Cinnamon Rolls

When I was little, I loved the weekends. Wait, my love of the weekends was not because I wanted to sleep in and I didn’t have to go to school. No no. I loved school. I loved doing homework. I loved practicing my flute. I was a big ole nerd, just not the briefcase carrying, coke-bottle glasses kinda nerd. I was a secret nerd, but now is not the time to discuss my secret nerdiness, perhaps another time. Now we are talking about the weekend!

The weekend meant enjoying a warm breakfast with my family. Mom and I would toil in the kitchen as dad read the morning paper and brother played computer/video games in his room. I would toast slice after slice of bread or watch the bacon get all crispy (then forget it and it gets burnt). Mom would make everyone omelets or cook up dippy eggs. Dad would clip coupons and brother would slaughter monsters, or something like that.

Sometimes, I would take control of the whole breakfast situation. This meant heading to the fridge and pulling out a tube of dough. I’d proudly rip off the label and crack the tube on the counter top. As the dough exploded from its cardboard prison it would let off an amazing aroma of cinnamon and yeast. I always thought the raw dough looked delicious, mom suggested I didn’t eat it, please.

Cinnamon rolls were always my favorite and I preferred when we got the tube of seven, rather than the tube of 5. Sure, the tube of 5 meant bigger cinnamon rolls, but the tube of 7 meant leftovers! I’d have one right out of the oven, then try to sneak back later in the day to get another. Sometimes I’d be too slow and brother would have eaten them all, blast him!

Now I get all the cinnamon rolls. I don’t have to share. I’m greedy with the cinnamon rolls, so here’s the recipe. You have to make your own, I ate all of these and there aren’t leftovers.

Be sure to stop by Candy Challenge 2011! (see it up there?  Below the banner?)  This is where I'll link all of my candy recipes for this year.  This is also where you must add your challenges.  Got a candy you want me to try and make?  Post a reply and consider the gauntlet thrown! 

Snack Week! - Zucchini Bread

The only photo I have, because they ate it all...

Happy Friday everyone! Where has the week gone? From the sounds of it, half of the world has been sick this week with some cold or flu virus or another. I know that I was. Luckily I had all these tasty snacks in my fridge, ready for that mild hunger pang of a sick person. You know how it goes, you’re hungry, but you just can’t manage to eat something tangible? Snack week couldn’t have come at a better time.


Did you also hear that everything was ready for me? I prepared all of these foods on Sunday! So maybe you have a crazy work week ahead, maybe the kids have an insane amount of obligations or maybe you want to have some free time this week. Take a few hours on Sunday and you’ll be all set for the week. All of the baked goods require nothing more than a bowl and a big spoon.

This last treat for snack week is something that I never actually ate. I brought these loaves into work and they were gone before I even had a slice. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and I was feeling hungry. Thinking, nobody was eating the zucchini bread, I bet I can get myself a snack. Walk walk walk to the break room. Noooo! An empty container! Where did it all go? According to one of my labmates, if it’s there after three, it’s going to disappear quick. Nuts, maybe I should have hidden some.

Tomorrow, for the last day of Snack Week! I'll be posting many of my favorite pre-packaged healthy snacks.  Because sometimes you just don't have the time!  Thanks for tuning in this week!  Oh, what to do next week, last week of healthy January.  Have you been behaving?  Detoxing from all those cookies?

Pineapple Upsidedown Muffins

I’ve finally returned to Connecticut, which means I’m back in my own kitchen. I missed all my tools and ingredients, the ability to throw together a meal in minutes. It’s so hard making dinner in a kitchen without even the simplest necessities, like salt, or a mixing bowl. My return also means the beginning of our month of healthy eating! After a quick run to the grocery store, for the more unusual items, I was able to whip up dinner, lunch and breakfast.

Since it makes the most sense, breakfast is first on the menu. I’m a big breakfast fan, especially when it tastes like dessert. I originally made these muffins back in Colorado. They are full of energy and will keep you going until lunch. I liked to treat myself to them after I convinced myself to get up early and workout. Sometimes it would be an incentive to get out of bed in the morning and get to that 5:30am class. Although I found that teaching the 5:30am class to be a bigger incentive, since there would be no class if I didn’t show up!

