Orange-White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cinnamon Rolls

I hope you'll forgive me for being just a little slow in posting this recipe. It's not that it's not a good one...in fact this is probably the yummiest cinnamon roll I've made. For sure, it's my favorite so far. So, why the hesitation? Frankly, it's because I'm on a diet going through a lifestyle change. Not to worry--I haven't completely abandoned the "good stuff". After all, my motto is "everything in moderation". It's just that I'm still in the beginning stages and, while most of this batch is resting in the freezer, it's a little painful looking at the picture. Please bear with me as I learn the moderation process.

I think orange zest may be one of my favorite flavor additions...this roll is full of it!

Orange-White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cinnamon Rolls

Printable Recipe

Dough:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest

2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
1 egg, slightly beaten

3-3 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 4-5 pieces
1 (3.5-4 oz) bar premium white chocolate
1/2 cup diced macadamia nuts

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

2-3 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 ° F.

 Heat the milk, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar, and orange peel 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 started early on with the orange flavor by putting some in the warmed milk.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour and the salt.

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk mixture with yeast, egg, and 2 cups of the flour mixture; 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).

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 mean time, process the brown sugar, cinnamon, orange peel, and white chocolate in a food processor. Add the cold butter and pulse until incorporated.

Roll out the dough into a 12 X 9 inch rectangle (I like to do this on my Silpat). Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch edge. Sprinkle the diced macadamia nuts evenly over the the filling. Roll up the dough from the long side and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces and place into a greased 9 X 13 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled (or refrigerate overnight).

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

For frosting, beat the cream cheese and the butter in a medium bowl. Add the orange peel and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar and orange juice, beating to desired consistency.

I've said it before--the frosting is the best part.

Hint: to avoid over-consumption, wrap each cinnamon roll in plastic wrap and freeze. To serve, simply nuke the frozen roll for 30 seconds.

Whole Wheat Focaccia with Artichokes....it's a Hearts and Flours Improv!

It's time for another monthly Improv and this month--in honor of Valentine's day--our theme is "Hearts and Flours"! For those not in the know, the monthly Improv, hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, is a friendly little competition where we create dishes based on two seasonal ingredients. Truth be told, I took this month's theme a little out of the box. Instead of creating a heart shaped food, I used "hearts" in my food--and made it heart healthy to boot!

Yum...I love artichoke hearts! Unfortunately, I've only ever had them in fatty appetizers or drenched in oil. These are packed in water.

If you haven't deduced from my last post, Healthier Mixed Berry Muffins, I'm trying to drop a lot a little weight and eat a little healthier. That is not to say that I won't continue posting some decadent stuff (I promise--those Orange-White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cinnamon Rolls will be up next), but I've found that a little moderation is in order. Luckily for me, my husband is on the same wavelength so it's easy for me to try out some new things.

One of the things that we discovered is that it's a lot easier for us to make better eating choices when we're at home. That said, it's hard to make dinner for the two of us after working all day. So, believe it or not, this focaccia bread recipe came about because I was tired and in a rush (thank goodness for my KitchenAid mixer!)

Whole Wheat Artichoke Focaccia

Printable Recipe

Dough:

1 cup warm water (like bathwater warm)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fast rising yeast

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt 

Topping:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or black pepper)

1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and sliced

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh spinach leaves

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Combine the water, sugar, oil and yeast in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to foam.

In the mean time, whisk together the white whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups of the all purpose flour, salt, and seasoning. Add it to the yeast mixture.

Using the dough hook on the stand mixer, knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until it cleans the sides of the bowl. Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, if needed. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning it once. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set it in a warm, draft-free area to rise for 30-45 minutes.

Whole wheat flour can make the dough a little dry. Initially, I dumped all of the flour into the mix at once...I had to add a little more water. Luckily, the dough is pretty forgiving and it all turned out fine.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F; spray a 15" X 10" pan with cooking spray.

Gently deflate the dough and press it into the prepared pan. Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with the garlic powder and the pepper. Evenly top the dough with the sliced artichoke hearts, drained tomatoes, onions,and spinach. Sprinkle the cheese and the Italian seasoning over the top.

I was going to bake this on a pizza stone, but discovered it had broken in half (!). Luckily, using the jelly roll pan made this even easier.

I loved this combination of toppings, but you can get creative here...add some olives, fresh herbs...whatever floats your boat. :)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Cut into squares--this will make 6 servings at about 300 calories per serving.

I really loved how this turned out! If you aren't familiar with white whole wheat flour, you can read about it on the Whole Grains Council website...it's a great way to add whole grains if you aren't fond of regular whole wheat flour. Feel free to substitute your favorite spices. I used a little cayenne pepper to give it a slight kick, but regular pepper works fine. I'll bet some fresh basil (I didn't have any) would make a nice addition, too.

Don't forget to check out what everyone else is making!

Mixed Berry Muffins...a healthier option

Well folks, believe it or not, my elliptical has been dusted off and I've officially started exercising at least once a day. Don't get too worked up, though. I'm not switching over to posting diet food...but I did manage to make some muffins a tad bit healthier. I hope you don't mind if I share....

Diets really don't work out very well for me. If I deprive myself, I end up craving things that I wouldn't normally even think about eating That said, I need to make some changes or my health is going to suffer. So what is a food obsessed gal to do? As it turns out, nothing terribly drastic.

I'm thinking that if I trim a few calories here and there, and use some common sense, I should be able to shed a few pounds, no? Let's start with my basic muffin recipe. If you want a the full-calorie version, you can find it here: Strawberries and Cream Muffins Now, here's what I did to change it up:

Mixed Berry Muffins

Printable Recipe

1 cup all purpose flour, divided

1 cup white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus an additional 2 tablespoons for topping

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries

1 (6 oz) container low-fat Greek yogurt (I used strawberry)

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup canola oil or coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.; line cupcakes pans with 18 liners.

You may want to spray the liners with a little cooking spray. I found the lower fat muffins stuck to the paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup white whole wheat flour, baking powder, sugar, and orange peel; set aside.

Toss the frozen berries (if the strawberries are huge, cut them into smaller pieces) with the remaining 1/4 cup flour. Mix the yogurt, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla together in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add the berries and the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed...batter will be lumpy...don't over mix.

Yikes, there are some huge strawberries in there...I cut them into smaller pieces. Keep the fruit frozen so your batter doesn't get all discolored.

With a cookie scoop, divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the batter. Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Another change I made was to make the muffins smaller...I divided the batter into 18 muffins instead of 12. I also used a little less sugar for the topping.

I had forgotten that I had some dried orange peel from Penzey's in the fridge. I mixed some in with the sugar that I used for the topping...in fact I made a little extra orange-sugar and used some on my oatmeal during the week.

So what do you think? They are smaller, have less fat, and have a little more fiber. The orange peel and the flavored yogurt gives them some good flavor...I really wasn't missing anything. The only other thing I did was to freeze them all---that way I'm not tempted to eat more than one. I just nuke one for about 30 seconds when I take it from the freezer. Feel free to use fresh fruit in your version...the berries here weren't looking very pretty, yet.

Now, just so you don't think I've completely given up all the good stuff, stay tuned for my next post--Orange-White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cinnamon Rolls...all packed neatly in a freezer bag right next to my healthy muffins...