Honey Moon Rolls

Okay...this one's a no-brainer!  It's all in the name...and the shape...and the smell of pastries baking...and the taste...of cheese and honey and nuts and honey...Honey.

Very simple to make, these pastries are homey and warm and taste like love.  

Want to spice things up?  Add a pinch of cinnamon to the cheese mixture...

What's In It:

1 8 oz. tube crescent rolls  

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tbs. honey (Keep the jar handy.  You'll want to drizzle some on top later.)

1/4 sliced almonds

How To Make It:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toast almonds in saute' pan until golden.  Set aside to cool.(Nuts will continue to cook after removing them from heat.  Be careful not to overcook)

Separate dough into 8 triangles.

Beat cream cheese, 2 tbs. honey and cooled almonds until mixed well.

Place 1 tbs. of cheese mixture to the center of each dough triangle.

Roll from widest to smallest end, bending slightly in center to form crescent shape and place on ungreased cooked sheet.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden.

Drizzle with additional honey and serve warm.

Adapted from a recipe found in "tasteofhome".

Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts

There's just something about a nip in the air that lights my fire...and I have to bake.  This time of year the urge hits hardest in the morning, especially weekend mornings when the house is quiet, the air is coolest, and baking smells seem to hang around just a little longer.
A couple of years ago I attempted doughnuts.  I wanted cake doughnuts, the kind with just a touch of spice in the batter, the kind that should only be eaten warm and need nothing more than a dusting of powdered sugar to be delectable.  I found a recipe and set about making them.  The result was less than stellar.  They were misshapen, overcooked and, understandably, went mostly untouched.
Some will say this recipe is cheating.  There is no spice because there is no batter.  This recipe is based on one attributed to Paula Deen, and it uses a can of biscuits instead of batter.
I saw that!  You turned up your nose!  I get it, but take it from a girl who spent the better part of a perfect Sunday morning trying to salvage a bowl of batter only to end up with a grease-soaked, paper-towel-covered plate filled with irregularly shaped blobs of overcooked dough...give yourself a break.  Crack open that can of biscuits..."it's time to make the doughnuts"!

What's In It:

Peanut Oil for frying
1 can (10-12 biscuits) store-bought biscuits (The simpler the better.  You don't need "flaky", and you should avoid those dotted with flecks of imitation butter...yuk)
4 oz. Baker's German Sweet chocolate
1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter (Never margarine, please)
3 c. confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (Never imitation, it matters)

How To Make It:
I recommend you use a Fry Daddy or another deep fryer.  
Following manufacturer's directions, fill fryer with oil and heat to 350 degrees. Separate biscuits and flatten slightly on cutting board dusted with all-purpose flour.  Cut hole in center using smallest biscuit cutter (usually about 1" circumference)
Drop doughnut into fryer and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes before flipping to cook the same amount of time on the other side.  
Remove doughnut to paper towel covered plate.
Repeat with remaining biscuits.  (You may also fry the centers, if you like.  Decrease cooking time accordingly)
Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler or saucepan over very low heat.
Stir in sugar and evaporated milk, alternately.  Mix well.
Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Lower heat and stir while cooking for eight minutes or until mixture thickens.
Stir in vanilla before removing from heat.
Dip doughnuts into chocolate mixture immediately. (I usually use my hands, but you may ring the doughnut on a fork for dipping, if you like.)
Doughnuts should sit for about 5 minutes before serving in order to allow time for the chocolate to set.
 

Easy Sticky Buns

I rarely wake ready to cook.  Flicking the switch on the Keurig is usually the extent of my ambition.

Sometimes, though, I do.  Sometimes, I want to bake something gooey.  The problem with most gooey breakfast concoctions is that they require forward thinking.  They require planning and preparation.  Usually they require rising and/or refrigeration.  Ina Garten, in all her Barefoot Contessa glory, has presented us with a solution to this problem and it comes in the form of puff pastry.  This recipe is based on one she featured on her program in 2008.

It's easy, takes very little time, and good.  Very, very good, actually...

What's In It:

Let's Make the Rolls!
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (Not Margarine!) 
1/3 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed 
1/2 c. roughly chopped pecans
1 pkg. (17.3 oz/2 sheets) puff pastry or phyllo dough, defrosted

Let's Make the Filling!
2 tbl. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 c. brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. raisins (optional)

How To Make It:

Toast pecans for 5 minutes at 400 degrees or by using the "Toast" setting on your toaster oven.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place a 12-cup muffin tin on top.  (This is an important step as it will prevent sugar from burning.)
Combine 1 1/2 sticks of butter with 1/3 c. brown sugar using electric mixer.  Divide mixture among 12 muffin cups.  Distribute pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups by sprinkling them on top of the butter/sugar mixture.
Divide 2/3 c. brown sugar and 3 tsp. ground cinnamon between 2 small bowls.  (Each bowl will contain 1/3 c. brown sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.)
Lightly flour a wooden or stone surface.  (I use a wooden cutting board.)  Unfold 1 roll of pastry so that the shortest side is closest to you.  Brush with 1/2 the melted butter.  Leaving a 1-inch border, sprinkle each sheet with the contents of one bowl of sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Add 1/2 c. raisins, if desired.
Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with seam side down.  Trim ends about 1/2 inch and discard.  Slice in half.  Slice each half, evenly, two more times creating 6 equal pieces.  Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups.  Repeat with second roll of pastry making a total of 12 sticky buns.
Bake for 30 minutes.  Buns should be golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch.  Allow to cool for no more than 5 minutes before inverting buns onto a platter.  Scoop remaining filling and nuts out onto the buns using a spoon.  (I had to urge the buns out as well, but it was worth it!)
Serve warm.
   
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