Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

 

My five year old loves cinnamon rolls and asks me to make them for her at least once a week. We don't indulge that often but I try to at least every month or two. I love to bake with her but it feels like I'm always out of time for a long recipe. My new favorite way to make cinnamon rolls in the bread machine. It doesn't take a fancy machine or any tricks (I have a cheap old one I got for a dollar at the thrift store. Classy. Still dreaming of one of these some day, though!) I still love my favorite recipe from the Bread Baker's Apprentice but I haven't had anyone notice the difference. All you have to do is toss the ingredients into the machine, run the dough cycle, and roll out the rolls as soon as it beeps.

My go to roll recipe is from Salad in a Jar. She has the best bread recipes. I've adapted this one to be dairy free when I make them for my husband. The recipe is flexible and comes out great even with almond milk and oil instead of the dairy. Don't get me wrong, my KitchenAid is still my favorite and I look forward to hanging out with her but when there's just no time, the bread machine is a viable option for quick and delicious cinnamon rolls with less hands-on time.

{these always get eaten before I get a picture!}

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
from Anne Strawberry
adapted from Salad in a Jar

1 cup warm milk (I've successfully substituted with almond milk)
¼ cup butter (or oil)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cups unbleached flour
2¼ teaspoons bread or instant yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened (I omit this or use a little oil when I'm making these dairy free)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Add all ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed. Run the dough cycle and come back after dough is risen. Roll out dough on floured surface into a large rectangle. Top with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon. Roll into a log and slice into inch thick rolls. Line up on baking sheet and let rise until puffy and doubled. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and beautiful.

Top with your favorite frosting- this is mine. My husband prefers a simple powdered sugar and milk glaze.

TWD- Carrot {Cake} Muffins

Does anyone really know the difference between a muffin and a cupcakes? My favorite part of either is the frosting so... when I read this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe (Carrot Muffins) I knew I would have to include the cream cheese frosting. I was out of coconut (bleh!) so I added a little oatmeal instead.

With the spices, pecans, Craisins, and frosting- these were the best carrot cupcakes muffins I've ever made. They came out with the perfect rise (flat muffins kind of bother me!) and took only a couple minutes to whip together. Don't forget to use paper liners to remove the muffins easily and to set the muffin tin on top of a cookie sheet to keep bottoms from burning (no one likes that!) You could easily sub in half whole wheat flour and no one would be the wiser- then you might not feel as guilty topping your muffins with cream cheese frosting! See the recipe at Nancy's awesome blog here or buy the book on Amazon.

Anne's Favorite Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe (here)

Royal Cupcakes for my Prince and Princess

{printable recipe here}

I'm sure you've seen way too much about the royal wedding already (but all my efforts to post these on Friday came to naught!) I DVR'd the event at my mom's and haven't been over to watch it yet, though I've loved seeing all the dress and crazy hat pictures. I've had to laugh at the copious facebook statuses exclaiming total excitement or annoyance at the whole thing, but I couldn't let the weekend go by without making a treat in honor of the wedding (it has something to do with my kids' super 'top secret' names, since, well, I don't actually call my own little princess Baby Strawberry around the house, though my little man does answer to that). 

In 2008 my family took a trip to Greece to pick my brother up from his mission, and we stopped in London on the way home for about 8 hours overnight. Our parents stayed in their hotel like sane people and my brother and I work up at 3 to take the tube (that's what they call it, right? I always want to say metro, but I'm a frenchie at heart!) downtown and see what we could see in three or four hours.

 

When we walked up the stairs from the 'metro' we were right next door to Big Ben, it was so fun! It was still totally dark but we wandered across the bridge and back, through the park, over to Buckingham Palace, through what must have been the business district, judging from all the people heading to work, and eventually back to Big Ben and to the airport. We made it barely on time and were totally exhausted but it was wonderful to have been there, if only for a couple hours! Now I want to go again and see all the places from my favorite British historical fiction books.

