Pumpkin & Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls

Rabanadas {Portuguese French Toast}

Rabanadas have accrued many nicknames since I started sharing them with non-Portuguese people. My favorite one is from our buddy Ben: "whet bread." You have emphasize the w-h sound to capture how he pronounces "wet." Rabanadas are generally reserved for Christmas in my family.  Once my husband proclaimed his love for them, my mom started making them every month for her beloved son-in-law. Food is our language. 

Banana Bread with Walnuts and Tahini

This lovely loaf was made because we had a crazy amount of super ripe bananas in the house. When in doubt with banana - make a loaf! At the same time, I wanted to try something new - hence this recipe. I am eager to try anything with sesame.

Vietnamese Coffee Buns

If you're like me, the name of these cinnamon rolls is what lured you in. I am totally in love with Vietnamese Iced Coffee as you can clearly see by this humble blog's recipe selection (Vietnamese Iced Coffee Cupcakes, Vietnamese Coffee Eclairs, and Vietnamese Coffee Sundaes). It's a drink that I can relate to - the anger of the coffee paired with the sweetness of the condensed milk. One part sugar, one part spice.

Yeast Pancakes

Not going to lie - these pancakes are not for everyone. They're definitely not what American's think of when they hear the word, "pancake." The site that I found them actually refers to them as Racuszki (Yeasted Polish Pancakes). I don't think I've ever had Polish food but apparently sour cream is a thing?

Holiday Spiced Cinna-Buns

These little darlings were a bit of a surprise. I made them in celebration of the birth of a dear friend's second son. Fresh cinnamon rolls are always amazing so I made the rolls the night before to let them sit in the fridge overnight. I got a late start so you can image my shock when I realized I was missing a key ingredient for CINNAbun.

Cinnamon.

Chocolate Brioche Wreaths

These little darlings were made for our Russian neighbor, Katya, out of benevolent spite. Yes, that's a thing. Katya has a warm spirit with a boisterous personality and strong voice. She's absolutely hilarious and no one can escape her magnetism. A few weeks back, we were giving her a ride home from a local litter pick-up event and said we needed to hang out sometime. We had met very briefly and this was our first time to actually converse. She started joking about how Americans always agree to get together and then never follow up. Needless to say, it has left a rather insincere impression and she teased me as I promised to give her a call sometime.

I concluded that a phone call wasn't good enough.

Hoppy Easter Bread

Not going to lie. I love how these little bunnies turned out for Easter! The original intention was to bake Folar da Páscoa, a Portuguese bread given to God children by their God parents (the dough over the egg symbolizes a cross). Even though my beautiful God children live in West VA, I thought it would be nice to include at our own dining table as a cultural tradition. 

While researching the recipe, I discovered that there are a variety of Easter breads from other European cultures (i.e. Greek and Italian). They were so pretty! The braided dough and vibrantly colored eggs nestled in the crevices had me smitten.  

Vanilla Bean and Cardamom Scones with Dried Cherries

A few weeks back, I saw an Instagram post from King Arthur Flour that had me salivating: vanilla and cardamom scones studded with dried cranberries. I love both vanilla and cardamom - just the smell of them makes me weak in the knees. The image was a total tease as there was no shared recipe just yet from the creator, By Guess and By Golly.  In my impatience, I decided to search the internet for a substitute until the original was available.

Sticky Buns with Pecans

This recipes comes from one of my favorite cook books, "The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science" by Kenji Lopez-Alt. I had never even heard about it until it was given to me by my awesome MIL ♥ (thank you!) The mission of Food Lab is similar to that of my beloved America's Test Kitchen but instead of an arsenal of chefs, it's a one-man army. Kenji tinkers with the science of recipes in the quest of not just perfection - but understanding how to achieve such results. Luckily for us, he's done the hard part and we get to reap the benefits! It's an insightful read that will give you the tools to grow as a home cook.

Biscuits and Blizzards

As you can see, our little home made it through Blizzard Jonas 2016 in Virginia without a hitch! We are grateful that we didn't lose power or have to wait too long for a snow plow to come through our neighborhood. There was a lot (as in a dumb amount) of shoveling involved. 

