Cinnamon Biscuits

I see it is my turn to give a tour of our Christmas home. I am working on it...finishing up some pictures first. Meanwhile we were hungry this morning { while working on Christmas pictures }, a perfect morning for something warm and sweet. Something called a Cinnamon Biscuit!!!

 There is a restaurant back home in North Carolina that had the best cinnamon biscuits. 

I have wanted to make my own several time and just never did, until today. They took all of 5 minutes to make, 15 minutes in the oven.....

This is what we ended up with.  A cinnamon biscuit so much better than any restaurant could make.  Light and fluffy, which is essential in any good  biscuit. A sweet topping and crust that was just the right amount of sweet. No sugar high here today:)

We don't have this kind of breakfast very often. Despite all of my sweet treats I post on here, we actually do eat pretty healthy....most of the time:) These would be great Christmas morning. So quick and easy!!

But not today. Today was a cinnamon biscuit kind of day, something special, something warm from the oven as we sat and watched the snow fly.

Enjoy!!!

 Mary Elizabeth

Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375. Butter and medium cast iron skillet.

Mix together the dry ingredients and then cut in the butter until you get course crumbs. Add just enough of buttermilk until everything pulls away from the sides and is just combined. { Sometimes I use it all and others I leave a tablespoon or so out }.  Drop large spoonfuls of dough into skillet, lightly smoothing out the tops. Cover with brown sugar topping and bake for about 15 minutes. 

Yields 8-10 biscuits

Brown Sugar Topping

1 stick very soft butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix together until smooth. Spoon onto biscuits and gently spread on top.

Firday's Treat ~ Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

It has been entirely too long since my last Friday's Treat post! Or any post for that matter, My two little babies keep my days full. Especially since they lack { for the most part } the desire to sleep!! I will post all the goodies I have been making as time allows, there are several you won't want to miss!

I have been ready to make something pumpkin for a while but the office seems to enjoy chocolate and more chocolate....well, not today:) Sorry ya'll!!

I have been eyeing these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls for several weeks and I am so glad I finally made them! They were just as simple as regular cinnamon rolls, if you can call cinnamon rolls simple. I think I will try a different recipe next time, or just use a plain dough and do a pumpkin filling. Just to mix things up a bit. I found the recipe on Six Sister's Stuff website. They have some great fall recipes so check them out.

These are every bit as good as they look. I didn't make the cream cheese frosting. I thought the brown butter caramel drizzle would be better. These rolls do not lack sweetness and I think the cream cheese frosting would have been too much...

my little helpers hard at work. I officially need more counter space:)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
      from Six Sister's Stuff

Dough:
1/4 c. warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1/3 c. margarine, melted
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp salt
5-6 c. flour

Filling:
1/2 c - 2/3 c. canned pumpkin puree (to your preference)
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 T cinnamon
*optional: 3/4 c. raisins, 1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3 T butter    1/2 tsp vanilla     2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Combine warm water, yeast, and teaspoon of sugar in small bowl. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until froth doubles.
2. In mixer fitted with dough hook, combine milk, eggs, pumpkin, margarine, the 1/2 c. sugar, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Mix until smooth (don't have a mixer? You can still make these. I first used a wooden spoon until it got to be too hard and then I started using my hands. You have to knead it for a while to get that smooth consistency, but it can be done!).

3. Add 4 cups flour to mixing bowl. Pour frothed yeast mixture on top of flour. Knead about 5 minutes, adding flour 1/2 c. at a time until dough barely begins to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. Dough should be smooth and moist, but not sticky.
4. Spray a bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover with wet towel, or plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Allow to raise until doubled, about 1 hour.
5. While dough is raising, prepare filling. Place room temperature butter and pumpkin puree in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until mixture is smooth. In another small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon, set both bowls aside.
6. Pour dough out on slightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle 16x21 inches, dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the pumpkin/butter mixture over rectangle. Next, evenly spread the sugar/cinnamon mixture on top, slightly pressing it into the dough.
7. Roll up long side of dough, forming long tube. Cut tube with sharp knife about every 2 inches, making 12 rolls. Place rolls in lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

9. Bake rolls in oven until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to make frosting. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Brown Butter Drizzle/Frosting:

1 stick butter, melted and slightly browned

1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar, homemade makes it so much better

2-3 tbls milk

1-2 cups powdered sugar

melt butter in pan until slightly brown. add brown sugar and milk and stir to combine. remove from heat and add enough  powdered sugar to get your desired consistency. I only used about 3/4 cup for this recipe because I didn't want it to be too thick.

sweet and sour chicken { homemade }

I love good chinese food. There are few place around here that have it though, unfortunately, so I suppose it is just as well that we rarely eat out. When I saw this recipe over at The Recipe Critic I just had to try it. Good chinese food at home? Yes, please!!

It was so simple and easy to make. I had it ready in about 45 minutes.....I changed a few things. Imagine that!!

I used my large cast iron skillet and cooked it on top of the stove because I didn't want to wait for it to bake in the oven. I used butter and basically fried it and it was easier to make sure all the chicken was coated in the sauce, which is the best part!

( by the way, if you don't have a cast iron skillet you need to get one! I don't know what I would do without my cast iron skillets and pots...you can check some out here. They are very inexpensive and if you take care of them right they last forever!! )

I served the chicken with rice. I almost always cook my rice with more chicken broth than water. It gives it so much more flavor! This was so, so good. Better than any sweet and sour chicken I have had at a restaurant!

sweet and sour chicken
recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil ( I used butter )
1 cup sugar
4 tbls ketchup
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325. Cut chicken breast into bite sized pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Whisk the eggs together and then in a separate bowl place the cornstarch. Coat chicken in cornstarch and then in the eggs. ( I did dipped it back into the cornstarch again after the egg before placing in the skillet ).

Heat oil ( or butter ) in large skillet and brown chicken. Place into a 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl mix together the sugar, ketchup, both vinegar's, soy sauce and garlic salt. Pour over chicken and bake for 1 hour. Stir chicken every 15 minutes to evenly coat in sauce.


Note: After browning the chicken in the cast iron skillet I just left it in there and poured the sauce over it. Turned the chicken every few minutes to keep it coated in the sauce. It only took about 15 minutes to cook on top of the stove.


Enjoy,

Mary Elizabeth

Friday's Treat ~ Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post!! A lot has happened that has been keeping me busy. A new baby being the biggest news!! I will post later to tell you about her, such a doll, and probably the best newborn sleeper that has ever been! At least at night which is the most important to me. 

Now, on to these cookies....

These are really good! Very moist and chewy with just a few chocolate chips in them. I first told you about these cookies here. I just made them into plain cookies, although there is nothing plain about the flavor of these cookies. They really are so good! I think these will be my basis for monster cookies as well the next time those are on the menu.

Try them! I know you will love them as much as we do!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Butter, Softened

1/4 cup Shortening, ( I used all butter )

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Baking Powder

3 tbls Boiling Water

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 1/2 cups Flour

2 cups Quick Oats

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Recipe adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the brown sugar, butter and shortening. Add eggs and mix. Add salt, cinnamon and baking powder and mix. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and then add to the bowl and mix. Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips and then mix well.

Scoop dough onto baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Notes :  Use Homemade Brown Sugar.  I do and it makes everything better!

Mary Elizabeth

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

If you have kids I'm sure you go though a lot of chocolate milk. My kids love chocolate milk. Making your own syrup is super easy and only takes a couple of ingredients. I always have a jar of this in the fridge. This is great for ice cream too.

Chocolate Syrup

3/4 cup (homemade) brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium size pan. Add the water and whisk until all the lumps are gone. Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer on low until syrup starts to thicken (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and cool. Keep refrigerated. This makes about two cups and last two weeks.

Enjoy,

Christine

Friday's Treat ~ Five Layer Bars

I am on a butterscotch kick lately!!

