result is needing more flour. But I have made bagels using pumpkin puree in the past and therefore substituted with mashed banana and used PB2′s powdered peanut butter instead.
I had hoped for a very obvious flavor, but the result was more subtle and I may need to try folding in real peanut butter for a swirl or try peanut butter chips. Or maybe my desire for a super peanut buttery-banana-y bagel is unrealistic, and this is as close as it gets. Don’t get me wrong, these were wonderful bagels! I wouldn’t be sharing them on my blog if they were not, just not a “wow that’s an explosion of peanut butter-banana flavor”. That response might be reserved for moister items such as muffins and blondies. To compensate, these were particularly good with a smear of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. Peanut butter on top of peanut butter – that’s just how I roll!
Actually, I recently discovered that cake batter flavor exists, and upon searching their website while writing this post found both banana and peanut butter flavorings. I feel like it would be a cop out to use them instead of real banana and peanut butter, but maybe a couple drops would get this bagel flavor up to the next level. What are your thoughts?
Two years ago: Baked Blueberry Almond Pancakes
PEANUT BUTTER BANANA BAGELS
Makes 8 bagels
Ingredients:
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup PB2 powdered peanut butter
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup warm water
2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar, divided
1 large very ripe banana, mashed
Directions:
- In a small bowl, combine the two flours. In a large bowl, whisk together 2-1/2 cups of the flour, powdered peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, yeast and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. Whisk together slightly and allow to sit for 3-5 minutes or until slightly foamy.
- Add the mashed banana and mix using a dough hook, then begin to slowly add the flour mixture. Mix for 5 minutes or until smooth, alternating between slow and medium speeds as you add flour. You want to mix it until the dough is no longer sticky. After 5 minutes, if the dough is sticky, incorporate the remaining flour, a little at a time.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased large bowl. Cover and allow the dough to double in size, around 1 hour.
- Remove the dough and punch it down. Divide into equal pieces. A digital scale is very helpful, but if you don’t have one just eye out 8 even pieces of dough. Press your finger through the middle of the ball, and form into a bagel shape. They will rise some more, so if you want a hole, make it bigger than the size of a quarter. Repeat with the the rest of the dough. Place on prepared baking sheet and let rest until risen but not doubled, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bring 12 cups of water to a boil with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.
- In batches, boil the bagels for around 20 to 30 seconds per side. Remove from water and place back on prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool before serving.
Source: Adapted from Pumpkin Bagels, inspired by A Beautiful Mess.
Posted in Bagels, Bread Rolls Buns & Dough, Breakfast | 
Tags: bananas, peanut butter, whole wheat, yeast | 
9 Comments »
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
It seems that with every season change, I find myself very disappointed in my wardrobe. This statement probably comes off as insanity to those of you who have seen the expanse of my closet, but despite all the options I find myself bored. A lot of it I have owned for many years and although I still like them, they don’t seem exciting anymore. Since my graduate student stipend cannot support a full wardrobe renewal, I end up buying a couple new items to spruce things up a bit. With the weather warming up, it is likely that I will be doing just that come the weekend.
Another side effect of the changing of the seasons is a desire to eat grilled foods. I don’t actually own an outdoor grill, but I pretend nonetheless and use the George Foreman or a grill pan. And what’s a burger without a bun? In fact, homemade burger buns have been on my list of things to make for a long time. I’ve made pretzel buns several times, but somehow skipped right over the basics (maybe that’s why my closet bores me, because it’s overflowing with basics). So when I decided to make burgers for dinner, I made sure to set aside some time to make traditional buns first!
These basic (but not boring) buns were absolutely perfect with their smooth tops and fluffy insides which are just begging to be toasted. I only needed 4 buns for the burgers so I froze the remaining 4 to be used later with another burger. Freezers are awesome.
One year ago: Pineapple Pancakes with Honey Greek Yogurt Topping
WHOLE WHEAT HAMBURGER BUNS
Makes 8 buns
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1 cup 2% milk
1 egg
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg + 1 Tbsp water, for egg wash
Sesame and poppy seeds (optional topping)
Directions:
- Set a side a large bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer or a medium bowl, combine the sugar, salt and yeast.
