Dude's jail time is cramping my broken cone needs...

Sometimes you see a recipes online and you can't get it out of your head, this is how I got spiraled into Waffle Cone Puppy Chow. I saw a video online and it just kept sticking in my mind that we should make that. I was at the store and they had waffle cones so those went home with me. It took me a few days but Saturday I broke the boxes out and crunched up the cones and made puppy chow. It was almost gone by Saturday night - from the family that isn't always all about chocolate... it was amazing. It's getting made again VERY soon and I'm trying to find ways of getting broken waffle cones from the local ice cream place (if the dude ever gets out of jail - I won't hold my breath).
Somehow this puppy chow is crunchier and just... great. I used a 2 gallon ziplock bag to shake the powdered sugar into the wet mess... I layered the powdered sugar and then the wet mix in - it worked out great. This is a super simple delicious treat! Just don't let the cat on the table to have a nibble... never realized nothing was safe once you had a cat. Not even the fish!

Waffle Cone Puppy Chow
What you need!
2 boxes of waffle ice cream cones
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1-gallon ziplock bags

Make it!
Place cones in a large bowl and gentle break them up and set aside. In a medium microwavable bowl, add chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave on High for 1 minute and stir. Microwave 30 seconds longer and stir mixture until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour sauce over cone pieces and stir until evenly coated. Spoon the mixture in 2-gallon resealable ziplock bag. Add 3/4 cup powdered sugar to each bag, and seal. Shake the bag until everything is coated. Spread on waxed/parchment paper to cool. Store in airtight container if any left.

What can I do now to make later easier?

Easter weekend was nuts. The amount of things we packed in between Good Friday and Easter is embarrassing. Not all our own doing, but still - plenty going on. Since I knew the weekend would be packed - and I knew I'd want to have something fun and fresh for Easter morning for breakfast - I made these cinnamon rolls a week ahead. Once I got to the point in the recipe after rolling them and putting them on a tray - I covered them and froze them. I left them in the freezer until the night before, loosened the plastic wrap, turned the oven light on and tossed them in the oven. The next morning they were puffy and amazing. I added the heavy whipping cream and baked them up. I am a cream cheese frosting girl, so icing isn't my jam on cinnamon rolls. It's never Bronwyn's jam... she would rather have naked cinnamon rolls - which seems... wrong, but we won't tell her that. I had some left over cream cheese frosting front a bundt cake that hade me make way too much, so I saved it and tossed it on top of these rolls and they were heavenly. I waited a little bit to put the frosting on since I didn't want it to totally melt in. I love this method of baking. Homemade amazing delicious cinnamon rolls but the work was done the week before so I didn't feel rushed or tired from it! This was 100% in my meal prep wheelhouse, what can I do now to make later easier? It doesn't avoid the work, it just separates it. Worth it!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup milk
6 tbsp salted butter
1 tbsp yeast
1/3 cup warm water
3 tbsp + 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
2 eggs
4-5 cups flour
2 tsp salt
Filling
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, warm
Icing
1/2 cup salted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

To start, warm the milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Melt the salted butter and combine with the warm milk. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, warm water and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. It should be bubbly and foamy.
Once the yeast is bubbly and foamy, pour the milk and butter into the mixer along with the remaining granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 2 cups of flour and the salt (added in that order). Use the dough hook to combine the ingredients.
Slowly add the remaining flour, starting with 2 more cups and adding more as needed. The dough will be very soft but you should be able to quickly tap the dough with your finger without the dough sticking to your finger. If it sticks, add a little more flour and test again.
Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
Flour your counter and gently transfer the dough to the floured surface. Flip the dough once so all sides are coated in flour.
Gently roll the dough out to a 15”x24” rectangle.
Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving about 1/2 inch on each long side plain, without any butter.
Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the melted butter and spread evenly.
Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the brown sugar evenly. Gently use the rolling pin to press the cinnamon and sugar mixture into the butter and dough.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half horizontally (the long way) and then cut the dough into 1 inch strips.
Starting in the middle of the dough, roll each strip towards the end of the dough that was left plain. Brush a little bit of water onto the plain dough and then roll the remaining part tightly.
Place roll in a greased cookie sheet and continue rolling the rest of the dough. You should be able to fit 5 across and 6 down.
Cover and place in a warm spot while the oven preheats to 375°F.
Once preheated, pour the warmed heavy cream over the cinnamon rolls and then bake at 375°F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing by creaming the butter until smooth.
Mixing the butter on low, add in one cup of powdered sugar and just enough heavy whipping cream to bring the powdered sugar and butter together.
Repeat this previous step until all of the powdered sugar has been added.
Add the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
Slowly add in more heavy cream to adjust the consistency to your liking.
Frost the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

