Snow Day and Cinnamon Rolls

Yesterday was our first official snow day! Even though it was more of a dusting outside, the roads were too slick for buses to run and the temperatures were too cold for kids to stand outside waiting for buses. My kiddos don’t ride the bus, but we sure are glad it’s there in case we need it!

Burr! It was a freezing 8 degrees outside!

Even though school was canceled, we are still required to do school work. Our school district has implemented AMI days. AMI stands for Alternative Methods of Instruction. An AMI day is a day in which school is cancelled (e.g. in the case of inclement weather) but students do not have to make up the day because they will be provided the opportunity to complete “Weather Work” assignments over a specified period. I don't mind doing the AMI work at all. It keeps the kids busy, plus I get to see more of what they are learning in class. It teaches me too:)

Completing AMI school work

Over the weekend I knew we'd be stuck inside because I do not like the cold. I mean I really hate it. HATE it. Summer is my favorite. I'll admit, I'd probably hate summer if we didn't own a swimming pool. I LOVE our swimming pool and I have been known to spend all day in a swim suit, walking around like I'm on vacation at a fancy resort. Yea, Yea I'm spoiled, I don't you need to tell me that. ANYWAY, while we were inside, I thought I'd try out a few recipes from one of my favorite people Jenny Steffens Hobick of Everyday Occasions. And they are sooooo EASY! Thank you, Jenny!! First is her Cinnamon Pizza using store bought pizza dough. I just bought the Pillsbury pizza dough that you can ironically find by the cinnamon rolls. This recipe would be perfect for Christmas morning or for something quick to whip up when unexpected company arrives.

Cinnamon Pizza was sooooo easy to make!  

Cinnamon Pizza

Ingredients

1 store-bought pizza dough
2 tablespoons of butter, softened
brown sugar 
cinnamon

Butter Icing 

1 tablespoon of butter, melted
1 cup of powdered sugar
milk 

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees.

Directions

Stretch the dough out onto a greased baking sheet.  Spread with softened butter.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Bake for 10 minutes. 

For the butter icing, mix together melted butter and powdered sugar.  Add vanilla and small amounts of milk until it is to your desired thickness.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then drizzle icing over the dough.

Enjoy!!

Second is Jenny's incredibly easy cinnamon rolls. This was almost a duh moment for me with this one: She uses frozen bread dough. Duh, right? So much less work and so much less mess! The whole family loved these and I will keep this one in my list of favorites for sure! Especially when my son, Matt, wants homemade cinnamon rolls and I don't have enough time to make them from scratch. 

Easy and Delicious!

"Homemade" Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

3 loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed (it comes 3 to a bag)
8 tablespoons of butter, softened
1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
4 tablespoons of cinnamon
butter icing glaze (below)

Directions

Thaw three loaves of frozen bread dough in the refrigerator or on the counter (there are directions for thawing on the bag).  Allow the thaw dough to rise for 1-2 hours in a warm area covered with a damp cloth.  Roll the dough out into a rectangle onto a floured surface.  Spread softened butter on the rolled out dough.  Sprinkle sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon over the dough.  Roll up the dough into a log.  Slice into 2-inch thick rolls.  Place into a buttered pan, or one lined with parchment paper.

Cover with a warm damp towel and allow to rise 1-2 hours in a warm area.  If you are preparing the night before and baking in the morning, keep them in the refrigerator and let them rise about 1 hour before baking.  When the rolls have doubled in size, bake them at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes until they begin to brown.  Top with Butter Icing Glaze.

Butter Icing Glaze

for cinnamon rolls

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of milk

powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter with milk in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla until the glaze is the right consistency - it should pour, but not be runny.  The heat from the cinnamon rolls will help the glaze to melt over them easily.  

Can't you just smell the coffee and taste the cinnamon? I hope you and your loved ones enjoy these yummy recipes on your next cold day or lazy weekend just as we did! And if you get a chance, visit Jenny's pages on Instagram and her blog!

https://www.instagram.com/jennysteffenshobick/

http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/

Easy Game Day Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Cookies

Football season has begun and with that comes our beloved tailgating & fall traditions! During football season you'll find my husband doing one of three things:

                                                           1) Brewing Beer
                                                           2) Watching multiple games on TV
                                                           3) Tailgating with friends

He lives for this time of year. The delicious smell of wort during the mash process, a brat in one hand and cold beer in the other....ahhh, this is living, this is Game Day, y'all.

