But the thing is, maybe the box was right. I love rice crispy treats. I can’t stop eating them. While awe might be too strong, deep adoration is not. As a kid I always wanted them. They’re what I still like buying at coffee shops and bake sales. Most importantly they’re so simple to make and so easy to jazz up.

Maybe jazz up is too strong. Basically, I like to throw holiday-themed sprinkles in with the rice cereal. It adds a bit of color and seasonality. Easy peasy right? This year, for Valentine’s Day I’ve taken it up a notch and cut out heart shapes. I have a very nerdy love of cookie cutters, so any excuse to use them is a good one.

With the cookie cutters I made 12 hearts from a 9×13″ pan. There were lots of off cuts, which are perfect for snacking. And obviously tiny pieces don’t count as one piece, so you can eat as much as you want.

Not into hearts and Valentine’s Day? You can use any cookie cutters your like. I think Christmas cutters, circles and other geometric shapes, and anything kind of circular would be good. Elaborate cutters like dinosaurs, snow flakes, animals, and things with thin shapes will be unlikely to hold together.

Rice crispy treats are always going to be a hit. They’re yummy, with sprinkles they’re colorful, and the shapes are sure to please. Perfect for yourself, for your gals, or for anyone you like. Sure to inspire awe, right?

Messy level: Melted marshmallow can be a bit of nightmare, just be sure to use a big pot and a silicon spatula and you’ll be pretty mess free.

Rice Crispy Treats

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Serves: 12+

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows
• 6 cups for puff rice cereal
• sprinkles, optional
• 3" heart-shaped cookie cutters, optional

Instructions

1. In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat.
2. Once the butter is melted add the marshmallows. Stir so that everything is coated in butter. Keep stirring occasionally until the marshmallows are completely melted and smooth. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
3. Pour in the rice cereal and sprinkles (start with 1-2 tablespoons and add based on what looks good to you). Stir with a silicon spatula until everything is coated in a web of marshmallow.
4. Pour the rice crispy mix into a 9x13" pan. Using your silicon spatula, press the rice crispy mix into the corners of the pan. Press until the mix is flat and feels fairly dense.
5. Let the rice crispy treats cool for about 30 minutes.
6. Press cookie cutters into the pan to cut out shapes. Use a knife to wedge them and serve.

3.5.3226

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Happy New Year! I know it’s taken me a long time to post in 2017, but I have my reasons. I’ve been lazy. I’ve taken up knitting. But most importantly, I haven’t wanted to post anything healthy. January is the time when everyone goes healthy, and yet I’m still eating a lot of cheese. This recipe for cranberry brie pull apart bread is perfect for the holidays… or those of us still wanting to cling to the lovely food and decadence of the holidays. Plus it’s crazy easy to make, and delicious, and yes, cheesy – so you’re welcome. 

This recipe is crazy easy because you use Pillsbury flaky biscuits for the dough. Those biscuits are perfectly engineered food. How could anything be so buttery, flaky and moist?! They are so unbelievable satisfying. Not only the taste, but popping open that tin is a real thrill. I’m not joking, I love doing it. Anyway, this dough gets rolled into balls to make an easy pull apart bread. Perfect for parties or for your own enjoyment. I won’t judge if you eat this alone.

The cranberry sauce is another reason this recipe is legit. Full disclosure, I will eat cranberry sauce with a spoon, straight from the container, while standing in front of the fridge with the door open. It’s true and I’m only slight embarrassed by this. Since I had a bag of frozen cranberries in my fridge I went ahead and made the sauce, and the instructions for how to do that are in the recipe below. However, you can use canned sauce just as easily. Do what works, this recipe is crazy simple.

Finally let me tell you the best part of this recipe. It’s the melted brie encased in perfectly golden biscuit dough. When you take this bread out, you can pull individual pieces away, take a bite, and inside is heavenly warm pockets cheese. The salty cheese, mixed with sweet and tangy cranberries, and eaten with bread is perfection. Sure, these are the flavors of the holidays but they’re worth eating in January too. [For reals though, I know I should get back into vegetables and healthy foods. What healthy things are you eating in 2017?]

Adapted from Buzzfeed.

Messy level: The preparation for this recipe is so straight forward that there is very little mess. You’ll make the biggest mess once it’s time to eat. Be careful! Don’t gobble it up too fast or you’ll have cranberries and cheese down the front of your shirt!

