Cinnamon Buns

Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing
(Americas Test Kitchen Recipe)

**Melted butter is used in the filling and the dough and to grease the pan. Melt 8 Tbsp of butter ahead of time to make it easier.
Just measure out of the full amount.**


1 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted and cooled

Dough:

• 2 1/2cups unbleached all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting work surface)
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Glaze:

2 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons low fat buttermilk
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar


Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush a 9-inch square cake pan with one tablespoon butter.

1. Filling: Combine the brown sugar,  granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Add one tablespoon melted butter and stir with a fork or fingers until the mixture resembles wet sand. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add 3 tablespoons of the melted butter and buttermilk to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed (the dough will be sticky and look shaggy), about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead, lightly dusting more flour as necessary, until just smooth and no longer shaggy, about 30 seconds.
3. Lightly dust the surface again. Pat the dough into a small rectangle, then roll into a 12-inch x 9-inch rectangle, dusting more flour sparingly if necessary so the dough doesn't stick to the rolling pin. Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Sprinkle the dough evenly with the brown sugar filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Using your hand, press the filling firmly into the dough. Starting at the long side, roll the dough, pressing lightly, to form a tight log. (If the dough sticks to the surface, use a sharp knife or dough scraper to release it.) Pinch the seam to seal. Roll the log seam-side down and, using a serrated knife, cut it evenly into 9 pieces. Turn the pieces over on their flat sides, and slightly flatten each piece with your hand to seal the open edges and keep the filling in place. Place the rolls in prepared pan and brush with remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake until the edges are golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and buttermilk until thick and smooth (the mixture will look like cottage cheese at first). Sift in confectioners' sugar and whisk until smooth glaze forms.
5. Let cool 5 minutes, slide buns onto a plate.
6. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the buns. 

Bean Plants II

Our bean plants have done well and, on this sunny April day, we potted them.

Spring is about to Sprout...

I am by no means a gardener, but I would love my kids to try and acquire a bit of a Green Thumb.

Today we started some bean plants and lentil sprouts using these video's instructions.

and this Usbourne book about the Seasons.

We are going to take pictures as the plants/sprouts grow.

Another One For the Cookie Jar

Clara and I made these today.

It's a little like a granola bar, a little like a cookie.

Perfect for taking along on the little bus ride excursion we're going on this afternoon. They'll be filling enough to get us through to dinner.

A little note: the batter is very chunky and will look weird for a cookie dough...just hang in there, when they bake they'll hold together fine.

Oatmeal Granola Bar Cookies

(Moosewood Cooking For Health Cookbook)

2 Tbsp butter, room temp

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1/3 C brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1/2 C spelt flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 C Rolled Oats (not instant or quick)

1/2 C chocolate chips

1/2 C golden raisins (craisins, dried blueberries, or apricots), chopped

1/2 C walnuts (pecans or cashews), chopped

In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a whisk, beat together butter, oil and sugar. Bean in vanilla and eggs. Sift in flour, soda and salt. Mix until well combined.

Stir in oats, chocolate chips, raisins and nuts.

Batter will be chunky.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or grease with oil. Drop batter by tablespoonful. You will probably need to use your fingers to clump the dough together. Press down lightly with a wet fork.

Bake at 350* for 10mins or until the edges are golden brown. Do not overbake.

Cool and eat with a glass of cold milk.

A Pretty-Perfect Cookie

The most memorable cookie I ever ate was in the kitchen of a B&B in Pennsylvania where my family stayed for a night probably 18 or so years ago. They will probably always be our family's favourite cookie. The owner of the B&B had just pulled a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and we were lucky enough to have been right there to taste them hot. Made with chunky peanut butter and large morsels of chocolate, I'm pretty sure no cookie will ever measure up to those eaten that afternoon. We were kindly given the recipe and have since endearingly called them Dutch Colonial Treats.

I am quite sure my mum has made 500 batches of them, at least. I frequently had them in my lunch at school, we always had a cookie jar brimming with them and friends begged for them.

That said, sometimes we must break with tradition for a new cookie to enter the jar.

Keeping up with the constant need for a healthy supply and variety of cookies for my family, church, friends and other abundant events that call for cookies, can be quite an undertaking.

So when I find a new cookie that turns heads and tummies, I take note. (Thanks Martha Stewart for yet another delightful cookie.) These cookies have had rave reviews and I've made them a bunch of times in the last couple of weeks. My dad says they're one of his favourite cookies and has frequented my cookie jar quite a bit lately. I love you Dad:)

Say, what's in your cookie jar?

My apprentice rolling cookies.

Jibs says, "I give these cookies a big thumbs up!"

Perfect Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

(An Everyday Food recipe from Martha Stewart March 2011)

Yields: 3-4 dozen

1C AP Flour

1 1/4 Rolled Oats, Not quick oats!

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 C unsalted butter, room temp

1 C light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1C chopped pecans

1 C chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350*.

In a med bowl mix flour, oats, salt, BP and BS.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer (I use my Kitchenaid) cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4 mins. Add egg and vanilla. Scraping bowl as you go.

With mixer on low add flour mixture, beat just until combined. Stir in nuts and chocolate.

Drop dough by Tbspfull 2 inches apart on a parchment or greased sheet.

Bake 12 minutes.

Should last about a week in your airtight cookie jar, unless little bitty hands get to them first!

Enjoy....we sure are.

A few new things

~My first zucchini was harvested today...so beautiful.

~Clara and I were feeling adventurous today so we decided to try something new- Hand kneaded, rolled and cut pasta from the River Cottage Family cookbook. We plan on eating it with a certain roasted zucchini and this sauce. This recipe for pasta gives a really nice pictured tutorial with an identical recipe to ours.

~Sunday Suppers has a great recipe for an Herbed Flatbread...we made that too.

Clara made this bread almost entirely by herself. I read the recipe to her and got out the ingredients and she went to it kneading and rolling, forming and topping. She proudly served her daddy and baby brother the bread she made herself.
Clara rolling out the dough for the flat bread.
Loving the zucchini.

Rows of beautiful pasta.