Chocolate Rolls with Peanut Butter Glaze

Cinnamon rolls have always been one of my favorite sweet treats.  I could eat them every day.  And as a bonus, I can eat them for breakfast, I can eat them as a side dish with a bowl of chili, and I can eat them as a dessert.  They are basically socially acceptable to eat anytime, anywhere!

I have a great standard cinnamon roll recipe that I love.  It is so good and really easy to make.  But I am never satisfied with making the same thing over and over.  So I have been experimenting with different fillings, different icings, etc.  And while I have been working on these cinnamon rolls, I had an amazing idea.  What if instead of using cinnamon in the filling, I used cocoa powder?  It seemed just crazy enough to be awesome.  So I whipped up a few more batches of cinnamon roll dough in the name of experimenting (shucks!) and tried my hand at making chocolate rolls.  And I have a winner!

Skillet Cornbread

We got some snow yesterday.  Like a foot.  For most working adults, a foot of snow means shoveling the car out of the driveway and navigating treacherous roads.  For those of us who work in the school system, a foot of snow means you can hit the snooze button because it's a snow day!  And if you're a foodie who has a snow day, that means spending all day in the kitchen.  And staying in your pajamas as long as humanly possible.  Maybe that last one's just me. I love wearing my PJ's.

Wardrobe aside, I think it should be a law that if you have the day off of work due to a massive snowstorm, you should be required to make soup.  Write your congressmen and women.  On this particular snow day, I chose my delicious very veggie beef and bean chili as my soup du jour (it's the soup of the day [and that's a Dumb and Dumber reference]).  I also think it should be a law that when you make chili, you must make cornbread.  With all these great ideas, maybe I should run for Congress!  I have a great go-to low fat cornbread recipe.  But yesterday, I felt like trying something new.  I've had skillet cornbread on my radar for a while, so it seemed like the day to give it a shot.  Could I have a new favorite cornbread recipe?

Honey Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

I am going to be a little liberal with the term "Makeover Monday" today.  But, hey, this is my blog so I can do whatever I want!  Honestly, we have been doing so much traveling for the holidays that I haven't spent much time in my own kitchen.  And I can't say I've been making a lot of healthy foods recently.  Oops.

But today I am going to share an amazing recipe for whole wheat dinner rolls.  It's whole wheat, and I used skim milk instead of whole milk, so I'm calling that good enough for a makeover.  I have tried making whole wheat dinner rolls a couple of times before finding this recipe in an issue of Cook's Country.  My previous recipes resulted in dense, short, and basically tasteless balls of bread that were certainly not worth the time it took to make them.  

Not so with these.  Cook's Country never disappoints.  This recipe gave me rolls that were tall, with a tasty wheaty flavor, but still light and fluffy.  And they were actually easier to make then I remember.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Cinnamon Bread French Toast Casserole with Streusel Topping

As usual, my timing this week is somewhere south of impeccable.  Now that Christmas is over, the gifts are unwrapped, and your guests have gone home, I am busting out two great, company-worthy, perfect-for-Christmas-morning breakfast recipes.  Yesterday I shared my new favorite cinnamon roll recipe.  Today I am going to introduce you to a mind-blowing French toast casserole recipe.  Typical me!  

I have had French toast casserole on my radar for about a year now.  And I just made one for the first time last weekend.  Once again, typical me!  There are a few reasons I say that this would have been perfect for Christmas morning with your family.  First and foremost, it is delicious.  That's kind of important.  Also, it is really easy to make, and can even be prepared the night before.  Then you can just pop it in the oven in the morning, chill out and sip some coffee, and prepare to be amazed.  

This smells awesome while it is baking.  Maybe even awesome enough to help those who need a little encouragement roll out of bed.  And making a French toast casserole allows you to enjoy the yummy taste of French bread without all the dipping and flipping!

Cornbread Biscuits

Are you ready for some turkey?  Bust out those stretchy pants, because tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Not that I condone overeating.  Let's be honest.  Most of America is getting ready to gorge themselves with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, yams, pie, etc, etc, etc.  Oh  yeah, and bread.  Fresh dinner rolls are a tradition for many families on Thanksgiving.  But this year, challenge tradition with these amazing cornbread biscuits.

I love cornbread (you have to try my favorite low fat cornbread!), but I never even thought of making cornbread biscuits until I saw this recipe in Cook's Country.  I was intrigued.  And because the recipe came from America's Test Kitchen, I knew it was going to turn out great.  In my experience, biscuits can be finicky, and I've had my share of miscues (most recently, last weekend).  But these biscuits were perfect.  Tall, flaky, buttery, with a great cornmeal taste.  

Pumpkin Spice Pull Apart Bread with Butter Rum Glaze

OK.  After a brief trip back to summer yesterday, I'm ready to get back to fall.  Perhaps it is the consistent 25 mile-per-hour wind swirling around golden and maroon leaves that has snapped me back into the autumn state of mind.  That reminds me of one of the downfalls of this time of year--raking leaves.  Ugh!  

So to cheer myself up, I have been trying to focus on one of the many things I love about October--pumpkins.  They are all over front porches and kitchens everywhere.  I have been reviewing some older pictures of recipes I have made but haven't shared yet, and I came across this pumpkin spice pull apart bread.  I think it is past time to share this with the world!

Makeover Monday: Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

I guess I'm on a breakfast makeover kick.  I would appologize, but I'm not sorry.  Keep in mind that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  After several weeks in a row of weekend travel, my husband and I finally had a weekend were we didn't go anywhere!  I intended to take full advantage of it by making an awesome weekend breakfast.  And as usual, I didn't want my yummy breakfast to start my day in a huge calorie hole. 

I bought a loaf of French bread a while ago and only used about half of it.  I wouldn't dare waste good bread so I have been saving it in my refrigerator for the right time to use it.  Even though I have never posted any French toast recipes before, I do make it on occassion.  It's just that I always use my whole wheat sandwich bread and I don't really follow any kind of recipe.  I just kind of throw it together.  I love how easy my typical French toast is to make, but I never really thought it was worth sharing. 

When I told my husband not to eat the French bread in the fridge because I was going to use it for French toast, he thought it sounded like a terrible idea.  I had to explain to him that French bread is actually perfect for making French toast.  He didn't believe me.  At that point my mission was clear.  I had to transform my lowly old loaf of French bread into a gourmet breakfast that would convince my husband that I actually know what I'm talking about.  And not to toot my own horn, but I succeeded!

Makeover Monday: Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Bread

I swore to myself I was done with pumpkin for a few months.  But I lied.  Recently, I used up the last of my pumpkin stash to make this pumpkin cinnamon roll bread.  In my defense, I had some pumpkin left over from my pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies, and I used pumpkin in this recipe not just for flavor, but for makeover purposes.

This tasty dish is a bit of a Frankenstein.  I don't even know what to call it!  It is a pantry clearing experiment gone very right.  I adapted it from a recipe that called itself a biscuit, but it really isn't a biscuit.  It's kind of like a cinnamon roll, but it's not rolled and it doesn't have yeast.  It's kind of like a quick bread.  But what's in a name?  What you really need to know is that this is delicious stuff!  I'm going to call it pumpkin cinnamon bread because I guess it's more like a quick bread than anything else.  It has a half whole wheat bread layer with pumpkin taking the place of cream, a layer of cinnamon roll-like filling, another bread layer, another cinnamon/butter layer, and it's all topped off with maple icing.  And it's all good!

Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Walnuts

I'm not a big St. Patrick's Day fan.  Here are a few reasons: I own exactly one green item of clothing, I'm not Irish, I don't enjoy drinking until I make myself sick, and I am past the age where it is appropriate to pinch people who aren't wearing green (I'm not sure what the cutoff is, but I'm pretty sure I crossed that bridge several years ago!).  So March 17th is just another day for me.  But because I know not everyone else out there is a Srooge about St. Patrick's day, and curiosity finally got the best of me, I made some Irish soda bread this week.

I have an old cookbook with a recipe for Irish soda bread that I've been wanting to make for a while, mainly just because I have never had it.  I'm sure there's a million varieties of Irish soda bread, and I didn't even know how authentic mine was, but I decided to give it a shot.  I liked that the recipe I used included whole wheat flour and the option of adding some dried fruit.  I used raisins because that's what was in my pantry.  This recipe suggested 2 cups of dried fruit.  I like raisins, but I don't like them that much, so I did half raisins and half walnuts.  Adding raisins and walnuts made this bread a lot more interesting!

