Cinnamon Roll Cookies

   For some reason, whenever I smell cinnamon, I think of Christmas time. My mother would, on occasion, make cinnamon rolls for breakfast on holidays, but I just can't seem to place it. Anyways, with my weird olfactory senses making me think about cinnamon, and my wife begging for a new sugary confection, I found and adapted these cinnamon roll cookies.

   I'm not huge on eating sugar, though I find they taste a LOT like Cinnabon's rolls. Give them a try with the recipe below, or watch me make them here!

Ingredients

Cookies

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Filling

• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze

• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. For the cookies, in a large bowl cream together the ¾ cup butter and granulated sugar and powdered sugar for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add one cup flour, baking powder and salt. Mix. Add remaining flour and mix just until flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and soft. Flatten the dough into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
2. For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Separate the dough into two pieces working with one half at a time, roll it out to about ¼-inch thick and about 15-inches by 4-inches (doesn't have to be exact). Gently spread 2 tablespoons of butter on top of the dough. Sprinkle with ½ of the cinnamon sugar mixture and lightly press the sugar mixture into the dough. Starting with one long edge, roll the dough into a tight log.
3. Using a sharp knife slice the dough into 1-inch pieces. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on very lightly greased baking sheets or parchment paper. Repeat with the second half of the dough and the remaining butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes until set but not overbaked (they should still be pale in color). Let the cookies cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Prepare the glaze by mixing together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until thick and smooth. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk. Continue adding milk, ½ tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is thick but pourable. Drizzle or pipe   over cooled cookies. Store chilled in airtight container.

Strawberry Buckle

   So on my usual strolling through Pinterest recipes, I found something called a strawberry buckle. Now, I'm from Texas, and while I have either lived in or visited nearly every state that doesn't border the Atlantic Ocean, I had never head of this concoction. The base of it was almost gingerbread in flavor, but definitely cake like, and with the fruit and streusel combined with it, turned into a wonderland of sweet-tartness that has definitely earned it's way into our rotation of desserts. You can see me make it here!

Ingredients

For the cake

•   1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
•   1/2 cup packed brown sugar
•   1 egg
•   1/2 teaspoon vanilla
•   2 teaspoons baking powder
•   1/4 teaspoon salt
•   1 1/4 cups plus flour
•   1/3 cup buttermilk
•   2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped

For the streusel

•   1/3 cup flour
•   1/4 cup packed brown sugar
•   1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•   1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•   1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
•   1/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 4 (6-inch) cast iron skillets (or a 10-inch skillet or 9-inch round or square pan).
2. With an electric mixer, cream 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the baking powder and salt and mix well.
4. Add the flour and mix until just moistened. With the blender on low speed, gradually add the buttermilk and mix until smooth.
5. Make the streusel by combining the flour, sugar and spices in a small bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the skillets, or spread evenly into a single pan. Sprinkle the strawberries over the batter, then top the berries with the streusel.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes for individual skillets (40-45 minutes for a larger pan or skillet) or until the top is a light golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Italian Bread Loaf

   Something many of you might not know, is that I suffer from a condition in my lungs. The symptoms are that of COPD, but it isn't nearly as progressive as that disease. It's closer to having an asthma attack 24/7, and while the doctors try to figure out what is going on (diagnosis range from pulmonary hypertension to just plain old scarred up lungs from years of asthma and pneumonia), I have few options for work. My previous employer was Apple, where I spoke to customers on the phone everyday, all day, fixing their computers, and phones, and such. So needless to say, now that I am unable to continuously speak for longer than 3 sentences, without sounding like I just ran a marathon, it's hard to preform on a phone.

   I told you all that, to tell you this... One of the things I miss most about having a job, other than a paycheck, was lunch break. Going to try all the different foods offered in whatever local I was in was a guilty pleasure. This is where I got the drive to actually expand my cooking abilities, because why spend money to buy it, if you can make it at home?

   My second most guilty pleasure in the food world (We will get to #1 another time) was Subway. The smell of the place was amazing. The cheddar jalapeño, the Italian herb ... all the breads we have come to love from that establishment excite my taste buds. So I figured out what I needed, and learned to make it here at the house. So, I give you my version on Italian bread loaf. As always, you can watch me make it here!

Italian Bread Loaf

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• whatever seasonings you want the bread to take on - Italian seasoning, cheddar and chopped jalapeño slices, and caramelized onions are some of my favorites!

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine water and sugar. Mix well until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top of the water, but refrain from mixing. Cover with a tea towel for 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Add flour to water and yeast and mix. Start with one cup of flour, and when that is combined, add your mix in's when the dough is about the consistency of pancake batter. Then continue to add flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough becomes shaggy.
3. Turn out on a floured work surface and knead the dough for approximately 5 minutes, building gluten to the point where you can poke it, and the dough pushes the dent back out. 
4. Shape the dough into a ball and place, covered, in an oiled bowl for 1 hour or until dough has doubled. Heat oven to 350 degrees F., and turn out dough once more. Spread dough into a rectangle shape, about the size of a legal piece of paper. Roll the dough up from the long end like a cinnamon roll, and pinch the seams closed. Fold the ends over, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, seam side down. 
5. Put in oven for approx. 30 to 35 minutes. 
6. Coat with 1 Tbsp. melted butter or olive oil once out of the oven and cooling. Cover with tea towel until it has completed cooling completely. 
7. Enjoy!

White Bread Loaf

   One of my favorite smells growing up was the scent of fresh bread baking. And when it came out of the oven, that first slice was magical, all warm and covered with melted butter! My grandmother was a school cafeteria cook, back when the cafeterias actually made food, instead of just opening cans and throwing stuff in a microwave. And one of the things she made everyday at work, was a yeast roll for every student in the school district. (Keep in mind, at that time in our sleepy little hick Texas town, we had a total student body of around 500 kids... and yes, that was grades K thru 12!

   So on Sundays, instead of spending the money on sandwich bread, she would make a loaf of white bread, just to feed the ensuing gathering of kids and grandkids after church. The woman was a saint, and if not for her, I would never have fed the passion I feel for cooking and baking. So below, I have jotted down her recipe for white bread, and it will make 2 loaves. I believe she adapted it from Julia Childs recipe. You can also watch it being made here!

Julia Child’s White Sandwich Bread

• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 6-6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

   Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and whisk in the sugar. Add the yeast, but do not stir it in.  Let sit for 5 minutes, unit foamy. (If the yeast doesn’t do anything, toss it out and buy fresh yeast.)

   Add the rest of the water and about half of the flour. Stir until well blended. Add the rest of the flour, a cup at a time, the salt, and butter, and stir until well combined and shaggy. Continue to knead until it’s smooth and elastic. Turn the dough out onto the countertop and knead a few times to make sure it’s evenly smooth. At this point, the dough should be tacky, but not clinging to your hands. It should also try to regain it's shape if you poke it. This is gluten at work!

   Shape it into a ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let it sit for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until it’s doubled in size.

   Butter two 4″x8″ loaf pans. 

   Punch the dough down and pat each piece into a rectangle that’s bit bigger than a standard piece of paper.

   Starting at a short end, fold it in thirds, like a letter. Place seam side down in the loaf pans, tucking the ends in. Cover with the tea towel again and leave them for an hour, until they puff right up out of the pan.

   Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves are honey brown. Immediately turn the loaves out of their pans and onto a rack to cool. Then rub the outside of the loaves with a stick of butter, and cover with your towel again. This will add a little flavor to the crust, while keeping it soft and moist.