In preparation for the blizzard, we made sure our grocery list was thoughtful and delicious. If you're going to be holed in, you best be holed in right with tasty food and lots of coffee. There were chocolate chip cookies with tahini hot cocoa, biscuits, roasted chicken, chickpeas, and espresso cinnamon buns. Not too shabby. As things came out of the oven, we shared with our neighbor to help fuel the shoveling.

Our strategy was simple: eat well, keep warm, and stay ahead of the game. We didn't give the snow a chance to pile up to it's highest potential. We hit it in rounds during the morning and evening, using lots of pet-safe salt.  It truly did pay off by the end of the weekend as we watched others labor for hours trying to dig out their cars. Go team go! See picture below to get an inkling of how high it piled on our back deck alone - our little Remington was so puzzled. 

Like I was saying. 

Being holed in, we were going to at least enjoy some good home cooking. One food that I know Mike will always destroy is biscuits. He loves them in every shape and size, from drop biscuits to carefully rolled and layered. I think it's their versatility that makes them so special. You can enjoy them with a smear of jam if you're feeling naughty or pile on eggs for a hearty breakfast. 

This recipe {insert glam shot of biscuits} is one of my favorites because it's perfectly lazy: light and tender Cream Biscuits. That's right - cream biscuits. I learned about them by accident a few years back when I had extra heavy cream in the fridge. Unlike the traditional biscuits, there is no slicing butter into pea sized crumbles. It's as easy as measure, mix, mold, and bake. Freaking. Awesome.

As for the taste, they do not have a "buttery" flavor but the cream has the butter fat to make it sinfully good. They have a bit of a crumb to them but they hold their shape very well. Just make sure that you do not over mix your dough or else it won't rise as well when baking.

Since the basement was super cold, we turned the living room into head quarters with a pop-up table from my college years courtesy of Asako. Anything to get some natural light. It was like having an indoor picnic (with fresh out of the oven biscuits). Stay toasty everyone! Spring is just around the corner!

The recipe for these quick and easy, oh so dreamy Cream Biscuits can be found on Serious Eats.

Buckwheat Banana Bread {Gluten Free}

Once upon a time, I made buckwheat pancakes and my husband reacted lukewarmly. My girlfriend and I, on the other hand, loved them. What was his hang up? The answer was simple: buckwheat. Allegedly, it has an aftertaste that I cannot detect. We had already experienced this phenomenon once before with the Rum-Kissed Banana Butterscotch Cream Tart in a Cocoa-Buckwheat Crust. With an unfinished bag of flour in the kitchen, I wasn't ready to give up on buckwheat.

That's when a few over ripe bananas made me raise an eyebrow. Could they cover this "after taste" that I kept hearing complaints questions about? It was worth a shot and oh buddy, did I find a winning recipe!

I've made my fair share of banana bread but nothing quite likes this version from Joyous Health! Ignoring the buckwheat factor all together, this fierce loaf is distinct because it doesn't rely on loads of sugar, chocolate chips, or nuts for its flavor.  It uses a smexy smidge of cardamom to create a whole new creature. I can't really explain it but I will do my best.

The texture is super light and airy. You can barely tell its on the plate. It smells totally aromatic, especially when you incorporate maple syrup for a touch of sweetness. My favorite cheat? Use maple syrup that is infused with cinnamon or vanilla bean- either is incredible and you'll start putting it on everything. The cardamom isn't overpowering but overwrites any trace of buckwheat with its notes of sweetness, spice, and citrus.  

The real test, naturally, was the hubby's approval. I casually slid him a slice without telling him that there was any buckwheat in the mix. His eyes lit up. It wasn't intended to sway us but we agreed, this is our new favorite banana bread recipe! Simple ingredients. Easy to make. Relatively kind to the conscious. And tasty. Woo hoo!

This recipe for super moist Buckwheat Banana Bread {Gluten Free} is from Joyous Health's Blog. Enjoy!

