Texas Orange Rolls

Oh boy are these to die for! I love orange rolls and I have never in my life attempted to make them not even cinnamon rolls. Can you believe it? I finally gained my confidence and gave it a try and it was a success!

I found a great recipe but I changed the name to "Texas Orange Rolls" because of their size. These are so delicious and big and moist. I served them with bacon and vanilla smoothies for breakfast during General Conference. I will now forever crave these. I did tweak the frosting a bit and I think it would be yummy to try these with buttermilk replacing the milk in the dough.

Texas Orange Rolls

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 tablespoon orange extract
• 5 cups bread flour, or more if needed
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 3/4 cup white sugar

Frosting  

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons orange extract
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, or more as needed

 
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon white sugar and the yeast over the warm milk and warm water in a bowl. Let stand until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes. Mix in the egg, 1/2 cup orange juice, melted butter, vanilla pudding mix, and 1 tablespoon orange extract. Stir in 5 cups bread flour and salt. Add more bread flour if the dough is too sticky. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
 

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Combine 1/2 cup softened butter with the orange zest and 1 teaspoon orange extract in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside. Grease a baking sheet.
 
Turn the dough out on a floured surface and roll out into a 24x12-inch rectangle. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with 3/4 cup white sugar. Roll up the dough, beginning with the long side. Cut the dough into 18 1 1/2-inch rolls. Arrange the rolls cut-side up on prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the rolls, cover with a towel and allow them to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. (Tip: I set my oven to the lowest temperature it will go and then once it reaches that temperature I turn it off and place the rolls in there to rise.)

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes (I prefer to bake mine for 20 minutes, so they are more moist.The longer they cook the drier they can become). Allow rolls to cool slightly before frosting.

While the rolls are baking, cream together the cream cheese and 1/2 cup softened butter until smooth. Stir in the confectioners' sugar and 2 teaspoons orange extract. Stir in orange juice, a little at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Spread the frosting over the slightly cooled rolls. Enjoy!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/high-five-orange-rolls/

Cheesy Cheddar Twists

I got this idea from the Pizza Factory. I hate to say it but I have no special recipe for this. I just followed the Cheddar Breadsticks recipe in my Cuisine Art bread maker cookbook. When the dough was finished, I separated it into balls and rolled the balls out into snakes. You can also cut flat strips as in the directions below. From there I wrapped them around chopsticks and baked them.

The paprika is what turns the dough orange (I used smoked paprika).They taste so good and are fun to eat!

Cheesy Cheddar Twists

• ¾ cup water, room temperature
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2-1/4 teaspoon yeast, active dry, instant or bread machine
  

Place ingredients, in the order listed, into the bread pan fitted with the kneading paddle and secure the bread pan in the Cuisinart Bread Maker. Press the menu button to select the dough program. Press start to mix, knead and rise. For best mixing results, scrape the pan 10 to 15 minutes after the program has started.

When cycle is completed, remove dough from machine and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Punch down to deflate. Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick, 10 inches long and 22 inches wide. Roll the rectangle so that its width runs from left to right. With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut strips that are each ½- inch wide. Twist each strip around chopstick. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic and allow to rest for about 30 minutes. Once breadsticks have rested brush with olive oil and bake until golden about 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Cheese Pull-A-Part (From the Pie)

We have a restaurant here in Utah called The Pie Pizzeria. Located near two universities, it's a popular college hang out. As long as I can remember my favorite dish they serve is the cheese pull-a-part. It's gooey cheese stuffed breadsticks topped with Parmesan and herbs. It comes with ranch and marinara dipping sauce. My husband and I used to eat there all the time back in our college days, but it has been years since I have been there because we are not close to any of the locations.

I hate to say it but I used my bread maker to make the dough so if you have a bread maker just make the pizza or bread stick dough listed in your bread maker recipe book. Make enough dough to make two pizzas. You can also use your favorite recipe for pizza dough. (Avoid whole-wheat dough as this recipe is not meant to have that wheat flavor. It would be like making sour dough with wheat flour).

Cheese Pull-A-Part (From the Pie)

• Your favorite pizza dough (enough for 2 pizzas)
• 4-6 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (you could slice it if you like) 
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Set the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out your pizza dough on floured surface and place on a pizza pan. Cover with mozzarella cheese. Roll out second dough and place on top like a sandwich. Brush oil and melted butter over the top. Sprinkle, Parmesan, Romano, oregano and garlic over the top. Lightly score the dough with a pizza cutter into bread stick slices, however don't cut all the way or cheese will run out during baking. This makes it easy to just pull the bread sticks off with your fingers without tearing when it comes right out of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with homemade marinara and ranch. Enjoy!  

Homemade Tortillas

Tortillas can be used for so many things and they taste best homemade! Enchiladas, burritos, chimichangas, tacos, wraps, chips etc. I've been making homemade tortillas for the last ten years. These are so easy to make that my seven-year-old son can do it (as you can see). Once you try them homemade, you'll never want to buy them from the store again.