French Bread

Last week I shared what I have to believe is the best ever recipe for French onion soup.  No one has commented any differently yet, so that's what I'm going with!  I mentioned in that post that I topped the soup with some bread, a la me.  Today is a cold, rainy, windy day in Southeast Kansas so I thought it would be an appropriate time to share the recipe I used for my French bread that I put on my French onion soup.  Oui!  (Man, I am on a multi-cultural roll this week!)

As I have documented many times, I am on a quest to make more homemade bread.  I am growing in confidence, and I just have more time than I used to so I don't have any excuses not to make my own bread.  I have also mentioned the limitations of my small town grocery store.  Well, about two weeks ago said grocery store suddenly closed.  They didn't even have a close-out sale for me to stock up on great bargains!  It was very tragic.  Anyway, I wanted a baguette for my French onion soup, but I would have had to go to a store in another town to get some.  All the more motivation for me to tackle bread on my own!

Whole Wheat Homemade Pita Bread

Earlier this week I shared my recipe for roasted red pepper hummus.  Hummus just has to be eaten with pita bread.  Pita is a soft, chewy, circle of pure bread goodness.  And if you are having pita bread, it might as well be homemade!

When I made my hummus, I thought about going to the store to buy some pita bread, but then I thought better of it.  A quick internet search lead me to this recipe for homemade pita bread.  It had me at whole wheat!  I am gradually getting over my fear of yeast breads, so I set out to make my own pita bread.  I am so full of good ideas!

Whole Wheat Beer Buns

The subtitle for my blog is "a dietitian's journey through a foodie world."  And a journey it is.  I still consider myself a beginner at real, made from scratch baking.  And although I know my way around the kitchen, not everything I touch turns into foodie gold.  With that being said let me introduce you to my first crack at homemade hot dog buns!

Okay, so these didn't turn out quite as I had hoped.  They were more like mini loaves of whole wheat flat bread.  But, they were so delicious I just had to share them with you anyway.  These smelled so good while they were baking that my husband and I both just had to have a bun right out of the oven.  When was the last time you couldn't help yourself from eating a store bought hot dog bun?  Yeah, that's what I thought!  

Whole Wheat Rosemary Beer Bread

Everyone loves the taste of fresh baked bread.  But not everyone loves the time it takes to make fresh bread.  Quick bread to the rescue!  The hands-on time required for this beer bread is approximately 2 minutes.  And with the addition of a bit of rosemary, this bread smells wonderful, and it tastes like something that took hours.

Makeover Monday: Low Fat Cornbread

Cornbread is delicious, but it has a bad rap for being high in fat.  Case in point, the southern part of our great Union.  I didn't eat a lot of cornbread going up.  Then I discovered what apparently the whole world already knew; cornbread is awesome with a hot bowl of chili.  And I do eat a lot of chili.  So now I eat a lot of cornbread.

I started my cornbread journey with a basic recipe from an old cookbook I inherited from my grandma.  It was good and I do want just a simple cornbread to take the edge of the heat of the chili.  But the original recipe was a little fatty for me.  Between the one cup of whole milk and 1/4 cup of shortening, I was potentially looking at a little over 7 grams of fat for piece one piece.  Compare it to a slice of whole wheat bread with its 1 gram of fat, and that seemed a little extreme.  

Easy Apple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Yesterday I was going to make beef stir fry.  The recipe was out, the meat was thawing in the fridge, and the veggies were ready to go.  Then I went to take a walk.  About a minute into my walk it started snowing.  I made it about 10 minutes before I went inside and started making a pot of chili.  Stir fry could wait.

And since I was making chili, I needed some cinnamon rolls.  Unfortunately, I didn't have all day to make a batch of cinnamon rolls that required kneading, rising, rolling, more rising, and time to actually bake.  Fortunately, I had a recipe for quick and dirty cinnamon rolls lying around.  I did make a few changes to suit my preferences, and pantry stock.  I was not about to go out again for groceries.

These cinnamon rolls are awesome and really easy to make.  My husband went so far as to say they were the best cinnamon rolls he has ever had.  They are baked individually in muffin tins, so each roll has a crispy exterior and a sticky, gooey center.  Ah, heaven.  I didn't have the heart to tell him they were the easiest cinnamon rolls I have ever made.  They are such a cozy treat on a snowy day, and I am sure they would also be great for breakfast.  If you have company coming for the holidays these would be a great way for your guests to start their day.  And they will think you slaved over them for hours.  No one needs to know they are easy!

