Apple Pancakes for dinner…

We are still in our crazy, running all the time, trying to find some sense of balance in our lives mode.  So I am making dinners in the crockpot or else finding things that I can make ahead of time and just reheat for a quick meal between activities (BMX racing, ice skating, and karate).  I made a really good white chicken chili but ate it all without a single photo.  So will post when I make it again and you can bet I will be making it again, it was just that good.

Anyway, these pancakes came about because I had some fruit that badly needed to be used up or tossed out tomorrow.  There were 6 apples, 4 bananas and 2 pears.  3 of the bananas went into banana chocolate chip muffins (1 had to be tossed), and 3 apples went into the pancakes.  I am going to make apple/pear sauce with the remaining fruit to use as topping for the pancakes!  These pancakes are delicious and a perfect way to use up some of that fruit.  They can be made ahead and just warmed up (for dinner) but of course they are way better hot off the griddle!

Apple Pancakes (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
14 tsp nutmeg
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated (I used macintosh and a honey crisp apple.  You could use any)

Directions:

1. Mix the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
3. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples.
4. Heat a thin layer of oil in an electric skillet on medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and flatten it out a little (otherwise, you might have trouble getting them to cook in the center) and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.

I sprinkled these with cinnamon sugar and topped them with maple syrup but apple sauce will be great on them too!

Cinnamon Rolls from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

This week was a week I was totally looking forward to.  Not only from the BBA perspective – we were baking cinnamon rolls but also from a personal perspective.  My oldest daughter is a 4th of July baby so the 4th is one of those holidays that is near and dear to my heart.  To add the icing to the cake I was going to make Cinnamon Rolls for her birthday breakfast!!!

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

I LOVE cinnamon and these rolls were incredible.  I loved the dough and how it came together and felt. 

Peter Reinhart gives us several different options when making these.  We could also make cinnamon rolls or sticky buns.  I opted for the cinnamon rolls but will be trying the sticky buns in the near future! I decided to use buttermilk and lemon extract instead of whole milk and zest.  Also in the fondant icing I decided to use vanilla extract instead of the lemon that was called for.

This is after they have been pulled from the fridge and rested for about 3 or 4 hrs.  See how nice and puffy they look?

Seeing as I wanted to make them for breakfast and not a late brunch I made them the night before.  Shaped them and placed them on the baking sheet and then popped them into the fridge overnight to rest.  This is not a step called for and these wonderful rolls can be made in one day!!!  I pulled them out of the fridge at about 4:00 AM and then preheated the oven about 7:30.  Baked them and iced them and watched them get eaten up.

 Fresh out of the oven and iced!

Will I be making these again?  Oh yes I will!!!  They turned out wonderfully and I will be making these again and again!!!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Raisin Walnut Cinnamon Bread!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

See how festive they look with the little tinge of red in the sugar? These are perfect for Christmas cookies!!!

I know...you would expect me to be done with cookies by now. All of the cookies that I did for the 12 Days of Cookies Extravaganza went to parties that I was going to. I still needed cookies to give as gifts! I have teachers, coaches, and family friends that count on my cookies!!! Time to get started again!

I was hunting around for some new ones and went to my friend The Recipe Girl's site. I knew she was making cookies and I was sure to find a recipe there! I was not mistaken. I decided on her Cinnamon Bun Cookies. Because I was going to be freezing these to go in tins at the end of the week, I opted to not ice them but that will be done at some later date!!!

These are the perfect cookies. Almost like those little pie cookies that Mom used to make with the leftover pie dough and sorta like crispy cinnamon buns! Yummmm!

The only change that I made to the recipe was to substitute some of the sugar for the roll with some red sugar to add a bit more festive touch to these!

This recipe can be found HERE!


As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com