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Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

We had a finance meeting this weekend, my husband and I.  Do normal people do that?  They must.  Well, must to my surprise (not at all) we were way over on groceries every month.  I usually purchase all the groceries because like every other food lover, the grocery store can make you feel organize, relaxed, and creative all in one trip.  So, oops, at times I let my creative juices flow (no pun intended) and I get a bit carried away, and then just like that we are over budget.  Time to scale back.  What does that mean?  Stop baking?  No way! Start making boxed mac and cheese?  I don’t think so.  It means staring at your fridge until you see one or two ingredients that you don’t want to go bad and so you make something out of it.  Enter cranberries.  Exit delicious Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls.

These are whole wheat, not tons of sugar, and seriously look at that red.  Perfect for the holidays.

They are pretty easy too.  The sauce is not hard, and you get to hear the cranberries “pop.”  My mom says that this reminds her of her mom and when she was little she would wait to hear the cranberries pop. I digress. After you make the dough and let it rise, you spread the cranberry sauce on it like so, and then roll it up.

Let the rolls rise again, put ’em in the over and done! The oranges?  Oh yes, I added a bit of orange juice to the cream cheese frosting.  I have no pictures of that frosting though, because I will tell you that these were so good that a bit of honey and butter will do the trick.  But also, we had oranges lying around and since I’m all about staying on budget, Ill throw whatever I can into a recipe.

Do you have any other saving money tricks or random thrown together recipes?  Please share. As this is a new stage and I need all the help I can get.

Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour {I used Whole Wheat}
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Mix 2 cups of flour and yeast, set aside.  In a sauce pan, heat and stir milk, granulated sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and the salt until just warm and butter almost melts.  Add to flour mixture along with the 2 eggs.  Beat on low for 30 seconds and then on high for 3 minutes.  Scrape the sides of the bowl frequently.  Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Place dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in any remaining flour.  The dough should be moderately soft, and sort of elastic.  Shape dough into a ball, and place into a buttered bowl.  Turn dough over in bowl so the entire dough is touched with butter.  Cover and place in a warm place until dough is doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour, maybe 1.5 hours.

Once dough is double in size, punch the dough down and place on to a lightly floured surface.  Divide dough in half, cover and let rise for 10 minutes. Use this ten minutes to make your filling. (See below)

After ten minutes, roll each dough half into a 12×8 rectangle. {I just got it as close to a rectangle as possible. It took me some time}  Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving 1 inch along the sides of the dough.  Tightly roll up each rectangle long ways.  Once the dough is rolled up, pinch the ends, and cut into 12 equal pieces, or however big you want your rolls to be.  Place into greased  two 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 pans, cover, and let the dough rise another 30 minutes or until it is doubled in size.

Place in preheated 375 degree oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Watch the tops for a golden brown color to test if they are cooked all the way.  Let cool for five minutes, put some butter and honey on top, and enjoy!

Cranberry Filling

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups cranberries
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Heat and stir water and sugar into a medium saucepan until sugar dissolves.  Boil rapidly for 5 minutes.  Add cranberries and allow water to return to boiling, then reduce the heat.  Boil gently for about 3-4 minutes until cranberries “pop”. {I love this part!} Stir occasionally.  Remove from heat. Done and done.

Beef Bourguignon with Rosemary Butter Rolls

I made this for dinner partly because I wanted to and partly because I wanted to make the now quintessential cooking blog dish that has become oh so popular since Julie & Julia.  It turned out delicious, and the best part is that I took a short cut and used my slow cooker.  Partly because I dont have a dutch oven and partly because  I am in grad school and sometimes you don’t have enough time.  But it was delicious, and our guests loved it.  So, mission accomplished.

The other thing I want to say is that these rolls were really good.  But, they do not look as delicious as they did when the Pioneer Woman made it.  And let me just say, we are only one and a half months into my bread journey, so please cut me some slack.

So this experience confirms three items that are on my Christmas list: (given in the order in which I would want them, of course) Pioneer Woman Cooks, Iron Skillet, and Dutch Oven.  Yes, those are links.  Is that too presumptuous?  Maybe.  Sorry.