This thought beings me to one of my favorite fitness tips – Make a Gym Buddy! Being an instructor I have seen it time and time again. Those people that make friends, or bring friends, to a class were more likely to come back. My 5:30am Bodystep class included a group of 8 women who came every week. If one of them was missing they would have some explaining to do the next week! I’ve met so many wonderful people at the gym, friendships that I still have today, even though I don’t live close anymore. You and your buddy will have more fun in class together and you’ll have each other to motivate, cheer on and challenge.

Be sure to vote on my poll!  What types of healthy recipes are you looking for most?  This will help influence the recipes that I post in the next three weeks.  I might even get boyfriend to lend a hand in the kitchen, that way you'll know it's an easy recipe to follow!

Cupcake 24-7 - French Toast

Welcome to Project Cupcake 24-7. Have you ever wondered why you have to wait until after dinner for a cupcake? Personally, I can’t wait that long. I know, cupcakes are a hot little culinary topic. There is a new cupcake parlor popping up every two minutes. I should know, I’m the one taste-testing each new flavor, with frosting on my face. And elbow. Don’t ask.

So fade to black on the traditional cupcake shop and open on Cupcake 24-7. It’s seven am and you’re in the mood for breakfast, or perhaps it’s noon and you need a quick lunch. Maybe you’ve got a hot date and decide cupcakes are the way to your new friends heart. What kind of a person would you be to eat chocolate frosted cake at such unusual hours of the day? Luckily the world of cupcakes is larger than you thought.

In our first installment of Cupcake 24-7, we have breakfast. Delicious delicious breakfast. These cupcakes are a perfect thing to serve at brunch. Perfect portion, single serving, oven-baked French toast. Enjoy, I know I did.

Pear Cake with Pine Nuts

If you haven’t noticed by now, breakfast is my favorite meal. I think that I could eat pastries, French toast or pancakes for every meal of the day. I try to make my breakfasts somewhat healthy by eating some fruit alongside my carbohydrates and drinking a glass of skim milk. I’m a bit strange in another manner, I don’t like to eat eggs for breakfast. Yuk. If you find me eating sunny-side up eggs, it is most likely nine at night, not nine in the morning. For some reason eggs at night are a meal, whereas eggs in the morning are gross. Ooo, unless they are on a sandwich, with some bacon.

Luckily today we are getting our fruit baked right into our breakfast pastry. This means that you can save time and be out the door in a snap! The fruit of the moment? Pears! I love pears because you can eat just about the whole thing. Many years ago I realized that you can just rip out the stem of a pear and then you can eat the whole top of the fruit. This also makes it super easy to slice pears into easy discs. Slice circles off of the pear until you hit the seeds. You can cut around the outside of the pear or just move onto another piece of fruit. (I suggest you just eat the bottom third)

So simple to make, this pastry is perfect for a lazy weekend morning. A simple coffee cake, fancied up with pears and pine nuts, this is just perfect. The leftovers (if there are any) can be kept in the fridge until tomorrow. Reheating is simple. Cut yourself a slice, heat in the microwave for 1 minute on half power. Once you learn to use the power settings in your microwave you will be amazed at what it can do. Play around, it’s fun! You can get non-rubbery pasta leftovers, perfectly thawed bread slices and even scrambled eggs.

Daring Bakers: Let’s go nuts for Donuts!

Can you believe that I have never deep fried anything? Deep-frying, along with lighting the gas grill, seemed like dangerous cooking feats. Why would I want to heat up a gallon of oil to 365 °F? That seems like a bad idea for home cook, right? There is just one problem, I love fried food! Give me a pile of chicken wings, some French fries and fry me up a Snickers bar and I’m a happy camper. Although on the other hand, it might be good that I don’t fry at home, I’d be 400 lbs…

Luckily I joined the Daring Bakers. My first challenge was more of an aesthetic challenge than a baking one. Decorating sugar cookies was super fun and now I’m ready for the holidays! This month’s challenge is what I have been hoping for, something to really push my boundaries, test my baking skills and make me a little uncomfortable. This month we would be making donuts (doughnuts?)