I had been wanting to make something butterscotch for over a week and when we went to church last Sunday evening one of the ladies in my small group brought butterscotch bars...or brownies....or cookies? :) I'm not really sure which category they fell under but they were good!! And that is all that matters, really. So I knew right away I was going to do butterscotch for Friday. So, the search began:) I don't have any recipes for butterscotch ( other than just adding them in to something that doesn't call for them ) so I headed to Google! I found the perfect recipe for butterscotch bars from Paula Dean on the food network website. You can find the recipe here. These are so, soooo good! And so easy to make. Six ingredients....that's it!! They took minutes to put together and were just the right thing for the week!

Start with a graham crack crust

then mix up the coconut, chips and nuts ( I left the nuts out )

Pour that on top of the graham cracker crust.

Pour sweetened condensed milk over top of that and bake.

I did forget to take a picture of what my bars looked like when they were done so I pulled Paula's picture from the recipe. They are pretty close but I think mine looked better....haha:) Probably because mine didn't have nuts in them. I don't like nuts!

via

Hope you enjoy!!!

Mary Elizabeth

Friday's Treat ~ Brownie Rice Krispie Treats

I know this post is a little bit late but I am getting behind on all the things I have made and wanted to share this with you even though there won't be any pictures....Sorry about that by the way. We are working on things:)

These bars are absolutely the best!! After having these you won't want to go back to regular Rice Krispie Treats. These are so easy to make too.....

The first layer is your favorite brownie recipe. I use the one I wrote about here because it really is the best. Bake as directed and then pull out of the oven and cover with the second layer.....marshmallows!! Give a generous layer:) Place back in the oven for just a minute until the marshmallows are melted.

The third  ( and best ) layer...The Rice Krispie Treat layer:) Melt together 1 1/3 cup chocolate chips, 3 tbls butter and 1 cup peanut butter. Mix well and then stir in 2 cups Rice Krispies. Mix together and then pour over top of the marshmallows. 

Cool completely and then cut into bars. These are soo good.....I promise!! I'm sure you will love them also!

Have a great weekend and look back soon for more post...I have several Christmas things to show ya'll:)

Mary Elizabeth

Another Pumpkin Recipe

via Pinterest

Yesterday afternoon I had a few spare minutes when half the kids were sleeping and the other half were outside. Actually, I just decided to get on the Internet instead of working on my to-do list. I decided to check out Pinterest and saw this recipe for pumpkin cheese bread. In the process I found a new food blog that had a few recipes that I would like to try. I apologize ahead of time for no pictures, it was gone before I could take any. Which is a good thing I guess. Check out this recipe if your family loves pumpkin as much as mine does. I did add more pumpkin then the recipe called for and made one bread loaf size. I can't remember exactly how much longer it baked for though. This was really good but it doesn't have a sweet cakey taste. It was perfect after dinner with a cup of coffee and homemade pumpkin spice creamer drizzled with homemade caramel sauce.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Have a great weekend! Hopefully this afternoon I'll be able to post a couple of pictures for our trip to Seward last weekend. This has been a long week, we were all sick (including me), but fortunately did not lose any power. Which is weird because people all around us still don't have any power.

Christine

Vanilla Beans

Ok, I know I'm starting to get obsessed with vanilla beans. What can I say I LOVE vanilla beans. My newest use for the beans is vanilla syrup and vanilla sugar. I use the syrup in my coffee and homemade icecream. The vanilla sugar is great in any recipe that calls for vanilla (replace it for the white sugar). The uses are pretty much endless. I made the sugar by processing sugar with a vanilla bean that split and scraped. So easy!!

Everybody had to help with the sugar.

The syrup was easy too. In a saucepan over low heat, disolve 2 cups of sugar with 2 cups of water. Once the sugar is disolve split and scrape your vanilla bean into the mixture. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat and let cool. Pour into your container and enjoy!

Let me know if you make one these and how you like it.

Christine

Friday's Treat ( and Homemade Blueberry Syrup )

What a busy few weeks we have had around here! I can't believe it is Monday already!!  Luckily I was still able to find time for  Friday's Treat and also the main thing I want to tell you about...Homemade Blueberry Syrup.

