Author Archives: Rebecca Baugh

Schools back in Session

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My finals are finally all graded and all my first semester grades are in the computer.

YEA!

Like my usual procrastinating self, I waited until the very end to finally get all my grades finished for first semester.

In my meager defense, I was pretty sick for the whole two weeks I was off for holiday break. I am so thankful I am feeling better (not perfect yet) and I am ready for tomorrow.

I thought I would tell you about a little project I am doing with my sewing class. We are re=purposing old sweaters into new mittens. How this works, is that you take old sweaters (preferable wool or wool blends) and cut mittens shapes from them and sew them up into mittens.

I went to the Salvation Army Store and purchased a few sweaters for $3.00 each. I tried to match colors and ones that could be sewn together.  From the sweaters, I cut out the mittens and sew them up. The mittens are sweaters on the outside and lined with fleece on the inside. I showed them to  a few teachers and sold them for $10.00 a pair. I am saving the money to donate to a good cause. I have also challenged my students to make an extra pair to donate. I told them for every pair they make, I will make a pair. Our goal is to sew 50 pairs of mittens by the end of January.

What do you think? Do you think we can do it?

The teachers at my school are donating sweaters for this project.  Plus, I have a waiting list of teachers who want to buy some more.

I work with amazing teachers!

Anywho, I am back to work tomorrow, after having two snow days off from school. I am ready to get back in a routine. (though sleeping till 8 in the morning has been pretty nice the last few days)

I will keep you updated on my mitten progress.

Becky

 

Grading Finals and Eating Soup

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Some things never change.

My grades are due by Wednesday morning, and I have waited till the last minute (again) to grade them. My bad. I could add, “grade finals early,”to my New Years Resolutions, but I have a feeling it would not help. Not one little bit.

I think, I will only wait until I absolutely have to, have my finals graded.

Oh well.

Anywho, to help me along with grading my finals. I am eating some creamy baked potato soup that I made yesterday.

Food always cheers me up.

Oldest Daughter who does not cook, was hinting at wanting some potato soup last week. With the recent, artic air, 5 inches of snow on the ground and not to mention school being cancelled today, what better way to cheer anyone up than with a bowl of creamy baked potato soup. Of course a day on a warm beach in Florida would also do the trick. : )

If you are in the mood for some soup, why not make it potato soup.

Here is what you need to make Creamy Baked Potato Soup:

You will need some potatoes (of course),  carrots, celery, onion, half and half, chicken broth, butter and flour. (I forgot to put the butter and flour in the picture) You can garnish your soup with bacon bits and cheese. I seasoned the soup with salt and pepper. If you want to cut down on the calories just use fat free half and half or regular milk.

The first thing I did was wash off 8 large potatoes and wrap them in foil. Put them in a 400 degree oven and bake until they are tender.

While the potatoes are baking, I chopped up half of a large onion.

I also chopped 3 celery stalks.

I had to use little carrots, because that was all I had. But if you are using large carrots, dice up 2 large carrots.

Put the diced, onion, carrots and celery into a large stock pot.

Add four tablespoons of butter to the diced vegetables. Turn the heat on medium.

Saute the vegetables until the are translucent and tender. Be sure and stir the vegetables while you are doing this.

Now, you are going to make a slurry of half and half and flour.

Take 2 cups of half and half and add in 12 tablespoons of flour.

Stir the half and  half and flour together completely, making sure to get all the lumps of flour stirred in.

Add the half an half and flour slurry to the sauted vegetables.

Simmer the mixture until it thickens

Pour in three cans of chicken broth.

While the soup is simmering on low (make sure and keep checking it or take it off the heat), check and see if the potatoes are baked until tender. If they are, take off the foil and cool slightly and peel off the peelings. The peelings should peel off real easily.

With a knife, dice the potatoes up. You should have a medium size bowl full of baked, diced potatoes.

Add the diced potatoes to the soup and stir. Bring to a simmer on low heat. Stirring constantly so your soup will not stick to the bottom. The potatoes have a habit of sinking right to the bottom of the pan and staying there where they could burn.

Your soup will be very thick and you will want to add the rest of the quart of half and half (2 cups). Keep stirring so the potatoes will not stick on the bottom of the pan. (how would I know this ?)