I love donuts, so this Daring Bakers challenge is a win-win. I get to play with hot oil and I get to eat lots of donuts! NOM! Neither of these things is an unusual happening. I use hot oil on an almost daily basis in the lab. I’m also lucky enough to walk by not one, but three Dunkin’ Donuts on my way to work. Making my own donuts would save me so much money! But don’t worry, I didn’t fry them in silicon oil, that would be disgusting.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

In the past I have been kind of indifferent to gourd-based food items. I’m talking about pumpkins, squash, etc. At thanksgiving I usually went for my grandmothers cherry pie, total pass on the pumpkin pie. I prefer my risotto to be filled with basil and cheese, rather than butternut squash. However, I have recently undergone gourd conversion. I have embraced pumpkins with open arms and taken a liking to peeling chopping and roasting squash.

This week I celebrate fall with you, mostly because today was a beautiful, sunny fall day. Rather than a gross, cold, dreary fall day. Today we celebrate with pumpkins! I have always been a fan of carving pumpkins, just ask my roommates. Every year I would insist on having a pumpkin carving party. If you have never had a pumpkin carving party, then call your friends. Tell them to bring a pancake and you’ll furnish the drop cloths.

You can also run out and get a few of those pumpkin carving kits. You know what I’m talking about. They come with books of crazy patterns and tiny knives. Just be sure to get the real knives, not the childproof ones. The childproof ones are also pumpkin proof, and they will do nothing but bruise up your pumpkin. And be sure to invite one brave soul to wield the giant knife. Someone needs to open up the top of your pumpkin! Another plus to having a pumpkin carving party? Hundreds and hundreds of pumpkin seeds! Salt them up and toss them in the oven, mmmm.

My pumpkin conversion came this week from not a pie, but from pancakes. Really, you shouldn’t be surprised. I have written about pancakes twice already in three months. I love pancakes, and I really love these pancakes. The combination of spices will have you thinking you are eating a slice of pumpkin pie, except with a lot less calories! Pour on a little real maple syrup and you’ve got the perfect breakfast.

Best Banana Bread

I seem to have made a lot of fruit breads recently. Apple cake Wednesday, banana bread today! Some people like apples, and some like bananas, gotta try to make everyone happy! Personally, I am a big banana fan. I start my morning, everyday, with a banana. It could be with cereal, a muffin, pancakes or just milk. The main dish is ever changing, but the banana remains. Unlike some picky people, I will eat a banana at most stages of ripeness. From once it turns mostly yellow (green around the edges is okay) until it is almost overwhelmed with brown spots, I’m going to eat it. There is a line that I just won’t cross, that last banana inevitably turns completely brown. I won’t touch it and into the freezer it goes.

I have several single bananas in the freezer, waiting to be baked into tasty treats. I find that freezing the bananas leads to a creamy texture in the final bread. Freezing them slightly breaks down their cellular structure and makes them easy to mash (just be sure to let them thaw in a bowl). You could even buy some bananas just for the purpose of baking them! Toss them in the freezer once they turn yellow and a few days later they are ready for baking!

This particular recipe has its healthy quotient bulked up with its use of whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt. I also love to bake them in mini loaf pans, that way your serving looks so much bigger! And if you can’t stop yourself from eating the whole thing, you only had three servings… Excuse me now, I have to go eat a loaf of banana bread.

Light and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Okay, I know that I wrote about pancakes last week, but I have a pancake problem. Since it is Saturday morning I feel like it is an appropriate time to talk about pancakes once again. This way you will be prepared for Sunday morning. And with these pancakes, your Sunday will start off just right.

I was going back and forth about posting a breakfast, dinner or dessert this morning. Actually, I was planning on posting this yesterday, but then there was bowling, and I got distracted. Let it be said that I am a mediocre bowler. This is very sad, especially since boyfriend is such an excellent bowler.

I progress the same way every time I go bowling. I start off pretty bad, generally keeping the ball in the center of the lane, but only knocking down five or six pins. Toward the end of the first game I am in my bowling groove and nothing can take me down. This was especially true last night when I picked up twenty-nine pins in the last frame.