Cranberry Brie Pull Apart Bread

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 6 oz fresh cranberries
• ½-3/4 pound brie
• 16 oz (8 count) tin of Pillsbury Flaky Layer Biscuits
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, divided
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts, divided (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Grease a bundt pan.
3. Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar is melted. Bring to a boil.
4. Once the water is boiling add the cranberries. Lower the heat to medium-low.
5. Simmer the cranberries for 10 minutes, or until it's become a thick garnet sauce. Remove from heat and let cool.
6. Cut the brie into bite sized chunks.
7. Remove the biscuit dough from the tin. Tear each biscuit into 3-4 pieces.
8. Flatten biscuit dough pieces, place brie in the middle, then wrap the dough around the cheese.
9. Place about ½ the cheese-dough balls into the bundt pan. You don't have to wedge them in their too hard, they'll expand as they bake.
10. Drizzle half of the cranberry sauce over the dough.
11. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of thyme and ¼ cup chopped walnuts over the dough balls.
12. Arrange the rest of the dough balls on top of the sauce.
13. Drizzle the rest of the cranberry sauce, thyme, and walnuts over the dough.
14. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.
15. Let cool in pan for a few minutes. Then flip over and serve while warm.
16. Pull apart pieces and enjoy the flavor!

3.5.3226

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This weekend I’m having a cookie baking weekend with two of my friends. I am so excited! Cookies are my favorite thing to bake throughout the year – and in December it’s my favorite holiday tradition. My friends and I have a long list of cookies we’re going to make tomorrow including this recipe for gingerbread. While this recipe can be used to make any gingerbread shapes you’d like, today we’re focusing on super adorable mini gingerbread house cookies. 

I got into mini gingerbread house cookies in part because they are charmingly cute. I also got excited about them because two years ago I attempted a full sized gingerbread house and was disappointed with the end result. Disappointed is a mild word for what I felt. I thought my end result look like an abandoned Christmas house that now people would use on a Halloween haunted forest tour.

I was not proud of that house. And anyway, it collapsed almost immediately. Somehow I thought tiny houses would be easier to get right. And for me, they totally were! Their size makes them cute regardless of design. Plus I figured smaller size could mean easier to stand up. It also means more opportunities to get it right!

So, I bought this mini gingerbread house cookie cutter and got excited about some holiday baking. If you’re not so sure about buying a cutter you can find a gingerbread house template here. I like the cutter a lot because it’s so easy and quick to use. Two presses of it makes a house and then you put them on your sheet to bake.

I have two more reasons for loving these houses. One, is that I’m not good at precision decorations. I grew up simply throwing lots of sprinkles on sugar cookies and baking them. I am not great with a piping bag and making little swirls and dots and who knows what else.

While I’ve seen some beautiful tiny houses on Pinterest, I also stand by my belief that these houses don’t  need a lot of fanfare. They are adorable as they are. My stance: buy lots of beautiful sprinkles, ice these houses wildly, and throw sprinkles on the icing. Job done. They’ll be amazing.

It does however, make for a pretty big mess. I decided to snap a quick photo in the yellow lights of my kitchen, and you can see it above. It doesn’t fully capture the amount of sprinkles on the counter, but it gives you an idea. Just multiply what you see by 100.

Anyway, my decorating plan of attack was this: 1. Put a piece of aluminum foil on the counter 2. Place all the roofs on the foil. 3. Ice the roofs and decorate wildly 4. Let them dry. 5. Assemble the houses 6. crumble up the foil and throw it away. 

The last reason I love these houses are because they can hang on the lip of a mug! The cuteness just keeps on going. These houses are delicious alongside cocoa or coffee. It’s such a happy holiday treat. This recipe will make about two dozen houses, which means you can keep some for yourself and give some as gifts. I brought these two work and while some were eaten immediately, some were lovingly kept for a few days because they were so pretty.

While I’m not generally good at piping or decorating, I found these houses so much fun to make and assemble. Can’t wait to do it again this weekend with my friends. And I think, maybe it’s going to be my go-to holiday bake. What’s your favorite gingerbread recipe or holiday cookie? I’d love to try it!

Adapted from Honestly Yum.

Messy level: The recipe itself isn’t so messy. You will need two bowls and a small saucepan. The messiest part is flouring your work surface to roll out the cookies and then decorating them. While most of the time a kitchen covered in flour and other ingredients annoys me, Christmas cookie baking gets a pass. A kitchen covered in sprinkles feels festive.

Mini Gingerbread Houses

 

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

2 hours 12 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 20+

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cookies

• 3⅓ cup/ 420 grams all purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon of ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• ½ cup and 2 tablespoons/ 125 grams of brown sugar
• ¾ cup/ 255 grams of molasses
• 8 tablespoons/ 113 grams butter

Royal Icing

• 8 ounces/ 230 grams powdered sugar
• 2 egg whites at room temperature
• ⅛ teaspoon of cream of tartar

Decorations

• sprinkles, crushed candy, or whatever you like!