Quick and Dirty Chocolate Espresso Cinnamon Rolls

Whenever there is a short-cut recipe for bread, I am very skeptical. It's like one of those old timey grifter scams. The recipe proclaims amazing results and tantalizes you with tempting photos. An accomplice comments on the wonder of the bread to provoke enthusiasm. Then, just like a grifter, it leaves you with half-baked results and you realize that you have been cheated. I've made "quick and dirty" cinnamon rolls in the past and was burnt. Within the hour, they had turned into hockey pucks that could break a window.

For these reasons, I make it a rule not to use quick yeast breads and unreliable sources. It may be limiting, but I am often reluctant to step away from my go-to books and bloggers (all hail Smitten Kitchen and America's Test Kitchen). That's how I knew that I was in safe hands when I saw these Quick and Dirty Chocolate Espresso Cinnamon Rolls from Joy the Baker. I decided not to live in the past (insert Buddhist "Om") and give these kids another shot.

Oh Joy, you never lead me astray!

What makes them "quick and dirty?" The rising time. Generally speaking, cinnamon rolls need two round of rising, each at least an hour. These are done in half that time with only ten minutes to rise the first round and then an additional 30. By the time you're done cleaning up the kitchen, they're ready to go in the oven. What black magic is this?

Sure. Chocolate and Espresso are an overpowering combination of delicious. You could slather the two on a brick and I would probably still try to eat it... well at least lick of what I could. It goes without saying that the filling of this cinnamon roll is delicious. I used extra dark chocolate chips and added just a touch more espresso. The dry mix alone had the entire kitchen smelling lovely.

The real test was going to be how the rolls stood the test of time.
Would they be soft and luscious?
Or would I be able to skip them over a lake?

These cinnamon buns could be used as a pillow up to three days out of the oven. That's right- THREE whole days (per storage in an air-tight container). They pulled apart smoothly and warmed in the oven beautifully the next day. Served with a cup of a coffee, these chocolate espresso cinnamon buns had the husband and I on cloud 9.



What I really love about this recipe is the quantity. Most rolls make two pans worth of bread - way too much for our simple home and too heavy to serve as a side at brunch with friends. This is makes six large buns in a 8x8 pan - a solid amount for two over the weekend and enough to share with others on a Saturday night.

The glaze is optional - we didn't feel it was necessary! Yes, that's how good they are - they don't need glaze. The filling is sweet enough as it is.

PS. Mike is over here cracking up because I used the word "grifter" in this post. Apparently this makes me a literary nerd. 

The recipe for these awesome Quick and Dirty Chocolate Espresso Cinnamon Rolls can be found on Joy The Baker!

We Need No-Knead Bread!

Back in the days of college, the "Atkins" diet was one of the those lingering dietary buzzwords. I never really understood it but the gist seemed to be that bread was off limits. This concept did not sit well with the ladies of my dormitory who could take down a French baguette daily. In response, they coined their regiment as the "Snikta" diet. Get it? Atkins spelled backwards. 

Yah, I thought it was pretty silly too.

What I will agree with is that bread is awesome.

Dipped in olive oil, topped with cold cuts, slathered in peanut butter, or floating in soup- bread can make or break a meal. My favorite type of bread is airy with a soft interior and crispy, crunchy exterior. The center is easy to pull apart and absorbent; the exterior has texture and a little chew.

Naturally, I had to know the recipe when my coworker brought in a homemade bread that met all my requirements (thank you, KJ). This No-Knead Bread by Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery is wildly popular and was posted in the New York Times. It's really as simple as it sounds - mix, sit, bake.

There is one catch, however, to being absolved from kneading the bread: a wild amount of time  (14-20 HOURS) needed to let the dough rise. Make sure you time this one out! I let mine rise over night to knock out a good chunk of the waiting time. As you can see... all the patience yields a beautiful loaf of carboliciousness.

For the recipe, check out this post in the New York Times for No-Knead Bread or this post for the speedy version!

Baking Bootcamp: Apple Pie Biscuits

Recently, Joy the Baker and King Arthur Flour paired up to host a "Baking Bootcamp" contest. It was a raffle for some great prizes so I figured oh-what-the-heck. All you had to do was bake the recipe provided, take pictures, and post them to instagram. The winner was selected at random and alas, I was not said person. 

Oh well.