I'm very similar to my Groom. I love sipping hot apple cider and baking during this time of year. Baking pumpkin bread, cookies and well breads of all kind! We are a family of comfort of food and drink during Football season. And we've got our game faces on as we prepare our next brews and bakes for the upcoming weekend!

I pretty much always having homemade cookies in our cookie jar and it's almost always double chocolate chip cookies {my kids favorite}. Today I got a little ahead of myself and decided to bake something with a little more protein to see us through this busy weekend, but also filled with fall flavors. In one day we have flag football and cheer for our littles, ACT test for our college bound high school senior, watching the Hogs beat TCU, a sleepover for our daughter and my parents annual chili supper at the lake with family and friends. Brewing beer and baking pumpkin bread will just have to wait till next weekend. But weekends like this are what fall is all about, wrapped into a warm blanket, and we are ready to cozy up!

{This recipe makes 2 dozen cookies}

Today's fall bake is so easy, and if you've never tried making peanut butter cookies this way you have no idea what you are missing. I know some people say they can't bake, but you can't mess this recipe up unless you go out of your way to burn them. These cookies are great for busy weekends, game days, tailgating, or any time you just want to have a cookie jar full of fall flavors. If fall flavors are not for you, you have a problem....try using regular or crunchy peanut butter instead.

-Preheat oven to 325-

Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin spice peanut butter 

{by Peanut Butter & Co.}

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

Directions

Cream all 3 ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Mix well so that the egg is blended.

Put mix into the refrigerator uncovered for 30 minutes 

Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper

Scoop out cookie dough and roll into a ball

Flatten with a wooden spoon or 

make a criss-cross pattern with a fork

Put in the oven and set timer for 18-20 minutes

{mine only need 18 minutes max}

Let cool on a wire rack until ready to consume 

with a big ol' glass of milk.

Or save a few for breakfast and have with coffee-

it's life changing y'all-trust me

Enjoy!

Sweet Blueberry Biscuits

I'm a tad obsessed with Nordic Ware. Especially nifty little pans that make your food look so pretty, people think you spent hours crafting it to perfection. Truth be told, I spent 15 minutes prepping and about 15 minutes baking these delicious Sweet Blueberry Biscuits. The pan did all the pretty work for me, and I get to sit back and take credit with all the oohs and awes of how beautifully delicious these biscuits look. 

Pan from Nordic Ware provides swirls and beautiful details! 

{Swoon}

https://www.nordicware.com/store/product_detail/cinnamon-bun-pull-aparts#.VqAeSfkrLIU

Click on link  above to purchase this pan for some seriously beautiful baking!

Sweet Blueberry Biscuits

GLAZE

1 cup powder sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

BISCUITS

2 cups all purpose flour 

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

2 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup FROZEN blueberries

~1/2 stick melted butter~

Begin by making your glaze. In a small bowl add powder sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir all 3 ingredients until powder sugar has dissolved.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

For the biscuits: add all the dry ingredients {flour,baking powder, salt and sugar}

 Mix well in a large bowl.

Cut in butter and cream cheese using a pastry blender or fork until pea sized

Slowly stir in your buttermilk until your dough no longer sticks to the bowl

Mix until blended well

Prepare a large area for kneading. Sprinkle some flour on a large cutting board or counter top.

Put dough on floured surface and sprinkle top of dough with a little more flour

Press the dough out to 1/2" thickness

Place frozen blueberries over dough and begin to fold dough over the blueberries. 

**I used a dough scraper for this step, as the blueberries like to roll off and its just easier to fold over when the dough is full.**

Knead it a few times and keep it about 1" thick. 

(Unless you are using a pan like mine from Nordic Ware)

Cut biscuits using a biscuit cutter or cup

Place biscuits in a well coated pan using Bakers Joy or some sort of non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes

When you put the biscuits in the oven, melt the 1/2 stick butter 

At 6 minutes into your bake, take biscuits out of the oven and brush the melted 1/2 stick butter over them, making sure to get the edges well.

Return to oven to finish out baking process

Once the biscuits are done, take them out of the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

If you are making these biscuits as traditional cut biscuits, after 10 minutes add the glaze.

If you are making these biscuits using the Nordic Ware pan, turn over onto pan and make sure top is baked as desired. If not, return to oven for a few more minutes (mine took about 3 more minutes)

Once cooled for 10 minutes after last bake, add your glaze.

Enjoy!!!

This recipe was adapted by  AC @ See.Try.Eat

Try it, you'll LOVE it!!