Pioneer Woman's Dinner Rolls

I made these for Thanksgiving dinner you say? Like 2 months ago? But if I have some in my freezer then this post still counts as recent and up-to-date, right? Good.


What I love about The Pioneer Woman's dough recipe is that fact that it is all done in one bowl! It makes clean up a breeze, and your job a whole lot easier. It also make a whole lot of dough. Like a lot a lot. And because there aren't very many members in my family, I wasn't going to make 12 dozen rolls. That means, I have tons of left over dough to mess around with and make things like cinnamon rolls, or monkey bread, or calzones or whatever!


So the recipe may look intimidating, as all yeast recipes do, but I swear it isn't. It's like, "no messy hands" easy. And, forming the rolls couldn't be easier. And that's why I choose it. I loved the little three leaf clover formation of them. And it was especially fun when it came time to gently rip the rolls open and butter them.


The taste was awesome and kind of hard to describe. They are different than your average roll and I can't put my finger on why that is so. But I honestly loved these!!!

Pioneer Woman Dinner Rolls
from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
4 cups Milk
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Vegetable Oil
9 cups Flour
2 packages (4 1/2 Tsp.) Active Dry Yeast
1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
2 Tablespoons Salt

Preparation Instructions
Pour 4 cups of milk into a stock pot or Dutch oven. Add one cup of sugar and 1 cup of vegetable oil. Stir to combine. Now, turn the burner on medium to medium-low and “scald” the mixture/lukewarm (between 90 and 110 degrees).

Before the mixture boils, turn off the heat. NOW. Very important stuff here: walk away. Walk away and allow this mixture to cool to warm/lukewarm. The mixture will need to be warm enough to be a hospitable environment for the yeast, but not so hot that it kills the yeast and makes it inactive. I don’t usually use a thermometer, but if you’d like to, a good temperature is between 90 and 110 degrees. I usually feel the side of the pan with the palm of my hand. If it’s hot at all, I wait another 20 minutes or so. The pan should feel comfortably warm.

When the mixture is the right temperature add in 4 cups of flour and 2 packages of (4-1/2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast. After the yeast and flour are nicely incorporated, add another 4 cups of flour. Stir together and allow to sit, covered with a tea towel or lid, for an hour. After about an hour it should have almost doubled in size. If it hasn’t changed much, put it in a warm (but turned off ) oven for 45 minutes or so. When it had risen sufficiently add 1 more cup of flour, 1 heaping teaspoon of baking powder, 1 scant teaspoon of baking soda and about 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir (or knead just a bit) until combined.

Butter 1 or 2 muffin pans. Form the rolls by pinching off a walnut sized piece of dough and rolling it into a little ball. Repeat and tuck three balls of dough into each buttered muffin cup. Continue until pan is full. Cover and allow to rise for about 1 to 2 hours.

Bake in a 400-degree oven until golden brown, about 17 to 20 minutes.

Monkey Bread

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Here's a scrumptious breakfast recipe to try for a special day like this=)

Monkey Bread is a dangerous, dangerous thing. It's right up there with cinnamon rolls and it's just as hard to stop eating once you've gotten started. It is something you can really only make once a year, two times tops. It's evil. Pure evil. Yet, at the same time, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing.


If you have some left over dough (which I did), then this is what you should do. Have a brief talk with yourself and decide that this will be your annual monkey bread allowance. It is truly best to make monkey bread with homemade dough as opposed to store bought. It's so much more satisfying and healthy, but to each his own.


I will admit its not that fast to make. The process of dipping in butter, then the sugar mixture was a tad tiring. But it's all worth it, trust me. And once you put the cream cheese glaze on top, all bets are off. You turn into an animal. You cannot be tamed.


Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze
found at Butter + Cream

Dough:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, divided (2 tablespoons softened, 2 tablespoons melted)
1 cup milk, warm (around 110 degrees, but don't sweat having a precise temperature. Just try to make sure it's warm to the touch, but not hot)
1/3 cup water, warm
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise, instant or bread machine yeast (I used rapid rise)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons table salt

Brown Sugar Coating:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick or 4 ounces), mleted

Cream Cheese Glaze:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus extra if needed
2 tablespoons milk, plus extra if needed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Get oven and pan ready: Adjust oven rack to medium-low position and heat oven to 200°F. When oven reaches 200, turn it off. Butter Bundt pan with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Set aside.