Beef Bourguignon

1 lb boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 1/2 cupos chopped onion (3 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir or Burdundy wine
3/4 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
3/4 teaspoon dired marjoram, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
3 cups whole fresh mushrooms
2 cups 3/4-inch pieces carrot (4 medium)
1 cup pearl onions, peeled, or frozen small whole onions
2 tablespoons buter or margarine, softened
2 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled
3 cups hot cooked noodles or 1 recipe Mashed Potatoes
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

Brown meat, chopped onion, and garlic in hot oil. In a 3 1/2-or 4-quart slow cooker layer mushrooms, carrot and pearl onions.  Omit flour and butter or margarine.  Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca.  Place meat mixture on top of vegetables.  Add thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.  Decrease wine to 1 1/4 cups and beef broth to 1/2 cup; pour over meat.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaves. Stir in bacon.

Buttered Rosemary Rolls.  Trust me, Pioneer Woman knows her stuff.

You Voted and I Got Into the Kitchen

I had a little vote going on the blog, and I was thrilled that you all voted.  It’s still up on the right hand side if you want to check out the results.  Basically, I had a friend Kyle who requested Banana Dark Chocolate Ice Cream and you all chose the mix in.  As you can see, the votes were tied between carmel and nuts.  I was shocked by this.  I wanted to add sprinkles, but I am glad I went with you all.  Smart ones you are. It was so good.

I decided to make Roasted Banana Ice Cream out of David Lebovitz’s book, The Perfect Scoop.  It’s also on my Christmas list if you were wondering.  So of course, you will need bananas, ripe ones.  This was hard for me, letting them sit and become ripe.  I really, really dislike ripe bananas.  Green ones, a bit chalky, that is my favorite.  

And your choice, a little carmel sauce.  This was gooey, very gooey.

But seriously, what caramel is not gooey?

And you will need some dark chocolate.  This one is 73%.  I was a little nervous about this addition because dark chocolate can be bitter.  But it turned out great, and any other kind would have been a bit too much sweet.

Ok. Confession time.  1.) I do not have a photo of any ice cream for you because every last bite was eaten the night I served it.  All that was left was little measly bit, and it took a bit of hiding to keep this in tact.  I’m sorry.  2.) You might be wondering where the nuts are.  I cheated.  After I tasted this delicious ice cream I could not think of it having nuts in it.  So, I served it with my Brown Sugar Pound Cake.  See?  It’s not all the way cheating, just placing the nuts elsewhere.  Don’t be mad.  Vote again.  My creativity got the best of me.


Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.  You are great.  So anyway, enjoy the creation that you helped make.  It’s delicious, and believe me this: the cake adds a whole other dimension.  




Roasted Banana Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Chunks and Caramel Swirl
(Adapted from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop)


3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes, sitrring just once during baking, until the bannanas are browned and cooked through.

Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a blender or food processor.  Add the milk, granulated sugar,vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, and puree until smooth.

Chill the mixture throughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  If the chilled mixture is too thick to pur into your machine, whisking it with thin it out.  During the last 5 minutes of mixing, add the dark chocolate chunks that have been cut to your ideal size.  


When freezing process is completed, transfer ice cream to air tight container.  Place ice cream in thirds, adding a layer of caramel between each layer of ice cream.  

Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

“Hi. Dad.”

“Oh, hi Bonnie. What are you doing?”

“I’m getting ready for class.  It was so beautiful here today.  In the high 70’s I think.”

“Oh really?  It was freezing here.  So guess what I have.”

“What? Your jacket?”

“No.  I bought two pumpkin pies and whipped cream.”

And he ate them both.  That night. After dinner.

Because, you see that is how my dad is.  A food machine.  His metabolism is the speed of light and for as long as I can remember he will eat a full dinner and then a large dessert of some sort.  Pumpkin pies.  A box of cookies.  A pint of ice cream.  And, never has gained an ounce.  He’s a runner, like father like daughter, and so it melts right off him.  He is cut up, in fact my husband said once when we were at the beach and he saw my dad with his shirt off, that he looked like batman.

