I’ve been baking all my life (give or take).  I can bake in my sleep.  I can bake along with the best of ‘em. 

But I have had the hardest time coming up with a good cinnamon roll. 

I’ve tried many different recipes and they always end up being too bready, too heavy, too doughy or too dry.

I just about gave up, figuring I must have the incurable CRBD (Cinnamon Roll Baking Disorder)….

But I tried just one more time.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.  Must be because I also suffer from GGDS (Good Grief Duh Syndrome) and sometimes have a hard time seeing the obvious.

It finally occured to me that since my homemade soft pretzels are so, so good…maybe that dough recipe would make a good cinnamon roll.  And BOY was I right!  Yumm-eee.

It was one proud day when I finally made a good cinnamon roll.  And the fact that it was made with whole wheat and honey was an added bonus!  Healthy and delicous…what a deal!

So, just in case you also have CRBD (see above to remind yourself what that is if you have GGDS and can’t remember)…here’s the recipe that finally worked for me!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

1 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. sea salt
8 cups whole wheat flour
butter
salt

Ingredients for the “innerds” of your cinnamon rolls:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice) (you can use white sugar if you want)
1/2 T. ground cinnamon 

Melt your butter and set it aside.  Mix together the rapadura and cinnamon in a bowl.

Ooey-Gooey Frosting

1/4 cup butter
3 T milk
1/2 t. vanilla
1-2 cups powdered sugar to make the consistency you like

Melt butter.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, milk and powdered sugar.  Whisk together until smooth. 

Okay, here’s how to make the dough…

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey.  Stir this together and kind of mush the yeast around.  Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.

Melt a stick of butter in a large saucepan.  Add 1/2 cup honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups of milk.  Heat this to 120 degrees.

Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir.  Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. (add more if you need it)

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.  Plop it into a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

After dough is nice and fat, punch it down and knead out all it’s bubbles.  Cut the dough in half, setting one half aside. 

On a well floured surface, roll dough into a nice big rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Use a pastry brush to spread 1/2 of the melted butter all over the rectangle.  Sprinkle 1/2 of the rapadura/cinnamon mixture all over the butter. 

Roll up the dough.

Cut into thin slices, about 1/2 inch thick. 

Place rolls side by side on baking pan.
 

Repeat process with other 1/2 of dough.

Allow dough to rise about 30 minutes. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.

Allow rolls to cool a bit, then drizzle lots and lots of ooey-gooey frosting all over them.

Happy cinnamon roll baking!!  Be sure to look through the “Natural Sugar Treats” section of my blog for more great recipes like this one…using great wholesome ingredients to make great treats!

Thanks to Shannon at Rocks on my Dryer for hosting Works for me Wednesday!

One day a few weeks ago, I was getting ready to make my Giant Breakfast Cookie recipe…but decided to play with it a bit and create some kind of breakfast bar instead.  (I LOVE playing with recipes!)

I came up with these yummy apricot bars and knew I’d have to share it with you. 

And then I forgot.  (So sorry.)

Then, last week, Marie emailed and asked if I’d try to come up with a good breakfast bar recipe (I think she said something about ”since you’re so brilliant in the kitchen”…yeah, that was it.).   And I was reminded that indeed…I had already come up with one.   So Marie (and everyone else)…here you go!  (I hope you like them…but if you don’t, can we still be friends?) 

Apricot Breakfast Bars

2 sticks butter
3/4 cup honey
1 t. baking soda
1 t. sea salt
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup dried apricots

Melt butter and honey together.  Remove from heat.  Pour mixture into a mixing bowl and add baking soda, salt, vanilla and buttermilk and eggs.  Stir in flour, oats, coconut and sesame seeds until well combined.  Cut dried apricots into small bites (I usually cut mine into fourths).  Fold apricot pieces into dough.

Bake in a 9 x 13 baking pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

*Make these bars even healthier by soaking the wheat and oats first to make them easier to digest:
Mix melted (and cooled) butter, buttermilk (with live cultures), flour and oats thoroughly in a glass bowl.  Cover and leave on the countertop overnight.  In the morning, stir in remaining ingredients.  Bake as above.

You can play with these yourself and add any combination of fruit and nuts…I know I’ll continue to mix and match different ingredients!  Enjoy!

You’ll find more kitchen tips at Tammy’s Recipes!

Technorati Tags: breakfast bars, healthy recipes, whole wheat

Daddy and the boys always make a great Mother’s Day lunch for me each year.  This year, they’ll be making our breakfast too!

These muffins can be made ahead of time, so the kids will make a double batch of these on Saturday so that they’ll be ready to grab on Mother’s Day morning! 

And yes…I chose a Chocolate Swirl Muffin for them to make because it IS Mother’s Day after all…and a mama needs her chocolate…

Chocolate Swirl Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 t. vanilla
2 t. cocoa powder
3-5 drops stevia

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in honey, egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla.  Scoop out 1/2 cup of batter into a small bowl.  To this small amount of batter, add cocoa and stevia.

Fill nine paper lined muffin tins about half full with plain batter.  Put about 2 t. of chocolate batter on top of each. 

 Use a butter knife to cut the chocolate into the muffin. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I hope you’ll continue to join us this week for lots more Mother’s Day encouragement!  Read about our Celebrating Women series here!

