Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 16 mini cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:
1-8oz tube crescent roll dough
2 Tablespoons butter
cinnamon
brown sugar

For the maple icing:
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon skim milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to crescent roll dough package directions. Layout half the dough (4 triangles) and pinch all the seams together. Flip over and pinch the seams on the back side together too.
2. Using a rolling pin, smooth the seams and roll the dough into a square about 1/4″ thick. Brush with half the butter, and sprinkle with as much cinnamon and brown sugar as you want. Roll into a log and cut into 8 pieces.
3. Place mini cinnamon rolls into a non-stick sprayed mini muffin tin. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other half of the crescent roll dough. Bake according to package directions.
4. Meanwhile whisk together maple syrup and milk in a bowl. Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.

You can get them ready to go the night before, cover with saran wrap and put them in the fridge. Bake the next morning. Don't use too much brown sugar or they take a long time to cook and end up caramalizing on the bottom.  

http://iowagirleats.com/2011/11/23/8-minute-mini-cinnamon-rolls/

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup white sugar

½ cup vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon (I used 1 tsp cinnamon, and the other tsp was a mix of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger)

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp milk

1 TBS vanilla

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in (I added it to the pumpkin mixture rather than the flour, and added the vanilla here). Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts

Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes (I did 12) or until lightly brown and firm.

Makes 2 dozen

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-iii/

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Bring to a boil, simmer:

4 cans chicken broth or equivalent (58 oz total) 

2 cans cream of chicken soup

4 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed

3 T. minced onion 

1 can carrots, drained 

3/4 cup water

3 cloves garlic, diced

3/4 tsp. basil leaves

3/4 tsp. oregano

Add 1 9oz pkg. cheese tortellini, simmer 30 minutes. Add bag frozen broccoli, simmer 5-10 minutes until broccoli is tender. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese. 

*I changed this up quite a bit, but it's really good! I used fresh carrots and broccoli (more veggies would be good too), and the organic cooked chicken from costco. I also added more water and some more seasoning. Easy and fast. 

Meyer lemon cut-out sugar cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons whipping cream
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons Meyer Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
zest from 2 medium Meyer lemons
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine butter and sugar. Beat until smooth but not fluffy.

3. In a small bowl mix eggs, cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon juice. Add this mixture all at once to the butter and sugar. Mix just until combined. The mixture will appear 'curdled.'

4. In another small bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking powder. Add these dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix to form dough. This dough does not need to be chilled before rolling!

5. Flour a work surface. Knead the dough a few times to smooth it out and with a rolling pin- roll the dough. Add flour as needed, if dough appears sticky. Cut into desired shapes. The dough scraps can be re-rolled and cut several times.

6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges turn golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe here. 

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

2 cups cherry tomatoes (I used one 16 oz container of Trader Joe's grape tomatoes)

3 tablespoons olive oil (I used olive oil over the tomatoes, and coconut oil to sauté the onion and garlic)

1 teaspoon salt and pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

salt to taste (sorry, I just ground up some salt....don't know how much)

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 cups chicken broth

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse and dry cherry tomatoes and place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place baking sheet in the oven and roast tomatoes for about 30 minutes or until tomatoes are squishy and have a brown roasted color to them.

In a large pot, drizzling remaining olive oil and turn stove to a medium high heat. Add in the garlic and onion, sautéing for 4-6 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add in the roasted tomatoes, chicken broth, canned tomatoes (with the juices), salt, black pepper, and basil. Bring soup to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer. Partially cover pot and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. With an emersion blender (or Blendtec, blend up the soup to your desired consistency.  I left it with a little texture.  Optional....Serve with grilled cheese chunk croutons.