Make dough: In large measuring cup, mix together milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast.

To proceed with a stand mixer, mix flour and salt in standing mixer fitted with dough hook.
Turn machine to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is shiny and smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. (The dough should be sticky but if it is too wet to come together into anything cohesive, add an additional 2 tablespoons flour.) Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form smooth, round ball.

To proceed by hand, mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make well in flour, then add milk mixture to well. Using wooden spoon, stir until dough becomes shaggy and is difficult to stir. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and begin to knead, incorporating shaggy scraps back into dough. Knead until dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes. Shape into taut ball and proceed as directed.

Coat large bowl with nonstick cooking spray or a tablespoon of neutral oil. Place dough in bowl and coat surface of dough with more cooking spray or oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm oven until dough doubles in size, 50 to 60 minutes.

Make brown sugar coating: Place melted butter in one bowl. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a second one.

Form the bread: Flip dough out onto floured surface and gently pat into an 8-inch square. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut dough into 64 pieces. Separate them from the rest of the “grid” as you cut them into small pieces.

Working one at a time, use a fork to dip each piece in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into bowl. Roll in brown sugar mixture, then layer balls in Bundt pan.

Cover Bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and place in turned-off oven until dough balls are puffy and have risen 1 to 2 inches from top of pan, 50 to 70 minutes.

Bake bread: Remove pan from oven and heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap pan and bake until top is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes (no longer, or you’ll have trouble getting it out) then turn out on platter and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

Make glaze: Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth and light. Add milk and vanilla, then taste and adjust — you’re looking for something that tastes equally tangy and sweet, and texturally thin enough to drape over the bread but thick enough that it will not just roll off completely.

Drizzle the glaze over warm monkey bread, letting it run over top and sides of bread. Serve warm.

(The Big) Apple Crumble Pie

I guess I should get this started! I have a lot of recipes to post from Thanksgiving, and as usual, not a lot of time to post about them=( It is Thanksgiving break for me, but.....

I'M GOING TO NEW YORK ON MONDAY!

You may have remembered me mentioning this in previous posts, and now it's finally time!

To refresh your memory, here's the basic need-to-know's of the trip:

My school's Honors Chorus was asked to participate in composer Tim Janis's American Christmas Carol concert on December 2nd at Carnegie Hall in New York. It is a live concert composed by Tim Janis featuring many soloists and a 200 person student choir (that's where we fit in!) Since we learned about our trip back in March, we've had to memorize a ton of music. 10 pieces in all. All are Christmas inspired and I can honestly say I like them all.

Here we all are at PBS filming Tim Janis's Celebrate America in Pittsburgh, where we first got to meet him. (I'm on the right side, second row, second one in!)

Some Highlights of the Trip:
-Ferry over to Liberty Island and Ellis Island
-See Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera
-Visit the Empire State Building
-Time Square, Macy's shop windows, and St. Patrick's Cathedral
-See West Side Story
-Guggenheim Museum and Planet Hollywood
-See Marry Poppins
- And... a SURPRISE??

We leave the 29th, and return the 4th. It's going to be amazing. The best part is I get to share it with some of my closest friends=) Oh, and I'll do my best to take some food pics. If the food is worthy enough!


Okay, now on to the recipe at hand. The Pioneer Woman and Joy the Baker. Two of the most amazing food bloggers out there? Quite possibly. And what happens when you team them together in a recipe? You, my friends, are about to find out.



As I thought of the desserts I would choose for Thanksgiving this year, my family gave me the general consensus that there MUST be pie. There ended up being 3, but we'll get there. First up, was an apple pie. I chose a "dreamy" version that I saw on the Pioneer Woman's blog. I liked how there was a bit more to the pie than just throwing you apples in. In this recipe, you also make a creamy filling to pour in as well. That intrigued me so I knew I definitely wanted to try this one out.


Where does Joy come in? Well... the Pioneer Woman's pie dough recipe involves crisco, which is a no-go for me. I have already tried Joy's pie crust recipe and I knew I loved it, so I went with it instead. It NEVER fails. I might be getting ahead of myself, but it is the flakiest butteriest pie crust ever. It's pretty fool proof as well. I do believe that for this being my second time around it was a bit easier to make as well, naturally. I love this pie crust recipe, and you should too.
Note: You will have to half her pie crust recipe since you only need 1 crust as there is a crumble topping.


