Monday, December 21, 2009

Cooking Club: 2nd Meeting




Please don’t hate me; I know that I have been away for awhile. I don’t really even have an excuse, just absent and maybe a little hungover. Anyways, I have so much to blog about. First there was the second cooking club meeting. Which went off spectacularly. Comfort food was delish and even the double mac and cheese was fantastically different and comforting. Unfortunately, I did not get everyone recipes this time around so I will just have to show the pic.


I will start with my cinnamon buns. This is a great recipe to have in your repertoire. Make the dough ahead and in the morning just pop them in the oven. I actually made these twice. The first time was after ice skating, a couple friends came over to hang out. ( I made them play monopoly with me) I knew I had cooking club the next day and wanted to try my recipe out to see if I had to make any tweaks. I must say the only downside was the waiting. I had to wait for the yeast to rise and then wait for the buns to rise. Lots of waiting. That’s why if you make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate; it should be so bad.

Also, this was the first time I used yeast and I was a little unsure of how it was supposed to work. I put the little guys in a bowl with sugar and lukewarm water and waited (yes lots of waiting) for the bubbles to form. The first package, the yeast kinda stuck together and was clumpy. I figured that was not correct so I tried the second package. That combined a little more nicely.

The first time I made these, they turned out perfect. When I made them for the cooking club however, they were a little dry and burnt on the bottom.

Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients

For the dough :
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
3.5-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts, lightly toasted
 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Icing:
/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
3 teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

To make the dough, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Set aside for about 5 minutes until foamy. Meanwhile, warm the milk in a saucepan. Add the butter, remaining sugar, and salt, and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Sift 3 cups of flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast, warm milk mixture, and the egg, and stir to make a dough. Knead for 10 minutes on a lightly floured board, incorporating more dough as necessary, until the dough is soft, silky, and pliable. Form into a ball. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the dough all over. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until twice its original size. This will take about 2 hours. At this point, the dough can be left overnight in the fridge, ready to use the next morning. When well risen, punch down the dough, then leave to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, butter a baking sheet. Prepare filling by mixing the sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in a small bowl.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring about 12 x 9 inches. Brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, pressing it in slightly. Roll up the dough like a jelly roll, starting at one long side. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll across into 12 equal slices. Arrange the rolls, cut-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Allow to rise, covered, for at least 40 minutes until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until well risen and golden. While the buns are in the oven, prepare the glaze. Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Whisk in the melted butter and enough milk to make a thick but pourable mixture. When the buns are ready, remove from the oven. Pour the glaze over them and leave to set for a few minutes before devouring.

2 comments:

  1. made buns "after ice skating"??!! I must have missed that... the buns were awesome and felt alot lighter than the store variety, Kudos!

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  2. warm/fluffy/tasty buns on a cold day = excellent!

    ReplyDelete