The crockpot and leftovers are this moms best friend.

It's currently April and all the activities from school, church and etc are trying their hardest to strangle us with a crazy calendar. The crockpot and leftovers are this moms best friend. Not sure what's for dinner? Leftovers!! But sometimes you have to cook to produce those leftovers. This week's shining start BBQ Chicken. We were able to get frozen chicken breast on super sale at a local "special" grocery store. I won't even try to explain it... just know that you never know what you'll find and when you find it - buy a lot because you may never see it again. I didn't use chicken thighs because I had breasts instead. I used the rest of a bottle or Sweet Baby Rays Honey that we had - since I think I probably bought it by mistake, it worked out great. You can eat it straight, on a bun, with coleslaw, without - whatever your preference is. It made for a tasty dinner that everyone enjoyed, then we raced onto the next thing. I'm looking forward to a few weeks when things aren't nearly as crazy busy. A girl can hope, can't she?

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Thighs
3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thawed (about 8-12 chicken thighs depending on size)
2 cups BBQ sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. black pepper
fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Add the chicken and all ingredients to your slow cooker. Stir gently to combine.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low 5-6 hours or until chicken is cooked and tender.
Keep whole and garnish with parsley & enjoy with pilaf, baked potatoes, veggies or shred and add to tacos, sandwiches, sliders, etc.

Sorry we won't be eating cardboard

For Easter this year I wanted to make rolls that were gluten free for my GF brother and nephew - but enough for everyone so they didn't have to bring anything and it would be more simple. Andy didn't really like that idea and wanted brown and serve rolls. You know, that come in cardboard? That taste like cardboard? He loves those things. I do not. And to be honest I didn't even see them in the store. Maybe I wasn't looking, I mean for sure I wasn't, but I still didn't see them. Usually at the holidays there is a giant display of them. I wanted to try this recipe because I could make them the day before, get them out before church to come to room temp, then bake them as soon as I got home. I was NOT great at weighing each dough ball and my rolls were very different in size - but they were very good. I even ate one. The little boys ended up trying to polish off the GF Brazilian Cheese Rolls! Good thing our GF peeps were able to get a few first and last. These are worth making again for sure - they were easy and good.

Soft-Baked Brioche Dinner Rolls (Overnight Recipe)
For the Dough
350 grams all-purpose flour
6 grams instant yeast (see notes for active dry yeast)
5 grams diamond crystal kosher salt
158 grams whole milk (90°F)
1 large egg (room temperature)
30 grams honey
85 grams soft room temperature unsalted butter (6 tablespoons)
Egg Wash
1 large egg
1 teaspoon whole milk
⅛ teaspoon salt