Now, take the time to taste  your soup and add in pepper and enough salt to  your liking.

If you like chunky soup, stop here. I like mine kinda chunky and kinda smooth. So I take out my handy dandy immersion blender and blend some of the chucks of potatoes. I am careful not to blend up all of the potatoes. This just gives the soup a smoother, thicker texture. If you do not have an immersion blender, just take 3 cups of soup out and blend it smooth in a blender. Then add the blended soup back in.

 

To make the bacon bits, I took my kitchen shears and cut the bacon into chucks.

Then, I fried the little pieces of bacon until they were crisp.

Now, it is time to scoop some steamy, creamy soup in a bowl and garnish with bacon pieces and cheese. Can you see the chunks of potatoes I left in the soup?

This picture makes me want another bowl.

I hope everyone is staying warm inside and eating soup…really good soup!

Becky

Here is the recipe.

Creamy Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

8 large potatoes, (you will bake them and then cube them up)

1 quart of half and half

3 cans of chicken stock

one half of a large onion (diced)

3 celery stalks (diced)

2 large carrots (diced)

12 tablespoons of flour

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

1 pound of bacon (cut into small pieces and fried till crispy)

1 cup of shredded cheese. I used cheddar jack

Directions:

Wash, then foil 8 large baking potatoes. Bake in a 400 degree oven until tender. When the potaotes are done, peel the potatoes and cube/dice. (depending on how big you like your potato pieces to be). Dice the onion, carrots and celery. Sauté the diced vegetables in a large stock pot with 4 tablespoons of butter. Sauté until tender. Make a slurry using 2 cups of the half and half and the flour (12 tablespoons.) Make sure to stir all the flour lumps out of the slurry. Add the slurry to the vegetables and cook until it thickens. This will help get rid of the raw taste of the flour. Now add in the three cans of chicken stock and stir. Simmer on low, stirring often, until all the vegetables are very tender. Now, add in the diced potatoes. Stir the soup and the potatoes together. Add in the rest of the half and half (2 cups). Simmer on low, stirring often as the potatoes sink and can burn. I use an immersion blender and blend the soup for a couple of minutes. This makes a real creamy consistency. I do not blend out all of the potatoes just some of them. You can use a blender too. Just blend about 3 cups of the soup until smooth and add it back to the soup. The soup is ready when it comes to a simmer and all the potatoes are tender.

Fry the bacon to make bacon bits.

Garnish the soup with bacon bits and cheese.

This is all there is to making creamy baked potato soup.

Easy Peasy Nice and Easy and so good.

Becky

Here are some other soup post you might enjoy:

                                       

 Chicken Gnocchi Soup                              Cheese Soup                                                Taco Soup

 

Homemade Sausage Gravy

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Brrr it is cold outside. Mid Missouri woke up to snow on the ground and snow blowing off the roof tops. Fortunately, we went to the store  yesterday to stock up on essentials. So, we are all snug as a bug, with plenty of food in the cabinets to feed us well, until this artic air moves away from us in a few days.

In the meantime, I am cooking.

Oldest daughter who does not cook, has been hinting at craving homemade sausage gravy all week, along with potato soup. The nerve of her ; ). She even went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients I needed to make them.

She is pushy too, isn’t she? ; )

Really, I don’t mind. What better way to spend a cold, wintery day, than making warm yummy goodness in the kitchen? (besides watching classic movies all day with a cup of hot tea.) So, when I went to bed last night, I knew that I would be getting up and making gravy for all the young’uns here at the house. Oldest grandgirl, texted me this morning to see if I was awake. Then she came up to see if I was out of bed yet.

She is as pushy as her mom…: ).

I threw on some clothes and went to work in the kitchen. It no time at all the gravy was ready.

When oldest grandgirl tasted a little bit, she asked me if this was homemade gravy and I said, “yep.” She told me she could tell the difference. The kiddos were swimming in happy gravy bliss this morning, eating gravy.

They are a little gravy crazy.

Me and my son the Super Hero, just ate biscuits with sausage and jelly. We are not big gravy eaters. I really do enjoy making gravy, and I do taste it to get it just the way I think it should taste. But, you won’t see me with gravy on a biscuit too often. I think it is because I love jelly (I was using my homemade strawberry rhubarb jelly) on my biscuits better.