And be sure to check out Tammy’s Recipes for more kitchen tips!

Okay…so I have a question. 

I don’t like coffee….and I didn’t make coffee to drink with this cake…so can this still be called a coffeecake? 

Hm…well…anyway… 

Blueberry Coffee Cake

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup water
½ cup rapadura
3 T. arrowroot powder

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
1 cup rapadura
¾ cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 t. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, cook blueberries and water together until boiling.  Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for about five minutes.  Stir together rapadura and arrowroot powder in a bowl.  Slowly pour rapadura mixture into the blueberries, stirring while you pour.  It should very quickly become bubbly and thick.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and rapadura.  Make a “well” in the center and pour in malted butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.  Stir well. 

Pour half of the cake batter into a 9” x 13” baking dish.  Spread blueberry mixture over the batter.  Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls on top of the blueberry mixture. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.    

Go brew up a big pot of milk and give it a try!

Technorati Tags: blueberry coffeecake, healthy recipes, healthy breakfast idea

I couldn’t decide if this went better in the “Eat More Fruits and Veggies” category…or the “Here are some great breakfast ideas for you” category.

Because really, it fits into both.  What a deal!!

This is super simple to make and so, so yummy.  Actually, it’s just delightful…which is why I just had to give it this cheesy name:  “Fruit and Yogurt Delight”. 

I know…sounds like something you’d get at the Mayberry Drug Store and share with Opie or something…  Bet he’d think that’d be swell.

But, take a look at that…and you tell me…does that not look delightful?!

So, Fruit and Yogurt Delight, the recipe:

2 cups plain yogurt (yes, plain…see below for soapbox.)
4-8 drops of stevia, or 1-2 T. real maple syrup
1/4 t. vanilla
1/2 cup each of fresh or frozen strawberries and blueberries

Mix yogurt, stevia or maple syrup and vanilla.  Layer yogurt and fruit in a dish…thus making it delightful to eat…and delightful to look at.

Here’s my delightful little taste tester:

Here’s my promised yogurt soapbox:

I get so frustrated because SO MANY things in the store are advertised as being SO good for us but really it’s not (oh, don’t get me started)…

But one of my biggest frustrations is yogurt.  It’s supposedly like the greatest health food according to almost everyone who says that it is.

And it’s full of high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and artificial flavors.  OR if it’s the “no sugar added” kind, it has fake junk in it to make it sweet.

I could go on and on.  (But…I won’t…today.)

So, if you get the plain yogurt (or make your own) and add some yummy (and REAL) things to it…it’s just…well, delightful!

That being said…go give this a try! 

Be sure to keep coming back for more yummy and healthy recipes.  (And I promise to come up with names that are a little less June Cleaver next time…)

One of my favorite ways to make my home a haven is by making special food for my family. 

I really love feeding them nutritious food that is pretty and scrumptious!  It’s one of the ways I get to tell my husband and my boys that I love them! 

This morning I made the whole wheat waffles that I usually make…but I made a special blueberry syrup..and whipped some cream!!  YUM!

Here are my recipes!

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 3/4 cup buttermilk

Whisk all ingredients together…and cook in your waffle iron.  I usually double this recipe and freeze the leftovers to be popped into the toaster another day!

I also usually soak my flour in the buttermilk overnight, and then add the remaining ingredients right before I’m ready to cook the waffles, but you don’t have to.  (This breaks down the grain and makes it more easily digested!)

Blueberry Syrup

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice)

Stir together in a saucepan over medium heat for about 10 minutes until blueberries become a little mushy and syrupy!

Whipped Cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
drop of vanilla
2 drops of stevia

Whip cream in a bowl until soft peaks form.  Add vanilla and stevia and whip just a bit more.

Serve Blueberry syrup and whipped cream over waffles.  Delicious!

I’ll be sharing more yummy, healthy breakfast recipes and ideas in the next several days!  Be sure to come back for more!

Who knew veggies at breakfast could be SO yummy?!

Yesterday, I wanted to get a good start to my day with the Eat More Fruits and Veggies Challenge, so I whipped out the broccoli at breakfast!

I sauted onion, red and green peppers and broccoli in olive oil for a few minutes…then scrambled eggs into the veggies with salt.

 Then I peeled myself an orange…and WOW!! 

I could not stop saying..”MMMmmm!!” while I was eating it!  It had wonderful flavor…and the sweet, juicy orange with it was so refreshing!

My husband and I both LOVED this dish…and the kids might have liked it…if we would have saved them some!  We finished the entire skillet before they even had a chance!

Here’s the recipe:

Veggie Egg Scramble

3 T olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
2 T chopped onion
3/4 cup broccoli
5 eggs
sea salt

Saute the peppers, onions and broccoli in olive oil for 3-5 minutes until veggies are tender crisp.  Beat eggs in a bowl.  Pour eggs into skillet.  Salt to taste.  Scramble eggs with the veggies until the eggs are done.  Serve with fresh fruit.

Give this dish a try sometime for breakfast (or dinner!). 

Do you need to be eating more fruits and veggies?!  Come on over and join our Eat More Fruits and Veggies Challenge!

Read more kitchen tips here!