 

As for the cupcakes themselves, little additions really put them over the top. Adding vanilla bean to the batter, filling them with pastry cream or pudding after they cool (I fill a pastry bag and use Ateco tip #230, but any substantial round frosting tip could work), and frosting them extra high- with homemade frosting of course- are some of my favorite tricks. Of course the king of the castle over here doesn't like frosting, so I usually help him with his and he graciously finishes off my cake. We're good like that.

I've posted about making candy melt decorations for cupcakes before and will have a nice explanatory post up in a week or so with some college graduation cupcakes I made last year with ASU's logo. The short of it is, I print out the design or monogram I'm looking for, cover the sheet with wax paper, and trace using a parchment bag (or clipped baggie) filled with melted candy melts (you can buy a huge assortment of colors at Michael's or Joann's). Then I freeze the sheet and after a few minutes, you can pop the design right off the paper and stick on top of the cupcake. I really wanted to come up with a sapphire blue to match Kate's ring but the best I had was a pretty light blue my friend loaned me (plus some food coloring). I had to thin the candy with Crisco and it was still a little clumpy due to the coloring. All would have been well, though, had I remembered the piping tip- somehow I ended up with half of my supplies and half at my mom's (who was also out of wax paper). So my grand plans for individually labeled Kate and Will cupcakes didn't pan out, but my own little royalty loved them just the same. You can see a picture of the process here if you are interested.

Update- I just found the prettiest Will and Kate printables and hope to find a good use for them soon, check them out here!

Royal Cupcakes for Will and Kate
from Anne Strawberry

{printable recipe here}

1 cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
1 box betty crocker french vanilla cake mix

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Place atop a baking sheet and set aside.

Combine all ingredients in stand mixer and beat for two minutes until well combined. Using a 2-tablespoon scoop, scoop into muffin tins.

Bake for 21-24 minutes or until cupcakes spring back slightly when touched and a tooth pick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on racks and frost once completely cooled.


Anne Strawberry's Favorite Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened (one stick)
1 package of cream cheese, softened (I like to use Neufchatel, less fat and I don't notice much difference)

2 Tablespoons milk
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or the seeds of one vanilla pod, scraped
dash of salt
6 cups of powdered sugar (more or less to achieve desired consistency, this is a baseline)
1 Tablespoon meringue powder

In a mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add in the milk, vanilla, and salt, and blend.

Next, add the powdered sugar and meringue powder, cover the bowl of the mixer with a dish towel, and turn it on low until everything is combined. Then increase the speed for a minute or so until the frosting is light, fluffy, and delicious. The meringue powder will help set the frosting after it dries so it holds its shape.

Variation:
Add 1 T. Lemon or orange zest and substitute juice for the milk to make a tangy citrus frosting

For the filling:
Anne Strawberry's Slightly Lightened Pastry Cream
After the cupcakes have cooled, fit a pastry bag with a long, medium tip. Fill with cooled pastry cream and squeeze one or two tablespoons into the center of each cupcake, filling until the top of the cupcake starts to bulge slightly. Frost and decorate the cupcakes and serve.

P.S. Sorry about the world's longest post, but did you spot my favorite car ever in the pictures? So many beautiful things in Europe! Come back tomorrow for TWD- Chocolate Peppermint Pound Cake!

Thin Mint Cheesecake

{printable recipe here}
Some things, you just know they're going to be delicious. My mom and I always laugh at my beloved Barefoot Contessa when she says, "Butter, chocolate, sugar, how bad can that be?" but we really tend to say the same thing. When I pulled out the cream cheese, thin mints, butter, and sugar, I knew this recipe would end well. Crush up the cookies, add a little butter, press it into the pan. Blend the softened cream cheese for a minute or two in the mixer. Pour it in and you're good to go. 

