Day 26 - Cinnamon Rolls

Mmmm...cinnamon rolls.  This recipe I found in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, p. 530; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Cinnamon Rolls
1 package dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
4½ cups white flour (approximately)
1 cup lukewarm milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup raisins (I omitted these)
Milk
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 teaspoons warm water

 Stir the yeast into ¼ cup warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.  Add the dissolved yeast and 3 cups of the flour to the milk and blend well.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.  Add the granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, eggs, butter, and 3/4 cup of the flour and blend. 

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently, slowly adding the remaining 3/4 cup of flour until the dough can be easily handled.  Knead in the raisins.  Pull off pieces of dough the size of medium lemons, roll each about 8 inches long, and wind it into a coil. 

Arrange on two buttered 9-inch cake pans, cover and let rise until double in bulk, then brush tops with milk.

They certainly did rise!

 Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Bake rolls for 25 minutes.  Mix the confectioners' sugar and vanilla with 4 teaspoons warm water to make a glaze, and spread a thin layer on rolls immediately after removing from the oven.

The house is filled with the smell of cinnamon.  How is it that because we live at a slightly higher elevation and I need to leave things in to bake longer than the recipes call for that these cinnamon rolls were left in for exactly 24:35 (when I removed them because it smelled as if I should (you know what I mean)) and the tops and bottoms were darker than they should've been?  What the heck?  There's something wrong with that picture.  I walked into the kitchen at the 24:30 mark and was very happy that I did.
     Despite the browned outer layers, the inside was very soft and delicious.  The creamy icing was really good, too.  I doubled the icing because we like them ooey-gooey-sticky-all-over-your-fingers-good.  My grandmother used to make her own cinnamon rolls when I was a kid, but I don't have that recipe.  There are quite a few recipes I am going to need to retrieve from my aunt (oh my gosh!  I just pronounced it 'ant' in my head!  I've never said it that way aloud or otherwise.  I'm from back east, we say 'ahnt' - guess I've been away too long).  Grandma's, if I remember correctly, had a sugar and cinnamon mixture rolled up in the middle.  The ones I made had the cinnamon mixed directly into the dough and it was quite good that way, too.
    The rating:  3 rolling pins.
     Happy baking!

Day 22 - Banana Cake

      I had so much to say earlier in the day about so many different things and now it's all gone from my head.  I was going to start the blog, but was busy doing administrative stuff for it (haha - it sounds so official) and so many ideas started flying into my head.  I'm so excited!  

     Today it was (drum roll)...Banana Cake with Portsmouth Frosting.  I've always had an affection for banana cake; so much so that when I stopped working at the veterinary clinic last May one of our wonderful employees, Briana, asked what kind of cake I'd like as a going-away cake.  She is a phenomenal baker and and made such beautiful cakes, especially at Halloween.  They were always so decorative and it was obvious she put a lot of thought and time into them.  I wanted something different than the typical chocolate or vanilla, so I told her banana.  She had never made one before, so she was a little concerned about how it would taste and said it was the very first cake she had ever made from scratch.  It was exactly what I requested and was absolutely delicious!  Both the frosting and cake were perfect and I was very honored that she did that for me.  Thank you again, Briana!

I have a recipe for banana cake from another book that I've made in the past, but it calls for chocolate frosting.  While it was good, I really just wanted a sweet, buttery frosting today.  This is awesome because I can bake whatever I feel like, whatever I'm in the mood for; if I'm PMSing, it'll be chocolate, if I'm overloaded on sweet baked goods it's going to be a main dish with veges. or protein.  It's limitless!  Ok, so here are the specifics about the book.  It is the Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, pgs. 575 and 597; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, division of Random House; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

     Fresh Banana Cake  

    (hmm...fresh?  If you're making it from scratch would it be anything but?  Just sayin'.)

     The Ingredients

     ¼ pound butter, or ½ cup shortening

     1½ cups sugar

     1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)

     2 eggs

     1 teaspoon vanilla

     2 cups cake flour  (The grocery store I went to didn't have cake flour,  so I wasn't going to look for it elsewhere.  Besides, I've still got that 5lb. bag of flour that I have to use by the 19th (Saturday), so I'm using what I've got.)

     1 teaspoon baking soda

     ½ teaspoon salt

     ½ cup sour milk (or sour cream)  (I used milk made with ½ tablespoon vinegar.)

     Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch square cake pan.  Cream the butter or shortening, slowly add the sugar, and beat until light.

Add the bananas, eggs, and vanilla and beat well.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt, add to the first mixture, and blend.

