Make good choices, this is a good choice.

What's the best part of a cinnamon roll? Of course it's the center, if you answered otherwise you are just wrong. Sorry, but not sorry. These little bites are amazing and taste just like the center of a cinnamon roll. These were easy enough to make on a Saturday, toss them in the fridge to bring out Sunday morning to rise in the oven with the light on while I walked. Mix up the goo and warm up the heavy cream, bake them up and you have a pan full of cinnamon roll centers covered in frosting, that is if you add the frosting too, which why wouldn't you? Now don't go telling my doctor about these... she'll want to know how much protein is in them and well... probably not much. Sometimes you just need something delicious to have for breakfast! This was that something.

Best Cinnamon Roll Bites
1 cup whole milk (warmed to about 110°F)
2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast (1 packet)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
4 ¾ cups bread flour (plus more for dusting)
1 Tbsp. lukewarm milk (if needed)
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch kosher salt
Before Baking
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter (melted)
4-5 Tbsp. light brown sugar (packed)
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream (warmed slightly)
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese (softened)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter (softened)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt
2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream

Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm milk, yeast, and granulated sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes, or until the yeast looks foamy.
Add the eggs, egg yolk, softened butter, and salt. Mix until combined. (Might look funny at this step but it’s ok it’ll all come together in next step)
Warm milk and yeast being combined, followed by eggs and softened butter, to begin making cinnamon roll bite dough.
Add flour: Gradually add the flour, about 1 cup at a time, mixing until a soft dough forms.
Bread flour being gradually added to the wet ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Knead: Knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and only slightly tacky.
If the dough feels dry, add lukewarm milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, kneading well after each addition. Avoid adding too much flour.
Soft, smooth cinnamon roll dough kneading with a dough hook in the bowl of a stand mixer.
First rise: Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Cinnamon roll dough before and after the first rise, showing the dough doubled in size.
Make the cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of salt.
Shape the bites: Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 5-6 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, pinch off small pieces (about 1 inch or roughly 20 g each) and roll into smooth balls.
Risen cinnamon roll dough divided into portions and rolled into small balls before coating with butter and cinnamon sugar.
Coat the dough: Working in batches, place ~8 dough balls into a large bowl. Drizzle with a little of the melted butter and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with some of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the dough balls and toss again until evenly coated. Transfer the coated dough balls to the prepared baking dish. Repeat until all of the dough has been coated. Arrange the dough balls in 1-2 layers. They should fit snugly together but not be tightly packed.
Cinnamon sugar-coated cinnamon roll bites arranged snugly in a greased baking pan before the second rise.
Second rise: Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes, or until noticeably puffy.
Before baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. It should be a pourable consistency. Pour this over the bites. Then, pour the slightly warmed heavy cream evenly over the risen dough.
Bake: Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the center reaches 190-195°F.
Allow the bites to cool for about 10 minutes before frosting.
Make the frosting: Beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined. Mix in the heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is smooth. Spread generously over the warm cinnamon roll bites and serve immediately

Horror movie apples

We have two apple trees, a Honeycrisp and a Red Rome. Our Honeycrisp is full of apples that belong in horror movies... sure we have a few here and there that look good and taste great but wow they are terrible looking. Rotten and bug filled, just very strange. Our Red Rome is filled with giant green apples that blush and are great for baking. I try to pick up the apples that fall but at this time, they fall faster than I can get out there and do something about them. So, my goal is to use them and try to enjoy them as much as we can. I decided to make some fried apples to go with dinner. These would be great in a pie or a crisp, but they are also great just in a bowl with a fork. I'll happily make a big old batch of apple butter and anything else I can with those apples, but more fried apples will be on the plan too!

Southern Fried Apples
4 Tbsp salted butter
8 large Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
1/4-1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4-1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp apple pie spice
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp cornstarch plus additional as needed
cold water

Peel the apples and remove the core, then slice.
In a heavy bottomed skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
Add apples, granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, apple pie spice and salt. Stir with the sugar mixture to combine.
Lower heat to low. Simmer allowing to bubble gently uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until they have a tender texture.
In a small bowl, stir together 1 Tbsp of cornstarch in just enough cold water to dissolve. Increase the heat to medium high then stir the cornstarch slurry into the apple slices. Repeat until your desired thickness and consistency is reached.