This week I made Chocolate Chip Cookies, nothing special really but always a favorite! I have made some similar cookies that you can read about here but this week I opted for just the traditional no frills chocolate chip cookies:) Which are my favorite, by the way, and apparently everyone else's. My husband said they were gone within an hour!! I don't have a special recipe, no secret ingredient. Just the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag. No matter the brand the recipe is still the same:)

Now the main thing I want to tell you about today is my Homemade Blueberry Syrup. As I have mentioned before I LOVE blueberries.....I could eat them everyday, but I don't really like blueberry jam. Or, at least eat blueberry jam....or any jam for that matter. So, I freeze some and this year decided to make syrup! I used the recipe from Simple Bites. It is sooo good:)

You start by bringing to a boil the blueberries with some water

Continue cooking for 15-20 minutes. The blueberries really cook down. Now the next step you could leave out if you want to have "chunky" syrup. I think I will do that next time....

Now you pour the cooked blueberries into a colander and mash until you get all the juice out of them.

Once your pan is empty pour in a little more water, some sugar and some lemon peel. Bring to a boil and then add the blueberry juice and some lemon juice.

As it cooks it will start to get this foam on top. Just continue to let it cook and then let it sit for about 5-10 minutes before pouring it into your jars and it will look like this

Pour it into your jars and then boil the jars full of syrup with the lid on for about 10 minutes to seal the jars.

 Why have I never made this before??? It really is amazing and you will love it on your pancakes, waffles or french toast!!

Enjoy

Mary Elizabeth

Friday's Treat

Blueberry Crumb Cake

It is blueberry season here in northern Indiana so I had to make something this month with blueberries:) Blueberries are absolutely one of my favorite foods to eat. I could eat them ALL day long.....and I am passing that on to my daughter, she can't get enough! We actually went "picking" this morning and I will tell you, the only thing harder to do than trying to fill your bucket while eating the berries is having two people eating the berries...haha....I didn't think we were ever going to start filling up the bucket!!

This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman and you can find the recipe here. She does such an amazing job with the pictures. I'm lucky if I remember to take a picture when it is all done let alone the step by step shots.

 

 I hope you try it. It is soo good, and perfect with your coffee in the morning:)

Have a great weekend!!

Mary Elizabeth

Friday's Treat

Chocolate Dipped Fudge Brownies

These little treats are just darling. They are going to be my new favorite thing to make for party's, get-together's and whatever else may come along:) So simple to make and soooo adorable! I got the idea for them from Sweetapolita ( have I told you about this website? check it out...she does amazing things with cakes/cupcakes/desserts. I love it ). I made mine bite sized and did some mini chocolate chips, sprinkles and then a few in white chocolate. I used the fudge brownie recipe that I always use, you have to try it, it really is the best! ( recipe follows )

I cut the brownies into bite sized squares and then pulled them apart and put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes so they would be firm when dipping them in the chocolate.....they will be falling apart during the dipping process if they aren't firm!

I took a cake tester and stuck a brownie on the end

then rolled it in the chocolate

this picture is kinda blurry but I wanted to show you that I left some of the side without chocolate so it would be easier to push off the stick. Most of it got covered anyways while they were sitting on the wax paper from the chocolate falling over the sides

added some sprinkles

 some mini chocolate chips

then got these little cuties:) Seriously, aren't they adorable?!! The white chocolate ones I left the whole side uncovered and didn't add any toppings because I like the contrast mixed in with the others:)...haha, hows that for a description!!

Enjoy!!

Mary Elizabeth

Fudge Brownies

1 1/4c butter, soft

4c sugar

Beat this in the mixer until fluffy then add

8 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Beat again until light and fluffy, add

2 c flour

1 1/4c cocoa

1 tsp salt

2 c nuts ( I don't like nuts so I never add these )

Mix until well combined. Bake at 350 for 40 min.

note: I like my brownies chewy rather than cakey so I only baked them for 27 min. Odd number I know but they come out perfectly chewy:)