Creme Puffs

2011. Those four numbers put together are very significant to me. In 2011, I will be married to my wonderful husband for 10 years. In 2011, our oldest child will start kindergarten. In 2011, I will turn 30 years old, and look back at my life so far with the utmost joy. In 2011, I will have the same best friend for the last 20 years. We have experienced first kisses, first broken hearts, college, weddings, breast cancer, and child birth together.

So many things about life have built me into the strong, smart, independent woman I am now. Every time I've been tripped up by life, I've had someone there that loves me to help me back up. Every struggle I've gone through I've had a best friend there to comfort me.

I didn't make any new years resolutions this year. Resolutions seem to be made to be broken. But I have so many dreams and wishes that I am going to watch come true this year instead. In 2011, I am going to not care about my scale, but instead my energy level and how my body feels. I am going to treat my body like I do my family...with love and respect. I will respect my body by feeding it healthy food, exercising regularly and sleeping plenty.

In 2011, I am going to do a better job at being a friend, a wife, and a mom. Somewhere along the line, the calendar started flipping my months instead of days. My children grew, my friends became busy with their children, my husbands business flourished. And now it feels like I'm missing chunks of time. So this year, I will stop for coffee with friends, I will bake cookies for no reason and drop them off at friends' houses, I will eat dinner by candle light with my husband, and I will waste entire Saturdays at the park with my kids. I will neglect nothing by my dirty laundry.

So here's to a great year ahead of us!

Pastry Puffs

1 Cup Water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 - 2 cups flour
4 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a sil-pat.

In a saucepan, bring the water, butter and sugar to a boil over high heat. Immediately remove from heat once boiling starts and with a wood spoon stir in all-purpose flour. Continue to stir until the mixture begins to pull away from sides of pan (about 2 minutes), as pictured below.

Let mixture slightly cool (about 2 minutes) and add eggs, one at a time and stirring after each addition, until batter comes together.

Transfer batter into a piping bag or ziplock bag and cut off corner of bag about 1/2" up the side. Pipe into desired sized mounds (1" apart) onto lined baking sheets.

Bake 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until your puffs are golden brown and feel light and hollow in the center...about 20 minutes.


I filled mine with whipped cream and dipped them in melted semi-sweet chocolate! Delicious!!
(To make whipped cream, combine 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 3 tablespoons sugar, then whip until light and fluffy).

Enjoy!

Beer Bread

I love this bread during the holidays. It is great for cutting up into cubes and used with your favorite dips as an appetizer. It is a pretty hardy bread and won't break apart when dip is smeared all over it! My favorite is to dip this bad boy into spinach dip and eat it accompanied by a nice cold beer. Remember...if you wouldn't drink it, then don't bake with it. So you'll have to actually sacrifice one can of your favorite beer for this recipe, but it is well worth it!

Beer Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 can (12 ounces) of your favorite beer
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Grease an 8"x4" loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, salt and beer. Mix well (it easier if you let the beer foam subside then stir). Pour into the loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes. At the last 3 minutes of baking, brush melted butter over the top of loaf and continue baking for the final 3 minutes.

Sticky Buns

I love the holiday season simply because it gives me the excuse to bake everything that is not good for me. Especially sticky buns. I NEVER make sticky buns unless winter and Christmas is close. Then I have an excuse to wear a ridiculously large sweater to cover up the sticky buns that have...well...stuck themselves directly to MY buns.

Mmm...see all that gorgeous caramel in the bottom of the pan? During the months of November and December only it is fat free caramel. Just pretend and when you consume half the pan you won't feel so bad!

One other great thing about sticky buns is when its freezing cold outside you have an excuse to run your oven half the day and heat up your kitchen. Then you should probably go and run your butt off on the treadmill because you are definitely going to need it!

Sticky Buns
slightly adapted from Cheeky Kitchen

Basic Roll Dough
2 cups warm water (115 degrees)

3 3/8 teaspoons yeast

1/2 cup sugar

3/8 cup eggs, beaten (its 1 1/2 eggs)

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

5-6 cups all purpose flour

Sweet Roll Filling

4 tablespoons cinnamon

1 cup soft butter

2 cups brown sugar

Sticky Caramel Topping
1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup dark karo syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add warm water, yeast and sugar. Let set for 5-10 minutes until the yeast activates and forms a foam on top of the water. Add eggs, butter and salt and mix on low with the dough hook attachment about 2 minutes, until ingredients are combined. Add 5 cups of flour and mix on low about 5 minutes until dough becomes elastic and starts to clean away from side of the bowl. Add up to 1 additional cup of flour if needed. The dough is supposed to be light and slightly sticky. Oil a large glass bowl and place dough in bowl, turning so the greased side is up. Cover lightly with a layer of plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.

Stir ingredients for the filling together in a bowl until well combined. Roll dough out into a 9"x24" rectangle. It will end up roughly 3/4" thick. Using a rubber spatula, carefully spread filling over entire surface of dough and roll the long way into a log and pinch together the seam. Cut rolls 1" thick, so you get 24 rolls.

Now we need to prepare the sinfully delicious topping! In a sauce pan, melt butter over medium high heat until melted. Whisk in remaining ingredients and bring just to boiling. Remove from heat and pour into four 8" round cake pans.

Place 6 rolls into each pan on top of caramel sauce. Allow rolls to raise for about 30 minutes until they have not quite doubled in size. I usually raise them just until the rolls start to touch.

Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes just until rolls start to turn brown on the edges.

