Monday, May 20, 2013

One Hour Coffee Cinnamon Scrolls

It's a chilly wind that blows here today. There are few things that I enjoy more on days like this than baking bread and having that heavenly scent fill the house. But being a busy mum, it's sometimes hard to get time to fully enjoy the process of bread making, because it can span over the best part of the morning or afternoon and get in the way of other household duties. That's only one reason why I love this recipe--it only takes one hour of your time from the very first addition to the clean bowl to the removal from the oven. One hour! And only 10 minutes of that is kneading time, so I don't think we can complain too much there, especially if you have a mixer that will do the job for you. I don't--I don't think I would feel I had really made the bread if I hadn't done some of the kneading by hand.
I halved the original recipe and it still makes oh so many delicious scrolls! There's only one problem--the original recipe calls for three eggs, so halving the recipe means dividing one egg in half. I don't know if the half egg makes much difference or not, but I've never had any qualms about dividing an egg and throwing half of it down the plug hole. Maybe if you have extra large eggs you could just use the one (as I have stated in the recipe). It's up to you--skip the half egg or add it, or make the entire amount and dally out the delicious sticky loot among your friends (there's no way one family can get through the amount the original recipe makes, as these are best eaten on the day of making).



ONE HOUR COFFEE CINNAMON SCROLLS (Adapted from Valley Ridge Recipes)

DOUGH:

1 3/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp. dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 extra large egg (alternately 1 1/2 regular eggs)
5 1/2 cups plain flour

Place the water, sugar, oil and yeast in a large bowl and mix together. Let this mixture stand for 15 minutes.
Then add the salt, egg and the flour. Mix together into a soft dough and knead for 10 minutes, adding a little more flour if necessary so it does not stick to your hands. Lightly oil the bottom of the bowl, and let the kneaded dough sit in there for 10 minutes.
Lightly cover your work area with a little oil. Place the dough on this prepared surface and roll out into a rectangle about 1 cm thick.

CINNAMON FILLING:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsps cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

Heat the oven at 200C.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl until well incorporated. Brush the melted butter over the surface of the rolled dough, and evenly sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Firmly roll the dough into a roll beginning with the long side. Cut the dough into 12 even portions. Arrange neatly on a lined baking tray about 2-3 cm apart from each other. You can let them sit and rise a little for 10 minutes if you want, or put them straight in the preheated oven. Cook  for 12-15 minutes until very lightly browned on top. Remove and cool on tray.

COFFEE ICING:

1-2 tbsp instant coffee
boiling watericing sugar
2 tbsp thickened cream

In a small bowl, place the instant coffee granules with enough boiling water to dissolve it, about 2 tablespoons. When dissolved, stir through 1/4 cup icing sugar and the cream. Gradually add more icing sugar until you reach a desired consistency. Some people prefer it thick, but I like mine a bit runny. Add water if necessary until it is the way you prefer. Drizzle over the cooked scrolls and serve.



Sunday, May 19, 2013

Choc Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Most people wouldn't believe me when I said I have 6 brothers.
And that I was rarely teased by them.
But both are true.
I can remember just about every instant that I was teased, because it was so infrequently. I'm a super sensitive type, so I suppose that is maybe the reason I didn't get teased as much as most people would have been in my situation.
One instance I remember being teased, if it can be called that, is when my brother told me that I was going to get worms all throughout my body from eating raw pastry dough. I loved eating those "scraps" that were cut off my mother's quiches, and it terrified me that I was full of worms from eating so much of it.
So you can imagine my slight hesitation when I looked at Mis-Cakes Oven Adventures S'mores Cookie Dough Bites recipe and discovered them to be completely raw. I loved the sound of it, but the memories of that pastry incident flooded back, and I had a good laugh.

I made them, ate a few and felt like a very naughty little child for doing so. There's something so wrong about eating raw dough and not at least putting a bit of it in the oven. 

So wrong, but so right, because it's so yummy and you know none of it has to be baked. It's a completely safe recipe, as it contains no eggs, so even heavily pregnant me was able to delight in them. It would be the perfect snack to whip up for a ladies night in.
I didn't have any marshmallows on hand, so I can't honestly say that they are s'mores dough bites. I think they would be amazing with the addition of the sweet and spongy marshmallow bits though. I dipped mine in a little chocolate to make up for the lack of marshmallow. 
Don't forget to head over to check out the other recipes from The Secret Recipe Club reveal!


CHOC CHIP COOKIE DOUGH BITES (Adapted from Mis-Cakes Oven Adventures)

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, plus an extra 1/2 cup for melting and dipping if desired
1/2 cup coarsely crushed biscuits

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the milk and vanilla and stir until just combined. Add the flour. Beat until a firm dough forms and all ingredients are incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and crushed biscuits, reserving a few tablespoons of the crumbs for sprinkling later. Stir into the mixture until combined. Roll into balls about the size of a walnut, placing each on a baking tray lined with with non stick baking paper.
Refrigerate for half an hour. Meanwhile, melt the extra chocolate chips. Dip half of each refrigerated dough ball in the melted chocolate and sprinkle with the reserved crumbs. Serve chilled.



Thursday, May 9, 2013

Mother's Day Ideas

Mother's Day--don't let her be the one who makes the cake! Although I will be, but it's only because I enjoy it so damn much. In fact, it's not a cake as such, but a Tim Tam Malt Ice cream bomb with chocolate ganache. I am sure it will make an appearance on here in the very short future. So hold your horses and keep your eyes peeled--I can't help but think it's going to be insanely scrumptious. But what about you? What's cooking for Mother's Day? Here's a secret--mums don't really care what they get or what you do, it really is the thought that counts and the fact that you made an effort and remembered. So you don't have to go out and buy something super expensive. I would say most mums would probably treasure something hand made more than anything--a piece of you! I'm a mum, I would know, right?
So here's a few ideas of edible gifts you can make yourself for Mother's Day. Hope you spoil her!


Giant Sugar Coated Rose Petal Cake--recipe here.


Raspberry Lemonade Slice--recipe here.


Pink Pancakes with Strawberry Jam and Strawberry Oreo Crumble--recipe here.


Strawberry Oreo Kulter Hund Chunks--recipe here.


Glazed Raspberry Swirl Scrolls--recipe here.


Almond Meringue Sea Shells--recipe here.


Chocolate Fudge Marshmallow Cupcakes--recipe here.


Forbidden Fairy Foam--recipe here.


Monte Carlo Cheesecakes--recipe here.