Anywho, I thought I would post my recipe for sausage gravy. I have been making this gravy for years, just like this. I make it when we camp out  and go on vacation too. I really do not measure anything, and just kind of throw it together. This morning I took the time to measure and write all the ingredients down just for you. Now, if you wake up to a blustery morning with snow and wind,  you can warm your family up with homemade sausage gravy. I cheated this morning and used canned biscuits. I know, I know, I wish I could have made some homemade biscuits. But, when you have to clean the kitchen, before, you cook, I did not have time to make everything from scratch. It did not stop anyone from eating and enjoying breakfast.

I hope you enjoy this recipe too.

Here is what you need to make my Homemade Sausage Gravy.

I guess I need to talk about my choice of sausage. I like a sausage that does not have a bunch of fat it in. So, I generally choose sausage patties cause I can see what the sausage looks like. I know that you are suppose to have sausage grease to add the flour too, but I use butter instead for my fat.

The first thing I do is fry up the sausage. I know it seems strange to break apart the sausage patties, but this way you do not have a bunch of gristley fat in your gravy. Yuck.

         

When you fry the sausage up, break the patties into small bite size pieces. Fry until all the pink is gone. You will not have much or any fat from your sausage. Now, I add 4 tablespoons of butter to replace the fat.

         

Stir the butter with the sausage until the butter melts. Next, add in four tablespoons of flour.

         

Stir in the flour and cook for one minute. This gets the flour taste all cooked out. Now, add in the can of evaporated milk.

         

Stir and cook the gravy until it becomes thick. The gravy needs to boil to get to its full thickness.

         

Now it is time to add some milk. Depending on thick  you like your gravy, that is how much milk you add to it. I added an additional 3/4 of a cup of milk. Then I cooked the gravy for a little longer and tasted it. Lastly, you salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes the sausage can be salty, so be careful how much salt you add.

Walla……That is all there is to making homemade gravy.

Pour some hot gravy over some biscuits and dig in!

Here is your recipe.

Homemade Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

8 ounces lean sausage

1 – 12 ounce can evaporated milk

4 tablespoons butter or margarine (I used butter)

4 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown the sausage and break into small pieces. Brown until all the pink is gone. Add in butter and stir until the butter is melted. Add in the flour. Stir the butter and sausage with the flour to coat all the pieces. Cook the flour with the sausage and butter for one minute to remove the raw flour taste. Slowly pour in the can of evaporated milk. Stir continuous until the gravy comes to a boil. It will be thick. Add enough milk to thin to your desired thickness of gravy. (I used 3/4 cup of milk). Continue cooking and stirring until the gravy comes to a boil. The gravy will not reach its full thickness until it comes to a boil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

All I was left with this morning was a empty pot of gravy.

Stay warm today.

Becky

You might also like these recipes:

                                       

Baking Powder Biscuits                          Strawberry Quick Bread                                Banana Bread

 

Getting ready for the storm!

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Winter has struck Mid Missouri.

Everyone was out yesterday stocking up on essentials. Oldest daughter who does not cook, made a grocery run too. I went to the store two times.

I went to the store the first time after dinner with Company. I wanted to make a roast in the crock pot while the wind blew on Monday (prediciting to be -30 below wind chill).  I did not like the look of the roasts at the first store. I went a head and bought some sale items I thought I would need and decided when I drove home from the country I would stop at my local Hyvee.

I love Hyvee.

It looks like everyone else in town loved Hyvee.

This is what the shelf after shelf looked like at Hyvee.

Empty!

Good thing I bought my cheese at the other store.

I was able to get my roast and some hamburger. I bought bacon too. (you can never have too much bacon on hand).

Anywho, I think I am ready for the storm and the wicked wind and cold air coming our way.

Except, for bananas. Hyvee was out of bananas.

Go figure!

Stay inside, stay warm, watch really good movies and eat really good food!