- In a smaller bowl, microwave the milk for 15 second increments until it is about 100 degrees or feels like bath water.
- Slowly whisk in the milk to the sugar, salt and yeast and stir until the yeast and sugar are basically dissolved (a couple of seconds). Add the egg, butter and 1 cup of the flour and stir until there are no clumps.
- Slowly add in the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour until the dough is covered enough to start kneading with the dough hook (or flour covered hands). Knead for about 3 minutes.
- Transfer the dough ball into the bowl that you set aside earlier. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours until it has doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down, reshape into a ball, recover, and let it rise again for another 1 hour, until it has doubled in size again
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Shape the dough into balls and let them rise while the oven is preheating.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg and tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash on the tops of the buns. Sprinkle with the seeds, if using.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or freeze them!
Source: Barely adapted from Chocolate & Carrots
Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls
When my friend Stephanie asked me to make cinnamon rolls for her Easter brunch on Sunday, it came as no surprise that I wanted to make some sort of crazy flavored cinnamon rolls. Had she asked anyone else she would’ve gotten traditional cinnamon rolls, but it’s me and any excuse to make a fun new recipe is pounced upon!
I first was torn between making raspberry or cake batter rolls, so I tweeted my dilemma only to realize how dumb of a question it was when I immediately got two votes for cake batter. Sure raspberry rolls sound delicious, but who can pass up anything involving cake batter? These cinnamon rolls not only are stuffed with cake batter flavor, but the dry mix is also in the dough itself and in the frosting! It’s cake batter mayhem.
By the way NYC ladies (particularly Tara), does this plate look familiar?
One year ago: Dark Chocolate Nonpareil Peanut Butter Cookies
CAKE BATTER CINNAMON ROLLS
Makes 24 rolls
DOUGH
1 box Funfetti cake mix, dry
2 pkg (4-1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
2-1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups bread flour
FILLING
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white cake mix
Cinnamon
Sprinkles
FROSTING
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup white cake mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp milk
Sprinkles
Directions:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, measure out 2 1/2 cups warm water. Pour in the 2 packets of active dry yeast and let it activate and foam up.
- Add rainbow chip cake mix, salt, vanilla and bread flour. Use dough hook attachment to knead dough together, just for a minute or two.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough inside. Cover with saran wrap. Let sit for an hour until doubled in size. Punch dough down with fists and cover again and let rise for an additional hour until double in size.
- Once dough has gone through its second rise, remove and placed on a clean floured surface. Roll out into a large rectangle shape measuring about 24 X 12 inches.
- Smear softened butter over top. Next evenly sprinkle, distribute and rub brown sugar over top. Then sprinkle yellow cake mix evenly over top of that. Rub gently to evenly cover if needed. Next sprinkle with desired about of cinnamon and sprinkles.
- On one of the long sides, roll up to make a long and skinny log. Slice into 24 even 1-inch rolls.
- Place in a greased 9×13 baking pan, 12 rolls per pan. (You can place them in the fridge overnight at this point on continue on.)
- Cover with plastic wrap and let cinnamon rolls rise a final time in the pan, about 30 minutes, or until they have doubled in size.
- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
- While cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cake batter frosting. In a large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, cake mix, vanilla and milk. Add more powdered sugar/milk until desired consistency is reached. Add in as many sprinkles as desired.
- Spread frosting over warm rolls. Sprinkle with additional sprinkles if desired.
Source: Adapted slightly from Chef in Training.
Posted in Bread Rolls Buns & Dough, Breakfast, Pastries | Tags: Funfetti, sprinkles, yeast | 11 Comments »
Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
At the gym, I always get momentarily excited when a group fitness instructor will remind us how long it is until spring break. That is until I realize I haven’t had a spring break in 5 years and probably won’t ever again. I think throughout highschool and undergrad they need to prepare you for the fact that you will no longer have those cushy months off every summer, or the weeks off at Christmas and spring time. Oh the days before responsibility.