It gave me and a girlfriend an excuse (as if that's really necessary) to bake together on a beautiful Saturday afternoon as well as the opportunity to make a nice sweet treat to share with family. Life is good, homies! 

In terms of the actual recipe, these are easy to bake biscuits loaded with apple-cinnamon-sugar flavor. The filling is apples finely sliced and warmed in a skillet with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. They're not the sloppy, gooey type you eat on the side at a barbeque. These are warmed through to let the flavor distribute evenly and make the apples slightly tender.

The actual biscuit is standard issue and I think any buttermilk biscuit recipe would work so don't feel pressured to color between the lines. If you have an awesome buttermilk biscuit, stick to your guns or try something new- it's up to you! I will say, that these are light, fluffy, and mild in order to provide a neutral base for the apple filling. These are not the super buttery biscuits you grab at holidays.

Roll out the dough, cover half in apples, fold like a big calzone, and make a solid brick of dough. Don't worry about each slice looking even and perfect- it's simply not going to happen! There are slivers of apple begging to poke out from the seams. Meh. We'll stick with the adjective "rustic" and feel a little more hipster. 

Brush each individual roll with egg wash and a sprinkle of mixed sugar, cinnamon, and salt. You can easily halve the amount of granulated sugar for this part of the recipe

These biscuits are surprisingly light and seemed to magically float away from the baking sheet and into people's plates. Make them if you're looking to switch things up at brunch or want to put those end of season apples to creative use.

For the recipe, check out Joy the Baker's post for Apple Pie Biscuits! Stay tuned to her blog for upcoming Baking Bootcamp competitions.

Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Buns

Alas, the peach season is coming to a close in Northern Virginia. I did my best to capitalize on these naturally sweet and juicy flavors bombs while they were at their peak but never found the time to go fruit picking. Fortunately, I was able to swipe a few at the local farmer's market. There were a handful of recipes floating in my head and at the top of the list was Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Buns. 

Never would have I thought to add peaches to cinnamon buns; this yet again illustrates why cinnamon buns are so freaking awesome. Their versatility will never cease to amaze me nor will the creative cooks that share their innovative recipes. These buns are brought to you by the ever charming, Joy the Baker. 

In terms of flavor, these cinnamon rolls will make you swoon. I was actually giddy on the first bite because I had no expectations. These are good. Like... really really good. The hubby says that they live up to their name but I would disagree. When I think of a cobbler, there's an element of texture that cannot be replicated in a yeast-based dough. In my opinion, these were more closely related to a danish because the bread is beautifully soft. There is a crumble inside but its loses some of its consistency when baking. Butter tends to do that when exposed to heat. 

Two fair warnings:

First, the rolling of the dough into that trademark cinnamon roll log. If I were a weaker person, I would have walked away. It was a freaking gooey mess that oozed and dripped all over the counter. Steel your nerves and get through it with a sturdy, serrated knife (wow that sounds kinda bad). As I placed the rolls into the pan, I feared that they would unravel but the pressure of the other surrounding buns help keep it all together. It doesn't really matter how they look- just get 'em in the pan and the flavor will be there!

Second, it goes without saying, be super careful not to burn the yeast. The ingredients are mixed in a large sauce pan (or dutch-oven) over a medium heat until they're gently warmed and left to cool to 105 degrees F. The flour is added directly to the sauce pan and left to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. No need to mix with a dough hook for 8 minutes- walk away. As many time as I have made cinnamon buns, the first batch did not rise and I was bummed. That's four cups of flour that I'm not getting back! I knew the culprit had to be the milk and was diligent the second round. If you don't have a thermometer, I cannot emphasize what a life saver it is in the kitchen. 

Peaches. Almonds. Oats. Brown sugar. You can't lose! We really enjoyed these rolls and I would recommend them to any peach lover! 

 
For the recipe, check out the Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Rolls post on Joy the Baker!

Raspberry Brie Dessert Pizza with Rosemary and Candied Pecans

This Raspberry Brie Dessert Pizza with Rosemary and Candied Pecans knocks it out the park. Hard. As in the other team just threw down all their gear and is running over to join your team. It's that serious. I'm going  to let the pictures do most of the talking for this post, however there are some elements that I feel compelled to highlight. 

The home-made crust is extremely easy to make and takes only an hour to rise. For a yeast based bread, that's really good time! You can use that hour to prep everything else. Honey is used to as a natural sweetener which is great way to reduce the amount of processed sugar. There's a splash of olive oil to help balance the flavor. I'm sure there's a way to sneak in some whole wheat flour to the mix to get a honey-wheat profile. This bread is simple, quick, light, and delicious. Very impressed! 

If you don't have time to make the crust, no worries. You could easily substitute with store-bought flat bread or even a French baguette! Do what works for you, just make sure you adjust your toasting time.

Surprisingly, the raspberry jam really stood out in this recipe. All the components are important but something about that warm, gooey, berry mess tied everything together. I really enjoy the flavor and texture of Santa Cruz Seedless Raspberry jam. I'll even sneak a tiny spoonful as a mini-dessert after work. For those that don't care for raspberries, I think any other berry combination will do just as well. We used to eat brie with apples and pears straight up on college picnics so get creative.

It's smooth sailing from that point on. Chop up some brie, nestle it on the dough with globs of raspberry jam. The candied pecans are a nice touch but I saved some on the side that weren't candied; I enjoy the natural, earthy tone of pecans too much. The sprinkle the rosemary helps to give it that fresh feeling. A drizzle of honey is optional. 

Suffice to say, this pizza did not make it past the afternoon. Woops!

This Raspberry Brie Dessert Pizza would be a lovely addition to fancy-up a brunch or as a posh snack. Check out the recipe over at Completely Delicious! 

Macadamia and Toasted Coconut Sticky Buns

It was the name of this recipe that seduced me. Coconut is one of those ingredients that makes me weak in the knees; toasted is even better. Compound that with any variety of nut and a cinnamon-roll like confection... you have my attention. It was described as tasting like a slice of Hawaii which is where the hubby was born. I took that as a sign that it was meant to be made in our kitchen.  

I set out making these on a Sunday morning with good intentions to hand deliver them to the in-laws as a sweet end to the weekend. Northern VA made sure to shut down those plans with maddening traffic. It was up to Mike and I to taste test. 

I've never made sticky buns and as it turns out (at least with this version) they're a hybrid of the pineapple-upside down cake method and a regular cinnamon roll. As with a regular cinnamon roll, you make the yeast dough, roll it out, sprinkle in the filling, roll it into a log, and slice it said log into individual rolls. 

Here's where the pineapple-upside down aspects comes into play. Rather than bake the rolls in one big sheet pan all cozies up together- you place the rolls into individual cupcake tins that are coated in butter and brown sugar.  This creates that same warm, gooey, caramel effect! Slick.

The end result was this baked, golden beauty. The dough stays moist and that signature cinnamon-bun tear-into goodness. I freaking loved the filling because of the coconut and chopped macadamia nuts. The only aspect I was not crazy about was how the butt of the bun was left exposed so it was a touch drier than the side baked in butter. It's delicious, but part of me fantasized about making these again and baking them as regular cinnamon-rolls with a brown-sugar and butter frosting/glaze instead.  

Maybe next round. In the interim... they are mighty tasty as is.

Oh, and as for rekindling my love's nostalgia for Hawaii, they weren't quite there. It's got the right theme going on with the macadamia nuts. Real island folk though jump straight to plate lunches and drinking Hawaiian Sun. I'll have to be the judge of this when we visit in a couple of years!  

Check out the recipe for these Macadamia and Toasted Coconut Sticky Buns over at Foodness Gracious!

Ultimate Banana Bread by America's Test Kitchen

There are so many versions of banana bread it makes my head spin- each is wonderful in their own right. I've enjoyed making it with roasted bananas and pumpkin seeds, to lemon and olive oil. Heck, my mom used to make it all the time filled with chocolate chips. It's simply a matter of preference. What's your favorite banana bread recipe?

Naturally, my curiosity was piqued to see America's Test Kitchen's, "Ultimate Banana Bread." There are lot of claims on the internet for the "ultimate" or "best" of anything- but when it's from America's Test Kitchen, you have my attention. I watched part of the online episode and was intrigued by their method of heightening the banana flavor.

For starters, there are six bananas involved- SIX! That's a double the amount of most recipes. If you were to simply stuff all these in your standard recipe, you would essentially get banana brick bread. The texture becomes way too dense because there's wayyyy too much moisture in five bananas. So how do you make it more banana-y without adding more bananas? This is where the madness begins.

Using the microwave, a new-to-me method, you create what is essentially "banana juice" by extracting the liquid from five bananas. The microwave cooks from the inside out and it's quick so the flavor remains in tact. There's all that moisture that would otherwise weigh down the loaf. You reduce the banana juice over the stove to create about a 1/4 cup of concentrated syrup. Genius.


To top it all off, you add the sixth banana on top as a lovely lining in the pan. This really made my heart swoon because it's such a nice aesthetic compared to my usual, plain-jane sort of loaf.

In terms of flavor, this was the most banana-flavored bread that I've ever tasted. It stays true to its namesake because it's simple, there are no bells and whistles aside from toasted walnuts. Sneak in any other flavors you usually enjoy like chocolate chips or dried fruit. My only qualm is that I make banana bread when there are too many lying around on the verge of expiration. Generally you don't see six bananas on that cusp in our two person home.

This recipe is brought to you by America's Test Kitchen. It can be found on numerous sites and you can catch the video here!

Pro Tip: I finally learned the reason behind the age old requirement of using super ripe bananas: they have more sugar! The younger the banana, the more starch, which as it ripens, converts to sugar.

The Éclair

When Mike was a wee lad in Hawaii, his father worked as a truck driver for a local bakery. He frequently brought home left over goodies for the fam. They were predominantly cakes and donuts, the standard issue fare. Subtle in the background, however, is a faint memory of Mike's first éclair. It stuck with him because anytime we've been to a pastry shop, they are the first thing he scopes out.

This past September, while we were in Portugal, there were tons of pastelarias.  He tried several éclairs in hopes of rekindling the magic. Unfortunately, we were in the wrong spot to enjoy French cuisine. Portugal is famous for their custard and it is reflected in their renditions of other European desserts. Every éclair we bought was filled with custard instead of the traditional pastry cream. Not going to lie... he was pretty disappointed. The éclair would have to wait another day.

I decided that day would be this Valentine's Day. We tried to do the whole cute, secretive thing but it was impossible- we're on the same wave length. So, we shook hands and agreed that he would make dinner and I would help, while I made dessert and he would help. We rolled up our sleeves and attacked.

The first attempt at the pasty cream bombed. It was more akin to soup in consistency. It is recommended to make the pastry cream a day ahead to give it time to cool down.  It seemed like a gamble to try again with the same recipe on such short notice. I did a little research and it felt like a million factors could have contributed to the soup-like result. After watching a very helpful tutorial on The Joy of Baking, I decided to give their version a shot.

To quote Mike, the end result was "fantastic." The choux pastry (the body of the éclair) was puffy and light perfection. We both marveled at how the middle hollows out while baking to create a secret compartment for the filling. The pastry cream was thick, slightly sweet, and had a hint of vanilla. I was naughty and added half a vanilla bean to the mix. Plus, it firmed up quite nicely in less than an hour. The ganache topping is thick and easy to manipulate with a beautiful sheen. I'm a little nutty and try to avoid using corn syrup whenever possible so I substituted with honey. All together, it was a killah éclair!

A note for the other newbies out there, I have found three different ways to pipe in the pasty cream. The first is by simply slicing the choux pastry in half, piping in the cream, and placing the top back on like a sandwich. The second method involved poking holes at each end or the bottom and piping the cream through these make-shift portals. The third method, which was my favorite, is to slice open the top like a zipper, gently pipe in the cream, and then seal/hide the incision with the ganache. The choice is yours! 

The recipe can be found on The Joy of Baking! I highly recommend watching their instructional video. It helps you to understand what to look for as you bake. This resource is a God-send for anyone (like me) who has never made an éclair before. Happy belated Valentine's day!

PS. Thanks my wonderful sous-chef and master chicken masala maker! I love you, husbun!