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and nutmeg.
2. In a small saucepan over medium, combine the molasses, brown sugar, and butter. Stir continuously until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved.
3. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture. Fold all ingredients together with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula. As it starts to come together, use you hands to fold in the last bit of dry ingredients.
4. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten slightly into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and put in the fridge or at least one hour, or over night.
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
6. Flour your work surface, then roll out the dough to ⅛-1/4" thickness. Line your baking sheets with parchment.
7. Use a template or cookie cutter (see info in head note for more) to cut out the house shapes. You will need to use the cutter or template twice to make one house. Scrape up any scraps and re-roll until you've used all the dough. (Or make some houses and some other shapes if you want to use other fun cutters!)
8. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
9. Let the cookies cool completely on a rack before icing.
10. While cookies are cooling make icing. Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl.
11. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using hand mixer), start to beat the egg whites. Then, slowly begin to stir in the sugar and cream of tartar.
12. When the sugar is incorporated turn your mixer to high and beat until for 5-7 minutes or until the icing is white and thick.
13. Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small tipped nozzle.
14. Ice one side piece cookie to one front piece cookie. Let those pieces harden and connect completely before assembling the rest of the house.
15. Then, decorate the roofs. Cover the roof pieces completely with icing or using the icing to make decorative patterns. Then liberally sprinkle colorful sugar, sprinkles, or crushed candy over the icing. Let dry completely.
16. Using the icing as bonding glue, add the other side and back piece to the front and side you already assembled. Then using the icing to add the roof. You can add a line of icing between the two sides of the roof, then add sprinkles if you like.
17. Let dry.
18. Serve as they are, or on the lip of a mug full of cocoa or coffee.

3.5.3226

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! This recipe for nutella pumpkin muffins needs to be out there before pumpkin season is over!!! I think technically, pumpkin season can go through Christmas. However, we all know the season of pumpkin-flavored-everything really goes from October until Thanksgiving. After Thursday, it will be all about gingerbread and hot chocolate. Also, I used Halloween muffin wrappers so it’s about time I post this recipe. So let’s get to it. 

This recipe is moist, delicious, and because it’s called “muffins” you can have them for breakfast. Between you and me though, it’s pretty close to dessert. More specifically, it’s these muffins are like pumpkin pie in bread form. Bread with a delicious, and might I say, gorgeous swirl of Nutella baked into the top. What isn’t made better by a swirl of Nutella on top? Pretty much everything is better with Nutella.

If you make these muffins early during pumpkin spice season, they’re a great way to dip your toe into autumnal flavors. But if you make them now, they can be the start of holiday indulgence. Maybe you can refrain from all the parties, and treats, and sweets that come with the holiday season.  I for one, cannot. I love festive treats to add some cheer to cold winter days. These nutella pumpkin muffins can be a new addition to your holiday repertoire. Add this to your day-after Thanksgiving breakfast, for cozy weekends in, or to bring to the office as a holiday treat. So yummy, and everyone will love them!

Insider tip: this recipe plus this one for pumpkin biscotti together use a whole can of pumpkin puree. I love that there won’t be any wasted puree languishing in my fridge.

Adapted from Inside BruCrew Life.

Messy level: Not so messy at all. The most difficult part, as with all muffins, is neatly pouring the batter into the muffin wrappers. Also, nutella by nature doesn’t want to be drizzled and pourable so sometimes it unhelpfully splats about. All in all, nothing to complain about.

Nutella Pumpkin Muffins

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

22 mins

Total time

37 mins

 

Author: Adapted by Cooking is Messy

Serves: 18

Ingredients

• 1 cup/ 225 grams pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup/ 118 ml vegetable oil
• 1 cup/ 225 grams sugar
• 2¼/ 280 grams cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup/ 240 ml milk
• ½ cup/ 150 grams Nutella spread

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a muffin tin with wrappers or spray with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, eggs, oil, and sugar
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Pour the flour mixture and milk in to the pumpkin mixture. Stir gently until smooth.
4. Spoon the muffin batter into your prepared tin. Fill wrappers ¾ full.
5. Place the Nutella in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 20-30 seconds. Stir until it's thinned enough to be gently drizzled.
6. Spoon small dollops of Nutella in the center of each muffin. Use a toothpick artfully swirl a design on top.
7. Bake the muffins for 20-22 minutes.
8. Let cool for 2-5 minutes in the tin. Then remove from tin and let cool completely.
9. Serve!

3.5.3218

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Happy Friday! The weekend is here and I’ve been having dreams of grilling and going to the pool. And yet… it’s supposed to rain. In fact, it poured down on me during my walk home. Sigh. Perhaps instead I’ll have to remember back to last weekend when it was hot and beautiful. Last weekend Ryan and I made burgers and hot dogs and a delicious fruit salad in a watermelon pig. Yeah, that’s right. I made a watermelon into a pig. Why have regular fruit salad slopped on your plate when you could lovingly scoop it out of a pretty pig container?!

Ok, but for real, why did I make a watermelon pig? Because I love pigs. They have been my favorite animal since I was a little girl. And ever since I have collected all things pigs – toys, figurines, slippers, socks, kitchen utensils. It’s the kind of thing that when my friends and family see something with a pig on it, they buy it for me. And when I was a kid, I told my parents I wasn’t going to eat pork anymore and I largely kept to that for nearly two decades. I even once made up a joke about pigs. Let me preface and set the scene by saying I was about four and I only half remember this joke. The rest is reconstructed from my mom’s memory. Anyway, I told the joke to my mom, who called me while I was home with the babysitter.

Mom: Hi ladybug [yes she calls me ladybug]

Me: Hi Mom. Wanna hear a dirty joke?

Mom: Terrified pause… Ok.

Me: Once upon a time, a pig fell in the mud!

What follows is awkward and relieved laughter from my mom. Hysterical laughter from me because apparently the idea of a big fat pig falling in mud and it splashing everywhere is super funny to four-year-old me. And get it, it’s a dirty joke because the pig is in the mud?! So clever, I know. I’m still this funny today.

All of that to say if it’s pig related I’m into it.

But also, it’s summer and all the delicious fruit is available. I literally impulse bought fruit at Harris Teeter. I bought strawberries because they are my favorite (and I’ve been into making homemade whipped cream recently). I had a grapefruit in the fridge, plus of course the watermelon insides. The impulse buying part came from the kiwis and golden raspberries. I just love the green color of kiwis and the starburst of black seeds in the middle. And the golden raspberries are so pretty! They were too interesting not to buy. I didn’t notice a huge difference in taste, but I liked how their color appears simultaneously showing and understated.

The best part though is that this is super easy to make and looks really cute. All you really have to do is hollow out the watermelon, use the top to make the ears, nose, and legs, and then fill with fruit. It’s an adorable centerpiece for your summer barbecue, pool party, or weekend fun. Plus you know, it’s healthy and refreshing and that’s good too.

Inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram, but I don’t remember whose. So sorry I can’t give credit!

Messy level: For someone like me who is a super mess in the kitchen, and not good at detail work, this is really pretty easy and neat. When I was scooping out the watermelon I did get juice all over the counter and that made it sticky. Still, that’s easy to clean and not a bother.

Watermelon Pig Fruit Salad

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Fruit salad in a watermelon pig. To fill a small watermelon I used 3 kiwis, half a carton of strawberries, one carton of raspberries, one grapefruit, and ¾ of the watermelon.

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 watermelon
• 2 chocolate chips (or 2 blueberries)
• toothpicks
• variety of fruit cut in bite sized pieces, enough to fill a watermelon

Instructions

1. Use a sharp knife, and holding it so the blade pierces the watermelon at about a 45° angle, cut out a lid from the top of the watermelon. You want the lid to be about 1-2 inches down the watermelon. If you've ever carved a pumpkin, think about what it's like to cut a lid there, and do the same thing here.
2. Save the lid to make the pig's features. First cut out a large oval for the pig's nose. Then cut two triangles for ears and four rough rectangle-like shapes for legs. You can also cut a piece for the tail if you'd like.
3. Take a spoon and scoop out the insides of the watermelon. Put the watermelon flesh in a large bowl and pour out any watermelon juice that is accumulating in the bottom of your watermelon shell. [Note, you can scrape the watermelon pretty clean or you can leave some on the edges if you want to]
4. Using a toothpicks, connect the nose on one end of the watermelon. Then use more toothpicks to connect the ears at the top near the edge of the opening and the four legs around the bottom. The watermelon is not being held up by the legs so the legs don't have to be perfect. Just place the legs so it looks like the pig is standing.
5. Use your knife to carve out two small eye holes above the nose. Wedge in the pointy end of chocolate chips into these holes - now you have eyes. [Alternatively you can use toothpicks and blueberries to make eyes.]
6. Take the reserved watermelon flesh and cut it into bite sized pieces. Cut any other large fruits you're using into bite sized pieces (bananas, strawberries, apples, melon, kiwi, etc.).
7. Throw in any other fruit you have that doesn't need to be cut (grapes, raspberries, blueberries, etc).
8. Mix all the fruit together and then pour it into your watermelon pig.
9. Place on your table and serve.

3.5.3208

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When you were a kid did you learn to play the recorder in music class? And then, did you learn to play a very breathy and staccato version of the song “Hot Cross Buns”? I certainly did, and I feel like a lot of other children across America did too.  And that was my only interaction with hot cross buns until last year when Ryan and I were in Wales and we went crazy buying pastries. This year, I tried to step it up a notch and make my own hot cross buns. 

So hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday (today). From my very brief Wikipedia research, hot cross buns don’t appear to be a big tradition in the US – however there are lots of American recipes for them. The difference I noticed is that American recipes tend to make the cross from icing and other recipes tend to make the cross from a flour based paste. I decided to align with my Welsh experience and make the paste. Feel free to make icing though, because who doesn’t love icing?

I will say, if you make this recipe don’t try to start this at 7:30 at night after a long day at work. Everything needs to be brought to room temperature. Also, this recipe needs two hours of rising time, plus the regular work of mixing, kneading, and shaping the dough. As well there’s also the actual baking time. Finally,  when it says preheat the oven you should actually turn the oven on, not just type in the numbers but then forget to press start. Seriously, I stayed up until about 11:30 working on these (which is wildly late for me on a school night). I literally fell asleep during some of the rising time and was thankful for noisy timers.