When you remove rolls from the oven, if you are going to serve them right away, place a plate on top of pan and quickly invert rolls onto the plate. The caramel is HOT so be careful! If you'd like to freeze them for later, I simply cover cake pans with 2 layers of tight tinfoil and freeze. To reheat, place rolls still covered in tinfoil in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes and invert onto a plate after removing from oven.

Enjoy, Enjoy, and then run on your treadmill. Then congratulate yourself for working out with another sticky bun. Repeat process until they're gone.

Fish Cakes

Winter has taken over. The once green grass is covered in white snow. My once dry driveway is covered in ice. The once full green trees are now bare. The bird bath that once had doves bathing in it is now holding 6 inches of snow and there are no birds to be seen.

So, every once in a while when its especially chilly out (like the day after Thanksgiving when it was a whopping 12 degrees) I have to close my eyes and pretend I'm in tropical paradise. I make fish cakes and a pina colada with a little umbrella and imagine the sun beating down on my face. Then one of the kids scream and I'm home again in the cold snow. Nice try though, huh?

Fish Cakes

2 pounds Tilapia
2 cups panko bread crumbs
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cups flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon dill (Fresh or dried)
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Canola oil for frying

Chop fish fillets into about 1/4" to 1/2" chunks and place in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.

In a 12" cast iron skillet, add enough oil to cover bottom of pan about 1/4" deep. Heat oil over medium high heat.

Form about 1/2 cup of fish mixture into a patty and cook on each side 3-5 minutes, until they are golden brown. It will probably take 2 batches to cook all the patties.

Place cakes on a paper towel to remove excess oil and serve with your favorite tarter sauce, pretend you are basking in the sun on a tropical island and enjoy!

Orange Rolls

I spent the entire day Saturday in the kitchen with my mom. The weather has officially switched to winter. Its cold...and snowing...and cold...did I mention that already? I can't think of a better way to waste a weekend then by spending it in the kitchen with the woman that taught me to cook. There was flour everywhere. There was sugar everywhere. There were dirty dishes everywhere...anyone what to come over and wash them for me? No? I don't blame you...I don't want to wash them either!

Brown sugar, butter and orange zest...the thoughts of cold and snow are melting from my brain. All I can think about now is the sweet filling in these rolls!

Orange Rolls:

For the Rolls
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (.25 oz package)
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
zest of two oranges

For the Glaze:
3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
juice of 1/2 orange
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat milk and water in a sauce pan until mixture reaches 120 degrees. Pour milk and water into your stand mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment. Add sugar and yeast and put mixer on stir just so it make one loop around. Let mixture set about 5-8 minutes until it froths (yeast activating).
Add egg, butter, salt and flour and mix on low speed for roughly 5-8 minutes until dough becomes elastic and should start to pull away from side of the bowl. The dough will still be sticky.

Grease a large bowl. Add dough to bowl and turn dough over so the top is greased. Place dough in a warm draft free place to raise for roughly one hour until it has doubled in size. I like to turn the oven on 400 degrees for 2 minutes, turn oven off, then place bowl in the oven.

Meanwhile, make your filling by adding sugar, butter and zest into a small bowl and mashing together with a fork until mixture is well combined.

Punch down dough and place on your floured countertop. Roll dough into 24"x6" rectangle. Spread filling mix onto dough with a rubber spatula, making sure to cover the entire surface. Roll dough the long way into a log and pinch the seam together. Cut rolls 1" wide. Know what my mom just taught me? Slide a piece of dental floss under the dough, and cross over the top, pulling quickly. This will give you a nice clean cut without smooshing your rolls.

Place rolls on a baking sheet about 1/2" apart so they have room to raise. Cover with a dish towel and allow 45 minutes to raise. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until rolls are lightly browned on top. Allow rolls to completely cool.

For glaze, whisk together butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, almond extract, orange juice and salt until icing is smooth and creamy. Top cooled rolls and ENJOY!

Fudge

What do you have better to do then make fudge when you wake up in the morning and find 2" of snow blanketed across your front yard? Well, make fudge and pumpkin chocolate chunk blondies and a LARGE cup of coffee. Make sure you get your chocolate fix so that when you come to the reality that for the next 4 months you'll have to get up 30 minutes earlier every morning so that you can wrap the kids in hats, scarfs, mittens, snow pants, jackets and boots you'll be able to handle it. It is very important to be properly caffinated and sugared when you come to such realizations.

Fudge (Recipe from My Baking Addiction)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Line a 9" or 8" square pan with tin foil so you can easily lift the fudge out to cut it into chunks. Set aside.

In a sauce pan over low heat, add chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and salt and stir until all chips are melted. Remove from heat and stir in chopped nuts and vanilla extract. Spread evenly into foil covered pan and chill for 3 hours until fudge is firm. Remove from foil and place on a cutting board and cut into desired size squares.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Blondies

Continuing with my pumpkin addiction, I found these over at My Baking Addiction. Oh, they smelt so so good baking in the oven I couldn't wait to taste them. I dug my fork into the corner of the pan straight from the oven and moaned when the first taste of pumpkin and chocolate melted on my tounge. Goodness I love pumpkin, and chocolate.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Blondies

Recipe from My Baking Addiction (Click here to see her post)

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree

2 cups dark chocolate chunks

3/4 cups roughly chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside, please.

In your mixer bowl, add butter and sugars and beat with the paddle attachment until butter is light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Then add pumpkin puree and continue to beat until combined. The orignal blogger said the batter might curdle, but don't be frightened...Mine did and all turned out fine!

Turn mixer to low and add dry ingredients until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans by hand. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan and ENJOY!