Pumpkin Crescent Rolls

I can't get pumpkin out of my head.  I think in September I should have bought stock in Libby's.  My latest pumpkin quest was Pumpkin Crescent Rolls.  When I came across this recipe a few years ago I actually wasn't even looking for a pumpkin recipe.  This was during the dark ages when I thought baking with yeast was too hard for me, and I was searching for a crescent roll recipe that didn't require yeast.  I have been wanting to make these for a long time and finally got around to it this week.  Now I wish I hadn't waited so long!

The dough itself was so easy to put together, and the assembly was definitely doable.  And the result was delicious homemade rolls that were soft on the inside with a nice crispy crust, and a subtle pumpkin flavor.  I used part whole wheat flour which gave it a nice nutty flavor, along with a fiber boost.   

As with most fresh breads, these were great right out of the oven.  But they did reheat well in the microwave for about 7 seconds.  These would be great on a Thanksgiving table, and I think could easily be made the day before. 

Garlic Knots

My husband and I have a great tradition we call "wine and cheese night".  Every now and then we forgo the usual weekend restaurant trip to stay at home, pop open a bottle of wine, try a new kind of cheese, munch on olives, and break a nice loaf of bread.  We had a wine and cheese night last Friday.  Usually we pick out a loaf of bread from the store, but this particular day I decided I was going to make my own.  I am getting so brave!  

I searched high and low for the perfect bread to make.  It had to be something flavorful, but something that complemented the cheese we were having.  I settled on these Garlic Knots.  While it's not a loaf of bread, I figured it would do the trick. And indeed, it did.

Sweet Potato Bread

Remember the giant sweet potato our neighbors gave us? It's back!  I had already made Rosemary Sweet Potato Biscuits with a chunk of this giant spud.  I made a batch of soup yesterday for lunch (more on that in a later post) and thought it would be great to have some kind of fresh bread with it.  While deciding what to make I ran across this recipe for Sweet Potato Bread on Hodgson Mill's website.  I wanted bread.  I had most of the world's biggest sweet potato still sitting around.  So I made this bread. 

Let me say that I have never made homemade bread before, other than quick breads.  I still have a slight phobia of working with yeast, but I mustered up some confidence and set out to make a loaf of my own.  And it was awesome!  It turns out that homemade bread is so much better than store bought.  I had a hard time having just one piece.  Okay, just two.  I really wanted to hold that loaf with both hands and just start attacking it.  Let this be my warning to you. 

And it actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  Here's how it went down:

The first step is to dissolve the yeast in warm water. 

Let it set for 10 minutes.  After that time it should have about doubled in volume, be kind of foamy/frothy, and smell nice and yeasty.  Hmm...apparently yeasty is a real word!

While the yeast is doing its thing, combine the milk, honey, and butter and heat to 135 degrees.  I used a measuring cup so I could use my microwave to heat it .  I like the easy way!

Combine your milk mixture (which is tasty by the way!) with the sweet potatoes in a blender or food processor.  I used the food processor.

Add the whole wheat flour and salt and mix well.  The original recipe didn't say to use a food processor for adding the flour, but I did anyway.  I like the easy way!

Add the yeast and egg white.  Mix it again.  Add the rest of the flour and mix until you have a soft dough.

Now for the kneading.  You can continue to use the food processor at this point, but I switched to my stand mixer with the dough hook and kneaded the dough for 4 minutes.  Remember from our pizza crust that kneaded dough should be soft, smooth, and should bounce back when pressed.

Move the dough to a greased bowl and coat with oil.  I sprayed mine with cooking spray.  I like the easy way!  Cover the bowl with a damp towel, place it in a warm spot, and let the dough rise for about an hour.  Remember that now is the time we take a walk.  Or do dishes.  I guess it's up to you!

And we're back.  Punch the dough down and move it to a floured surface or a sheet of waxed paper.  I used wax paper because...I like the easy way!  To shape the dough, first form it into a rectangle.  Then fold it into thirds like a business letter.  Pinch the seams to seal it.  See.  It's not so hard!

