Best rolls

I have tried A LOT of roll recipes.  This is my new favorite.  I had a craving for Texas Roadhouse Rolls and I found this.  We fell in love.

Ingredients:

4 tsp. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups milk

3 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup sugar

7-8 cups flour

2 eggs

2 tsp. salt

     In a small saucepan mix the milk, butter, and sugar over medium low until the butter melts.  Stir constantly.  Let cool.  Meanwhile, in another dish dissolve the yeast into the warm water until frothy (about 10 minutes).  In a stand up mixer with the dough hook knead all of the ingredients together until it comes together, but is still slightly sticky.  

  

    Place in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle and fold the dough back over itself.  Press it down lightly with a rolling pin to seal the two together.

Cut it into squares using a pastry cutter and place on greased baking sheets.  Let rise covered for thirty minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your rolls.  When they come out of the oven immediately rub a stick of butter over the tops.

These freeze great!

Cronuts!

My husband has a lunch at work every Christmas where they compete over who brings the best food.  We always try every year and two out of the four years we did win.  We won one of those years by bringing Cronuts.  For some reason I can't make doughnuts, but I can make cronuts.

This recipe is adapted from here. 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp. fine salt

2 1/2 Tbsp. white sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

4 1/2 cups flour

12 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature, divided

Sprinkle 2 1/4 tsp. yeast over the 1/2 cup warm water.  Let stand about 10 minutes until foamy.  Add sugar, salt, milk, butter, vanilla, egg, and nutmeg.  Mix well.  Add the flour starting with 2 cups and add more as needed.  I use my stand mixer with the dough hook but you could do this by hand.  Knead for about three minutes.  It will be a slightly sticky dough.  

  Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.  Place it in the fridge to relax.  Meanwhile take your butter and cut it into separate tablespoons and place between two pieces of plastic wrap about 10x 14 inches.  Roll out the butter using a rolling pin until smooth and flat.  If you can roll it into a rectangular shape about 3x6.  Its kind of difficult.  Place the plastic wrap on a sheet pan and into your freezer for about 5 minutes until hard.  

   Roll your dough into a 9x18 inch rectangle.  Place your hardened butter on the middle 1/3 of the dough.  Fold each side of the dough on top of the butter.  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in your fridge to harden again.  If you need to speed this up you can put it in your freezer.  Every 1/2 hour take your dough out of the fridge and roll out into a 9x18 rectangle and fold into thirds.  Repeat this process three times until the butter is layered through the dough.  

   Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.  Roll out dough until 3/8 inch thick.  Cut out doughnuts.  We don't have proper doughnut cutters so we use a tomato paste can that has been washed and dried.  

Lay out the dough to rise for one hour until doubled.

Then we just fry them up.  1 minute on each side until golden brown.  

 
This time for the chocolate frosting I whipped up 2 cups of cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and then added a box of instant chocolate pudding.  It was very yummy.  For the vanilla I just whipped up 2 Tbsp. melted butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 2 tbsp. milk, and 4 cups powdered sugar.

We had fun decorating them.  I even added crushed Oreos to some.

Favorite Caramel Popcorn Recipe

You know you have a recipe when people ask for it, but you know you have a fabulous recipe when someone hounds you for it.  I had a friend ask me for the recipe after I brought her some for Christmas and the e-mail did not go through each time I tried because I must have written it down wrong and she bugged me for weeks for that recipe.  

This recipe I got from my mom.

Crunchy Caramel Corn

Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks)
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
6 quarts freshly popped corn (about 1/2 cup unpopped corn)

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

I use a big roasting pan when I make this stuff and do two batches of popcorn to fill it.  Pop the corn.  Make sure you use your hand to sift out the popcorn kernels before putting them into the pan.  I place the baking soda right next to the pan and put a teaspoon on top of the popcorn so I don't forget that step.

In a medium sized saucepan combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, cream of tartar, and salt.  Stir constantly while it comes to a boil over medium high heat.  Place a candy thermometer in the pan and cook until it reaches 260 degrees (hard balls stage).  This will happen in about five minutes.

Remove from heat and add the teaspoon of baking soda.  Don't forget this step!  Pour over the popcorn and stir gently to coat.  Bake in the oven for one hour stirring every 15-20 minutes.  Turn the popcorn out onto waxed paper and allow to cool.  Try to resist eating all of it.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I have tried a few recipes for these, but my favorite is the Betty Crocker one.  

Ingredients:

1/2

cup vegetable oil

4

oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled

2

cups granulated sugar

2

teaspoons vanilla

4

eggs

2

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/2

cup powdered sugar

Stir together the first four ingredients and then add the eggs one at a time.  Mix in the dry ingredients until the dough is about the consistency of play dough.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or until ready to bake them.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball.  Roll in powdered sugar and place on a greased or parchment lined pan.  This is a great kid job.  

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Do not over bake or they are not soft and delicious.

I wouldn't put this much powdered sugar on, but I couldn't tell my four year old that.

Freezer Paper Stencils

I finally got into the Freezer Paper craze.  I got this idea here.  We just made our own templates free hand though.  That is the best part of using Freezer Paper.  You can make whatever you want!  My friend made my baby the cutest shirts using Freezer Paper and fabric paint when she was born.  I will be using this again for sure.  This was just our trial run.

You can find freezer paper in most grocery stores by the aluminum foil.  It was $6.00 for a giant box of it.

 First draw whatever you want to have on your shirt on a piece of paper, cut it out, and use it as a stencil for the Freezer Paper.  Draw this onto the paper side of your Freezer Paper.  Cut it out and iron it using dry heat onto your shirt.

 You can either paint inside the picture or the outside.  My younger kids just used Fabric Paint markers to paint dots all around their design and my oldest child decided to paint the inside.

 When the painting is done just peel off the paper.

 She has a K, but she kept running away.

Sun Catchers

I can't decide if Pinterest is making my life better or worse.  I avoided getting on it for years, but I finally did for better or worse.  I got the idea for these sun catchers here. 

I used Pony Beads and filled the bottoms of a metal pie tin and a cupcake tin with a single layer of beads. Well, when I say I I mean my kids did it.  

 Then I baked them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  You can do it more or else depending on how bumpy or smooth you want it.

 Then we hung them by a convenient hole that formed at the top by our window.  Success!

Blondies

Blondies

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup softened butter (1 stick)

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 package (10 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips  (I used the new chocolate chips with caramel in the middle!)

1 cup pecans chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 13x9 pan.  Combine the dry ingredients.  Beat the sugars and butter together in another bowl until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients, chocolate chips, and nuts if you want them.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool.