Holiday Treats!

Because we had all of Jeremy's family here for the holidays we spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I didn't get a lot of pictures of all of the treats we made, but I did get one of the homemade cinnamon rolls which were incredibly delicious and so I thought I would pass along with the recipe:

*I am going to start by saying that these are super easy to make, but there are a lot of steps to this recipe and it is way more enjoyable to make these if you have a kitchen aid mixer.

Dough:
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 large whole egg, room temperature
1/4 C. sugar

6 T. unsalted butter, melted

3/4 C. buttermilk, room temperature
4 C. all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
1 package instant dry yeast approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons (make sure you get the instant - I made the mistake of getting regular yeast and my dough had to sit on the counter overnight to rise)
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

Vegetable oil

Filling:
1 1/4 C. light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Pinch salt
1 1/2 T. unsalted butter, melted

Icing:

2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 1/4 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

1 tsp. vanilla extract

With a mixer, your arm will get really tired if not -- whisk egg yolks, egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk together. Add about 1/2 of the flour (2 C.) along with the yeast and salt; mix well. If you have a dough hook for your mixer, put it on at this point and add 1 1/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes - otherwise your hands will do the job. The dough should feel soft and moist, but not too sticky, if it is sticky then add a little bit more flour. Knead the dough for another 5 minutes or so. Finish kneading the dough by hand for another minute or so on a lightly floured surface and then plop it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until it is doubled in size...it will take a couple of hours at least.

For the filling, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a rectangle. about 18" x 12". Have the longer of the sides facing you and brush it with melted butter. Sprinkle the mixture all over the buttered area and press it into the dough. From the long edge near you roll the dough into a tight roll. Pinch to seal the roll and squeeze it to create an even thickness. Cut the roll into about 1 1/2 inch pieces and place them in the baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight. If you don't plan on using them for a couple of days then once they've been in the refrigerator overnight you can put them in the freezer tightly covered until you are ready to use them, just be sure to take them out and let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking them off.

In the morning pull the rolls out and let them rise and get to room temperature for about an hour or so. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for about 25 - 30 minutes until done.

Frost the rolls once they have cooled down by whisking the cream cheese, milk and vanilla until creamy and well combined, slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar and mix until creamy. Add the frosting to the rolls and they are ready to be devoured.

Part II of my Holiday Goodies:

We saw these little treats on Food Networks show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate. It came from a little place in Healdsburg called, Downtown Bakery & Creamery. It is the tiniest little shop full of delectable goodies. This is what they like to call the donut muffin:

Let me just tell you that these little nuggets are brushed with butter and rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture and they are divine. They are almost like a cake batter doughnut with the gooey filling of a cinnamon roll smothered along the outside. They were pretty darn delicious and the best part was that I found them on my trip to Healdsburg back in October and bought the dough, so all I had to do was defrost it, pop them in the oven and make the butter, cinnamon, sugar concoction.

Can you tell that I've been eating healthy through this pregnancy? I am going to be 19 weeks on Saturday and all that I crave is sugar...it's terrible. I had the best of intentions, I even bought a book, Eating Well When You Are Expecting. That went by the wayside after about week 10.