Place your dough in a greased loaf pan with the seam side down.  Once again, cover and let it rise for about another hour. 

Maybe you can do some aerobics this time.  You'll probably be pretty tired after about 45 minutes, so go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  When the dough is done rising, bake for 30-35 minutes.  It will be nice and golden brown.  It will smell delicious, and so will your home.

Let the bread cool, then dig in.  And be so glad you did aerobics today.

Sweet Potato Bread
Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (115 degrees)
3/4 cup skim milk
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg white
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour*
Directions:
Dissolve yeast to warm water and let sit for 10 minutes.
In a large measuring cup or saucepan, combine milk, butter, and honey. Heat to 135 degree F. (1 1/2 minutes in a microwave or 4 minutes in a saucepan). Puree mashed sweet potato and liquid in a blender. Pour this puree into a large mixing bowl, add the salt and whole wheat flour, and mix well (you may use a mixer).
Then add yeast and egg whites and mix well. Add the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and satiny, 10 minutes by hand or 4 minutes in an electric mixer or food processor fitted with a dough hook. Put dough in greased bowl, turning to coat thoroughly. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm draft-free place until dough rises just above tops of pans, about 1 hour.
Knead down. turn onto a lightly floured surface. Let rest for 10 minutes. Grease a 9X5X3-inch loaf pan. Shape dough into a loaf and put into pan, seam side down. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until dough rises just above tops of pan, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove bread immediately and let cool on rack. When completely cooled, the bread can be sliced and frozen.
*The original recipe called for 1 cup of bread flour and 1/2 cup AP flour.  I didn't have bread flour so I used all AP.  It was still delicious!

Adapted from Hodgson Mill

Sweet Potato Rosemary Biscuits

 I have always liked biscuits.  But as I have become more of a homemade, from scratch, kinda girl I have come to realize that I love  biscuits.  The realization culminated recently when I had an early morning meeting at work where breakfast was served.  That evening while hashing out our respective days, it came up that I ate a biscuit at said breakfast.  My husband asked me how it was and I replied, "It was good, but so not homemade."  That was when I knew I had become a biscuit snob.

Making your own biscuits from scratch really isn't that hard.  Having a food processor doesn't hurt either.  Drop biscuits like these Sweet Potato Rosemary Biscuits are especially easy.

My husband and I recently moved, and have been blessed with great neighbors who are avid gardeners, and good sharers.  I am sure their kindergarten teachers would be proud.  Their latest garden gift was two sweet potatoes.  Two giant sweet potatoes.  Usually I just bake sweet potatoes, but these are too big to just pop in the oven.  I was contemplating what to do with these monster spuds when I came across a recipe for Rosemary Sweet Potato Biscuits.  Bingo.  So, let's put our aprons on and start baking some homemade biscuits!

 The original recipe was made with leftover roasted sweet potatoes.  Since my potatoes would have taken approximately 5 days to roast, I just diced what I needed and took the easy way out by microwaving them for a few minutes until they were soft.

 The first step is to combine the dry ingredients.  I made my biscuits with half whole wheat flour.  Shocking, I know.

Then add minced garlic and rosemary.

 Now add butter and combine until the mixture resembles a course meal.  This is where a food processor comes in handy, but if you don't have one you can use a pastry cutter or two knives.  And then ask for a food processor Christmas. 

Now move the mixture to a bowl and stir in those beautiful sweet potato chunks.

  Milk's turn to get into the action.

Mix just until moistened.  Over mixing your dough can cause it to be too tough.  Nobody wants tough biscuits.  Then I used my 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

At this point you should brush with melted butter or margarine.  I forgot.  Don't forget.  Since I forgot, I put it on when they were done baking and I sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese.

Aren't they lovely?  Here's the recipe if you want to give it a shot:

Rosemary Sweet Potato Biscuits

adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powdder

2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried rosemary

6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 cup diced sweet potatoes, cooked

1 cup buttermilk

3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  

In a food processor, mix together flours, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Add the minced garlic and rosemary.  Mix in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Move to large bowl.

Add sweet potatoes and gently stir.  Pour buttermilk over all of the ingredient and stir with a spatula until just combined.

Drop by 1/4 cup onto prepared baking sheet.  Brush biscuits with melted butter.  Bake 15-17 minutes or until tops are golden brown.  Remove from oven and serve warm.