This was not too hard to put together. I did it over three days just because I felt like it. I made the apple filling one day, the crust another, and then put it together on the third day.
NOTE: I made one boo-boo. For some reason I cooked my apples in the cinnamon sugar mixture beforehand on the stove. To remedy this, I reduced the cooking time a tad, but otherwise I don't think it affected the outcome.


Served up with some cinnamon ice cream or whipped cream, this was luscious. It had more to it than your average apple pie thanks to the creamy filling. Secret time: We ended up finishing this pie before it was even Thanksgiving Day. Whoops!


Dreamy Apple Pie
from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust

Filling:
3 whole Large (4 Or 5 Small) Granny Smith Apples, Peeled, Cored, And Sliced Thin
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/8 teaspoons Cinnamon

Topping:
7 Tablespoons Butter
3/4 cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 cups Brown Sugar
1/4 cups Pecans (more To Taste)
Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out pie dough and place it in a pie pan. Decorate the edges as desired.

Add apple slices to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together cream, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over apples. Pour apples into pie shell.

In the bowl of a food processor (or you can mix by hand) combine butter, flour, sugar, pecans (chop if you’re not using a food processor), and salt. Mix until everything comes together in clumps. Pour topping over apples.

Attach foil to the edges and lay a piece of flat foil loosely over the top of the pie. Place pie pan on top of a rimmed cookie sheet and bake for one hour. At the end, remove foil and allow to finish baking and browning. Can bake for up to 15 or 20 minutes more if necessary.

Remove from oven when pie is bubbly and golden brown. Serve warm with hard sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Joy's Pie Crust
from Joy the Baker
makes a double crusted 9-inch pie crust

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter
2 1/2 (12 ounces) cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (5 to 6 ounces) buttermilk

1. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. Measure out the buttermilk and store in the refrigerator to keep it cold (you could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes too).

2. Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Take the cold butter from the freezer and toss it with the flour mixture.

3. Dump the cold butter cubes and flour mixture onto a large work area for rolling. With a rolling pin, roll the mixture, flattening the butter cubes with the flour into long, thin, floured butter sheets. Work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold. Below is what the rolled butter and flour look like after I’ve gathered them together on the work surface a bit.

4. Place the flour and flattened butter back in the large bowl and chill for 10 minutes. When the butter is cold, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, make a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture. Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl all at once. Begin to bring the dough together with one hand ( keep the other hand free to answer the phone). Moisten all of the flour with the milk, using your hand to break up large clumps of milk and flour. The dough will be rather shaggy, but you can add another tablespoon of buttermilk, if you see that all your flour isn’t moistened. Form the dough into two disks. The disks will be rough, and hard to shape together, but once they rest in the fridge for an hour, they’ll be easier to roll out.

5. Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator. At this point, the dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three weeks. For freezing, roll the dough out into sheets and wrap them in plastic film.

6. Roll out the top crust large enough to cut a 12-inch circle.

Transfer the pie filling mixture to the pie shell. Moisten the border of the bottom crust by brushing it lightly with water and place the top crust over the filling. Trim the overhang of the top crust so that there is only 1/2-inch of overhand. Tuck the overhand under the bottom crust boarder and press down all around to seal it. Crimp the border using a fork or your fingers and make about 5 evenly spaced 2-inch slashes starting about 1 inch from the center of the pie and radiating toward the edge. Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour before baking. This will chill and relax the pastry, preventing shrinking.

Bread In Five Minutes A Day

I'm getting behind on my posting again...=( This is never a good thing. But I have big news. I've started doing some bread baking! And it's so amazing. Fresh bread at your fingertips is a great feeling.

I was inspired to do this by my aunt Nancy who owns the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The book is genius and I completely recommend it. The book makes making homemade, fresh bread a breeze. It simplifies the process with NO KNEADING. You heard me. Absolutely no kneading is necessary. It uses a single "cloaking" (folding) method that takes all of 30-60 seconds.

