Cinnamon Brownies

Cinnamon Brownies with Coffee Ice Cream

Cinnamon Brownies

(preheat oven to 350)

1/4 c butter, melted

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c white sugar

1/3 c cocoa powder

1/2 c flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c cashews, crushed

pour the batter into a 9x9 pan

bake for 20-25 minutes

Zucchini Scones

A friend gave me a gigantic zucchini the other day.  She told me as long as you didn't use the inside portion where the seeds are, the zucchini is perfectly edible despite its gargantuan size.  So I pulled out one of my favorite kitchen gadgets and went to work on the 1/3 of the zucchini.

I had some of this zucchini spaghetti with last night's delicious dinner, but there was still some left over.  (Not to mention the 2/3 of the zucchini still uncut...)  Today I decided to bake something with the remaining zucchini spaghetti.  My first thought was chocolate chip zucchini bread, but the recipe calls for 3 eggs and I wanted to do something that required fewer eggs.  Then scones came to mind.  I found this recipe online, and then adapted it.  Because we all know I hate following recipes.

Zucchini Scones

preheat oven to 400

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 1/2+ c white flour

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c butter

1 c spaghetti-ed zucchini

1 peach, chopped

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c almond milk

bake for 20-25 minutes

I mixed the dry ingredients together in my stand mixer.  I used a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until it was in small pea-sized lumps.  I dumped the zucchini and peach on top of the dry ingredients, then, after mixing the wet ingredients separately, I added them and let the mixer do it's work.  The dough was super sticky, so I added flour 1/2 c at a time until it was...less sticky.  I added at least another cup.  Then, I floured my silpat and transferred the dough.  It was still too sticky to spread well, so I sprinkled more flour on top.  Then I was able to pat it down to about 1/2 inch thick.  I cut out the scones and transferred them to a greased cookie sheet. 

The scones were tasty, but not nearly as flavorful as I was hoping.  If I make them again, I will increase the amounts of cumin and cinnamon, and see what happens.  Also, I was going to put chocolate chips in them but I forgot...so that might happen next time too!

Awesomeness Bread

It's probably been over a year now since the day I was stumbling around on StumbleUpon and found this recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread on Joy the Baker.   I saved the page, and planned on making it...someday...  I had no idea it would take me this long to get to it.  Every now and then, I have gone back to that page, read through the recipe, thinking I would make it, and then changed my mind for whatever reason.

Tonight, as I was lying on the couch reading, and realizing that I was not going to fall asleep any time soon, I decided it was time to finally try the recipe out.  Of course, since I'm me, I didn't quite follow the original recipe.  You can use the link above to find the original.  Here's what I did:

Awesomeness Bread

Ingredients (Dough)

1/3 c heavy cream*

1/4 c water

1/2 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 c whole wheat flour

2 c white flour

2 eggs

*the original recipe calls for milk, but when I opened my milk bottle it was...not pleasant.  

So I used cream instead.

Ingredients (Filling)

1/2 stick butter

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1+ tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 square of chocolate (86%), grated

Instructions

Heat the cream, water, and butter in a small saucepan until the butter is almost melted.  Remove from heat and continue stirring until the butter is completely melted.  In a bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and salt.  Add the heated liquids, stir til combined.  Add the vanilla, cocoa powder, cinnamon, the wheat flour, and 1 c of the white flour.  Stir well.  Beat the eggs and add them.  Stir/knead with wooden spoon until well combined.  Add another scant cup of white flour.  Knead until smooth.  Cover and let rise for 1 hr. 

Preheat the oven to 350.

After an hour, knead a few tablespoons of flour into the dough and roll it out.  Melt 1/2 stick butter on the stove until it begins to brown.  Spread it over the rolled out dough.  Mix together the remaining filling ingredients, then sprinkle them over the dough.  Cut the dough into rough rectangles and stack them up.  Turn the stack on its side and place in a loaf pan. 

(I lined my loaf pan with tin foil for easy post-bake removal)

There was a whole bunch of filling left on the cutting board after I put the dough in the loaf pan, so I gathered it up and sprinkled it on top. Yum. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is turning brown.

