Check out these rolls!

One of the hardest things about going to the mall is walking by the Cinnabon and smelling what is the wonderful goodness of sticky, buttery, cinnamon rolls. I decided that this would be a challenge i would accept and therefore if i made them from scratch the calories wouldn't count. I didn't eat the whole batch but  these can be lethal sitting in your kitchen. So here's my take on cinnabon cinnamon rolls! Who said you cant have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, lunch& dinner?

Enjoy & happy eating!

Suga/Butter  filling
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of melted butter

Roll Dough
2 packs of active dry yeast ( 2 tbsp)
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 cup of hot water
1 cup of warm milk
2/3 granulated sugar
2/3 melted butter
2 tsp salt
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
4-6 cups of flour

Pan Filling
1/2 cup of melted butter
1/3 cup of granulated sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup butter
16 oz powdered sugar

Mix together 1 1/2 cup of sugar and 3 tbsp of cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
To make your dough, Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  
In a large bowl mix warm milk,sugar, butter and salt then add yeast mixture.
Add beaten eggs and 2 cups of flour at a time. Add up to 6 cups to make a stretchy yet slightly stiff dough that you can work with easily.
 Put dough on a floured surface and knead for 6 minutes.
Put dough in a greased bowl and cover let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.
Punch dough down and let it rest for 5 minutes
Roll the dough out on a well floured surface to a 15x 20' rectangle
Brush rolled out dough with 1/2 cup of melted butter and sprinkle evenly with Cinnamon sugar mixture.
Roll up the dough as tight as you can and pinch the edges to seal.
Brush 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1/3 cup of granulated sugar onto the bottom of your baking sheet
Cut rolled up dough into 12-15 slices using dental floss or thread and place in your baking sheet
Let cinnamon rolls rise for 45 minutes and then preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until golden brown

To prepare the frosting in a saucepan over low heat melt 1/2 cup of butter, add in 8 oz of cream cheese and 16 oz of powdered sugar. Whisk until creamy and completely melted. Pour icing of hot cinnamon rolls and feast!

Hot, Hot, Hot

So with all this sunny weather happening everywhere, I know everyones grilling & enjoying the sun! This summer is a great time to try new things to grill; bok choy, zucchini, tofu, broccoli, onions just to name a few. I love marinating veggies with teriyaki sauce and eating them with some brown rice

My fiber-ful cookies

This summer I decided to fill my schedule up even more & take a nutrition class. As one of our projects we had to make a dish featuring complementary proteins& I decided to make whole wheat oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. These are full of protein! & a great sweet snack!
(everything in moderation)

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter. Add the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.
Combine oats, chocolate chips, flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
Drop by the rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten with fork. Bake for 8 -10 minutes or until done.

*( to keep them moist & chewy you have to slightly underbake these, they still cook when they come out of the oven so don't worry!)

cookie, cookie!

I love mrs.fields huge gooey valentines day cookies so I decided to bake some off for my friends&loved ones in pie tins

Giant M&M Cookie pie

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temp)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Half bag of Valentine’s M&Ms

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated.

Chill the dough in the refrigerate for 2 hours. Scoop out a 1 cup size of dough and roll it into a ball. Roll it around in some M&M’s and place in a 9 inch pie pan spread it around with your hands till it's a 1/2 in.thick. Bake for 15-17minutes until just slightly golden around the edges. Remove from oven and let rest in pie tin. Cool and cut . Enjoy!

FYI - the cookie might look undercooked but don't worry it'll continue to cook in the pan