After bowling for an hour or so I tend to start to lose focus. When bowling with a large group of people I get distracted. I’m like a puppy, running around talking to different people. Since last night was supposed to be a meet and greet, I felt I was doing my job by chatting up everyone. But this butterflying was affecting my game. I peaked in the last frame of my first game and then steadily went downhill. First place in the first game, second last in the second game.

But if my boss asks, our group crushed the opposition. It was a bowling pin massacre. The other groups were amazed at our bowling talent and showered us with confetti and champagne at the end of the games. To celebrate, today I made pancakes.

Chocolate Buns

Ask and you shall receive, kinda. So last week I proposed a question, “What sweet should I make next?” With the choices of a. Layer cake, b. cinnamon rolls, c. cookies or d. scones, I knew which one would win. And I was correct. The winner was cinnamon rolls! Of all the choices, I knew cinnamon rolls would be the most work and time intensive. Cookies I could throw down in ten minutes, same with scones. A layer cake would take some time to frost, but maybe two hours tops.

Cinnamon rolls are a yeast bread. This meant that I would have several times to sit and wait, something that I am not good at. The yeast breads that I have made in the past haven’t turned out so well because I get antsy. That dough ball looks doubled in size, right? I need to let the dough rest for how long? Oh boy, now I need to let the dough rise again? I call shenanigans on this recipe!

So this weekend I took on the cinnamon rolls, but I wasn’t in the mood for cinnamon. I was in the mood for chocolate! Here I am, standing in front of my spice rack, trying to figure out what will go well with the chocolate pastry. Then it hits me, the blackberry jam! Mmm, chocolate pastry filled with sweet jam. Perfect.

A little internet search lead me to a chocolate cinnamon roll recipe from Cooking Light. So not only is this delicious, but it’s good for you! (That’s what I’m telling myself, don’t say anything) The recipe just needed a little tweaking, the dough was too wet, the spices wouldn’t work with the jam, but I think we came out with a winner.

The chocolate buns themselves aren’t terribly sweet, so I decided a cream cheese frosting was in order. When is cream cheese frosting not a good idea? Okay, maybe you shouldn’t slather it on your steak, but other than that, pile it on. I’m actually eating a spoonful of it right now, don’t judge.

Peanut Butter Pancakes

I am a pancake connoisseur. It’s true, I have a badge to prove it (just don’t ask to see it!) Like some people are expert wine sommeliers, or perhaps they are professional perfume makers, I am a specialist when it comes to pancakes. Let’s not get confused, I’m not saying that I make the world’s best pancakes. No. What I’m saying is, I’m really good at eating pancakes.

I can say that I’ve had a fair number of pancakes in my life. I’m a big fan of the harvest pancakes at IHOP, and that the pancakes from the Pancake Café in Madison are amazing. An oven-baked apple pancake is the perfect breakfast to share with someone else and oatmeal pancakes are super filling. The type of pancake that I’ve yet to have an amazing one is the peanut butter pancake.

I’ve gone on a search to find a good peanut butter pancake. It is very hard to get this flavor just right. I’ve had all kinds, from the taste-less to the over-powering. The sad flat peanut butter pancake, riddled with too much fat and the worst, a regular pancake with peanut butter chips, ugh. I thought it was hopeless, so I started experimenting on my own.

I discovered one very important thing, using real peanut butter makes the pancakes too heavy. This is perhaps why the Pancake House in Amherst went with peanut butter chips. But how do you get peanut butter without all the fat? The answer is PB2. Made by Bell Plantation, PB2 is made by pressing peanuts to remove all the oil, and grinding them into a powder. I love it in shakes and decided this was just what I needed to make my own delicious pancakes.

Sure enough, PB2 came through. I was rewarded with peanutty, fluffy, tasty pancakes. Adapting my tried and true pancake recipe to accommodate the additional dry ingredients was easy and resulted in something I am happy to share with you. If you don’t have PB2 (it’s sold in specialty stores and online) you can use regular peanut butter (I’m talking Jif, not fancy natural PB), just cut down on the butter/oil you use. Serve it up with some of that blackberry jam that you made last week (thin it out with a little water on the stovetop) and enjoy. Mmmm, PB&J for breakfast.