Look at all that oozy chocolaty goodness on the bottom...

Cinnamon Truffles

for the filling:

1/2 c heavy cream

1 tsp cinnamon

3.5 oz chocolate (72%)

for the shell:

3.5 oz chocolate (72%)

Stir the cream and cinnamon on medium heat until it starts to bubble if you lift the spoon for 5-10 seconds.  Turn off the heat and add the chocolate.  Refrigerate til set. 

Form the chilled ganache into balls.  Melt the shell chocolate and dunk the balls into it, turning to coat.  Place the finished truffles on a baking sheet lined with tin foil or wax paper.  Pop them in the fridge to set.  

I had thought that the oil I was skimming off my ganache was from butter, but turns out it's actually from the heavy cream.  Gross.  I may go back to making truffles without the heavy cream.  Guinness works just as well, and doesn't leave that nasty oily scum. 

I think these are my favorite truffles so far, with the exception maybe of my pumpkin cheesecake truffles.

I think I got just the right amount of cinnamon in the ganache, they taste pretty awesome. 

Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread Pudding

Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread Pudding

10 slices dried bread

1 egg

1/4 c heavy cream

1/4 c milk

1/2 c pumpkin

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tbs cocoa powder

1/4 c cranberries

Mix together everything but the bread and cranberries.  

Break the bread into small pieces and mix them into the other ingredients.  Once the bread has soaked up the gooey goodness, press it into a greased 9x9 pan, or into cupcake wrappers.  Press the cranberries into the top.  

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

I think I will eat these for breakfast this week with some scrambled eggs and fried potatoes...just thinking about it is making me hungry. 

Inspiration for this came from this recipe at Our Lady of Second Helpings.

I saw her post and it sounded good.  I did not refer back to her post when I actually made mine...I just made up my own recipe as I went along.  Cause that's where all the fun is.

Cinnamon Buns 3

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1+ tsp cinnamon

1/2 c wheat flour

3/4 c flour

3/4 c heavy cream

2 tbsp pumpkin

Mix everything together.  Roll the dough out on a floured surface. Spread some cream and pumpkin on top of the dough, then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up the dough and slice into 1 1/2 inch pieces.  Place in a baking pan and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and smother with a glaze.

(pumpkin, apple cider, confectioners sugar)

Breakfast is served. 

(I found bacon in my fridge...Merry Christmas to me!)

Cinnamon Buns 1

Cinnamon Buns 2

Cinnamon Cake

Must be something about fall weather that puts me into a baking mood.  Seems like most of my playtime in the kitchen lately has been more related to baking than cooking.  Today's fabulous creation is  Cinnamon Cake with a Cider-Cinnamon glaze.

The cake recipe can be found here.  The only difference this time is that instead of a tbsp of cinnamon, I used a very generously heaping tbsp.  I baked it in a 9x9 pan for 40-50 minutes.

For the glaze, I used:
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 c of apple cider
a scant tbsp of cinnamon
1 c confectioners sugar

The cake was much too delicate to get out of the pan in one piece, so I cut it into quarters, carefully lifted each quarter out of the pan, and put them on a cookie sheet.  Then, I carefully sliced the top off of each quarter.  I spread a thin layer of glaze in the middle, sprinkled on some chocolate chips, then put the top back on.  I covered the tops with more glaze.

Pictures of Playtime

Cinnamon Rolls Take 2

I've been craving cinnamon rolls all week, but quick as this delicious recipe is, it's still not quick enough for school mornings, so I've had to content myself with chocolate chip pancakes every morning.  Finally, Saturday morning has arrived, giving me time to sleep in, make cinnamon rolls, and eat a late breakfast.  Or maybe it's brunch. 

I mostly followed the recipe I used last time, but since I'm incapable of actually following a recipe to the letter, even if it's my own, I made some changes.  For example, I didn't make a sugar/cinnamon filling...I just poured cinnamon on top of the dough.  And instead of mixing the apples into the dough, I spread them on top of the flattened dough and wrapped the dough around them.  MUCH easier to roll up this time!

Yes, yes I did put mini chocolate chips on top of half of the rolls.  Everything tastes better with chocolate.