Enough reminiscing though. It’s time to talk about bananas and how much I love baking with them. Although it’s rare that they survive long enough in my kitchen to turn brown. They are usually consumed well before that can happen, but every now and then I get smart enough to buy larger quantities in order to force the situation in which they need to be baked with. This most recent time, they were so brown that if I had waited another day they might have ended up in the trash. But instead they were transformed into these beautiful cinnamon rolls that taste just like banana bread.
Two years ago: Chicken Parmeatballs
BANANA BREAD CINNAMON ROLLS
Makes 8-12 rolls
Ingredients:
DOUGH
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, to be divided
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed (not over 116 degrees)
1-1/4 tsp active dry yeast (from 1 .25-ounce or 7 gram envelope yeast)
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch ground cardamom (optional)
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 medium overripe banana, mashed (no chunks)
1 egg
Oil for coating rising bowl
FILLING
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
Half medium banana, thinly sliced
GLAZE
2 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
Directions:
- Make your dough: Melt your butter in a little saucepan. Once the butter has melted, keep cooking it over medium heat for a few additional minutes. It will bubble a lot, then take on a nutty flavor as golden bits form at the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Combine the warmed milk and yeast in a small bowl and set aside. After five to seven minutes, it should be a bit foamy.
- In the bottom of the bowl of an electric mixer combine flour, sugars, salt and spices. Add just 2 tablespoons of your melted/browned butter and stir to combine. Add yeast-milk mixture, banana and egg and mix combined. Switch mixer to a dough hook and run it for 5 minutes on low (or knead by hand). Add more flour if necessary.
- Scrape mixture into a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 1 hour in a draft-free place; it should just about double.
- While it is rising, line the bottom of one 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and butter the sides of the pan and the paper.
- Assemble buns: Scoop dough onto a very well floured surface and flour the top of it well. With a rolling pin, roll the dough to an approximately 12×12-inch square. Brush reserved melted/browned butter over dough. Stir together remaining filling ingredients and sprinkle mixture evenly over dough and top with banana slices. Roll the dough into a tight spiral. (It’s going to make a mess because the dough is crazy soft and some stuff spills off the ends; don’t sweat it.)
- With a sharp serrated knife, using absolutely no pressure whatsoever (only the weight of the blade should land on the dough) gently saw your log with a back-forth motion into approximately 1-1/2 inch sections (for 8 rolls) or 1-inch sections (for 12 rolls).
- Place buns in prepared pan. Sprinkle any sugar that fell off onto the counter over them. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 minutes.
- If you’re doing this ahead of time, you can now put them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, leave them out for an hour to warm up and finish rising.
- 15 minutes before you’re ready to bake them, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, you can make the glaze. Beat your cream cheese until it is light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Drizzle in milk until you get the consistency you’re looking for, either thick enough to ice or thin enough to drizzle.
- Finish your buns: Remove the plastic and bake buns for 25 minutes, until puffed and golden. Transfer pans to wire cooling racks and drizzle with cream cheese glaze, then top with walnuts.
Source: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
Posted in Bread Rolls Buns & Dough, Breakfast, Pastries | Tags: bananas, cinnamon, cream cheese, walnuts, yeast | 13 Comments »
Garlic Lover’s Pizza
Last month for Secret Recipe Club, you may recall me resisting the urge to make a recipe from my assigned blog last month that was actually from another SRC member. As luck would have it, I am assigned to that other blog this month – Kudo’s Kitchen! Although it obviously has been featured on another SRC reveal day in the past, I thought it was worthy of a repeat.
This recipe makes one large pizza, but you could easily make two medium ones and is what I would have done if I had used my pizza stone (since it’s smaller than my pizza pan). Either way, this pizza is a garlic lover’s dream. Both the crust and the toppings are bursting with garlic, so vampires beware. I personally love garlic so I used 8 cloves in the toppings instead of the indicated 5 in the recipe. Who says garlic breath is a bad thing?
Two years ago: “Creamed” Berry Cheese Spread
GARLIC LOVER’S PIZZA
Serves 4
Ingredients:
CRUST
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup beef stock
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 Tbsp dried minced onion
3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried basil (I used 2 Tbsp fresh, minced)
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme (I used 1 Tbsp fresh, minced)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
TOPPINGS
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 (or more) freshly grated garlic cloves
4 red ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/4″ thickness
1 log (16 oz.) fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4″ thickness
Fresh or dried basil and oregano, to taste
Directions:
- Over low heat in a small saucepan, heat the water, stock, butter, and onions until the butter is just melted. Allow to cool slightly so that you can comfortably stick your finger in and not be burned.
