Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

So I am on a cinnamon sugar kinda food craze. I think its because it reminds me of my childhood. 

I've been missing home lately. I haven't been back there since Sept '11. Thats a long time

One of my favorite things as a kid was anything mixed with cinnamon sugar and butter.

Yum.

So I found this little recipe and bam so delicous. Its got a few steps but so worth it.

Cinnamon and Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Dough

2 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup water

2 eggs (at room temperature)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Filling

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and milk. Once the butter is completely melted take off the burner and add the water and vanilla. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.

Pour the milk mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Whisk together the eggs and add to the batter. Keep mixing. Add 3/4 cup of flour and mix well. The mixture will be very sticky which means it's perfect. Place the dough in a medium greased bowl. Cover with wrap and let it sit in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 minutes. Once the dough has doubled its size, knead in 2 tablespoons of flour. Cover the dough again for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, start on the filling. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Once the dough is ready, roll it out on a floured surface. Brush the melted butter on the dough and add the sugar mixture. Make sure everything is covered. Using a shape knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into equal sized strips (about 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide). Then cut the strips into equal sized squares. Stack the squares on top of each other to make 3 to 4 piles and place them in a bread pan. Take any sugar that fell off squares and sprinkle over the top and around the sides of dough. Cover the dough for another 10-15 minutes to rise.

While dough is rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place a cookie sheet under bread pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until outside of bread is golden brown.

Halloween Candy Caramel Corn

Happy  Few Days after Halloween everyone!

I had a dilemma after trick or treating. After my girls came home with a brown grocery bag full of candy.

What can we do with all of this.

They certainly didn't need to eat all of it right away like they wanted. So I started to think of creative ways to use the candy's for treats over this holiday season.

Today was a pinterest kinda idea, I saw some delicious snickers popcorn. I did roughly the same thing just added whatever candy I wanted rather than just snickers.

We decided to have a family movie night with this special popcorn.

2 cups popcorn kernels

1/2 cup peanuts

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp baking soda

about 30 halloween chocolate bars

sprinkle of chocolate chips

1. Pop your popcorn with an air popper & preheat oven to 200

2. mix butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and pinch of salt in a large saucepan. Cook on Medium heat until boiling. Boil for 5 minutes.

3. Pour over popcorn, peanuts and mix well.

4. Pour caramel corn mixture onto wax paper and cooking pans. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stirring every 15 minutes.

5. Take out of oven add chopped candy and chocolate chips. Mix well and bake for 3 more minutes.

6. Completely cool (hard I know)

Enjoy!

Elephant Ears

Imagine.

Crisp, salt air. 

Sandy beaches, sand dollars galore. 

A board walk.

Your favorite hoodie and comfy jeans.

A swimsuit, underneath of course, just hoping PRAYING that the Oregon coastline will love you enough to be above 70 degrees.

Just hot enough to go swimming.

Its not. EVER.

So you hear him. The candy man, in a red and white striped suit. Taffy bin in hand. Singing the candy man and passing out salt water taffy to the passerby's.

Standing right there on that beautiful corner. 

You grab a candy.

Then you notice that smell. That gorgeous smell of fried dough and cinnamon. 

Then look up and a sign with a giant elephant.

You are at the on and only Elephant Ear shack in Seaside, Oregon.

A must have stop in this wonderful little beach town.

This is where my sister grew up so I visited often and always begged to stop and get an elephant ear, sea foam (a delicious chocolate covered sugary treat) and salt water taffy.

She always obliged.

You can get elephant ears at fair grounds too. Being a military wife and traveling where ever we get stationed, the first time we went to a fair I assumed I could get one. I assumed wrong. Apparently no-one knows what these delicious ears are! 

It hurts my heart.

I hadn't had an elephant ear in YEARS, that is until I found this delightful little recipe on pinterest.

I immediately got up after nursing Eden and made them. 

Soft pillowy dough, an occasional crunchy crust, buttery, cinnamon sugary goodness.

 Oh my.

I think I've gained 40 lbs this week from the mass quantities I've been making.

Here is the recipe.

Elephant Ears

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 4 cups all purpose flour

Oil and shortening for frying

• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• melted butter

Take a big bowl and add water and yeast. Mix. Let sit 10-12 minutes.

Combine warm milk, salt, sugar and shortening. Mix well. 

*****shortening will be lumpy, just break it up a bit*****

Add flour and mix until it is well combined. It will be super sticky. Then you throw it down on a WELL floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Put in bowl. Cover with towel and let it rise for 1 hour.

Pat out dough and cut out 12-15 balls of dough. Try and make them even in size.

Add shortening and oil to the pot and heat it up. 

Stretch them little suckers out, I like to have the centers be really thin because thats how they do it at the shack. Fry on both sides 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Set on a plate slather in butter. Then put it into a bowl and douse in the sugar mixture.

Note. This is the ONLY picture I remembered to take after the first dough had been fried.

Eat and enjoy!

Easy, Peasy Crusty NO knead overnight Bread

This bread is so easy even the worst cook/baker in the world can make it. 

It is fool proof. 

Seriously! 

The only thing I hate about this bread is that there is NEVER enough.

Just look at the deliciousness exuding from that crispy, crunchity crust.

The soft pillow like texture from the insides waiting to be slathered in butter... 

Oh wait I already did AND I didn't share

...

..

.

..

...

 Don't tell my kids

or the hubs.

Ok you ready for it?!?!

No Knead Overnight bread

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon yeast
• 1 1/2 cup water

Step 1. 

Mix all those bad ingredients together. Cover with saran wrap. Leave over night 12-18 hours. 

Step two. 

Take your dough, which should double in size, out of the bowl. Put it on a heavily floured surface and shape it. Let rest for 30 minutes while your oven preheats to 450 with your dutch oven or other similar type pot. That pot has to be HOT to cook that bread right.

Step three. 

Take your dough and plop that baby into the HOT dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Take the top off and bake for 15 minutes more. 

Take out immediately and cool, eat and enjoy

Mind. Blown. Right???

If you want to get even fancier feel free to add herbs, cheese and other delicious combinations. 

*** I recommend about 3/4 cups for any cheese added and a couple tablespoon for any herbs, peppers or what not.