Cinnamon Rolls

I've posted Cinnamon Rolls before--Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls. And Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. I've done Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding and I've contemplated PB&J Cinnamon Rolls, Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls and even Avocado Cinnamon Rolls. Well, maybe not Avocado Cinnamon Rolls. The point is, I've thought of several different versions of Cinnamon Rolls, but I have yet to show you my basic, everyday, out of this world, Cinnamon Roll recipe.

Now, if you have navigated to this page in the hopes of finding a lo-cal version of Cinnamon Roll, you are wasting your time. I use butter. Copious amounts of butter. And I don't skimp on the sugar, either. Seriously, we are talking about Cinnamon Rolls. It is a once in a while treat, not the mainstay of anyone's diet. So let us begin.

Cinnamon Rolls

Printable Recipe

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature, slightly beaten
• 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup pecans (optional)

 Heat the milk, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool until temperature is about 110 degrees F (like bathwater warm).

I almost always heat it too much at first. Be sure to let it cool down so you don't kill the yeast. The butter will finish melting, trust me.

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk mixture with yeast, egg, and 2 cups of the flour and the salt; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (Alternately, just use the dough hook on your mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for about five minutes)

The egg, butter, and sugar will give you a nice rich dough...the perfect vehicle for even more butter.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean damp towel. Allow dough to rise until double, about 1 hour. In the meantime, in a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll out the dough into a 12X9 inch rectangle (I like to do this on my Silpat). Spread the dough with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with pecans if desired. Roll up the dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces and place into a greased 9X13 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Add some pecans, if you like. Or some raisins or chopped apple. This batch is going to be plain.

Be sure to use a sharp knife when cutting...you don't want all of the filling to squish out.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and frost while warm.

You are not required to frost these, but I think it adds a little je ne sais quoi.

I personally like my Cinnamon Rolls frosted with a nice Orange Cream Cheese Frosting, but a simple drizzle of glaze will suffice. If you're interested, here's my recipe...I just used it on my Red Velvet Brownies. :)

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Printable Recipe

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 cups powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and the butter in a medium bowl. Add the orange peel, vanilla, and the orange juice, blending until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat to desired consistency.

Soft, warm, gooey, cinnamon-y and good.

 I find that these rolls will last for a day or two before getting stale. While it is rare that there will be any left, keep in mind that they will make a superb Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding. 

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Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I've been messing around with a red velvet brownie recipe for awhile. My daughter and I put our heads together and came up with one using a brownie mix quite some time ago, and I really liked it. In fact, I had to stop making it because I was eating it all by myself. Not a good situation. Actually, I was going to make them for work tomorrow (Halloween potluck), and then I got to thinking that maybe I should be making my brownies from scratch.

Let me just say that I'm not opposed to using cake and/or brownie mixes. I've won recipe contests using refrigerated cookie dough and dry cookie mix. I'm thinking that most people use them. They are convenient and sometimes cheaper (who hasn't stocked up on brownie mixes when they are on sale for $1?). Many times, I just can't seem to get the same consistency in a cake or a brownie than I can get from a mix. That said, most of the time I prefer the made-from-scratch versions. Today, I will give you both versions of my recipe. I will let you decide.

Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Printable Recipe

1¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups granulated sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

½ cup buttermilk

3 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 ° F.; line a 9X13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side of the pan.

I found the coolest parchment paper--on one side non-stick foil and on the other side, parchment. It fits into the pan much easier...

Place the flour, baking soda, sugar, cocoa and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until well-combined; set aside.

In a separate, medium sized bowl, beat together the melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and the food coloring.

Quickly bring eggs to room temperature by placing them in hot water for a few minutes.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top of the brownies are dry to the touch. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully removing the brownies using the paper overhang. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and the butter in a medium bowl. Add the orange peel, vanilla, and the orange juice, blending until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat to desired consistency. Frost cooled brownies; sprinkle walnuts evenly over the top, if desired. 

Be careful not to over bake your brownies...better to under bake. Dry brownie = yucky.

They turned out pretty good. I'll bet adding some mini-chocolate chips would make them better, though. In the mean time, if you would rather have the convenience of a mix, here is the other recipe:

Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (from a mix)

1 box (18.4-19.5 oz) milk chocolate brownie mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; line a 9"X13" pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side of the pan.

Place the contents of the brownie mix in a large mixing bowl. in a separate, medium bowl, whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, vinegar and food coloring until combined. Add the liquid mixture to the brownie mix and beat with a wooden spoon until combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the brownies using the parchment paper overhang. Cool completely before frosting.

Which do you prefer--from a mix or from scratch?

Quinoa Salsa Salad....three ingredients.

I love Trader Joe's. Yesterday, Pete and I made our weekly grocery store rounds and just had to stop in to get some of their tortillas. Have you seen them? They are called "hand made" tortillas and I'm guessing they are as close to homemade as you can get from store bought. Just a guess, though, since I've never made them.

My new favorite tortillas....

 At any rate, the first thing we usually do when we get to Trader Joe's is to hustle on to the back of the store where they are giving out product samples. Yesterday's sample was a quinoa salad. I was disappointed, at first--healthy food? I did have a box of it at home that I had been reluctant to try. You know what? It's really good! They had it prepared with black beans, roasted corn and sun dried tomatoes. I was shoveling it in my mouth when another customer asked if they used a recipe or if it came made that way. It was a recipe, and a pretty darn easy one.

Ok--here it is: Prepare 1/2 package quinoa (about 1 cup) per package directions, stir in one package of Trader Joe's sun dried tomatoes and one container of Trader Joe's Black Bean & Roasted Corn Salsa. Finished. Period. The End. Oh--I did squeeze a little orange juice in it, just because I never leave well enough alone.

The quinoa only took about 15 minutes to cook

Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein, cooks up fast, and doesn't have a heavy flavor so it pairs well with almost anything.

My sister and my niece were on their way over...I simply threw some biscuits in the oven and whipped up the quinoa. Lunch was ready when they got here.

The quinoa went over well. I served it warm for my sister (who even heats up her ice cream--she needs everything warm), but you can eat this cold or at room temperature, too. There weren't too many leftovers...for dinner I made myself a quinoa burrito with one of those handmade tortillas. :)