Slowly add the sour milk or sour cream and beat until well blended.  Spread in the pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning onto a rack.  Split the cake and fill with Banana Cream Filling (p. 604) and frost with Portsmouth Frosting (p.597).  I didn't split or fill with filling.

     Portsmouth Frosting
     ¼ cup butter, melted
     ¼ cup cream
     1 teaspoon vanilla or rum (no rum on hand, hardee har har)
     About 3 cups confectioners' sugar (should've paid more attention to the about part of this ingredient) 

Mix the butter, cream, and vanilla or rum together in a bowl.  I was concerned when I poured the cream into the melted butter.  It wasn't hot, but as you can see, it curdled.  It was fine, though - didn't make a difference in taste.

Slowly beat in the sugar until thick and creamy.  This is enough to frost an 8- or 9-inch tow layer cake.
The lighting was off in this picture and it was the only one I took at this point.  The frosting was definitely NOT that yellowish.

  

 It wasn't a very good frosting job.  I need more practice.  As I'm writing this, I see on the opposite page of the frosting are directions on how to frost a cake.  Weird I didn't see them when I needed them.  From the movie, 'Wedding Singer', "Things that could've been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!"  It says to frost the sides first and then the top.  I, of course, did the opposite.  I have a tendency to make things more difficult than they are.  Is this something I'm ever going to outgrow?

     Overall, it was delicious.  As I said about paying more attention to the "about" 3 cups confec. sugar, I think exactly 3 cups was a bit too much.  When I tested it before frosting the cake, it tasted a little gritty and confectionery.  I added 1 tablespoon of cream cheese and that did make it creamier, but the frosting was sweeter than I would have liked it to be.  My rating:  3 rolling pins!

     Happy baking! (I need to come up with something better.  I'll work on it.)

Day 18 - Chocolate Crinkles

     It always amazes me that three different children raised in the same house by the same people can be so very different.  I'm not saying that I'd like them to be the same because that would be boring, and I completely support their individuality and uniqueness.  I'm just in awe that they are each so different.  I think if I had had a brother or a sister I wouldn't be so surprised.  I often wonder what he or she might have been like and if we would have been close.  The differences in my children are never so apparent as when it comes to their homework habits.  One is laid back, and will procrastinate a little; another is ultra-organized and it seems like their work is finished before it is even assigned; the final child would much rather be doing other things and many times will procrastinate until the last possible moment.  We've never had a problem with them completing things on time or had to have an "intervention" with them about their grades.  More often than not they are harder on themselves than we are.  Maybe it's hereditary, too.  I remember many a times procrastinating until the night before a due date, but really excelled under that pressure.  I think part of this is my control issue, so mom will have to (something my mother always said just slammed, not popped, slammed into my head), "get over it."  Ouch!  Hearing that brought back some not-so-nice visuals and auditory memories.  Not where I was planning to go with this.  Anyway, I know that as a parent, there are certain things that are beyond my control and I just need to take a step back and let nature take it's course.  I am here to guide and direct and ultimately certain choices in their lives will be up to them.  After all, isn't that what parenting is all about, raising our children with love, giving them guidance in making the right choices to build their moral character, and supporting them no matter what the outcome of the choices they make?  It certainly isn't easy and would have been helpful had they come with a manual attached at birth.  By far though, it is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do, and at the same time, the most rewarding.  I wouldn't change it for the world!

I remember my mom making these cookies quite a few times when I was little.  I loved them then and still do.  I don't have her recipe, but was able to find one in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (as seen here).  I can't print the recipe because I haven't heard a response from the publisher yet as to whether I can reprint it, but I'm sure some of the cookbooks you have will have it listed.  If not, I'm sure you can find it on the internet.

     Chocolate Crinkles

     The Ingredients:  Flour, Sugar, Eggs, Baking Powder, Vanilla Extract, Oil, Unsweetened Chocolate (melted), Confectioner's Sugar (Powdered Sugar)(for rolling).

After mixing the chocolate, eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and baking powder.

After mixing in the flour.

Ready for the oven after being rolled in confectioner's sugar.

Mmmmmm....Ready to be eaten!

     These were really yummy and the family really liked them!  They were so good that one of my daughters said, "Thanks, mom, for making these.  They're really good!"  I also sent some back to college with our oldest who was here for the weekend, so she could have a touch of home with her.  Also, since Valentine's Day is tomorrow we had to have some chocolate!
     So, for the rolling pin rating on this one: 3½!  They were very easy to make.  Just make sure that the dough is chilled well enough before you start to shape them into balls because it becomes very sticky.
     Happy baking!