I originally adapted this recipe from Picky Palate. Jenny is so creative and never ceases to amaze me with the things she comes up with. Thin mint cheesecake is brilliant and delicious. I've lightened up the original recipe a little bit with plain yogurt instead of sour cream (I used Stonyfield) and upped the flavor with some vanilla. I also took out a little bit of the butter from the crust. To further lighten up, you can replace the cream in the ganache with "cashew cream", a blend of raw cashews (I get mine at Trader Joe's) and cold water. A few whirls in the blender and you have cashew cream that can subbed in for the regular, heavy cream in the ganache to top the cheesecake (and tastes the same!) Whether you make this cheesecake full size, in a tart pan, in a pie pan, in muffin tins- whatever- how bad can that be? You know it's going to be great!


This recipe yields 24 mini muffin size mini cheesecakes or 12 muffin size cheesecakes. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 16 muffin size cheesecakes and two 4" cheesecakes using my mini springforms. The whole thing start to finish was about an hour (including baking). This is the kind of dessert that makes a huge impact for minimal effort. Besides the thin mints (or mint oreos if the girl scouts aren't around), the rest of the ingredients are "staples"- at my house anyways. Cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cream/sour cream/or yogurt, and butter. Easy. Now go get some cream cheese out to soften and track down a girl scout, you're going to want this...



Anne Strawberry's Thin Mint Mini Cheesecakes
{printable recipe here}
1 sleeve Thin Mint Cookies, ground in food processor or blender (or Mint Oreos)
2 Tablespoons melted butter
8 oz softened cream cheese (Neufchatel reduced fat works great)
1/2 Cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons Fat Free Yogurt (or Sour Cream, Buttermilk, or Heavy Cream- I like the yogurt for more tang, but if you like it sweet and smoother go with the cream)
5 Thin mint cookies coarsely crumbled

Ganache Topping
1/4 Cup Chocolate, chopped
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
6 Thin mint cookies, crumbled (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine ground cookies and butter in a medium bowl. Drop about 1 Tablespoon of cookie mixture into 24 mini cupcake tins prepared with liners. Press crust into cups with back of a spoon.

In an electric or stand mixer cream the cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add egg, yogurt, and vanilla until well combined as well. Fold in crumbled cookies. Pour cheesecake mixture into cupcake tins filled almost to the very top. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until cooked through. Carefully remove cups from tin and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Bring cream to a simmer and pour over chocolate. Set aside for one minute then stir until smooth and shiny. Spoon over each cheesecake cup and sprinkle with additional crumbled cookies.

Cashew Cream Ganache
(adapted from Enlightened Cooking)
1/3 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup cold water
7 ounces good-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Place the nuts and cold water in a blender and blend at high speed for 2 minutes. Stop the blender and scrape down the sides. Blend at least 1-2 minutes longer until the mixture is smooth (mixture will be very thick; add 1-2 additional tablespoons water, if needed, to blend until smooth).

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a metal or glass bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and cool slightly. Stir in cashew cream, vanilla and salt until well-blended. Top torte with your "healthy" ganache, and enjoy! 

Lemon Velvet Cupcakes

 

{printable recipe here}
I tend to post a lot of lemon recipes but not only is lemon one of my favorite flavors, but my parents also have an enormous lemon tree that produces hundreds (maybe more) of lemons each year. When I'm over, it's super convenient to run out to the tree and grab a handful of fruit, to make homemade lemonade, lemon curd, lemon poppyseed muffins, garlic rosemary lemon chicken, etc. Lemon cake of course is delicious and the simple addition of lemon zest to the frosting and the cake makes all the difference.

We started calling these "lemon velvet" when we had to come up with a new red velvet replacement after my tall man couldn't eat chocolate any more. I still enjoy red velvet but we make this crowd-pleaser more often. It doesn't stain like the red velvet but is based off the same easy recipe. Instead of starting with a German chocolate cake, I used a lemon mix and add the zest of two lemons (in addition to the vanilla, sour cream, and extra eggs to doctor the mix). Then for the light cream cheese frosting, I replace the milk with fresh squeezed lemon juice and add the zest of another lemon. Now is the perfect time of year to make these, but even when I don't have fresh lemons on the tree, I reach for my stock of zest and juice in the freezer that I've built up during the winter. It's not a lot of work but has a huge impact on flavor.

I've had a lot of people ask me about the meringue powder I put in my cupcake frosting. I buy the Wilton brand- you can get it at Walmart, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby (or at Amazon of course). I usually buy the big can at Michael's with a 40% off coupon for the best price. It lasts forever and just a tablespoon mixed into the frosting with the powdered sugar will help "set" your icing so it holds its shape after you frost the cupcakes. The end result is a lot better and there's no taste difference. Try it and let me know what you think.

Lemon Velvet Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

from Anne Strawberry
{printable recipe here}

1 cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
zest of one or two lemons
1 box lemon cake mix (I prefer Betty Crocker and stock up when they are on sale)

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients in stand mixer and beat for two minutes until combined. Using a 2-tablespoon scoop, scoop into 24 paper-cup lined muffin tins.

Bake for 21-24 minutes or until cupcakes spring back slightly when touched and a tooth pick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on racks and frost once completely cooled.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened (I like to use Neufchatel, less fat and I don't notice much difference)
1/2 cup butter, softened (one stick)
juice of one lemon (about two tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of one lemon (about 1 teaspoon)
dash of salt
6 cups of powdered sugar (more or less to achieve desired consistency, this is a baseline)
1 Tablespoon meringue powder

In a mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add in the lemon juice, vanilla, zest, and salt, and blend.

Next, add the powdered sugar and meringue powder, cover the bowl of the mixer with a dish towel, and turn it on low until everything is combined. Then increase the speed for a minute or so until the frosting is light, fluffy, and delicious. The meringue powder will help set the frosting after it dries so it holds its shape.

Apple Orange Holiday Cupcakes

Last week at a Christmas party, my girlfriend and I were laughing at another friend's ridiculous food aversion. "No way will I eat onions, they're like tapeworms!" she repeated and we laughed. "Come on, everyone knows onions are nasty." Another chimed in against onions and added another equally repulsive (to her) food- tomatoes. Natalie and I just had to look at each other and laugh. When she said, "Well if you don't like onions or tomatoes I don't think I could make you anything for dinner" I had to agree. I can't imagine never eating those delicious foods again (come on, lasagna, best food of them all) but do understand the ridiculous food aversion.


My number one, can't do it food is coconut. No way on the texture (I'll refrain from posting what I identify it with since this is a food blog after all) and the flavor (sunblock? Apply not eat, thank you!) So when I saw this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe from Cobbler du Monde was an Apple Coconut cake I knew that wouldn't do. For a minute I even thought about growing up and making it with coconut since it was for my husband's coworkers anyway, but it turns out there isn't even any coconut in my house, which makes since considering I do all the shopping! So I just upped the apple, added some orange zest and juice to sub for the rum, and made it my own with a little more Greek yogurt (regular plain yogurt would work just fine, too) and a little less oil. Of course since I was already off the radar of the original recipe I added some orange zested frosting, why not? They are cupcakes, after all, and try as I may to grow up in my food preferences, frosting will always trump cake around here. Since they felt a little muffin-y I went light on the frosting, for me anyways. Really though, the orange, cinnamon, and vanilla pair so nicely with the apple and my house just smells like Christmas. Not bad for about 15 minutes of work (20 if you count the dishes). See the real deal with the other TWD bakers and come back later this week for a fun giveaway.


Apple Orange Holiday Cupcakes
from Anne Strawberry
loosely adapted from Baking by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 apples, peeled and cored (a mix of whatever you have on hand, I used galas and granny smiths)
zest and juice of one orange 
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
6 ounces plain yogurt (I used Greek Gods)
5 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Line about 18 muffin tins with paper wrappers, set on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the dry team (flour, powder, soda, cinnamon, salt).

Peel and cut the apples into a small dice (I like to use my apple peeler). Zest the orange and then squeeze the juice from one half into the bowl- combine to prevent browning.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together for a minute or so. Add in the yogurt, oil, and vanilla and mix until nicely combined. Fold in the dry ingredients with a silicone spatula, being careful not to overbeat so the cake stays tender. Lightly mix in the apples and scoop into prepared muffin tins using an ice cream scoop.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool and frost with my favorite frosting, whipped cream, or apple jelly.