But look, we all dont have the ability to consume two pies and never see it.  But we all do love a good, delicious, fall treat.  So please, do yourself a favor and try this.  It’s. so. delicious.  Its made with non-fat yogurt, and yes there is sugar, but if you use organic then you are better off.  My guest Martha who ate this said “this may be the best frozen yogurt I have ever eaten.”  Serious.  What a compliment.  I’m blushing.   My husband added some whipped cream to it and declared it wonderful, and of course I followed suit with an additional squirt of chocolate syrup.

Buy an extra can of pumpkin and give this a whirl.

Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt


1 cup milk  {I used Almond Milk}
2 cups plain yogurt {I used non-fat}
1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon {I used whatever I felt like here. I LOVE cinnamon}
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg {Again, whatever looked pretty}
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup of pumpkin puree {If you have a 15 oz can, this will give you a bit left over. No worries, just mix it with a bit of butter in the food processor, with some spices and sugar to taste and bam you have enough pumpkin butter for a few slices of toast.}


Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Blend, or process, until smooth.  Place all ingredients into ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and when finished, enjoy.  

Morning Tea

About once a year I get sick, or start to get sick and I begin to down gallons of hot tea to get rid of the scratch in my throat.  By the time the two week period is over and I remember how much I love tea, and I swear off coffee.  For a while, it doesn’t even appeal to me.  But then, about 8 months down the road, I decide I want a latte.  For no reason, I just do.  So I get one, and what do you know?  I board that coffee train like nobody’s business.  Until, about 4 months later, I start to get sick again…and well, the vicious cycle starts over again.  Sigh. I am currently in the tea part of the cycle.

I have sort of this connection with tea and I don’t really know why.  When I go home, I immediately make sure that everyone knows that I want to tour the Celestial Seasonings plant.  And, my husband’s grandma used to work for Bigelow Tea.  So, maybe it’s in my blood, or maybe I just love to collect tons of tea bags that take up and entire shelf as well as a large glass jar on my counter.  Oh well.  If you have enough good books, which I do, then you can never have too much tea.

Dear Vanilla Carmel Tea,

     You are making my holidays so very festive.  You wake me in the morning, satisfy my sugar cravings in the afternoon, yet you give me enough clam and relaxation to still sleep at night.  And, you never complain that I like you both as you are, and dressed up for a night on the town.  I mean, you look good with a little milk, a little sweetener, and some whipped cream.  But it’s better than looking good.  You taste delicious.  You do.  Please don’t leave me when the holiday season is over.  Please stay stocked at my local store.  And if you aren’t planning on it, then tell me.  Cause Ill need to empty another cabinet and fill it with just…you.  It’s been a week and I’ve been through a box.  Please stay close to me forever.

                                                                                                              Love,
                                                                                          
                                                                                                       Bonnie the Baker

And yes, I just wrote a post about putting milk, sugar, and whipped cream on top of a hot tea that I made hot in the microwave.  That just happened.

Sour Cream Bread

I can not begin to tell you how wonderfully moist this bread is.  I had a tub of sour cream and I did not know what to do with it.  I also got two great bread books for my birthday from my husband and sister, because the year of not purchasing bread and ice cream has begun.  So I flipped through and I found this recipe.  I was hesitant, but so glad I made it.  I love when random ingredients come together and make something delicious.

Before I get into the recipe, though, I must tell you about this book my husband got for me: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. It’s beautiful.  Like when I tell you that my food was so pretty I could barely eat it, that is how I feel about this book.  The pictures are wonderful, the writing is so descriptive and I love that it has all sorts of breads, recipes, and techniques.  I think it’s important to really learn the technique behind cooking and baking, not just do it.  I would highly recommend this book for those who feel the same.  Good job, husband.