So my aunt allowed me to borrow this book from her and I couldn't wait to get started. I loved reading through all the different kinds of bread recipes given in the book, but I knew for my first time (as is recommended) I should stick to the "master" recipe. It is a simple boule style bread that is your average and easy to make artisan bread. Now the fact that it is the simplest or considered the basic recipe does not mean it is any less delicious.

The bread turned out great! I felt like I didn't even do anything to make it. I just slapped it all together and shoved and in the oven and voila! I couldn't get enough of it. The book suggests letting it sit and there for the bread flavor to develop and the crust and inside to form the proper texture. But who can resist warm bread nice and hot from the oven? Not anyone in my family! We scarfed it down immediately! I thought I would maybe put some spreads on the bread or make sandwiches, but it was just so darn good with butter. Bread and butter. A match made in heaven. Simplicity at its finest.

I am excited to try some other doughs as well. I have only made the basic boule, but the bagel and brioche doughs sound incredible. Unfortunately, my aunt is asking for her book back and I won't have the recipes anymore=( But I think I will just buy the book. It really is that amazing. I can't wait to make more recipes from this book and show you how the turn out!

A bit of an overflow...

If this post really interests you and you have always wanted to be able to make fresh bread fast and easily, consider buying this book. You won't regret it!

Blackberry Pie

I'm kicking myself. I was kicking myself. I probably will continue to kick myself every time I read this post.

I made a pie. A darn good pie. A pie that I was apprehensive of, but realized it all came together wonderfully. I followed the easy steps, remained patient and accepting, and was rewarded with the fruits of my labor. ;)

So, so flaky. Honestly, it was a perfect crust!

What do I have to show for it? Nothing really. I didn't make it at my house and I forgot my camera=((((( I immediately took pictures when I got home, but it would have been great to show you the step by step process!

Mmmm... blackberry juices!

As I mentioned before, I have a job babysitting my two little cousins on certain weekdays. They are at the great age where they can amuse themselves all on their own. They don't need me to constantly watch them and play with them (thank goodness). However, a small downside is the fact that at least 4 neighborhood boys come over to play daily. As much as I like hearing them call me "Miss Sherry", thus making me feel quite powerful, it can be a handful.

My aunt Nancy, the one who gave me this job, does allow me to have free reign of her kitchen while I'm there. Jackpot. So you could definitely say I take advantage of that. My aunt and I are on the same page when it comes to food. I love just having conversations with her about our latest baking or cooking adventures. She gives me great advice and ideas. She has more experience than me, and I enjoy learning from her. She has also gotten into bread baking and I'm, so jealous! She's helping me out a lot and is even letting me borrow her amazing bread baking book while she's on vacation! So expect some bread to show on here;)

Note: Reapply more whipped cream after every bite.

Back to pie. The pie dough tutorial I used was from Joy the Baker. It is genius. And, it is a great chance to take step by step pictures. But wait, I forgot my camera... yay...

I also used her Blueberry Blackberry Pie recipe. I only used blackberries because that's what I had. Have I mentioned I love my neighbor Beth? She supplied me with fresh blackberries from her mountain house.

This was my first "outside picture" ever. I kinda like it!
However, I get paranoid about neighbors watching me and thinking I'm crazy...

Making the filling was so easy. And extremely picture worthy... I just keep making myself feel worse and worse now=(

I made a mistake, however, I promised the neighborhood boys they could all have a slice. The pie itself took forever to cool! So I actually had to go home before they could have a slice. By this point I had a camera. Thank goodness!! It didn't cool until later that night where my mom and I swallowed down some pieces. My aunt also came over to grab a slice or two.

Having some blackberries spill out of your piece is perfectly normal.
In fact, it's a photography must!

So end result? I love pie. I love pie crust. I love blackberry pie. I loved this pie. I got soo many compliments about the crust. It was extremely flaky, which I think makes it all the better. I loved everything about this pie. So go make a pie this summer! I even think I'll be making another!

Blackberry Pie
from Joy the Baker
Ingredients
6 cups blackberries
1 cup sugar, and more for sprinkling the top
1/2 cup ap flour
pinch of salt
zest of 1/2 a lemon juice of 1/2 a lemon 1/4 of bread crumbs or graham cracker crumbs 1 egg beaten for egg wash

Start off by making the Buttermilk Pie Crust. While the dough is resting in the fridge, make the berry pie filling.