Tortillas

• 4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp lard
• 1 1 /2 cups water

Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly and golden (about 30 seconds); flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-flour-tortillas/ 

Lindsey's Stollen

This is a traditional Christmas bread in Germany and I decided I was going to surprise my husband with a homemade loaf to make his day! I really made this recipe my own and it turned out fabulous! The entire family gobbled it up in a day. It turns out that my mom's grandma who was from Germany used to make this all the time and my mom and her mom used to teach classes on how to make this bread way back in the day. I had no idea!

This is so yummy! The first time I ever tried stollen I wasn't a big fan. I thought it was dry and bland. There are different versions of it with different fillings and when I added my own fillings the flavor was perfect and it was so delicious! In my version there are bursts of citrus, cinnamon, and nuttiness. I never did like fruit cake or anything with candied fruit in it - but this my friends is not the same! My husband likes it cold but I like it warm right out of the oven. Either way you can't go wrong eating it!

Lindsey's Stollen

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 1/4 cups flour, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp dry active yeast
• 1 egg

Filling: 

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped dried figs
• 1/2 tangerine, sliced
• 1/2 lemon, sliced
• 1 tsp grated tangerine peel
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup of chopped nuts (I used hazel nuts, almonds and walnuts) 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

 Topping: 

• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

  For dough, heat milk, water and and butter in small saucepan until warm and blended (do not boil).

In a large bowl whisk 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and yeast together. Add warm milk mixture and beat for 2 minutes. Add egg and 1 cup flour, beat another 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour until batter is stiff.Transfer to greased bowl and cover with plastic. Let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours.


Meanwhile for the filling, heat bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 3 cups of sugar, tangerine slices and lemon slices. Allow to boil for 30 minutes or until peels are tender and chewy like candy. In a separate bowl, add dried cranberries, raisins, figs, grated tangerine and lemon peel zest, nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. When peels are finished boiling removed from liquid syrup. Remove any seeds. Chop the peels on a cutting board and add to mixture in bowl. Pour about 2 Tbsp of the citrus syrup into the fruit mixture and stir.

Remove risen dough and place on floured surface. Kneed fruit mixture into dough. Roll into a long sub shape and curve ends (like a crescent moon). Place on a greased cookie sheet, cover with plastic and allow to rise for another 1 1/2 hours in a warm place.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and brush melted butter over the top. Dust with powdered sugar. Slice and serve!

Cinnamon Pull Apart

 

These are so easy to make, absolutely delicious in every way and so beautiful to look at! Your kitchen will smell like cinnamon rolls but for half the work. This is gooey goodness that you must try!

Cinnamon Pull Apart

• 2 small tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits OR 1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
• 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 C. maple syrup
• 1/3 C. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 C. chopped pecans, optional
• 1/4 C. chopped almonds, optional

 

Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired).

Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top.

Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring.Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  (I baked mine for an extra 6 minutes since they were still doughy in the center) Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

My kids loved these! They are so yummy!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus 1/2 tablespoon melted butter and more for pan
• 3/4 cup Sweet-Potato Puree, chilled
• 1/3 cup buttermilk

Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some pea-sized lumps of butter remaining. In a small bowl, whisk together sweet potato puree and buttermilk; stir quickly into flour mixture until combined (do not overmix).

 

Shape the biscuits: Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead very gently until dough comes together but is still slightly lumpy, five or six times. (If dough is too sticky, work in up to 1/4 cup additional flour.) Shape into a disk, and pat to an even 1-inch thickness. With a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits as close together as possible. Gather together scraps, and repeat to cut out more biscuits (do not reuse scraps more than once).

 

Bake the biscuits: Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack on lower shelf. Butter an 8-inch cake pan. Arrange biscuits snugly in pan (to help them stay upright). Brush with melted butter. Bake until golden, rotating once, 20 to 24 minutes.

Blooming Cheese Loaf

This is super good especially with pizza dipping sauces! The bread strips pull off like little bread sticks! My kids at the whole thing in 30 minutes. I served this as an entree with a salad.

Blooming Cheese Loaf

1 loaf of white bread, not sliced (I made one in my bread maker)
8-10 slices of mozzarella or cheddar cheese (I used both)
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 stick of melted salted butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian herbs

Cut horizontal and vertical cuts into bread loaf, not slicing all the way through to the bottom. Cut cheese slices into 1 inch strips and place between bread slices. Sprinkle onions over the top. Melt butter with garlic and herbs. Pour over bread. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Serve hot!

Apple Pie Muffins

I combined a couple of recipes from my Pillsbury cookbook to create these crowd pleasers. They are so yummy and perfect for brunch or breakfast!

Apple Pie Muffins

• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1 cup finely chopped apples
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  

Topping

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 muffin cups. In medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt - mix well. In a small bowl combine buttermilk, juice, oil and egg. Blend well. Add to dry ingredients. Stir until you get a thick batter. Add chopped apples. (I like to add dried cranberries or frozen blueberries as well). Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes. In a small dish melt butter. In a separate small dish combine sugar and cinnamon. Loosen muffins with a knife and pop out of pan. Dip in melted butter and then in sugar mixture. Place on serving dish and serve warm.