The second book I received for my birthday was from my sister.  It’s Beard on Bread, and frankly, it’s awesome.  This is where the recipe came from.  Oh, yeah.  The forward is written by Chuck Williams of Williams-Sonoma.  What is not to love about that?  Page turner.  I’m serious.  I’m aware it’s just about bread.  Good find, sister.

So what do you do with sour cream bread?  I think this is my favorite part.  You can put butter and jam on it, make mini sandwiches or, do what I did and make mini appetizers for you and a friend.  Or just eat 97% of them and tell the other person that the rest are for them.  That’s what I did too.  These little guys are simply fresh caught tuna steak, cooked in a peach salsa, cut up and mixed with a dab of mayo and mustard, and laid on a bed of spinach, which of course, was on toasted sour cream bread.  I’m telling you, this bread is so diverse, I. just. love. it.

Sour Cream Bread via Beard on Bread

1 package active dry yeast

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup warm water (100 to 115 degrees, approximately)

2 cups sour cream

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Combine the yeast, sugar, and water, and all to proof for five minutes.  (This means that you let it sit for a few minutes.  If the yeast it good, it should expand an form bubble on the top.  See?  You learn something new every day!) Put the sour cream, salt, and soda in a mixing bowl.  Add the yeast mixture. Then add 4 cups of the flour, cup by cup, to make a very wet, sticky dough, beating hard with a wooden spoon after each addition.  Scrape out onto a lightly floured board. Using a baker’s scraper or spackling knife, lift the flour and the dough, and fold the dough over.Turn it clockwise slightly and repeat the lifting and folding process until the dough is less sticky and can be worked with your hands.  Add only flour to prevent sticking.   (This entire kneading should take about 10 minutes, possibly longer if you are inexperienced.) {Beard’s words, not mine.} Shape the dough into a ball, place in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat it with the butter.  Cover with plastic and let sit in a warm spot until doubled in size.

     Punch the dough down. turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for a minute, then divide into two equal pieces.  Butter two 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf tins. Shape the dough into loaves and fit into the tins. Cover loosely and let rise again until doubled.   Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on top and bottom.  Cool thoroughly before slicing.  {I always skip this step.  Let cool?  Are you kidding me?  I want the butter to melt right before my eyes. Immediately.}

Bonnie the Baker’s First Press!

Have you been to Foodbuzz?  Well, you should go.  It’s a wonderful site full of fun recipes, fun people, and creative ideas.  Seriously, I go there and I get instantly hungry.  Well, the wonderful people at foodbuzz have made me a Featured Publisher!  I am so very excited, and honored, and I can’t believe that little Bonnie the Baker has recipes that others want to see, and well, taste!

So go ahead, click the link to the right and visit Foodbuzz, you will not be disappointed.  Oh, and, if you are feeling up for it, give me a bit of love and vote for me on Foodbuzz.

Here is a bit of info if you want a quick tutorial on what Foodbuzz is about.  They just had their first Foodbuzz Blogger’s Conference, and it looks so fun! I can only hope to attend next year!

Thank you Foodbuzz, I wont disappoint! http://www.foodbuzz.com/pages/festival

Brown Sugar Pecan Pound Cake

Pound cake is dense, and I feel like I’m really getting the bang for my buck when I eat it.  No offense to Angel food lovers, but I don’t want to eat dessert and feel like I was real healthy about it.  I’ll save that for a spinach salad.  Or smoothie.  But when it comes to dessert, go big or go home, at least that’s what I say, and according to her million dollar recipe, so does Martha Stewart.

Good ol’ Martha, she knows what’s good for you.  Lots of eggs for protein, tons of butter for good taste, and enough brown sugar to last a life time.

Oh yeah, salt and vanilla extract.  I love vanilla.  As a kid, it was always the ingredient that I wanted to put in the mixture.  I love watching it get caught up in the batter by the swirling of the mixer.  So pretty and fun, I rarely measure it out because it takes away from the swirling effect as it pours out of the bottle.  That means that most of my recipes have too much vanilla.  Oh. Well.