To make the filling put the rinsed berries into a large bowl and gently stir in the sugar, flour, salt, zest and juice. Let sit for five minutes. Taste the filling and add more lemon if necessary. (I did)

Remove the chilled pie crust from the fridge and roll out on a well floured work surface. Drape one rolled out dough into the pie plate and trim, leaving about 1/2-inch of excess dough overhang.

Sprinkle bread crumbs or crumbled graham crackers into the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Scoop in the fruit mixture and spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Moisten the edges of the pie dough with egg wash.

Drape the other rolled out pie dough over the pie. Trim to a 1/2-inch over hang. The egg wash will help the two stick together. Tuck the two pie crusts under a bit so the dough is flush with the edge of the pie plate. Crimp with your fingers or a fork to seal. Cut four vent holes into the top of the pie crust.

Place pie in the fridge while oven preheats.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a cookie sheet on the lowest shelf to catch any bubble over.

Coat the top and sides of the pie with egg wash. Sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes then reduce the oven to 375 degrees F and bake pie for another 30 minutes or until the crust is a beautiful golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through the slits. If the pie seems to be browning too quickly, make a loose foil tent for the pie while it bakes.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool and settle for at least 30 minutes before serving. (I obviously waited much much longer for it to settle)

You MUST top your piece of pie with a TON of whipped cream!! Because it's good, that's why!

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls!!!

CINNAMON ROLLS!

Pictures first, then my post. I wrote this all the way back on Easter Sunday. So, it's definitely been a while. Just as an FYI, my musical is over, and I'll have more time for blogging and baking. Our show went fantastic. We wee told by just about everyone who came to see it that it was the best one our school has put on. Ever. We couldn't be happier to hear these wonderful reviews. Musical has been probably the greatest thing I've done this school year, and I am so thankful to everyone involved. We have our big cast party Sunday and I can tell there will be laughter and tears will be shed!

I love this new rubber brush soo much!

Not nearly enough cinnamon!

That's much better=)

This Easter break has been completely gorgeous! I don't know how it's been where you live, but here in Pittsburgh, nothing but sun. And I have been taking advantage of it. Although it makes baking anything difficult because I'm so tempted to be outside enjoying myself! Of course I allow myself to have fun first and foremost, and then I add in sometime for baking.

Because tomorrow is Easter, a special breakfast is in order. I'll just cut to the chase and say, "Yes. I am finally making the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls." And I could not be happier. I am making the dough the night before so then in the morning they can be assembled, baked, and eaten fresh from the oven!


I woke up at 8 in the morning to have these ready for my family. Yeah, I'm a good daughter/sister=) We were able to eat these beauties before mass. And thank goodness, because I would never have been able to wait knowing these were sitting at home!

The rolls came out smaller than when I use my usual recipe, but not bad at all. The most interesting part of this was the glaze. It uses coffee and maple syrup. Quite different from the go-to cream cheese one I like, but definitely worth the try! This was a really nice cinnamon rolls recipe. The rolls came out wonderfully and just perfect for Easter breakfast. I still have really strong ties to my Momma's recipe, so this may not become my go-to cinnamon rolls recipe.

Pioneer Woman Pizza

I had first had this pizza at a family party at my aunt's house. I scarfed it down immediately and was in love. She told me all about her pioneer woman cookbook and that she used her recipe. So it inspired me to do it myself; make homemade pizza!

I wasn't able to work in the olive as well as I hoped, but it didn't matter in the end.

This honestly was the best homemade pizza dough ever! So so so so so so easy! I don't even have a stand mixer. All this was done by hand. I am so excited about this new recipe and will be using it all the day. It was a huge hit!

I am now a huge Pioneer Woman Fan! Anyone try her cinnamon roll recipe? It looks incredible, especially the glaze with the coffee!!!

Pioneer Woman Pizza Dough
From The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/3 cup olive oil

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.


For my toppings:
I had store bought pesto and smothered it all over. Maybe a little too much because it leaked over the sides, but amazingly the dough didn't get all soggy! Then slices of mozzarella cheese and tomato slices. DELISH! Also, I probably could have cooked it another minute or so, but it was still good!