But the next morning, I was pleased I had made these because they made a delicious breakfast. The buns themselves are a slightly sweet bread spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins. You can also use currants, golden raisins, or go wild and throw in some other mixed fruits. I only used raisins because I was being cheap and didn’t want to buy multiple packages of dried fruit. Sorry, it’s the truth. You go with what works best for you though. Also know, I think currants would be kind of delicious. These buns are also delicious lightly toasted, or warmed slightly, and then slathered with butter. It’s mild but a little sweet and overall very nice for breakfast.

Final thing, I know I’ve said it before with other posts and I’ll say it again: sometimes you have to trust yourself over the recipe. The recipe I was working with said to slowly mix 5 tablespoons of water into 2/3 cup of flour to make a thick paste that you eventually pipe over the buns. Well for me, I reached that perfect paste consistency after about 3.5 tablespoons but I kept going with the water. This gave me a super liquidy mix that I feel flowed out of the piping bag too quickly. It also made subtle crosses on the top of these buns. Flavor wise it’s completely fine, but I recommend making a thicker paste so your finished products will have more defined crosses. Learn from my mistakes friends!

Anyway, whether you eat these buns, chocolate eggs, or jelly beans I hope you have a lovely Easter weekend.

Adapted from King Arthur Flour and BBC Good Food.

Messy level: What’s great about this is that all of the ingredients can easily be kneaded together in the bowl of a stand mixer. However, I do recommend taking the dough out and putting it on the counter when kneading in the dried fruit. It’s just easier to ensure you don’t over work the dough and that everything gets mixed. Overall, I’d call this mildly messy but not crazy at all.

Hot Cross Buns

 

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Prep time

2 hours 20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

2 hours 50 mins

 

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the Buns

• ¼/ 59 ml cup apple juice
• 1 cup/ 156 grams dried fruit (you can do a mix of raisins, golden raisins, and dried currants)
• 1¼ cup/ 295 ml milk, room temperature
• 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 6 tablespoons/ 85 g butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• ¼ cup/ 53 grams light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1¾ teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 4½/ 539 grams cups all-purpose flour

For the Cross

• ⅔ cup flour (can substitute some confectioners sugar for the flour)
• up to 5 tablespoons of water

For the Glaze

• 3 tablespoons apricot jam

Instructions

1. Grease a 10x10" or 9x13" pan with butter.
2. Mix the apple juice and raisins in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl and heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the raisins are very warm and have absorbed some of the juice. Set the bowl aside to come to room temperature.
3. Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or a bowl, spoon, and your hands), mix together the milk, eggs, butter, yeast, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and flour. Mix until soft and elastic.
4. Turn the dough on to a floured surface. Knead in the raisins. If dough gets too sticky you can also work in a bit more flour as you knead.
5. Put the dough in a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel.
6. Let the dough rise of 1 hour.
7. Divide the dough into 12 pieces (about the size of a pool ball). Use your hands to roll them in the ball. Place them in your prepared pan.
8. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel. Let the dough rise for 1 hour or until the dough balls are touching each other.
9. When the dough has been rising for 50 minutes, preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C.
10. Now prepare the cross paste. Put the flour in a small bowl. Mix in the water one tablespoon at a time until you have a thick, squeezable paste. You might not need all 5 tablespoons.
11. Transfer the paste to a pastry bag with a small nozzle, or to a plastic bag with a tiny corner cut off. Pipe the paste in line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to make crosses
12. Bake the buns for 20-30 minutes or until they are golden brown.
13. Take the buns out of the oven and let cool slightly.
14. Heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan over low heat. The jam is hot enough when it is melted and spreadable. While the jam is warm, spread it over the top of the buns. Let it cool.
15. Serve the buns warm, toasted, or slightly reheated. Lovely with more jam or butter!

3.5.3208

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Happy New Year! And I guess also a belated Merry Christmas. I’ve been a bit out of the blogging game over the holidays and I’ve got nothing but excuses. Excuses such as: I was busy – we had family in town. I was lazy – Making a Murder isn’t going to watch itself. And I was having fun – at all the parties with my friends. But I’m here and back to business with a recipe for roast beef, plus I’ve got big news.

Let’s start with the news: Ryan and I are moving back to Washington, DC at the end of the month. After nearly two years we felt it was time to go back. I’m excited to be closer to my family, back with old friends, and living in a city that feels like home. However, I’m sad to leave London. I have loved getting to see so much of this city, learn about a different culture and history, and I have made some of the best friends of my life. I’ll stop there for now, as I’m sure I’ll get mushier as our move date approaches.

