Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

I did it! I made the ever so enticing and delicious bread that I literally stumbled upon a few weeks ago. The recipe is SO easy, doesn't take very long, and is absolutely incredible. I didn't use a KitchenAid either, just mixed it all together with a spatula. It's a great recipe. 

I wish I had remembered to take pictures of the bread that I made, but I forgot. So I guess these will have to do.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Makes: one 9x5x3-inch loaf

For the Dough:

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. I poured slowly and mixed continually to slowly integrate the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be VERY STICKY. That’s just right.

Place the dough in a large, greased bowl. I used an empty ice cream bucket. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan.  Set that aside too.

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. Roll it as large as the dough will go. Spread the melted butter across your dough.Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It might seem like a lot of sugar.  Seriously?  Just go for it.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board.  Then invert again onto a plate.

I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.

I also made a simple cream cheese frosting to go along with the bread. DELISH!

The Opportunity

There have been some thoughts mulling around in my head for awhile. When I was a little girl, I would often pray for things like faith, obedience, and courage. And a few days later when I didn't feel more full of faith, more obedient, or more courageous, I became disappointed thinking that the Lord didn't find me fit for those blessings. I wondered why I wasn't good enough to have more faith, obedience, and courage. However, I think my thoughts as a young nine year old girl were incorrect. 

Our Father in Heaven loves each of us more than we can realize. He finds each of us more than worthy to receive every blessing that He can bestow. However, I don't think that when we pray to Him, asking for a blessing, He will give it immediately. Lets take my simple prayers, for example. 

As a young girl, I wanted to have more courage. So I prayed for it. I expected it to come immediately and I would feel like I could conquer the world! However, what I think is that I missed the opportunities that Heavenly Father gave me to be courageous.

When we ask for a blessing, He does not bestow it immediately. He gives us an opportunity to exercise the attribute or quality that we desire. When we pray that we will have more faith, He will give us an opportunity, an experience, to exercise greater faith. To act in such a way so that our faith will grow. 

In the movie Evan Almighty with Steve Carell and Lauren Graham, she (Lauren Graham) prays that their family will grow closer together. She prays for this at the beginning of the movie, and then not too much later in the movie, Steve Carell is asked to build an ark. He grows an unstoppable beard, starts wearing ancient clothing despite his many attempts to wear a suit, and animals flock toward him. The world thinks he's crazy, and poor Steve Carell is under the scrutiny and criticism of the world as he starts building a giant ark in the neighboring lots to his house. His wife decides to take the family away from him, and go visit her mother for awhile, hoping that her husband will pass through this crazy "phase." 

While on the road, they stop at a restaurant for some food and Morgan Freeman, (in the movie he plays God) is their waiter. He sits and has a talk with Lauren and helps her to realize that all of this is a perfect time to help their family grow closer together, which is what she prayed for. It is at that time that she chooses to go back and support her husband. As a result, their family is as happy and united as Hollywood can make them.

While that example may be silly, I think there is truth disguised in there. If we pray for something, like courage or greater family unity, we cannot expect it to be delivered to us instantly. But what we can expect is an opportunity to bring family closer together and help from the Lord in doing so. He loves us. He will bless us with everything that He has if we will live righteously, and ask Him in faith. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was bored today and decided to bake! A recipe for chocolate chip cookies has been sitting on my computer for a while and I've been wanting to try it out. The recipe is simple and quick to put together.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (or 310 degrees F for convection bake). Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside. Mix the sugars and melted butter just until thoroughly mixed, then add egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix until creamy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended - don't over mix!

Once all the ingredients are combined, add the chocolate chips. The recipe calls for chocolate chunks. I didn't have any, so I just used chips and they work great. But I think the chocolate chunks would add a texture and shape to the cookies. And if you are not a big semisweet chocolate fan, like Derek, use milk chocolate. 2 cups for this recipe is a lot. But, in my opinion, the more chocolate the merrier!

Next, drop the dough onto your cookie sheet. I use the medium sized ice cream scoop from Pampered Chef. It is the perfect size for cookies, and it has a squeeze handle which makes for a very easy, clean process. 

I use the rectangle stone from Pampered Chef for all of my baking. I LOVE IT. 

The recipe tells you to bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes depending upon the size of the cookie. The first time around I baked the cookies for 14 minutes. I took them out even though they didn't look completely done because when using stoneware, the cookies continue to bake after you take them out. 

Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes, and then move them to a cooling rack. For the next two batches I only put the cookies in for ten minutes. But, if you're using a regular cookie sheet and not a stone, 13-14 minutes will be great.

Once the cookies have cooled on the cooling rack, enjoy them with a nice glass of milk!