Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

It was our third annual Christmas cinnamon rolls and they get better every year. There is nothing better than a cozy home decorated for the holidays and the smell of cinnamon rolls baking. I again followed the Paula Deen cinnamon roll recipe and the dough turned out nicely. I again rolled them using brown sugar instead of white sugar. I did try a lighter cream cheese frosting recipe this year though that turned out even better.

Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 oz. cream cheese

7 T. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 t. vanilla extract

2 T. milk

1 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1/4 t. salt

Beat together the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until creamy. Mix in vanilla and milk and gradually stir in the powdered sugar and salt until smooth. 

Cinnamon Rolls on a Winter Day

This past Christmas, we discussed traditions - both in the things we do to celebrate the holiday and also the special foods we make. We decided to start a new tradition of making homemade cinnamon rolls. I asked my mother-in-law for her recipe. However, it wasn't as exact and scientific as I like with baking.  So, since I'm not a practiced baker of breads, I decided to research other recipes to try.

I really need to do this more - baking that requires kneading. It's quite like a form of meditation. Once everything is measured with precision, you can lose yourself in the dough and knead to your heart's desire.

I followed the Cinnamon Roll 101 recipe by The Pioneer Woman.  However, I used brown sugar in the filling for some extra sticky and sugary goodness. One mistake I made though was putting them in a baking dish that was too small.

It all worked out though. They baked just fine, the sugar got nice and gooey and they were lovely and doughy on the inside and golden on top.

Because, when it looks like this outside....

You just want to be inside your warm cozy candlelit home...

...enjoying one of these with a mug of coffee or tea on a cold winter day.

The other change I made from The Pioneer Woman's recipe was to choose a different frosting. I made a cream cheese frosting instead of the maple frosting that she used.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat frosting ingredients until well mixed. Frost warm cinnamon rolls and serve.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

These pumpkin cupcakes were actually the other flavor that my friend wanted for her daughter's christening.  I've been wanting to do something this autumn with marzipan and thought the little pumpkins would be cute.  This is an idea I've seen a few places and is in the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I used that recipe for the pumpkin cupcakes, but did my marzipan pumpkins a little different, primarily as I don't have a leaf cutter that is that small.  I made cream cheese frosting to go with the pumpkin cupcake, but I made a triple recipe to be able to frost a few dozen cupcakes.  I have some leftover that I'll freeze to use later - maybe for red velvet cake for the holidays.

I reconstituted my marzipan with corn syrup after it thawed.  At first I thought I'd need to scratch it, but it ended up coming together after a lot of kneading.  I used Americolor Electric Orange and Leaf Green to color the marzipan for the pumpkin decorations.

They turned out nice and bright! I could've gone easier on the green. 

I don't have a tiny leaf cookie cutter, so I used this cutter and then snipped it into smaller pieces to use as the stem.

I rolled out the orange and cut it into pieces to have enough to put on all the cupcakes.

I rolled the orange pieces into little balls and set them aside on parchment paper so they wouldn't stick to the counter.

When I put them all together, I dipped the stem in a tiny bit of corn syrup to help it stick. Then I used a toothpick to put ridges on the sides of the pumpkins.

I love them - how cute!  I didn't take the time to carve a pumpkin this year, but I made my own!

A pumpkin patch of cupcakes...

Caramel Apple Cookie Pops

I've made this caramel apple cookie recipe before and just made the regular cookies. I took them to the neighborhood Halloween party last year and they got rave reviews.  While I knew it was an amazing recipe, I wanted to do something different this time around, especially since I was planning to take them to the same party again this year. Since they are inspired by caramel apples, I thought...why not add sticks to them like caramel apples?  Plus, it would make it fun for people to eat at the party. I haven't made cookie pops before, but I knew it was a nice thick cake-like batter that would probably work.  They are yummy too!  They're made with fresh shredded apple and with the caramel icing, they taste just like the real caramel apples.  Except they're better...and not as messy!

I made the dough, put scoops on the Silpat, placed the lollipop stick through the center and flattened each cookie scoop with the back of a spoon to get more of a round shape and set it into the stick.

I let them cool on a pan a little after baking and carefully transferred them with a spatula to some parchment paper to cool and set.

The caramel apple icing was carefully applied so as to not pull on the stick too much and voila!....caramel apple cookie pops! The original recipe called for adding nuts like the apples I have here, but I was taking them where there would be lots of kids so I thought I better not chance it with possible allergies. They were a hit again and gone before I left the party early!

My sister and her family came to the party with us and she made these yummy and adorable spice sandwich cookies with homemade jack-o-lantern faces.  We used some cream cheese frosting that we colored orange to put in between and also used some of the leftover caramel apple icing for some. 

She even made some pretty oak leaves.  The pumpkin faces were the best to see the icing through and it oozed out through the eyes when you took a bite! :)

  

Recipe for Caramel Apple Cookie Pops

 (Adapted from a recipe for Caramel Apple Cookies in Midwest Living Magazine) 

Ingredients:

Cookie dough:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 t. pumpkin or apple pie spice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 large tart apple (peeled, cored and coarsely shredded)

Icing:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 3 Tbs. apple juice
• 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar

Chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, baking soda, pie spice, and salt. Beat until well-combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg until well-combined. Add 1/2 cup apple juice; beat on low speed until combined (don't worry if mixture looks a little curdled). Beat in the flours and fold in the shredded apple.

Drop dough by slightly rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto a greased or Silpat lined cookie sheet. Be careful not to make them too big if you're making cookie pops so they won't fall off the sticks if they're too heavy.  If you are doing pops, stagger the scoops on the cookie sheet and place the sticks into the center of the rounded teaspoon.  Run a spoon under warm water and flatten each of the cookie scoops slightly with the back of the spoon.  Bake at 350 degrees about 10-12 minutes or until tops and edges are browned.  Let stand for a few minutes to cool and transfer carefully to parchment paper or wire racks for icing.

For icing: In a small saucepan, heat and stir 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter and apple juice over medium heat until all the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.  If it is too thick, you can add a touch more juice or if it's too runny add a little more powdered sugar.  If you let it sit too long, it will thicken and you may need to add some juice to get it back to spreading consistency.  Spread carefully on top of cookies and sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.