Donald and I went to Catalina a few weekends back with another couple. We had a great time. Before we left we did a little research online and found a bakery that claimed to have the best cinnamon rolls EVER! So of course, we had to try them. Shortly after we arrived on the island we found the bakery and discovered that they were out of cinnamon rolls but were making more. We decided to wait until the next morning and get a hot out of the oven cinnamon roll to enjoy with our coffee. We were down at the bakery at 5:30 in the morning, anxious to dig in.

What a huge disappointment! While the cinnamon roll was decent, it was not the Best Cinnamon Roll EVER! So I decided to come home and make my own! This recipe was relatively easy and I LOVED the frosting. It was super simple, and had a rich flavor without being too heavy. I mixed the dough in my KitchenAid and then changed to the dough hook and had the mixer do all the kneading too!

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside.

In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg.

Add 2 cups of flour…

and mix until smooth.

Add yeast mixture.

Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle.

Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes, or you could also keep it in the mixer, and use the dough hook to knead it.

Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When doubled in size, punch down dough.

Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle.

Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon…

and sprinkle over buttered dough.

Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired.

Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal.

Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan…

and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency.

Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Yum! The Hallelujah chorus must be playing somewhere right now in honor of this moment.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients-
Dough:
1/4-ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan – I used brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional
Glaze:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 6 tablespoons hot water
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

This Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream is absolutely delicious! When I found the recipe on Pinterest, I was a little hesitant at first- I mean, how much can frozen bananas and peanut butter blended until smooth really taste like real ice cream? Boy, was I surprised! Even using our lousy blender that is on it’s last legs, the ice cream turned out surprisingly creamy and smooth.

We ate some soft-serve style right out of the blender, and froze the rest for a more typical ice cream consistency. When we ate it, we threw in a handful of mini chocolate chips and that, of course, made it even better.

Another benefit of this recipe (aside from the obvious, which is being a healthy alternative to regular ice cream), is that it calls for very ripe bananas, which are normally in abundance at our house, unless of course, we’ve just made Banana Bread.

Because our blender is not super powerful, we added about 2 Tablespoons of milk to help it to puree the frozen bananas, so that’s an option if your blender seems to be having a hard time.

Peel bananas and slice into 1/2 inch discs. Freeze for 1-2 hours. Place the frozen bananas into a blender or food processor.

Puree banana slices, until the mixture is creamy and smooth.

Add the peanut butter and puree to combine.

Two Ingredient Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Ingredients:

4 very ripe bananas

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

1-2 Tablespoons of milk (optional)

Directions:

Peel bananas and slice into 1/2 inch discs. Freeze for 1-2 hours.

Place the frozen bananas into a blender or food processor. Puree banana slices, until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Add the peanut butter and puree to combine.

Serve immediately for soft-serve ice cream consistency. If you prefer harder ice cream, place in the freezer for a few hours and then serve.

Jordan

recipe by: Two Peas and Their Pod.

tags: ice cream, healthy, bananas, blender, peanut butter, dessert, sweets

I’m always baking for Donald and his co-workers, and I often make them banana bread. I don’t always have the yucky brown bananas, so I started looking around for yummy recipes that are easy to transport to the job site. This recipe, which I found on Iowa Girl Eats (iowagirleats.com), is perfect when you have green apples, but are too lazy to make an apple pie (not that I speak from experience or anything).

There’s something about the flavor of this cake that I can’t pinpoint, but that is so unique and yummy. The cake stays super moist and the chunky apples make it hearty. Great for breakfast or dessert (or anytime for that matter). It’s extra good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Preheat oven to 350*. Generously spray a Bundt pan with nonstick spray and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then set aside. Peel, core, and cut up the apples as indicated in the ingredients list.

In an electric mixer, beat butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until pale yellow, about 2 minutes.

Add applesauce, then beat to combine.

Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined before adding the next egg.

Add vanilla then beat to combine. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Remove 2 Tablespoons of flour mixture then toss with cubed apples.

Add remaining dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing until just combined before adding the next batch.

Stir in the apples.

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan…

and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Check cake at 20 minutes- if top is turning too brown, place a sheet of non-stick sprayed tin foil on top. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan…

then run a knife along the inner rim and invert cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Fresh Apple Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce

3 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2-3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch chunks (3 cups total

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350*. Generously spray a Bundt pan with nonstick spray and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then set aside.

In an electric mixer, beat butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add applesauce, then beat to combine. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined before adding the next egg. Add vanilla then beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Remove 2 Tablespoons of flour mixture then toss with cubed apples. Add remaining dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing until just combined before adding the next batch. Stir in the apples.

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Check cake at 20 minutes- if top is turning too brown, place a sheet of non-stick sprayed tin foil on top. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then run a knife along the inner rim and invert cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.

recipe from Iowa Girl Eats (iowagirleats.com). tags: cake, sweets, apple, cinnamon, applesauce