Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls

Here's my round 2 puff pastry recipe. I bought some earlier this week for my tomato and goat cheese tart...and now I'm making cinnamon rolls! The original recipe is based on one by Ina Garten but I cut the butter way down. The woman knows how to cook, but healthy is not her style. I also opted for no raisins and just added the pecans to the filling.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold your sheet of puff pastry. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1/2 inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle the sheet with the brown sugar/pecan mixture. 

Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces (I made mine smaller and was able to get 9 pieces). Place each piece, spiral side up, in a muffin cup. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden on top and firm to the touch. 

The best part about these cinnamon rolls is the smooth mixture of butter and brown sugar that is on the bottom of the muffin pan before the cinnamon rolls are put in. After baking, you invert the rolls onto a tray to reveal that this yummy mixture has created a caramel glaze that pours all over the rolls. OH MY YUM! Way better than regular old icing! 

It's pretty much amazing. And wait until you taste the puff pastry...it creates a buttery, flakey roll that is soooo good. I also love that they are smaller than normal - they are perfect with a cup of coffee. These are so easy to make and perfect for any old Saturday morning!

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe adapted from the Barefoot Contessa 

Ingredients:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted 
For the filling:
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans, slightly toasted

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Divide this mixture between the bottom of the muffin cups.
• In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans
• Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold your sheet of puff pastry. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1/2 inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle the sheet with the brown sugar/pecan mixture.
• Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.
• Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces (I made mine smaller and was able to get 9 pieces). Place each piece, spiral side up, in a muffin cup.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden on top and firm to the touch. 
• After baking, invert muffin tin onto a baking sheet. The cinnamon rolls should come out easily with the caramel sauce over each.

If you're a fan of cinnamon, be sure to also check out my Cinnamon Roll Pancakes! :)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

I decided to make some cookies. Healthy cookies?? Maybe so, they have fruit, oats, and Greek yogurt! Yum. If you forget about the cake mix, they really aren't that bad! I love a good shortcut when it comes to baking...and cake mix is the perfect way to go for these cookies.  

They get their apple and cinnamon flavor from the Greek yogurt, who would have guessed! With the combo of cake mix and oats they are thick, chewy, and super soft. I love a good cookie, and trust me, these are GOOD! :)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies 

Recipe adapted from Little Bitty Bakes

Ingredients: 
1 boxed spice cake mix (dry mix only — do not prepare the mix)

1 cup quick oats
1 large egg
1 6-ounce container Apple Cinnamon Chobani Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. 
• In a large mixing bowl, stir the cake mix and oats to combine. Add the egg, yogurt and oil; stir until mixed well. Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets. 
• Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Allow to cool 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely.

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

These muffins are as delicious as they look. I saw them a couple times posted on Pinterest and Foodgawker and couldn't resist any longer after I saw them on The Best Think I Ever Ate. I just love anything with cinnamon!

I really like this recipe from Baked Perfection because you can claim that it's "healthier" than the average muffin. I used half whole wheat flour and used fat free yogurt. I also doubled the amount of cinnamon and added some nutmeg. They are absolutely amazing while they're still warm from the oven!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup fat free yogurt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping:
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix with light strokes until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not over mix; batter will not be smooth.
3. Divide batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in one or two of the muffins come out clean, 12-15 minutes.
4. While the muffins are baking, melt 1/2 stick butter and place in a bowl just large enough to hold a muffin. Combine 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a small, shallow bowl. As soon as the muffing are done, brush them one at a time in the melted butter and then roll in the sugar mixture. Set on parchment paper to cool.

Makes 12 muffins

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

There are a few recipes that when I see I absolutely have to make. This doesn't usually happen very often. I usually just bookmark or pin the recipe and move on to something else that grabs my attention. But the second I saw the words "Cinnamon Roll Pancakes," I was hooked. After staring at the picture, rereading the recipe about 5 times, and wiping the drool off my face, I realized I had all of the ingredients and made them last Sunday morning. Evan is not a big pancake fan. He's actually not a big fan of breakfast at all; just give him a big bowl of soggy cereal and he's a happy boy.  HOWEVER - after he ate these yummy pancakes, he couldn't deny how amazingly delicious they were! 

These sinful pancakes start with a classic pancake recipe and swirl in a cinnamon, brown sugar, butter mixture. When you flip the pancake, it starts to caramelize and get crispy. Drizzle some warm maple cream cheese glaze and you are in some serious trouble. This is almost too good for it to be considered breakfast. I think the reason I loved them so much is because I felt like I was eating dessert for breakfast! :)

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes 

Recipe adapted from Recipe Girl

Ingredients:

PANCAKES: (makes about 4/5 pancakes)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

CINNAMON FILLING: *makes enough for more than 4 pancakes

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed


1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

MAPLE CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 T. good maple syrup
milk

Directions:

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened.

2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour filling into a small zip lock bag with the tip cut off. Set aside and let it thicken a bit.

3. Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and maple syrup in a bowl until smooth, dripping in small amounts of milk until mixture is a drizzling consistency. 

4. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. When pancake has started to cook a little, swirl in the cinnamon filling. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

5. When ready to serve, spoon glaze onto the top of each pancake.

cinnamon toast white chocolate pretzels

This is probably the most highly addictive snack I've ever made! The combination of the salty pretzels with the sweet cinnamon and sugar, drizzled with white chocolate makes them amazingly delicious!!

I made these for FBLA at school to help with fundraising. My co-worker bought the cutest little lion bags to put them in. They were a hit; all of the kids loved them!
All I'm saying is that you need to make these ASAP!

