Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

Yesterday was a cold, windy, and rainy day. It was a perfect day to stay in and do absolutely nothing. Because of this cold and dreary day; I had decided to make chicken and dumplings for dinner. And, while I was looking for this recipe I came across this one for Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread. It sounded delicious so I decided to bake this as well. I have to say baking anything that has cinnamon in it is so delightful. The house smelled so lovely. This bread tasted awesome. If you are home on a dreary day be sure to bake this bread. You won't regret it. Thanks to Joy the Baker for the recipe! Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Dough:

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant 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


To make the bread; mix the 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl. Next, take your butter and milk and melt over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and add the water and vanilla. Once the temperature of the milk mixture reaches 115 to 125 degrees pour this into your flour mixture. Stir with a dough hook. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the remaining 3/4 flour. The dough should be sticky. Place the dough into a well-oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm oven (85 degrees) for 1 to 2 hours. While the dough rises; incorporate the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a small bowl. Next, take 2 ounces of butter and melt until nicely browned. Set aside. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove from oven, punch down the dough, and knead in another 2 tbsp of flour. Let rest on the counter with a kitchen towel over the dough for about 5 minutes. Now, roll out the dough to about 20 inches in length and about 12 inches in width. Mine was only around 15 inches in length and about 10 inches in width. Now, brush the butter onto the dough. Then pour the brown sugar evenly onto the dough. Next, cut the dough vertically into 6 strips. Then layer the dough on top of each other and cut into 6 more strips. You should have 6 stacks of 6 squares. I didn't really have this, but I just went with it. Next, place the dough (like flip books) into your oiled and floured loaf pan. Place a kitchen towel over the bread and place in a warm oven and let rise for another 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread in oven and let bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the bread has a nice dark, golden brown color. Remove from oven and let rest for another 20-30 minutes. Use a knife to run around the edge of the pan to help loosen the bread from the pan. Invert onto a plate. Turn the bread right-side up and serve.
Best eaten the same day, but will keep for 1 to 2 days as long as it is tightly wrapped. Enjoy!

(click here for printable recipe)

Easy Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

I know, I know. I've posted several other brownie recipes. I think that's what makes baking brownies so much fun. Because there are numerous ways to make them. I remember my friend, Virginia and I used to make boxed brownies and we would try to see how many different ingredients we could throw into the batter. Normally, these "ingredients" consisted of Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's Pieces, M&M's, caramel, Caramello, etc.

 It was a lot of fun, and I have to admit that the brownies always turned out sooo yummy. Usually, when you are craving chocolate making brownies is a quick and easy way to satisfy that craving. And, that's precisely what I did the other night. I have this cookbook called Nestle Classic Recipes and they offer a lot of different dessert recipes. I came across this brownie recipe and thought it sounded easy. Plus, they had me at "double chocolate." I used milk chocolate chips and they turned out delicious. My co-workers enjoyed them, too. I hope you do as well.

Ingredients:
2 c (12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter; cut into pieces
3 lg eggs
1 1/4 c flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9 pan.

Take 1 cup of your chocolate chips and the butter and place in a sauce pan. Let melt over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Once the chocolate has cooled pour into a bowl. Mix in the eggs. Next, stir in the sugar, flour, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir thoroughly. Stir in the remaining cup of chocolate chips and the nuts. Pour into your prepared baking pan. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out slightly sticky. Enjoy!


(Click here for printable recipe)