Becky

 

 

Creamy Pralines

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As I look back on the candies I made or tried to make (divinity) it seems I wanted to make candies that I loved to eat growing up. I learned how to make pralines in college in one of my foods classes. That is where I learned how to use a thing called a candy thermometer and how to put your hot sugar syrup in water to see if it was a hard crack, soft ball….you know what I am talking about. A few years ago I went on vacation to Savannah with PIC  (sister in law) and my niece Sparkle (my nick name for her).  I loved walking down by the riverfront, watching the candy masters make batch after batch of fresh, warm, melt in your mouth pralines.

I don’t know if you call them praw-leens or pralines…just give me some.

I found this old recipe for creamy pralines. I don’t know if I if they are quite as good as the candy masters in Savannah, but they are pretty close. On these cold winter days here in Mid Missouri, a little taste of the South sounds pretty darn good. Do not be intimidated to make pralines. The trick is to stir the candy while it is cooling off until it starts turning a little dull and then you quickly scoop them out in little puddles on parchment paper. Wait till they set up (if you can) and then make some hot tea and indulge with one or two or more pralines.

Sounds good to me : )

Hope it does to you too.

Anywho, here is what you need to make these creamy pralines.

This recipe has sweetened condensed milk in it instead of half and half or regular milk.

         

The first thing I did was cut up my butter into little cubes, so it will melt faster and easier.

         

I set up the pan with the candy thermometer next. The thermometer snaps on the back top of the pan.

         

Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and firmly packed brown sugar into the in the heavy saucepan.

         

Add in the granulated sugar and toss in the cubed butter.

         

Pour in the corn syrup and add the salt.

         

Stir gently and heat on low until the butter melts. Turn the heat up to medium and stir continuously until the candy reaches a soft ball stage or 238 degrees.

         

Heat up the mixture until it reaches 238 degrees on a candy thermometer. It will start to thicken up and boil.

         

When the mixture reaches 238 degrees, remove from the heat. Add the pecans, vanilla and almond flavoring.

Stir in the pecans and flavorings. Beat the mixture with a spoon until it starts to thicken.

Have an area prepared to drop the candy on. I used silicone sheets, but you can use parchment paper also.

Working quickly, drop by rounded tablespoon onto a prepared surface. Let stand until firm.

Don’t you just want to grab one and eat it? I do.

Here is the recipe.

Creamy Pralines

Recipe Adapted from Old Southern Living Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 – 14 ounce can of sweetened condense milk

3/4 cup butter or margarine cut up into cubes

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups of pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, on low heat, stir together the sugar, brown sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and salt. After the butter has melted, turn the heat to medium. Stirring continuously, heat the mixture to soft ball stage or 238 degrees. Take the mixture off the heat and add the pecans and flavoring. Beat the mixture together with a spoon. Continue beating until the mixture cools slightly and starts to thicken. Work quickly (before the candy sets ups) and with a tablespoon, spoon out spoonfuls onto parchment paper. Let sit until the candy cools and becomes firm.

Makes approximately 3 dozen pralines.

If you can’t make it to Savannah anytime soon, and you are craving some pralines, give this recipe a try.

I know you can make them.

Enjoy,

Becky

 

 

Layered Mint Brownies

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Last semester at school, my students presented a “cooking show” for their final exam. They had to show measuring and safety tips a long with showing the class the proper way to mix and prepare a recipe. One on my students prepared these layered mint brownies. It was a recipe she had gotten from her grandmother. Her grandmother prepared them every holiday for the family. The brownies were so pretty with the green mint icing and tasted just like an andies mint. I was in love. I made these for our little New Year’s Eve party and my kiddos, Company and Jeanie Beanie thought they were mmm mmm good. I am so grateful that my student shared her recipe with me.

Now, I am sharing it with you.

If you still have a holiday party to attend and need to bring a dessert, these brownies travel well and stay moist for several days. Be sure to bring the recipe, because your friends will want you to share it too. ; )

Here is what you will need to make a full, 9 by 13 pan, of brownies.

I used special dark chocolate chips for the icing, but semi sweet chips would work too.

         

In a large mixing bowl, put the room temperature butter and four eggs in.

         

In the bowl with the eggs and the butter, add in one can of chocolate syrup. Next add the flour.

         

Now, add the salt and the sugar.

         

Lastly, add in the vanilla. (can see that I spilled it?). Now with a mixer mix all seven ingredients together.

Be sure and the mix the brownie together for at least five minutes. The batter will fluff up and look rich and thick. Also, do not be alarmed because there is not baking powder or soda in this recipe.