- In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients, starting with only 3-1/2 cups of flour. More may be necessary later.
- Add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients in the large bowl and mix until moistened. Stir in enough remaining flour (if needed) to form a soft but not sticky dough. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. When dough has fully risen, punch down and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- After the dough has risen, add approximately 1 tablespoon cornmeal to the surface of your pizza pan. Using your fingertips, spread the dough out to fit the size of the pan (I used a large 16-inch pizza pan), pinching the edges to form a crust.
- Pre-bake the crust for approximately 15 minutes.
- After the initial pre-baking, take the crust from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Using your fingertips, lightly dimple the top of the crust to form little wells.
- Using a pastry brush, and being liberal, gently brush the olive oil on top of the crust. Next, sprinkle garlic over the crust. Then arrange tomatoes on top of your crust making sure to cover as much or surface area as possible.
- Next, layer on the fresh mozzarella cheese however you choose and sprinkle the top with additional basil and oregano.
- Increase your oven temperature to 400 degrees and slip your pizza into the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly before cutting.
Source: Kudo’s Kitchen
Mini Meyer Lemon Sticky Rolls
The Meyer lemon craze continues!
After trying out mini rolls while reviewing the Petite Treats cookbook, I fell in love with the concept and decided to make these rolls mini too. They are incredibly adorable but also very easy to lose track of how many you’ve had. I’m pretty sure I ate 5 in one sitting but that’s the equivalent to a little over one big one, right? Work with me here people.
In other news, many of you have today off from work! Even though I technically do too according to the university calendar, there is always work to be done. Especially when I am desperately trying to get all my data finished up for good. A few hours of extra work means a few hours closer to being finished – assuming it works. Oh, research. Someone once told me that if it always worked the first time it would just be called “search”. Nerdage.
One year ago: Creamy Tomato Basil Bisque
MINI MEYER LEMON STICKY ROLLS
Makes 24 mini rolls
Ingredients:
DOUGH
1-1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp warm milk (about 100-110 F)
1/4 cup (1/3 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Meyer lemon, zested
1 egg, at room temperature
FILLING
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1 Tbsp Meyer lemon juice
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
GLAZE
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 Meyer lemon, zested (optional, for garnish)
Directions:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a few minutes. Add the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, lemon zest, and 1/2 cup of the flour and mix briefly to combine. Add the egg and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. (Alternatively, you could turn the soft dough out onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for 7-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.)
- Lightly grease a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the dough and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot. Let the dough rise until nearly doubled, about an hour.
- To make the filling, mix the sugar with the nutmeg, then work in the lemon zest with the tips of your fingers until the sugar resembles wet, soft sand. Stir in one tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Lightly grease a 9 inch round baking dish with cooking spray. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle that is approximately 10×8 inches. Cut into two 5×8 inch rectangles. Spread the dough evenly over both with the softened butter, then spread the lemon-sugar filling mixture over top. Starting with a long end facing you, roll the dough up tightly. Pinch the dough at the end to seal the seam. Repeat with remaining rectangle. Cut each dough roll into 12 even rolls (24 total), and place them, cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.
- Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled. (You can also refrigerate the rolls at this point. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake the rolls, remove the pan from the fridge, and let them rise for an hour.)
- Heat the oven to 350. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly browned and a thermometer inserted into the center of a roll reads 190 F.
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Whip the cream cheese (using a mixer or even by hand with a whisk) until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice and blend until well combined. Mix in the powdered sugar until the glaze is smooth and creamy.
- When the rolls finish baking, smear them with the cream cheese glaze, and, if desired, sprinkle the lemon zest over the top to garnish. Serve while warm.
Source: Halved from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.
Posted in Bread Rolls Buns & Dough, Breakfast, Pastries | Tags: cream cheese, lemon, nutmeg, powdered sugar, yeast | 15 Comments »
Pumpkin Bagels with Cinnamon-Walnut Cranberry Cream Cheese Spread
Now I KNOW you have leftovers from yesterday. Whether you have some from what you cooked, or from what people who cooked sent you home with to minimize the amount of leftovers they have to eat. Therefore, there is absolutely not reason you shouldn’t take advantage of this lazy Friday and make bagels with that leftover pumpkin puree you never figured out what to make with. Who needs Black Friday shopping? Not me! I’m a Cyber Monday kind of girl.
I’ve always longingly awaited the fall season when it comes to bagels, because that’s when Einstein Bros finally start making their pumpkin bagels and cream cheese schmear (I also really like their pumpkin schmear on a cinnamon-sugar bagel). So I finally decided it was time to make my own pumpkin bagels, since I already attacked the pumpkin cream cheese last fall.
But I couldn’t just make the same cream cheese spread again, I had to try this new one I saw that uses up even more leftovers – cranberry sauce! You mix the cranberry sauce into some cream cheese along with honey, cinnamon, and walnuts. Yea, it’s better than any flavor cream cheese spread I’ve ever encountered. And just like the originator, Jenn of Peas & Crayons, I want to smother it on everything in sight now.
One year ago: Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
PUMPKIN BAGELS WITH CINNAMON-WALNUT CRANBERRY CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Makes 8 bagels and about 1 cup cream cheese spread
Ingredients:
BAGELS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup warm water
2-1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar, divided
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tbsp cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2-3 Tbsp chopped walnuts
Directions:
- For the bagels, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, yeast and 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of sugar. Whisk together slightly and allow to sit for 3-5 minutes or until slightly foamy.
- Add the pumpkin puree and mix using a dough hook, then begin to slowly add the flour mixture. Mix for 5 minutes or until smooth, alternating between slow and medium speeds as you add flour. You want to mix it until the dough is no longer sticky. After 5 minutes, if the dough is sticky, you can incorporate another 1-2 tablespoons of flour*.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased large bowl. Cover and allow the dough to double in size, around 1 hour.
- Remove the dough and punch it down. Divide into equal pieces. A digital scale is very helpful, but if you don’t have one just eye out 8 even pieces of dough. Press your finger through the middle of the ball, and form into a bagel shape. They will rise some more, so if you want a hole, make it bigger than the size of a quarter. Repeat with the the rest of the dough. Place on a lightly greased surface and let rest until risen but not doubled, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bring 12 cups of water to a boil with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In batches, boil the bagels for around 20 to 30 seconds per side. Remove from water and place on prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool before serving.
- While the bagels are baking make the cream cheese spread. In a smell bowl, combine the cream cheese with cranberry sauce, honey and cinnamon. Fold in chopped walnuts.
Source: Bagels from Lemon Sugar, Cream Cheese Spread adapted slightly from Peas & Crayons.
Posted in Bagels, Breakfast, Dressing Sauces & Condiments, Holidays, Thanksgiving | Tags: cranberry, cream cheese, pumpkin, yeast | 8 Comments »
Caramel Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
Every holiday comes with it’s own blend of specialty candies. However, it always seems like fall has the best variations. Even though I don’t favor Milky Way candy bars normally, when I saw this season’s caramel apple version I had to pick them up. But it took until now to figure out what to make with these fun treats. Why not stuff them into cinnamon rolls?
I wasn’t fully convinced on the apple flavor of the candies when I tried one by itself, so I went ahead and added in some real apple into the rolls as well. And then topped them off with a caramel glaze. It may still be reaching into 80 degree weather here, but it certainly tastes like fall with these cinnamon roll cupcakes.
While making these, I was almost certain I had killed the yeast with milk that was too hot, because it didn’t look like it was rising much. In the end they came out just fine! I really enjoyed these as individually portioned cupcakes too, but you could easily throw them all into a pan together like traditional cinnamon rolls. Also, I halved these from the original recipe, so feel free to double it back for a larger crowd!
CARAMEL APPLE CINNAMON ROLL CUPCAKES
Serves 12
Ingredients:
ROLLS
1 cups 2% milk
1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
FILLING
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped tart apples
1 cup (about 16) chopped Milky Way caramel apple mini candy bars
TOPPING
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp milk
Directions:
- In a small saucepan or a microwave oven, warm milk to about 110 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the milk. Add salt and one cup of flour and beat for two minutes. Beat in egg and butter. Stir in the remaining flour a half cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about five minutes).
- Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with a towel. Set in a warm place and allow to rise for 40 minutes or until approximately doubled in volume.’
- While waiting for it to rise, make the filling. In a medium-sized bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, apples and chopped candy bars.
- Roll out dough into a long rectangle (about 22″x10″) about 1/4” thick. Brush with about half of the melted butter.
- Spread the apple/candy bar mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch empty on all sides.
- Roll dough over itself from back to front along the long side of the rectangle to form a log. Slice the log into 12 even pieces.
- Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners and place each piece of the log in a cupcake liner. If they don’t fit, fold the ends together to make a “C” shape. The pieces should come to about the top of the liners.
- Cover the cupcake tins and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Evenly distribute the remaining 1/4 cup of melted butter over the tops of the cupcakes. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack.
- While the rolls are cooling, make the topping. In a small saucepan, cook brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup over medium heat for about 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and milk. Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over rolls.
Source: Rolls adapted slightly from Pass the Sushi. Topping adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.
Guest Post: Rosemary Pecorino Focaccia by Does Not Cook Well With Others
After a week of CHOmazing recipes it’s time for me to take a break! Coleen from Does Not Cook Well With Others is taking over for me today. I figured that you would be in good hands after seeing her Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, since all you need is for me to find one peanut butter and chocolate recipe on your blog and we become best friends! Of course others such as her White Chocolate Ice Cream with Raspberry Swirl, Island Burgers with Pineapple Lime-Salsa, and French Toast Casserole look mighty fine as well.
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Hi, I’m Coleen, the blogger behind Does Not Cook Well With Others. I’m a 30-something mother of one, dog-owner, and professional graphic designer living in Philadelphia, PA. I love to cook, bake, and eat! This is my first time guest-posting on another blog, so I hope you enjoy it!
I’ve always loved to bake. I briefly considered applying to Johnson & Wales after high school, but listened to my mother and got a degree in Digital Arts instead. After working a few years for a publisher of legal newsletters, I enrolled in a local culinary school. Have you ever heard that, while planning her own wedding, every bride decides she wants to change careers and be a wedding planner? I wanted to be a wedding cake decorator.
Except, in culinary school, I discovered my strength was in bread-baking. I love kneading, shaping, and baking the dough. My first internship was at a bread bakery, where we made baguettes, brioche, ciabatta, flavored breads, and focaccia. Focaccia is an Italian flatbread made with oil, and topped with herbs and/or other flavorings. The toppings we used at the bakery were caramelized onions, thinly-sliced tomatoes, and my favorite, chopped fresh rosemary.
If I remembered to write down the recipe, I’ve since lost it, likely during one of the three times I’ve moved. Luckily, Peter Reinhart’s focaccia from his book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice comes very close to the focaccia I remember from the bakery. It bakes up light and fluffy, with a slightly chewer outer crust. The amount of oil makes it moist, but not greasy.
I also love this recipe because it uses instant yeast instead of active dry yeast. Instant yeast does not need to be proofed in warm water (which is where most people kill their yeast with too-warm water) so it’s almost fool-proof to work with. I ordered a large package of SAF-brand instant yeast from King Arthur Flour, whose site said that the yeast should keep at least a year stored in a plastic container in the freezer. My yeast is going on four years old and still going strong.
I use my favorite topping of chopped fresh rosemary (the aroma of chopped rosemary scented my entire apartment and lingered for hours – it was awesome!), and I add freshly grated Pecorino cheese for a subtle nutty flavor, just because I happened to have some in the fridge. Pecorino is a hard Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk. It’s very similar in texture and flavor to Parmesan. Omit the cheese if you’d like, or use Parmesan if that’s what you have on hand.
I’ve included both weight and volume measurements below. I prefer to bake by weight because it’s more accurate, and I find it faster to measure. I think my kitchen scale gets as much as use my wooden spoons, pots, and pans.