Cinnamon Toast White Chocolate Pretzels 

Recipe adapted from: Your Home Based Mom

• 1 bag (18 oz.) small pretzels
• 1/3 C oil
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Extra cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
• White chocolate for drizzling

In microwave safe bowl pour in pretzels.  Mix together oil, sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.  Pour over pretzels and mix well, making sure to coat pretzels.  Place in microwave for 2 minutes on high.  Check after first minute as they might burn.  Stir the mixture and continue cooking.  Microwave for 1 minute more.

When out of the microwave, stir again to make sure they are all coated.
Spread the pretzels onto two cookie sheets.  You want a single layer of pretzels.  While they are still hot sprinkle additional cinnamon sugar over the top.  Melt white chocolate and drizzle over the top of pretzels.  Once white chocolate hardens put into air tight containers.

Caramel Apple Pie

What's more fall than apple pie?? We had some close friends over for dinner and I was dying to make this apple pie recipe. I've always been intimidated by homemade pie, particularly by making the crust. I've never really made a pie before, so I was a bit nervous for my first attempt in front of guests! 

For this little dinner party I chose to skip out on the homemade crust and put my faith in Pillsbury. Turns out the pie came out really well and I had everyone surprised that it was my first attempt. Maybe making a pie isn't quite as intimidating as I always thought, or I just got lucky. 

Next time I'm tackling that pie crust! I have to give Southern Living Magazine the credit for this pie recipe. However, I've slightly adapted it to give it my own twist!

Caramel Apple Pie
Ingredients: 
4 pounds Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs flour
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Caramel Sauce:
10-15 caramel candies 
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Crust:
1 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts
1 egg white
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Vanilla ice cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel apples, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Toss apples with lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and granulated sugar.

2. In a microwave safe bowl melt the caramel candies in 20 second intervals. Add the milk and vanilla and stir until it reaches a silky smooth consistency.

3. Spray your skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place 1 pie crust in the skillet. Spoon apple mixture over pie crust, and drizzle the caramel sauce over the apples. Top with the remaining pie crust. Whisk egg white until foamy. Brush top of pie crust with egg white; sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar. Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly, shielding with aluminum foil during last 10 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Allow the pie to rest before serving, the caramel needs time to thicken or your will be serving apple pie soup. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Once I get into fall mode it is not stop baking for me! My first treat was an apple cake with cream cheese icing. I've actually made this cake a few times already, but haven't been able to get a picture of it. So, finally here it is! Evan literally had to make himself stop eating it the first time I made it! It's perfect of a light dessert, and even better for breakfast with a big cup of coffee. The cake is made with apple sauce, and since they are so delicious this time of year, I decided to make my own! It turned out perfect. 

Recipe adapted from Foodista.

Ingredients: 

Cake:

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups apple sauce*

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

8 ounces light cream cheese, room temperature

5 cups confectioner sugar, sifted
1 tsp cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium sized bowl, sift  together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the oil and both kinds of sugar. Then add the eggs, vanilla and apple sauce. Gradually add in the flour mixture and milk and beat until smooth.
 

Grease the bottom of two 9 inch round cake pans and divide the batter among the two.

Bake for 22-25 minutes.

In a mixer, beat softened cream cheese with confectioner sugar until just incorporated.  Add vanilla and cinnamon and beat until smooth.

Cool and spread cream cheese frosting. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Homemade Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

4 large red apples (peeled, cored, and cut into chunks)

2 cinnamon sticks

A pinch of nutmeg and salt

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

Directions: 

• Combine all ingredients in a pot and add about a half inch of water.
• Cover and bring to a boil.
• Remove cover and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Apples will become very soft. Mash with a fork until you reach your desired consistency. 

Baked Apple Chips

I love apples. What I love more is the fact that you can find them year round. Since apple season is in full swing now, I've been trying to put them in anything and everything. We went to Whole Foods last Sunday and their produce section was lined with every apple variety you could imagine. So naturally I bought a ton of them. As we were checking out I saw a bag of baked apple chips and I thought these would probably be pretty easy to make...and I figured they would taste even better fresh. Boy was I right. They were DELISH. This is the perfect healthy treat, and plus they make your house (or apartment) smell amazing! :)

Apple Chips

• 2 gala or granny smith apples
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
• Don't worry about coring the apples, just slice them super thin and remove the seeds. (A mandolin would definitely be easier to slice the apples, but I didn't have one. Patience and a steady hand are key!)
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the apple slices on the sheet. 

• Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and salt.
• Bake for about an hour until the apple slices are crisp. If they are still soft after an hour, continue baking for another 30 minutes to an hour. Depending on the thickness of each slice it may take a little longer. 

Falling into FUN!

There's nothing better than a season change. The colors, the cool air, and the FOOD! It's officially fall, my absolute favorite season of the year. I just love the smell of apples, cinnamon, pumpkins, and a warm and cozy fire. I spent days trying to find the perfect decorations for our little apartment, but it isn't official until we pick out the perfect pumpkins to carve. This year we went to Southern Belle Farm in McDonough. 

After carving my scary spider and Evan's goofy jack-o-lantern...our next task was pumpkin seeds! 

I'm not a big fan of pumpkin flavored desserts, so I decided to stick to the seeds. Some people like the seeds without the shells, but we kept the shells on. Evan likes them spicy so I found at great recipe at Elana's Pantry.

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  
• Directions:
• 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Place pumpkin seeds on foil lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool and serve.

Makes 1 cup of spicy pumpkin seeds