Mix the dough. Combine flour, salt, and yeast the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a separate bowl, whisk together warm milk, honey, and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed (KitchenAid speed 2-3) until the dough comes together in a shaggy messy ball on the dough hook, about 3-5 minutes. The dough will look dry at first, but will hydrate as it mixes. Be patient!
Knead the dough. Increase speed to medium (KitchenAid speed 4) and knead until the dough passes the windowpane test, about 7-10 minutes. If the dough hasn't reached windowpane after about 7 minutes, drizzle in an additional ½ teaspoon milk while kneading, then cover and rest for 5-10 minutes. Knead 2-3 minutes more. It should get there!
Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. With the mixer running on medium (KitchenAid speed 4), add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Let each piece fully incorporate before adding more. The dough will look like it is falling apart each time you add more butter, but it will come back together. Pause the mixer to gather the dough around the hook or scrape the butter down into the bowl occasionally as needed. This can take 10-15 minutes. Be patient!
Knead the dough again. Increase speed to medium-high (KitchenAid speed 5-6) and knead until the dough is smooth, shiny, and passes the windowpane test again, about 5 minutes.
Cover and rise. Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl or container. Cover and let rise 1 hour at room temperature (72-75°F) until just about doubled in size. If not doubled after an hour, let it rise an additional 30-60 minutes until doubled. When you push a finger into it, the indentation should spring back slightly but remain visible.
Deflate the dough. Turn dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to gently deflate the dough. Divide the dough into sixteen equal pieces using a kitchen scale (each piece should weigh about 42 grams).
Shape the dinner rolls. Gently flatten each piece of dough against the counter, stacking any smaller pieces on top of larger pieces if you're combining them. Fold or tuck the edges up across the middle of the dough to create a ball, then pinch the edges together to create tension and a smooth round top on the other side of the dough. Place the dough down with the smooth side up and the pinched-together seam on the counter. Cup your hand around it with your pinkie against the counter and scoot it in circles to tighten the seam and further tighten up the top.
Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, then arrange in a greased and parchment-lined square or round baking pan.
Overnight Rise. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place in the fridge immediately. The dinner rolls will be fine in there for 24-48 hours before baking. They won't double in size but they should fill out the pan a bit more.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the pan from the fridge and let rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before baking for the dough to warm up slightly. Whisk together egg, milk, and salt to make the egg wash.
Egg wash and bake. Brush the top of the dinner rolls lightly with egg wash. Sprinkle with any optional toppings (flaky salt, everything bagel seasoning, etc.). Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top and an internal temperature of at least 195°F.
Cool. Let the dinner rolls cool slightly in the pan, then carefully use the parchment paper to lift the rolls out of the pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Serve one amazing thing at a time

Making a chocolate on chocolate cookie for my family is pointless - they won't eat them. I will, but them, less so. So when I have the chance to bake for other people I try the things I've been wanting to try - these cookies were on my list. I was so excited, made them, smashed them with a jar as stated, frosted them, lined them up on a pan.... Andy's guys ate one. Yes they ate the week old cookies I stuck on the table too... but not the freshly made chocolate frosted cookies. One cookie... like 10 guys. What is wrong with ya'll?!? I was bummed but we had another event the next night at friends so we brought them there. I decided to taste one - just to make sure I didn't royally mess them up. They were amazing, crumbly and fudgy and the frosting was perfect. I found my crowd. Everyone there ate them up! The next day at Easter? My nephew kept trying to sneak them! I guess the lesson here is don't have too many delicious options for people, I mean they picked the week old cookies - but those cookies are amazing... so... serve one amazing thing at a time.


The Best Chocolate Frosted Sugar Cookies
4 cups flour
1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar + more for rolling
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter softened
2 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder sifted through a fine mesh strainer (to avoid lumps in the frosting)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
To make the cookies, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla and mix until well-combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the sugar/butter mixture and mix until combined. The dough will be stiff, but shouldn’t be dry.
Form the dough into 2-inch balls (about the size of a golf ball). Place the cookies several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Place about 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a shallow dish. Dip a flat-bottomed glass into the sugar (spray the bottom of the glass with non-stick cooking spray so the sugar adheres, if needed). Press the glass onto a cookie, flattening it to about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with each cookie.
Bake for 8-9 minutes, until the cookies are just set. Do not over bake. Cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the remaining powered sugar, sifted cocoa powder, heavy cream, and vanilla. Mix for 2-3 minutes until very thick and creamy.
Spread the frosting evenly on the cookies. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.