Life Saving Measures

Church dessert potluck means a new recipe to try out on a all sorts of people. I had one picked up and ready to roll... The Oreos ready and hiding from one Nicholas because he will eat them all... I went to print the recipe and as he stood over my shoulder he noticed it had one star. Oh man... we read the review and the follow up response from the baker, and it was NOT great. Oh man we need to pivot and now. Bundt. What works better at a church function than a bundt cake? Nothing! I found this Oreo Bundt cake and while I didn't have black cocoa powder, I did use regular cocoa, and it was just fine. I saw several people have a slice and they all told me how great it was, they didn't even know I baked it. Although instinctively my mom knew it was mine, so did a few others. Apparently it was the magic sugar my father needed to up his glucose. Haha! Life saving measures over there! When I asked what he wanted me to bake for his birthday dessert, "Got any more of that chocolate cake?!" Haha! Did I get any? Nope... not a bite. But I'm going off what everyone else said that this one was fantastic and it should be made over and over again. The frosting was surely delicious; I did try some of that. So this one will get baked again so I can have a slice or two. After all… it saved a life!

Cookies and Cream Oreo Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1/2 cup black cocoa powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
18 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

For the frosting:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 7 ounce jar marshmallow fluff
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream
12 Oreo cookies, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
Add the melted butter, milk, and cocoa powders into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add in the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour, continuing to whisk until fully incorporated with the chocolate mixture and no streaks of flour remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Make a well in the center of the batter and add the vanilla, eggs, and sour cream. Stir together until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in the chopped Oreo cookies.
Grease a 12-cup bundt metal pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the pan over a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool completely before icing.
To make the frosting, beat the butter on low speed using a mixer until smooth. Add in the marshmallow fluff, continuing to beat until well combined. Slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar, half a cup at a time, followed by the salt and vanilla. Turn the speed up to medium-high, then add in the heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy.
Cover the top of the bundt cake with the frosting. Sprinkle the chopped Oreos on top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving to set the frosting. The cake will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Cat foot prints not welcome

Vanilla Buttercream frosting, while it is delicious, chocolate is better. I'm saying it. Fudgey frosting is pretty amazing too... but fluffy chocolate buttercream on yellow cake? Yep, amazing. I used this recipe on top of a cake I made just for fun. It was my "I had no cake for my birthday and as a 47 year old person I can do what I want and just make a random cake on a Saturday afternoon" cake... Yes... that's what I did. It's pretty delicious. Everyone in my family at some point has had some of this cake and agreed it was great, even the frosting. Ok... some of them weren't super fans of the frosting... but STILL they humored me and gave it a try. Now the cake sits under a metal bowl because I don't have a cake saver, and I really don't want cat foot prints in the cake. I think that's fair, right?

Chocolate Buttercream
1 and 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (76g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
4–6 Tablespoons (60–90g/ml) heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk), at room temperature
1 and 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
optional for decoration: sprinkles

Make the frosting: In a large bowl with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, 4 Tablespoons of heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Do not over-whip. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or 1–2 more Tablespoons of cream if frosting is too thick. Taste. Add another pinch of salt if desired.

Let's have cake!

A funny question I often get asked on my birthday is about cake. Maybe not a question but a comment, "I hope someone makes you a great cake!" Since I make cakes for everyone else, there's this assumption that someone is going to make me a cake. Here's the secret... no one makes me a cake... no one offers or even suggests it. Weird right? Same this year... in fact I even had to pay for the ice cream when we went out for ice cream on my birthday. I was feeling fussy about it and realized I could make my own dang cake. Problem is, the kind of cake I like? My family isn't going to eat... Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I mean maybe the yellow part, but chocolate isn't always their jam. You know? too bad... so three weeks after my birthday, I decided to make myself a birthday cake! Now, I'm NOT one of those people who act like a princess all month "oh it's my birthday month" and all that... I'm 47, not 4. I did say it to be silly... but my family knew I was goofing around. I made this Yellow Cake from scratch, and it was delicious! The wild thing? I had it sitting on the table so the critters didn't find it - and after dinner, everyone said "Are we having cake?!" YES!!! Let's have cake!! SO next year? I’m just going to bake my own dang cake from the start. No fussiness, just make what I want and enjoy it!

Yellow Layer Cake
2 and 1/2 cups cake flour (spooned & leveled)
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. I recommend using nonstick spray for greasing.
In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the oil and beat for 1 minute until combined. Beat in the egg yolks until incorporated, then beat in the vanilla extract.
Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add 1/3 more of the dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. The batter will be very thick. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. Set aside.
In another large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high speed until fluffy, medium-stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the cake batter. Work slowly and gently, as you don’t want to deflate the egg whites. Pour/spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake for 27–31 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the rack to finish cooling. The edges of the cakes can be crumbly; this is normal. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.