Cherry Cheesecake Brownies

 

{printable recipe here}

Did you know Christmas is almost here? I'm sure that, unlike me, you're on the ball and all ready. I actually made these brownies for a Halloween trunk or treat party (as evidenced by the styrofoam plate and hastily shot picture) and haven't had a chance to post yet. My little chickens keep getting sick and like nice children they are sharing their germs with their parents, so we've all been a little crazy! Today I finally got the lights on the tree and my little man is excited to cover it (or the lower half anyway) with ornaments. We made some homemade cinnamon ornaments that were quick and fun- I can't wait to share them with you next week. My house smells wonderful. I love Christmas time even though it's plenty busy!

It feels like we have some get together every spare minute in December. These brownies are the perfect accompaniment because they come together in a flash (five or ten minutes, really, and you can taste the brownie batter along the way so you won't mind the time, or is that just me?) I swirl in some softened cream cheese and a can of Lucky Leaf cherry pie filling and they actually feel fancy, are super easy, and taste SO good. I didn't used to like cherry pie filling. I'm not sure what I was thinking there, but now that I'm a "grown up" I've changed my ways. Lucky Leaf is also having a recipe contest that you can read about here. I have a few more cans of their yumminess in my pantry that I'm going to experiment with. Let me know if you enter- and you should, there's a prize and a trip to their bake off!

Cherry Cheesecake Brownies

from Anne Strawberry

{printable recipe here}

1 box of brownie mix, prepared in a 9 x 13 pan lined with parchment or generously greased- I like Betty Crocker

1 can Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling

1 stick (8 ounces) Neufchatel (reduced fat) cream cheese, softened (regular cream cheese works just fine too, use what you have!)

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350.

Make the brownies as directed on the box and pour into a pan lined with parchment so you can lift the brownies out later. Spoon the pie filling evenly over the top.

In a mixer or bowl, combine cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until perfectly smooth. Using a large spoon, divide it over the brownie batter in random piles. Use a butter knife to swirl everything together and bake for about a half an hour or until they reach your desired "doneness".

French Fridays- Gougeres

Today is the first day of French Fridays with Dorie, an awesome new group dedicated to baking through Dorie Greenspan's new book Around My French Table. Dorie choose the first recipes and todays, Gougeres, are absolutely delicious (no surprise there!) Gougeres are made just like cream puffs (a quick and easy stove top process) except you add cheese- I used a mix of cheddar and fresh Parmesan. You scoop or pipe them onto cookie sheets, bake, and end up with a yummy appetizer that leaves you wanting more. More what? I'm not sure. Maybe alcohol, because that's the suggested pairing. But- since I don't drink, I just figured I would stuff them with something else. My mom suggested jalapeno and cream cheese to make a sort of home made jalapeno poppers (you've had those, right?) Now I hope I don't fail the first Frenchie Friday attempt by adding Mexican flavors but this ended up pretty yummy- Cream Cheese, Green Chiles (that's what was in the pantry), Pimentos, Black Olives, and Salt and Pepper. I scoop it in and then we tried another and thought, "Now it's done." Either way, these are super yummy- and easy to make. And although I clearly took this recipe in a crazy direction I think the moral of the story is that French food doesn't have to be hard or fancy pants. So buy the book already- I can't wait to try more!

PS My beloved camera is in the shop so my blogging is feeling a little strained by the thought of using my cell phone or stealing my mom's purse camera! Excuse my inconsistency (not that that's anything new, but, well, I really am missing my camera!)

Don't Tell Dorie I Made These Southwestern Gougeres Filling
from Anne Strawberry

1 stick of neufchatel (reduced fat) cream cheese, softened
1 can mild green chiles
2 tablespoons pimentos
1/4 cup diced black olives
salt and pepper to taste