I made the soup like this, but next time I am going to double the cherry tomatoes and add more broth to make a larger batch.  Here are the two websites with the original recipes and some great pics. 

http://www.stephsbitebybite.com/2012/08/14/roasted-tomato-basil-soup/

http://spoonful.com/recipes/roasted-tomato-soup

Chocolate cake in a mug

Ingredients

5 Tablespoons flour (all-purpose)

4 1/2 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons cocoa (unsweetened)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (or canola)
4 1/2 Tablespoons water 

Directions 

(step by step photos below)

Using a large microwave safe mug, spray the inside with non-stick cooking spray. Next, mix the first 5 dry ingredients in the mug.  After mixing well, make 3 depressions in dry ingredients.  Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third depression.  Pour water over top.  Mix well until smooth using a fork.  Place in microwave and cook on high for *2 minutes, uncovered. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.  Be sure not to over cook!  Top with whatever you like - powdered sugar, frosting, chocolate chips, caramel or whipped cream! Enjoy hot or cold! 

TIPS:

*Each microwave cooks differently, adjust time accordingly!  One person made the cake in 1 minute 40 seconds, and another in 1 minute 20 seconds.  If you overcook the cake, it may ruin it.  Be sure to watch as it bakes. 

http://www.sweetlittlebluebird.com/2013/04/crazy-cake-in-mug-no-eggs-milk-or.html

Fruit Dip

French Cream:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Pineapple juice


Directions
Soften cream cheese and then whip with powdered sugar. Whip cream and sugar together until it forms soft peaks. Combine beaten cream cheese, whipped cream, lemon juice and zest; continue to beat, adding just enough pineapple juice to achieve desired consistency. Serve with fresh fruit tray or fruit salad.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/fruit-tray-with-fruit-dip-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Eggless Strawberry Ice Cream

1.5 cups whole milk

1.5 cups cream

1 cup white sugar

2 cups pureed strawberries

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients and freeze in an ice cream maker.  This is a little too much for my ice cream maker, but you can use the rest for popsicles or pretend it's a milkshake and drink it like I did. 

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

2 cans of unsweetened coconut milk (3 cups)
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
6 tablespoons agave syrup or sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk cocoa powder in a small amount of coconut milk, until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Or dump all ingredients together and blend with a blender. Make according to your machines instructions.

I like to add about half a cup of shaved/chopped up dark chocolate. 

Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter + Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside (note - I (Kelli) added too much flour, so I would start with 2 cups next time and only add more if I needed it). Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat (instructions on browning butter here). The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
2. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.
3. Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball — it doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand VERY gently. (Really only the tops need to be flattened a bit!)
5. Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Recipe from here.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Ingredients:

4 sticks (yes, 1 POUND) salted butter, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 TBS vanilla

4 cups flour

One 14-oz. bag caramel candies, unwrapped

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

coarse sea salt

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, combine:

4 sticks salted butter, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Using a hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and beat until combined.

Gradually add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Press one half of the dough evenly into the prepared pan to form a bottom crust, and place the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.

(I used the caramel sauce from the recipe below) While the crust is cooling, make the caramel filling. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine:

One 14-oz. bag caramel candies, unwrapped

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If the caramels are not completely melted, microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt over the top.

Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel layer. 

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool a few hours before cutting into squares (fridge can speed this up). 

http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2012/2/21/salted-caramel-butter-bars.html

Easy Caramel Sauce

So easy, so good

Homemade Caramel Sauce

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine butter, brown sugar, water, and salt in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Bring to boil for 3 to 5 minutes depending upon thickness desired (I recommend 5 min from rapid boil).  Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk and vanilla.

http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2013/02/homemade-caramel-sauce

Basic Donuts

Donut

1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 c. flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk

Cream butter and sugar; add beaten egg mix well, add milk, then add dry ingredients. Spoon mixture in to ziploc bag and fill mini donut maker. Makes 18 

Chocolate Frosting

2 1/2 TBS butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla
2 - 3 tablespoons hot water
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 4 TBS)

Creamy Glaze
2 1/2 TBS butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla
2 - 3 tablespoons hot water

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

3-4 TBS hot water

Enough frosting to completely cover 18 mini donuts

For Glaze- http://deep-fried.food.com/recipe/krispy-kreme-doughnuts-copycat-51199?ic1=obnetwork