Spread the brownie batter evenly in a greased 9 by 13 pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Here is what mine looked like when they came out of the oven.

          

While the brownies cook completely, you can make the mint flavored icing. In a large mixing bowl put in room temperature butter and the powdered sugar.

           

Now, add in one tablespoon water and one teaspoon mint flavoring.

         

To give the icing a pretty green color, add in 3 drops of green food coloring. With a mixer, blend the ingredients together until the icing is smooth and fluffy.

Spread the mint icing evenly over the completely cooled brownie.

Now it is time to make the chocolate topping. In a microwaveable bowl, put in the butter and chocolate chips.

         

Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stir. When the butter completely melts and the chips are soft, stir the butter and chips together until the topping is smooth and all the chips are melted.

         

Let the chocolate topping cool for 3o minutes. It will thicken slightly. Spread the chocolate topping over the mint icing. Chill the brownies until the topping sets up.

These brownies slice up so pretty.

They look so attractive stacked up together. The brownies are dense and rich. It will be hard not to nibble on them until they are all gone.

Here is the recipe:

Layered Mint Brownies

Recipe Adapted from Student’s Grandma

Ingredients:

1/2 cup  softened

4 eggs

1 – 16 ounce of chocolate syrup

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Mint Icing

1/2 cup butter softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon mint flavoring

3 drops of green food coloring

For the chocolate topping

1 – 12 ounce package of dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Preheat your oven till 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, eggs, flour, sugar, chocolate syrup, vanilla and salt. Mix all the ingredients with a mixer for five minutes. The batter will be thick and fluffy. Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9 by 13 pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center comes out clean with a tooth pick. Take out of oven and cool completely.

To make the icing, combine the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, water, mint flavoring and green food coloring. With a mixer, mix the ingredients together until the icing if smooth and fluffy. When the brownies are completely cooled, spread the icing on the brownies.

To make the chocolate topping. In a microwaveable bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate chips together in the microwave. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stir. Repeat until the butter and chocolate chips are melted. Let the topping cool for 30 minutes to thicken. Pour the topping over the icing and smooth evenly. Chill until the topping hardens. Cut into small squares.

Happy Holiday!

Becky

Other Post you might enjoy:

 

                             

Banana Bars with Maple Frosting        Chocolate Shortbread Blondies with Macaroon

 

Appetizers For New Years

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Are you looking for some simple but mouth watering appetizers to make for New Years Eve?

Here are three of my favorite appetizers to make for a crowd. I also included my easy oven baked St. Louis BBQ Ribs.

The first on the list is Bacon Wrapped Brown Sugar Little Smokies. Who can resist a little smokie wrapped in bacon, baked with brown sugar sprinkled on them? I can’t!

For the dippers in your family, (that would be me), I love this Spinach Dip. The dip has chopped water chestnuts in it to give it a slight crunch. I can eat the whole bowl of this classic dip. Show me the crackers.

Want a bite? I do! It only takes three ingredients to make these Sweet and Savory Meatballs. Seriously. Easy, Peasy, Nice and Delicious!

Too cold to BBQ outside and you want ribs to ring in the New Year. Try these, fall of the bone, Oven St. Louis BBQ Ribs.

I will be running out to the grocery store in a bit to pick up what I need (crave) for New Year’s Eve. Oldest daughter who does not cook, wants rotel dip and something sweet. I want some of those brown sugar smokies and stuffed mushrooms. I think  Company is coming over too….he hates mushrooms. That means more for me…hehe! I will make extra rotel dip for him.

If you don’t hear from me until tomorrow, have a great New Year’s Eve. Stay safe, Drive Safe and Eat food…Really Good Food!

Happy New Years!

Becky

 

 

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I am finally in the upright position after having the flu for four days. I was pretty much in bed or pretending to feel well, walking and looking like a zombie, while baby college girl was home for Christmas. I think that Santa must have decided to give me the flu for Christmas instead of coal. Jeepers….I must have been a bad girl this last year ; )

Anywho, while I am still feeling good enough, I am going to finally post my overnight cinnamon roll recipe. I don’t know if you remember me talking about making over a hundred cinnamon rolls for the staff at my high school in December, but I had so many staff members wanting the recipe I thought I better get it posted in time for the new year. What better way to start 2014 than eating hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast, right? One of the best things about this recipe (besides the gooey icing) is that you can make them the day before, put them in the fridge overnight and bake them in the morning. I am using Alton Brown’s Overnight Cinnamon Roll recipe, with some changes and with a different, delicious cream cheese icing. From the viewers who made his recipe, some had a hard time getting the dough to rise. I have included the little tricks that I used and it worked for all 130 something cinnamon rolls. So come on, give them a try…who can resist warm cinnamon rolls.

Here is what you need to make these cinnamon rolls.

Make sure that your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help in the dough rising.

         

The first thing you need to do is put four egg yolks and one egg in a large mixing bowl. Next, add the sugar and combine.

         

Next add the buttermilk. I warmed my buttermilk in the microwave for 3o seconds before I slowly poured it into the egg mixture. After, I mixed in the warm milk, I added the warm melted butter and combined everything together with the mixer.

         

Now, add in two cups of flour, salt and the yeast. Use the paddle attachment to mix the dough until the flour and yeast is all mixed together. Now, take the paddle attachment off and put on the dough hook.

Add in enough flour to form a nice soft, slightly sticky dough. The amount of the flour depends a lot on how fresh the flour is. I just add about 1/2 cup of flour at time and when the dough starts pulling together with the dough hook, I just start tapping flour in a little at time until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. You do not want to add too much flour because it can make your dough dry. When you dough is ready, use vegetable spray and spray a large bowl. Put the dough in the bowl to rise. I also spray the top of the dough so it does not dry out. I cover the bowl with a cloth and put the bowl in a warm place to rise.

                  

Here is a picture of all the bowls of dough I had sitting on the oven doors to rise for the ones I made at school. I warmed the ovens up and then turned the ovens off. I sat the bowls on the oven doors with a cloth over them to rise. I felt like the dough needed the extra warmth to rise.

When the dough doubles in size (mine took about two hours), punch the dough down and get ready to roll the dough out.

Lightly flour your counter top. Set the dough on top of the flour.

Roll the dough into a large rectangle about a 18 inch by 12 inch. Spread melted butter on top of the dough.

         

Measure out the brown sugar and the cinnamon and mix together.

         

Spread the cinnamon brown sugar on top of the buttered dough. Starting with the long side of the dough, roll the dough up. Cut the dough into approximately 10 rolls.

Set the rolls on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator until  you are ready to bake. When you are ready to bake, warm your oven to 200 degrees. Place the pan of rolls in the oven (take the plastic wrap off). Make sure to leave the door of the oven  ajar. Let the rolls rise for about 20 minutes. Take the rolls out of the oven and heat the oven up to 350. When the oven is preheated place the rolls back into the  oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the inside of the roll is cooked through.

The rolls will pop up in the middle and brown sugar will start oozing out.

While the rolls are still warm, spread with the icing.

If you want, after you ice the warm cinnamon rolls you can top them with sugared pecans.

Here is how to make my favorite icing for the cinnamon rolls.

In a bowl add the soften butter and cream cheese.

With a mixer, mix in the powdered sugar, warm water, vanilla and salt. You will end up with a bowl full of creamy icing.

Here is the recipe:

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients:

4 large egg yolks: room temperature

1 large egg: room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

3/4 cup of buttermilk, warmed slightly in the microwave

Approximately 4 cups of flour: you may not use the total amount

1 package of instant dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Vegetable spray

Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Melted butter: enough to brush on the dough approximately 2 tablespoons

Icing:

4 tablespoon butter, softened

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons warm water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the egg yolks, egg, sugar, butter and buttermilk. Add 2 cups of flour along with the yeast and salt. Combined until all the flour is incorporated. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Add 1 cup of flour and  knead for 5 minutes. Add more flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. The dough should be soft and moist. Spray a large bowl with vegetable oil. Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and transfer to the large bowl. Lightly spray the top of the dough with the oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place (I used a warm oven door) until the dough doubles in size. It took mine about 2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle about a  18 by 12 inch rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle the dough with brown sugar and cinnamon. Leaving a edge on one side to use later to seal the rolled dough together. Press the brown sugar on to the dough. Beginning with the long edge, roll the dough up. Seal the edge together. With a serrated knife, slice the dough into 10 to 12 cinnamon rolls. Arrange on a cooking sheet, lined with parchment paper.  Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove the rolls from the fridge and place in a warm 200 degree oven. Be sure and take off the plastic wrap. Turn the oven off and leave the door ajar. Let the rolls rise and proof for 20 minutes or until the rolls look slightly puffy. Take the rolls out of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the oven is preheated, place the rolls in the preheated oven and bake until the rolls are golden brown. While the rolls are baking, make the icing. When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool slightly. After the rolls have cooled, ice with the icing and serve.

Before, I finish this post, I wanted to thank all the teachers who came to my rescue the morning I was making all those cinnamon rolls.

Does it look like we are having fun!!!

Don’t worry, you don’t have to make this many….not unless you have a really big family.

Enjoy!

Becky

Other Posts you may enjoy:

 

Buttermilk Pecan Pancakes

 

Heavenly Hash Candy

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I must be feeling a little nostalgic. Yesterday, I made those cute and delicious,  strawberries in winter candy and today I am making another childhood favorite, heavenly hash candy.

I think it has something to do with marshmallows. I love anything to do with marshmallows. Marshmallow cream, marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes, on top of a steaming mug of cocoa and of course grabbing a handful right out of the bag for a snack. This candy is full of marshmallows.

I think I need an intervention!

Anywho, when I happen to run across a picture of this candy, it brought back memories of family gatherings and tables full of great food, I knew I had to add heavenly hash to the trays of goodies. They are full of marshmallows and nuts (I used almonds) and all coated in creamy chocolate goodness.

I will have to admit it took me a couple of tries to get it right. I am not sure if I mis-measured the sugar or I did not boil the milk and sugar for the full two minutes. The first batch just would not set up. I was not just going to give up, and I thought I would try it again. This time I took extra time to make sure I measured everything correctly and boiled the milk and sugar the full two minutes. This does not mean simmer either, make sure you boil it for two minutes to insure the candy will set up. I just finished my fourth third batch and the candy set up like a dream.

I know it will for you too.

Here is everything you will need to make Heavenly Hash Candy.

                   

First thing you need to do is measure out one cup of evaporated milk. Put the milk in a medium size sauce pan and add one cup of sugar. Do not worry about using a candy thermometer. I was just curious to see what temperature the milk would get when I boiled it.

                   

Now, add three tablespoons of corn syrup. Stir the milk, sugar and corn syrup until the sugar dissolves. Bring the milk mixture to a rolling boil and boil for two minutes. The mixture will look really foamy when it boils.

                   

Let the hot milk mixture cool for two minutes. Then, add in the chocolate chips (two cups) and one teaspoon of vanilla.

With a whisk, whisk the chocolate chips and vanilla with the hot milk mixture until the chocolate chips are melted. Let the chocolate mixture cool for 20 minutes.

             

After the chocolate has cooled for twenty minutes, stir in two cups of miniature marshmallows and 2 cups of chopped nuts. I used almonds. I left some whole and some  I just did a rough chop on.

With a large spoon, stir all everything together until the marshmallows are well coated in chocolate.

Using a spoon, scoop out the candy onto parchment paper to set up. This candy will set up faster in the fridge, but I just mine set up on the counter.  If you want, you can spread the candy in a parchment lined pan and cut into bars. I store the candy in the fridge until I am ready to fill my trays.

Bring a little bit heaven to your holiday candy making with these heavenly hash chocolate candies. I am sure your little angles will love them.

Here is the recipe:

Heavenly Hash Candy

Ingredients:

1 cup of evaporated milk

1 cup of sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups chopped nuts (I used almonds, leaving some whole and some I did a rough chopped)

2 cups miniature marshmallows.

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, heat the evaporated milk, sugar and corn syrup, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the milk to a full boil and boil for a full two minutes (no short cuts here). Let the milk cool down for 2 minutes and add the chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir, until all the chocolate chips melts. Let the chocolate mixture cool for 20 minutes. When the chocolate mixture has cooled, stir in the marshmallows and the nuts. Stir until all the marshmallows are coated in chocolate. With a spoon, scoop out the candy and place on parchment paper to set up. Store in the refrigerator.