Rosemary Pecorino Focaccia
Source: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (P. Reinhart)
Yield: 12 (4-inch by 4.25-inch squares)
Ingredients
1 pound 6 1/2 ounces (5 cups) bread flour
1/2 ounce (2 tsp) table salt
1/4 ounce (2 tsp) instant yeast
3 ounces (6 tbsp) olive oil, plus 1/2 cup to 1 cup more
1 pound (2 cups) room temperature water
3 to 4 sprigs of rosemary
1/3 cup grated pecorino cheese
Directions
- Combine the flour, yeast and salt in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer by stirring on low speed with the paddle attachment.
- Combine the 6 tbsp of oil and the water and gradually add to the flour while the mixer is stirring on low speed.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a soft, sticky ball while still sticking to the bottom of the mixing bowl. If it does not, add about 2 more tbsp of bread flour at a time, mixing on medium speed with the dough hook, until this happens.
- Sprinkle some flour in a 6-inch by 6-inch square on a clean work surface, and scrape the dough onto the floured surface. Gently pat into a small rectangle and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Spread more flour around the rectangle. Gently stretch out the dough to make the rectangle twice its original size.
- Make a letter fold: take about one-third of the dough and fold it in toward the middle. Then take the opposite side, and fold it in toward the middle, as if you were folding a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, spray with nonstick cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Repeat step 6 two more times, after the third fold letting the dough rest for one hour.
- While the dough is resting, remove the leaves from the rosemary stems. Discard the stems, and coarsley chop the leaves. Set aside.
- Pour about half a cup of olive oil in a 12×18-inch baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to spread it evenly in the pan. Use a scraper, spatula, or your hands, gently move the dough to the pan, keeping the rectangle shape as intact as possible.
- Using only your finger tips, dimple the dough to deflate the air bubbles and simultaneously push the dough out toward the edges and corners to fill the pan, being careful not to rip the dough. If the dough starts shrinking back toward the middle, let it sit for 5 minutes before continuing.
- Drizzle another 1/2 cup of olive oil over the dough and sprinkle the rosemary leaves evenly over the dough. Cover the entire sheet pan in plastic wrap (or place in a food-safe plastic storage bag) and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 3 days.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator 3 hours before you plan to bake it, leaving the plastic wrap in place.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Move a rack to the middle of the oven.
- Remove the plastic wrap, and place the pan in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Rotate than pan 180 degrees, to ensure even baking in case your oven has hot or cold spots. Bake another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the bread, and bake another 5 minutes, just until the cheese begins to brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven, and immediately transfer the bread to a cooling rack (the bottom will get soggy if it cools in the pan). Let cool at least 20 minutes.
- Slice the bread into 4-inch by 4.5-inch slices. If not eating immediately, wrap in plastic wrap and store in a cool, dry place.
Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza Dough
Yes I am posting a recipe for yet another pizza dough. Don’t judge, sometimes I eat a lot of pizza and need to change up the crusts a bit (in case you hadn’t caught on). This was my first time ever making homemade thin crust however. Even though a nice fluffy edge is lovely to bite into, sometimes I really just want a lot of crispiness and a greater topping to crust ratio.
Since I had never made thin crust before, I was curious how it became thin instead of puffy like in regular pizza dough. It seems to me that the only difference is the amount of flour and water you add, therefore resulting in less dough which gets rolled out to the same size. Who knew it would be that simple? I even threw in some whole wheat flour for some health-ification.
Are you a thin, regular or thick crust person? Just so you know if you saw thick, don’t ever expect a recipe for that on there. Ratio is much too skewed to the dough side on that one for me. (Don’t come to the dough side.)
WHOLE WHEAT THIN CRUST PIZZA DOUGH
Makes one crust
Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup 100% whole wheat flour*
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp yellow cornmeal
Desired pizza toppings
*Or use another 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions:
- Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Mix both flours in a small bowl. Stir 1-1/4 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt into yeast mixture to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
- Place dough in a large bowl coated with coil, turning dough to coat. Cover; let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with pizza stone on the lowest rack.
- Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Roll dough into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim.
- Drizzle dough with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Place dough on stone and bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; top with desired toppings and bake an additional 10 minutes or until crust and cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Source: Adapted slightly from Brown Eyed Baker.