Crunchy French Toast

Ever since I moved away for grad school my parents missed me. It’s because I’m so awesome. They decided that they simply had to come and visit. Although I’m not entirely sure that it was just me that they wanted to come and visit, perhaps it was the draw of seeing Wisconsin? The mystery of a state known for Dairy products and beer? Personally I was leaning toward the idea that they were coming to see their favorite (read: only) daughter, but I could be wrong. Wisconsin is not just home to cheese with a love of all things brewed. There is a museum, devoted to one man’s love, of mustard.

Our first trip to Madison, Wisconsin was the conclusion of one very long road trip. Well, I suppose it was the conclusion of the trip for me, they still had to make the return trip (winner!). Fourteen hours in two cars, covering six states, our arrival in Wisconsin occurred around ten o’clock at night. The bed at the Marriott was certainly welcoming and, most importantly, stationary.

The next morning we were greeted with a beautiful summer day. If you have never spent a summer in the Midwest, please take a moment to imagine… The sun is blazing down, the temperature is a warm 80 degrees and the humidity made it feel like you were swimming. August in the Midwest is both wonderful and terrible at the same time. Today, it would be the latter, because today, we were moving furniture.

Nothing can take away from the fact that this was to be a BIG day. Moving into my first apartment, by myself, in a state that I had previously only spent two days. It was just going to be a HOT big day, as temperatures were to slowly creep into the low nineties. Luckily I was only moving into a first floor apartment (just a half-flight of stairs to climb) and my dad and I have enormous muscles. 300-lb desk? Sure, one arm. Boxes full of books? Just pile those on top of this couch and I’ll handle it. We’re huge, really.



After taking a mere four hours to move everything from the U-haul to the fabulous apartment, we took a moment to admire our work (read: collapse on the nearest piece of furniture). Taking another moment to drink a few gallons of water and eat a whole chicken (gotta feed those muscles) we were finally ready to enjoy Madison. Wait, perhaps a nap first…

Many more Madison stories are in your future, but the first thing you must do when getting to Madison, it have some ice cream at the terrace (if it’s past noon, you can have a beer). Nothing is more fantastic after a long days work than getting a bowl of UW ice cream and enjoying the breeze off lake Mendota. The boats sail by, the ducks play in the water and the sun sparkles across the lake. Eat your ice cream, get a little sunburn and relax.

The following morning, after our huge muscles screamed at us for a bit, we decided to hit the restaurant and refuel. This was the beginning of a wonderful tradition, Crunchy French Toast. Every Marriott across the country serves this awesome recipe. Listed as a “healthy option,” one can trick themselves into eating the whole plate (do not do this, eat half, save some for tomorrow). On their subsequent returns to both Madison, and Colorado, my parents and I enjoyed many, many plates of Crunch French Toast.

This is a take on the Marriott’s recipe for Crunchy French Toast. While I know someone who has the exact recipe, they were unwilling to divulge the hotels secrets. I’ll have to try harder next time. The original dish is served with bananas and strawberries, while I decided to serve it with a lemon-raspberry sauce. While these are a good attempt, I will still find myself at the Marriott, eating plates and plates of their Crunchy French Toast.

Crunchy French Toast

4 slices of whole-grain bread approximately 1-inch thick
1 cup Corn Flakes (crushed)
1 cup Egg Beaters
1 tsp vanilla
1 pint raspberries
1 lemon
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

In a small saucepan combine raspberries, water and sugar. Heat over medium-low until raspberries begin to break down. Add zest of half a lemon and cornstarch. Turn up heat to medium-high and heat until thickens. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice and heat until desired thickness.

Mix Egg Beaters and vanilla in a shallow dish. Coat bread with egg mixture, allowing to sink in for a few seconds. Coat bread in Corn flakes, pressing down so they stick. Place coated bread on griddle and weigh down with a grill press (or Panini press or weighted pie pan). Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side (or until crunchy and golden-brown).

Drizzle 2 tbsp raspberry lemon sauce over French toast. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar if the raspberry lemon sauce is a bit too tart for you! Enjoy!