I hope your goodie making is going faster than mine!

Happy Candy Making,

Becky

 

Other post you might enjoy reading.

Caramel Toffee Pretzels

 

 

Strawberries in Winter Candy

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WooHoo…..holiday break is finally here! I have postponed my holiday baking until the last minute (as usual) and spent the better part of the day in the kitchen making home made goodies for my Christmas Trays I give out as gifts on Christmas Day.

Last week, I happen to run across this recipe for, strawberries in winter candy,  from an old cookbook one of my students brought to school. She was making no bake cookies and was using the recipe for them from the  old cookbook. I asked to borrow the book for the day to look through it on my spare time. She informed me the book belonged to her mom and she needed it back. (I guess her mom made it clear that she was not to lose the cookbook at school.) After I spent, more time than I could spare, looking through the cookbook and making copies of interesting recipes, this recipe caught my eye.  I remembered eating these strawberry candies at a church fellowship dinner way back when I was in college. I don’t know about you, but some recipes just put a smile on  your face when you see find it. I knew I just had to add these to my Christmas trays.

I mean…who does not like Strawberries in Winter? The name alone sounds yummy!

This recipe does not require any baking or boiling. All you have to do is stir the ingredients together, chill, form into a strawberry shape and chill again.

They look so pretty when they are made. The bright red color of the sanding sugar will add a splash of color to your holiday table.

On these cold and icy days here in mid Missouri, some strawberries in winter sure sound good!

Here is all you need to make these delightful candy strawberries.

The candy is made from sweetened condensed milk, coconuts, chopped walnuts, vanilla and jello. The outside is rolled in red sanding sugar and the stem is made from greed dyed almonds.

The first thing you need to do is chop the walnuts. I chopped them in pretty small pieces.

Place the chopped walnuts in a medium size bowl.

Next, pour in one can of sweetened condensed milk.

         

You will need 3–3 ounce packages of strawberry jello. I just used a 6 ounce size and a 3 ounce box. Pour the jello to the bowl with the sweetened condensed milk and chopped walnuts.

         

Add the vanilla to the bowl and measure out the coconut.

Add the coconut to the strawberry jello mixture.

Stir everything together until all the ingredients are coated and you cannot see the white of the coconut. Now it is time to refrigerate the candy mixture for one hour to firm it up.

While the candy mixture is firming up in the refrigerator, you can dye some slivered almonds green for the strawberry stems. To do this just squeeze some food coloring into a bowl, add a bit of water, and then just stir you almonds around until they are coated in green food coloring.

After, I got the almonds all dyed, I just scooped them up and put them on a paper towel to dry.

         

Here is the first one I made. I took the jello mixture and formed it into a strawberry shape. I then took it and rolled it in red sanding sugar. After that I put it on wax paper and inserted the dyed almond in the end for the stem.

I was really surprised that forming the strawberries did not turn my hands red.

You can have these made in no time.

After you get done, just put them in the refrigerator to firm up. The sugar coated hardens up slightly to add a nice coating. Keep them in the fridge until you are ready to bring them out to your guest. They will be amazed that you were able to make them strawberries in winter.

Just in case you were wondering, I did return the old cookbook to my student, but not before I copied a few more recipes “gems.” All of which I will share of course. : )

Here is the recipe:

Adapted from Old Silver Dollar City Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1 1/2 cup flaked coconut

3 (3 ounce) packages of strawberry flavored gelatin

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup red colored sanding sugar (I think I used a little more than that)

1 small package of slivered almonds

Green food coloring

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, combined the nuts, sweetened condensed milk, gelatin, coconut and vanilla. Combined until all the ingredients are well blended. Set in refrigerator for one hour.

Meanwhile, dye your slivered almonds in a small bowl with green food coloring and a little bit of water. Place the almonds a paper towel to dry.

When the strawberry mixture is chilled, shape the mixture into strawberry shapes and roll in the red colored sugar.

Place a green dyed almond in the end for a stem.

Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

These strawberries makes winter a little less cold.

Here are a couple recipes links, I thought you might like also.

                    

Cracker Toffee                           Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies   

Happy Holiday Baking,

Becky

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