And, of course, a little tea to go with the cake is the perfect comparison.  What is your favorite tea?  Irish Breakfast Tea with a bit of milk and sugar. Pumpkin Spice Tea with milk and maple syrup.  Vanilla Chai with Hazelnut creamer. Need I go on?  If you are not a tea consumer, you should start. Tea is a perfect companion to delicious desserts, and I’m pretty sure that Martha would agree that Pound Cake and Tea go together like  cream and sugar. Which, of course,  are two essential elements in anything delicious.  I love coming full circle.  Enjoy your pound cake!

Martha Stewart’s Brown Sugar Pecan Pound Cake via Martha Stewart Living

(Martha’s was actually Brown Sugar Walnut, but I adore Pecans way too much to leave them out of this)

1 pound (3 1/4 cups) of all-purpose flour  (I used whole wheat.  Not sure if that’s ok, but I did it anyway)

1 tablespoon coarse salt

4 sticks unsalted butter

9 large eggs (room temperature)

2 cups brown sugar 

2 cups roasted pecans

Preheat oven to 400 and place a few handfuls of pecans on a baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes, stirring half way through.  Check the time and make sure they do not get burned, or you will have to do it over again (Martha does not suggest your brown the nuts, but for pecans, I think it brings out some flavor).

Reduce oven to 325.  Butter two 5-by-9 inch loaf pans. Combine 1 flour and salt in a bow.  Soften butter and cream with brown sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for about 8 minutes. (That Martha knows her time, it was literally 8 minutes on the dot.)  Scrape down sides of bowl.  Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.  Lightly beat eggs and add in 4 separate additions to the flour mixture, mixing until just together.  Fold in pecans.  Divide batter and tap on counter to distribute evenly throughout the pan. Use knife or scraping tool to smooth the top of batter.  Bake for about 65 minutes, or until a tested inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans, on top of cooling racks for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely.  Enjoy.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Sometimes you have guests who are vegans.  Sometimes you just don’t have eggs or milk, and you pretend that you always cook vegan.  Either way, this cake did the trick.  I got the recipe from Joy the Baker.  She is so very creative, and although they look delicious which usually means hard and complicated, they are not that bad.

To grease a pan, I always use butter.  I love butter.  When people skip the butter, it baffles me. You are right, butter is not vegan.  So if you want to make this truly vegan, then please grease the pan with something vegan approved. Your choice.

My mom got me these measuring spoons.

She is a librarian, that’s how cute she is.

Oh.  Oops. Did I forget to tell you that the thing that makes this cake so moist, and the main ingredient in the frosting was avocado?  Yes, yes I did.  I apologize.  But would you have kept reading?

Probably not. I tricked you.

But if the green is too much for you, just dye the frosting.
You know, season specific.

And I added a bit of garnish with the chocolate chips.  Not to mention the flowers courtesy of my husband, and the vintage cake stand really adds a bit of charm.

Thank you Joy the Baker. This was de.li.cious.

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake (Via Joy the Baker)

3 cups of flour (called for all purpose, I used wheat)

6 tablespoons of unsweetened coco powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups of granulated sugar

1/4 cup of vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

1/2 cup soft avocado

2 cups water

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch rounds.  Set aside.

Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar.  Set that aside too.

Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado.

Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.

Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.

Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting with avocado buttercream.

Avocado Butter Cream Frosting

8 ounces of avocado meat, about 2 small to medium, very ripe avocados

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peel and pit the soft avocados.  It’s important to use the ripest avocados you can get your hands on.  If the avocados have brown spots in the meat, avoid those spots when you scoop the meat into the bowl.

Place the avocado meat into the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment.  Add lemon juice and whisk the avocado on medium speed, until slightly lightened in color and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and beat.  Add vanilla extract until combined.  If not using right away, store in the refrigerator.  Don’t worry.  It won’t turn brown!

Note: Clearly, butter is not Vegan.  I know this.  I called it Vegan because it is the official title of where I got this from.  As the comments suggest, if you want it purely Vegan, please do not use butter.