Heart Healthy Tip: Replace oil with applesauce and buttermilk with fat free milk

Cranberry Orange Pull Apart

So in case you haven't noticed my favorite books to read are cookbooks. Lately I have been reading my mom's ward cookbook and here is recipe that I have deemed as my favorite!! It was submitted by Dina Hinrichsen. This not only makes your house smell delicious and welcoming but it works well as a bribe tool to get your kids to be good! I set it on the table fresh out of the oven (after I have frosted it of course ) and let the family just dig in. The original recipe calls for orange rolls but they didn't have any at my Walmart so I bought cinnamon and then just added orange juice to the frosting. It turned out super yummy and moist! (Just be careful..I forgot to put the tinfoil on at the end of baking time and the tops of my rolls got singed a bit.) Just follow the directions below.

Cranberry Orange Pull Apart

• 12 Rhodes Orange Rolls (or cinnamon), thawed but still cold
• 1 small package of dried instant vanilla pudding
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 orange rind, grated
• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/2 orange, squeezed
• cream cheese frosting is included with the rolls

Cut rolls in half and roll in dried pudding mix. Arrange, alternately with cranberries and orange rind in large Bundt pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Sprinkle remaining pudding over rolls. Pour melted butter over top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size. Remove wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. During the last 15 minutes cover with tin foil to avoid burning on the top. Immediately invert into a platter. Add orange juice to cream cheese frosting and drizzle over top.

Applesauce Bread

This is similar to zucchini bread without the zucchini of course. It is extremely moist and solid like a pudding cake. I tweaked this recipe to make it cholesterol free and great for your heart. The wheat bran is sold on the baking isle, I love to toss it in with my bread and muffin recipes. I traded the white flour for wheat flour and to help tone down the typical strong wheat taste I added the right amount of spice and extract. If you don't want to be healthy then substitute the honey for 3/4 cup sugar however this recipe has the perfect amount of sweetness without the sugar especially if you spread honey on a warm slice. My 4 year old son said, "Mommy this is the best cake bread you ever made." He ate 4 slices. You could add what ever you want to this recipe to give this your preferred flair (raisins, chopped walnuts, zucchini, or even try 1/2 cup of diced apples), just be careful because this is meant to be a healthy bread. I'm a raisin fan and I would have put 1/2 cup of them in but they are high in sugar. I thought about the diced apple idea after I already made the bread, but sometimes a smooth bread is better than a textured bread. I was very happy with the end result - a smooth, moist and sweet slice of heaven! I will be making this more often.

I use my bread maker but here are the directions for baking in the oven.

Applesauce Bread

• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of almond or coconut extract
  
• 1/2 cup egg whites (about 3 eggs)
• 2 cups applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare either 2 8x4x2" loaf pans or 16 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, beat together the wet ingredients. Pour the applesauce mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently, just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pans (fill muffin cups a little over half full to get all 16 of them). For loaf pans, bake 35-40 minutes, or until they test done. For muffin cups, 18-20 minutes. Start testing loaf pans for doneness at around 28 minutes, muffins at 16 minutes.

Serve with honey or Smart Balance spread.

Yummy Garlic Breadsticks

These go perfect with any Italian dish. They are hot, gooey and cheesy in the center and they just melt on your tongue. They make your whole kitchen smell like an Italian bakery. Mmmmm!!

Yummy Garlic Breadsticks

• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 can refrigerated biscuits
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs

Mix cream cheese and garlic powder. Unroll biscuit dough and roll into wide ovals. Spread 1 Tbsp of mixture on each piece. Fold in half and twist. Brush melted butter and Italian herbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Tortillas from Scratch

I love homemade tortillas! They are chewy and warm and so filling. They are pretty easy to make too!




Tortillas from Scratch

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup hot water

Sift flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender. Stir in enough hot water so dough holds together - add a small amount at a time. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide into eight balls and roll into thin circles (as thin as possible). Heat skillet over medium heat. Cook tortillas 30 seconds on first time or until it begins to bubble and then 10 seconds on the other side. Store in a zip lock bag until ready to use.

Sweet Onion Cornbread with Dill Sauce

Just another fun creation of mine. I love making recipes that are unique and delicious. This is a new twist on bread and cornbread. Bread is just bread unless you make it fun. I like to add different things to my batter and use fun tube pans. It makes presentation much more appealing and makes inexpensive cornbread seem a little more upscale. You normally wouldn't serve cornbread with a fancy dinner, but now you can. I served this with baked salmon, mushroom salad and delicious plum/grape /kiwi smoothies. The dill sauce gives it the final touch and enhances the flavor! The green onions baked in the bread add color and variety to boring yellow cornbread. Not to mention the Parmesan cheese does wonders! Half way through dinner my four year old son said, "Mommy when can we have this dinner again?" He had seconds on the cornbread.

Sweet Onion Cornbread

• 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup sugar (if you are not a fan of sweet cornbread with onions, then reduce sugar to 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 beaten egg (or 2 egg whites)
• 1/4 cup diced green onions
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Combine dry ingredients, then add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour batter into tube pan and bake in over for 20 minutes.













Dill Sauce

• 1 cup fat free plain yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp dill
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• fresh ground pepper

Mix ingredients and chill before serving.