cinnamon rolls

i am a serious slacker.

i made ALL SORTS of stuff for xmas, and totally forgot to take pictures. duh!

but, one thing i did not make for xmas was cinnamon rolls, and that upset my husband very much. so, i decided to make them for new years instead. you need a bread maker for this recipe (in the past, i kept borrowing my mom's, but, i finally ordered my own!) it is sorta time consuming, in the fact that you pretty much need to hang around the house all day in order to make them, but, perfect for a snowy december day!

here goes ... !

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (heated approximately 1 minute in microwave)

1/4 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature and beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

5 cups bread flour

3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

cinnamon filling (see below)

butter frosting (see below)

Directions:

Add all the ingredients, except the cinnamon filling and the butter frosting, in the bread pan of bread machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough setting (my bread maker - well, my mom's - has a different setting for regular dough vs pizza dough - the regular dough setting take 90 mins). When the bread machine has completed the dough cycle, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. I use my kitchen table.

Form dough into an oval, cover with a plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Butter a 9x13x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
After dough has rested, roll and stretch the dough into approximately a 15x24-inch rectangle.

Brush the softened butter over the top of the dough with a rubber spatula.

Sprinkle cinnamon filling over the butter on the prepared dough.

Starting with long edge, roll up dough; pinch seams to seal.

Rolling the log too tightly will result in cinnamon rolls whose centers pop up above the rest of them as they bake.

With a knife, lightly mark roll into 1 1/2-inch section. Use a sharp knife (I like to use a serrated knife and saw very gently). Place cut side up in prepared pan, flattening them only slightly. The unbaked cinnamon rolls should not touch each other before rising and baking. Do not pack the unbaked cinnamon rolls together.

then, you have TWO OPTIONS:

Refrigerating or Freezing Unbaked Cinnamon Rolls:
At this point, the cinnamon rolls can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight or frozen for 1 month. Before baking, allow rolls to thaw completely and rise in a warm place if frozen (overnight is best).

Bake Immediately After Making:
Cover and let rise in a warm place for approximately 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake approximately 20 minutes until they are a light golden brown.

Let sit for a few minutes, but spread the butter frosting on while still warm.

This recipe was originally meant for 15-16 rolls - but I always end up with only 12 or 13 : ) ENJOY!

CINNAMON FILLING:

1/2 cup butter, melted or softened

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

5 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Soften the butter; set aside. In a bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon

BUTTER FROSTING:

2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar

1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon lemon extract

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon extract or oil until well mixed and creamy.

checkerboard cookies

OK, how COOL do these look?

I have seen pictures of these cookies online before, and thought, 'wow, how awesome!' I am definitely a fan of a dessert that looks fantastic, as well as tastes fantastic! So, I thought I would give them a try!

They turned out fabulous, in both respects - but - oh my god, what a friggin pain in the neck ...don't be fooled by the short ingredient list! The LOOONG directions list makes up for it! But, really, just take your time, read the directions slowly, and when you make these, people will say WOW.

Ingredients:

3 cups hazelnuts, toasted

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (1 medium orange)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake hazelnuts for 15 minutes or until skins start to blister. Remove from oven and wrap in a clean towel so the nuts can 'steam' for 5 minutes. Rub the towel briskly in a back and forth motion to remove the skins from the hazelnuts. Set aside to cool.

When cool, place the hazelnuts in a food processor along with the cocoa powder and process until the hazelnuts are finely ground. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer (or with hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest and beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half and place one half of the dough back into the bowl of your electric mixer. Add the cocoa and hazelnut mixture to the dough and beat until incorporated. Set aside.
Lay out two large sheets of parchment paper (about 10x12), and on one sheet of parchment roll out the white dough into a 6 1/2 inch by 10 1/2 inch rectangle, making sure both sides of the dough are smooth. (OK, do the best you can! This dough is very unhappy!) Wrap dough and place on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until dough is firm.

Meanwhile, take the cbhocolate dough, remove 1/2 cup (used later for wrapping the checkerboard log) and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside. On the second sheet of parchment roll out the remaining chocolate dough into a 6 1/2 inch by 10 1/2 inch rectangle, making sure both sides of the dough are smooth. Wrap dough and place on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until dough is firm.

When both the white and chocolate dough are firm, remove from freezer and lay the white dough on a cutting board, removing the parchment paper. Lightly brush the top of the white dough with a little water (this helps the layers to stick together). Remove the parchment paper from the chocolate dough and place it evenly on top of the white dough. Trim the edges of the two doughs so the rectangle now measures 6 inches by 10 inches. (Take the chocolate dough trimmings and add to the 1/2 cup of reserved chocolate dough.) Lengthwise cut the rectangle into thirds (3 - 2 inch by 10 inch stripes). Place one strip on a piece of plastic wrap. Brush the top of the dough with water and place the second strip on top of the first (alternate colors so you have white, black, white, black pattern). Brush the top of the second layer with water and stack the third layer. Press down lightly on the top of the dough and then wrap and freeze for 15 minutes, or until firm.

When firm, remove from freezer and unwrap, placing the dough on a cutting board. Using a sharp long knife, cut the layers lengthwise into 1/2 inch wide and 10 inch long strips. (You will end up with 4 strips). Stack the layers, turning every other strip so top faces down and bottom faces up, to produce the checkerboard effect. Rewrap stack and place in freezer again to firm up.
Meanwhile, take the reserved chocolate trimmings and 1/2 cup of chocolate dough and roll out on a piece of parchment paper into approximately 9 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle, making sure the dough is smooth. Cover and refrigerate until slightly firm.

Remove stack of checkerboard dough from freezer and place in center of chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the checkerboard layers until you have a smooth surface that encloses the checkerboard design. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm. At this point, you can freeze the dough for up to a month.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (again). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from freezer and place on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut the block of dough into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on prepared baking sheet spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until cookies just start to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to one week.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies