Cinnabon copycat cinnamon rolls

This recipe makes 12 pretty big cinnamon rolls and they taste so much like the real deal! Ingredients: 1 cup of warm milk (I heated it in the microwave for about a minute, you don't want it too hot or it will kill the yeast, just warm) 2 eggs 1/3 cup of butter melted (melt it slowly, don't make it too hot) 4 1/2-5 cups of all purpose flour (your dough should clean the bowl while you knead it, start with 4 1/2 cups and if it's too sticky add a half cup more flour.) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup of white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean split and scraped out. 1 package fast acting yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons 1 cup of brown sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon 1/3 soft butter Cream Cheese frosting : 4 oz cream cheese 1/2 cup butter ( 1 stick) 1 cup powdered sugar (you can add more to taste or consistency as you want but I don't like the frosting too sweet since the filling is very sweet) 2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste Method: Dissolve the yeast in the milk in a large bowl or bowl of your mixer. Mix in the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla bean seeds or paste and salt. Add the flour and mix in well, kneading the dough with floured hands or dough hook with your mixer into a large ball. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl. Put it back into the bowl and cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and put it in a warm place for about an hour till it's doubled in size. While the dough rises, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees Once the dough has doubled in size lay out on a floured surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the butter over the whole rectangle except for about a half inch at one of the long ends of your rectangle so you can seal the roll. After you've spread the butter, sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture evenly over the dough. Now roll the dough up tightly starting at the far edge toward that clean edge(so you have one long sausage shape at the end).Press the clean edge down to seal when you are done. Make sure the ends stay in line or trim them when you're done. Now measure out your rolls into 12 pieces and cut with a sharp knife.(Usually about an inch and a half or so for each.) Place rolls in a greased 9x13 inch pan and cover the pan with damp cloth or seran wrap or foil. Leave for about 1/2 hour to let the rolls rise. In the meantime, make the icing. Beat the butter with an electric beater till very soft. Add the cream cheese and beat until light - a few minutes at least. Add the sugar and beat for a couple more minutes and lastly beat in the vanilla. Put the rolls in the oven for about 20 minutes. The rolls should be golden brown. Spread the frosting on warm rolls and serve. Enjoy!! Xoxo I found this recipe on some type of forum or something and altered it slightly.

Sesame Street!

I don't have a recipe for this post but I thought these came out so cute I had to share! I made these for a friend of mine for her baby boys first birthday party. It was so hard to pick just a few of the fun characters from sesame street but I ended up choosing Elmo (of course), big bird, super Grover, cookie monster and Oscar the grouch. These pictures are just from my iPhone but when I upload the ones from my camera I'll post them too :)

These cookies are so delicious! Very fluffy and soft but still with that crisp edge that a cookie should have. I love the dark chocolate chips in them but you can substitute for semi-sweet if that's what you have on hand. This recipe makes about 4 dozen. I altered this a bit from a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe I found on baking bites. Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 cup butter, room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 tbsp milk 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract (in addition I also added about a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste) 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3-4 ripe bananas, mashed (3 large or 4 smaller sized bananas) 3 cups oats (rolled quick oats or old fashioned, not instant) 2 cups dark chocolate chips (about 12-oz.) Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray cookie sheet with non stick spray or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. gradually beat the flour in to the sugar mixture until just incorporated. Add mashed bananas and mix in until incorporated. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, or until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center. Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.

vanilla bean and coconut cupcakes and frosting

sorry for the crappy pictures...

I stumbled upon this recipe on pinterest and it is so fabulous!! it's from bon appetit magazine. usually i tweak a recipe or change it up a bit the second time around, if the first time it wasn't just right, but this one is spot on! so moist and buttery! the cake and frosting have a hint of coconut but is very subtle, and i did without the flaked coconut as garnish. it's kind of a hassle to do that extra step of making reduced coconut milk but it is oh so worth it in the end!! i also did a variation on the frosting my second time around and added lilikoi (passion fruit) butter to it, i got some amazing lilikoi butter from our local farmers market and couldn't wait to come up with a cupcake concoction to use it! i just added about a cup more powdered sugar since the lilikoi butter adds an extra liquid. i added about a 1/2 cup of lilikoi butter but you could do it to taste.

ingredients

reduced coconut milk

• 2 13- to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk

cupcakes

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature

frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature
• Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted (for garnish)

Preparation

reduced coconut milk

• Bring coconut milk to boil in large deep saucepan over medium-high heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Reduce heat to medium-low; boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill (coconut milk will settle slightly as it cools). DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

cupcakes

• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line eighteen 1/3-cup muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in seeds from vanilla bean and remaining egg. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups.
• Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.

frosting

• Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, seeds from vanilla bean, and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Increase to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.
• Using pastry bag fitted with large star tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. (Alternatively, top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons frosting. Using small offset spatula, swirl frosting over top of cupcakes, leaving 1/2-inch plain border.) Sprinkle with coconut. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight containers; chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

cakes for friends

no recipes here but thought i'd share some pics of recent cakes. i made these for our neighbor friends. i like the "grace" cake a lot, i thought it turned out sweet. my neighbor's name is grace, this cake is chocolate with peanut butter buttercream. she has 2 daughters and the older of the two turned 4 and the hello kitty cupcakes were made for her birthday party. i didn't get great pictures of them because i forgot to take any until i got to the party and little girls were grabbing at them so i had to hurry! haha. but her parents got some better shots of them that maybe i could get one day and add to this post, but for now here's what i got. =)