For now, let’s just say this month I’m going to pay tribute to my time in the UK by posting all British recipes this month. In the US we have the incredibly wrong stereotype that British food is bad. And sure, there’s a lot of boiling vegetables (soggy and gross) and a friend of mine has described British food as “beige” (hardly appetizing) but there’s a lot of good stuff out there and we’re starting with roast beef.

Sunday roasts are an incredible British tradition that made me love British food. Big piece of meat, potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding, and some veg? What is better than that?! It’s cozy and filling and a perfect meal for a lazy Sunday inside. Not only is this good weekend food, it’s great holiday food too. Ryan and I made this for our family for Christmas and I think it was a hit.

I think that roasting a big piece of meat can be intimidating. First, It can be expensive to buy (though doesn’t have to be). I’ve been using beef top rump joints. Sometimes I also see meat in the store labeled as beef roasting joint. Ask the butcher if you don’t know! And the second worry about cooking meat is knowing when it is done. Here’s my two cents: check the meat a few minutes before you think it’s going to be done and then trust your gut.

Check it with either a meat thermometer (I got a Thermapen for Christmas and I’m in love with it! I’ve been taking the temperature of glasses of water just because). Or check it by making a small cut and seeing if the juices are bloody or clear. And then trust your gut meaning, if it seems done take it out of the oven. Ryan and I have over cooked meat more than once by putting the meat back in because the “internet” or “recipe” told us to. Trust yourself and it will all be fine.

Messy level: Surprisingly neat and straightforward. Minimal amount of cutting, then season the meat, pop it all in the oven and the let it be until it’s done. No muss no fuss. How great is that?!

Roast Beef

 

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How to roast a beef joint. For 6-8 people use a piece of meat about 5-6 pounds. For just two people I've used made an 1.8 pound joint and that made two and half big servings for each of us.

Ingredients

• 2 yellow onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• fresh rosemary
• fresh time
• 6 cloves garlic
• Beef joint
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475°/250°.
2. Cut the onions in half and remove the skin. Place in the bottom of a roasting pan.
3. Cut the carrots (no need to peel) and celery into large pieces (it's not so serious the size). Throw them into the pan too.
4. Add the garlic cloves (no need to peel) and 3-5 sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Throw those in the pan with the rest. These herbs and vegetables are going to help season your meat and create great flavor in the juices, which you can use to make gravy.
5. If your beef came tied in string, leave the string on. It will help it keep shape while cooking.
6. Rub the beef all over with a thin layer of olive oil. This helps keeps things moist!
7. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper (if you have other seasonings you like on beef you could sprinkle a bit of that on too)
8. To add a bit of an exterior crust, rub the flour evenly all over the exterior of the beef. You might not need the whole tablespoon.
9. Put the beef on top of the vegetables in your roasting pan.
10. Lower the heat in the oven to 400°F/200°F.
11. Put the beef in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes plus 15 minutes per pound, for rare beef. Add 15 minutes more for medium and add 30 minutes more for well done. So a 2 pound beef cooks for 50 minutes for rare, 65 min for medium, and 80 minutes for well done.
12. When the meat is cooked to your liking, remove the pan from the oven. Cover it with aluminum foil or a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Resting is important! Cut it too early and all the juices fall out.
13. Once the meat has rested, slice and serve. Best with lots of gravy, potatoes, and vegetables!

3.5.3208

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Have you ever done something and even though it’s not a super big deal, you’re still really proud of it? That’s how I feel about these gingerbread and rum marshmallows. They were an idea in my head, and then they were sludge (my first attempt didn’t go well), and then I tried again and this time they were real marshmallows. And so I was proud because I did it. I made marshmallows! These are fluffy (bouncy even), delicious (amazingly delicious), and they melt perfectly into your hot chocolate. In short, you should consider turning my personal kitchen triumph into your personal kitchen triumph.

I got the idea of gingerbread marshmallows in part because they already exist and I wanted some for my very own. But also, I wanted to make them because gingerbread drinks are one of my favorite things ways to get into the holiday spirit. I love a gingerbread latte, so I wanted to bring that flavor home. Then I thought rum, because why the heck not? The holidays are about being celebratory so I thought adding a fun grown-ups only twist would be special and festive. And it is. But also there’s only two teaspoons of rum so, in truth, ain’t nobody getting tipsy off of these marshmallows. Substitute vanilla extract for rum if you really want to.

But I love these marshmallows because they are a decadent addition to hot chocolate, which is already a luxurious treat. And truly these marshmallows are the best! Here’s a bold statement: store bought ones are going to taste like junk in comparison. For reals. Homemade marshmallows are crazy fluffy and somehow magically creamy. Eaten plain straight from the bowl they smell like spicy rum and taste like sugar and warming ginger and cinnamon. In your cocoa they are melty, gooey, and add a subtle flavor to the chocolate.

As I told you already, I’m super proud of this recipe. And clearly, I can’t sing this recipes praises enough. But I should warn you, there are some logistics involved with this recipe because a lot of mixing needs to get done. A lot. The main marshmallow batter and egg whites both need to be furiously beaten at about the same time and that takes a lot of work.

You’re going to be in the best position if you have both a stand mixer and a hand mixer (because you can mix two things at once with little stress). Second best position is if you have a stand mixer and a whisk (because you can mix two things at once with some exhaustion caused to your arm). This second option is what I did. While the stand mixer was doing it’s thing on the main marshmallow batter I was working hard to beat egg whites. Then the next option is if you have a hand mixer and a whisk (this isn’t as good because you can’t work simultaneously unless you have as assistant and your arm will still be tired). And if you only have a whisk, don’t make this recipe your arm will fall off. Unless you’re super buff, then good for you, give it a try.

If you have the inclination, definitely give this a try over the holidays. It might be a fun thing to do with family. In the end you’ll have a tray full of soft, really bouncy marshmallows. Cut them up, and depending on the size you’ll have 70-90 marshmallows. Perfect for drinks, snacks, s’mores or gifts.

Messy level: I don’t want anyone to be disheartened by mess so I want to say this messy in a worthwhile way. You’ll need two bowls, a pan, a candy thermometer and beaters or a whisk. So a fair amount of dishes. The real mess comes from transferring the marshmallow batter from the bowl to the tray. Work fast to pour the batter and scrape it with a spatula into the pan. Once the batter starts to cool the marshmallow gets stringy and makes a huge mess. Don’t get greedy and you won’t be covered in marshmallow.

Gingerbread and Rum Marshmallows

 

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Prep time

3 hours 30 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

3 hours 50 mins

 

Serves: 70-90

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing
• About 1 cup powdered sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, divided
• 2 tablespoons plus 2½ teaspoons/32 grams unflavored gelatin
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• 1 cup/ 235 ml cold water, divided
• 2 cups/ 450 grams granulated sugar
• ½ cup/ 150 grams light corn syrup
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon spiced rum

Instructions

1. Use some butter to grease a 9x13" pan.
2. Dust the bottom and sides of the pan with about ¼ cup of the powdered sugar/ginger/cinnamon mixture.
3. In large bowl or in the bowl of the standing mixer, pour in the gelatin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour ½ cup of the cold water over these ingredients and let stand.
4. In a medium saucepan on low, heat the sugar, corn syrup, second ½ cup of cold water and salt. Stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Once the sugar has dissolved, snap a candy thermometer on to your pan. Increase heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil without stirring. Seriously, don't stir! Heat until a candy thermometer registers 240°F/115°C. This takes about 10-12 minutes.
6. Remove pan from heat and quickly pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture. Turn the hand or stand mixer on and stir until gelatin in dissolved.
7. With mixer on high speed, beat the sugar mixture until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume. This takes between 6-10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, put the egg whites in a medium bowl. Using clean beaters on an electric mixer, or using a whisk, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
9. Pour the egg whites and rum into the sugar-gelatin mixture. Lower the speed of your mixer and gently mix until the whites and rum are just incorporated.
10. Pour mixture into baking pan. You can scrap the bowl a little bit with a silicon spatula, but don't get greedy it won't all come out and it can get very sticky.
11. Sift ¼ cup powdered sugar mixture evenly over top.
12. Chill marshmallow in the refrigerator, uncovered, until firm, for at least three hours, and up to one day.
13. When the marshmallows are set, run a knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Use your fingers to loosen the marshmallow from the pan and onto the cutting board.
14. Using a large knife or pizza cutter, cut the marshmallows into 1" cubes.
15. Sift the remaining powdered’ sugar back into a large bowl or the now-empty baking pan. Roll the marshmallows around in the sugar so that all the sides are covered in sugar. This keeps them from sticking.
16. Keep covered and eat within 1 week.

3.5.3208

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Earlier this week I got an awesome present from my work secret Santa. (Thank you mystery friend!) I don’t know what to call it, but they are a pack of stencils that you put over cupcakes or frothy coffee and then sprinkle some sugar over it and you get an image. And mine are all Star Wars related! They take a little finesse to use, but I think I made some nice designs. It’s a perfect present not only because it combines two things that I love, but also because the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, comes out on TOMORROW! I’m so excited! And for that reason (and inspired by this present) I’ve put together a Star Wars Gift Guide for Foodies. 

Star Wars foodie might seem like a niche market, but based on the vast array of products out there, I’m sure I’m not the only one. Today’s post is actually compiled of two lists. One is a list of 10 fun food related gifts for Star Wars fans and the other is 5 Star Wars foods you can easily make at home – no special molds or tools required. With all of this you can celebrate the new film and treat your Star Wars fan (or yourself) to some lovely Christmas gifts. So let’s get to it.

10 Foodie Gifts for Star Wars Fans

1. Star Wars Apron from Alexenia on Etsy, $53 – I got this for Christmas for last year and I love it! The print is a bright, cute, Star Wars comic. And I love that the cut is feminine and different. It’s not your usual boxy apron.

2. Death Star Ice Mold, from Amazon, $4 – I think I recommended this last year too, and I still believe it’s a cool present. This is inexpensive and perfect for a stocking stuffer. Also this big circular size is meant to be perfect for cocktails because the ice melts more slowly.

3. Millennium Falcon Cutting Board, from I Want One of Those, £19.99 – The fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, now in your kitchen. With this cutting board, you can finish your prep work in less than 12 parsecs.

4. Star Wars Ugly Sweater Mug, from Amazon, $13 – Cute and seasonally festive this mug is a great gift. Your Star Wars fan can snuggle up at home in front of the TV with hot cocoa and enjoy the films.

5. R2D2 Measuring Cups and Spoons, from Think Geek, $19.99 –  I love this not only because it’s cute, but also because it’s so efficient. It has all the measuring cups and spoons you need and they all fit together for easy storage (and to make R2D2).

6. Star Wars Cook Book, from Barnes and Noble, $15 – Ok so the titles for the recipes are all cheesy puns and silly alliteration, but overall the book is fun. It’s great for the younger fan on your list, but I think adults would find it amusing too.

7. 8 Piece Star Wars Cookie Cutter Set, from Williams-Sonoma, $24 -Love these cookie cutters! You get a great mix of Republic and Imperial characters and ships. Also they are really easy to use and I’ve only ever had dough get stuck to the C3-PO cutter. The others work perfectly. See the Yoda cutter in action with these Green Tea & Lemon Shortbread Cookies.

8. Star Wars Planetary Glasses, from Think Geek, $49.99 – These glasses are a more subtle, grown up, and dare I say it – a beautiful way to let your nerd flag fly. Think Geek also has glasses with the real planets from our solar system in case reality is what you’re in to.

9. Storm Trooper Oven Mitt, from Think Geek, $14.99 – I think this is just fun and kind of bad ass. They also have a Darth Vader oven mitt too.

10. Light Saber Chop Sticks, from Amazon, $17 – Who wouldn’t want their own light sabers? And you couldn’t sometimes use help from the Force when picking up slippery sushi? I feel like this gift solves all your problems. Available in lots of colors so you can represent your favorite character.

5 Star Wars Foods (to celebrate the Force Awakens)

Ok and now for those who might want to celebrate the Force Awaken’s release, or who wants to do something nice for your Star Wars fan, I have a list of 5 Star Wars themed foods you can make. These recipes are great because you don’t need a cake mold of Darth Vader’s face or special cookie cutters. Your regular kitchen equipment should be just fine.

1. Storm Trooper Marshmallow Pops, from Catch my Party – So cool looking and all you need is three things: marshmallows, food coloring marker, and lollipop sticks. Easy!
2. Leia Cupcakes from Paintbrushes and Popsicles – Leia’s hair is iconic and so easy to recreate with food through cinnamon rolls or as we see on these cupcakes, with Oreos!
3. Chewbacca Hash Browns & Bacon, from Carrie Elle – I am in love with this Chewbacca breakfast. I find it perfectly elegant in design. All you’re doing is making regular breakfast and designing it in the best way ever. It’s awesome!
4. Yoda Apple, from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons – Small but powerful, this apple snack is just like Yoda! It’s great that it’s  healthy too.
5. BB-8 Quesadilla from Totally the Bomb – The last thing on my list today, and this really is from the new film. Already BB-8 has become pretty popular and now you can bring him to your home in quesadilla form. Ok, so you might need some piping skills but I think the effort would be worth it. This is so cute.

Hope you all enjoyed these lists, and better yet I hope you enjoy the film tomorrow!

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This is the first year Ryan and I are hosting Christmas. I’m excited about it and have already made a semi-long list of foods I want to cook. I’m also trying to pick things that represent both our childhood Christmas traditions. For me, I want to make a big roast dinner with flan for dessert. For Ryan, I want to make a nice breakfast complete with homemade cinnamon rolls. 

Growing up Christmas breakfast wasn’t such a thing for me. I’m fairly certain my dad would have made pancakes or French toast but it wasn’t the main food event. For Ryan, on Christmas morning he had cinnamon rolls and an egg casserole. And I think that breakfast may have been a bigger deal in his household because it was the intermission during present opening.

Here’s the thing. Ryan and I grew up with different present opening traditions. His family opens presents one by one, everyone taking turns with a breakfast intermission between. On the other hand, my family dives in all at once. Well, historically kids went first then grown ups, which is a weird system now since everyone is over 20 years old. We’d all jump in, then show off our gifts afterward, and then hang out until dinner. I think there are merits to both systems. I like that taking turns means you get to savor opening presents, that it becomes a big event, and you get to see what everyone got. On the other hand, diving in is full of adrenaline and excitement, and it evokes the feeling a being a kid who can’t wait to rip open the paper. Which side do you fall on? Taking turns or diving in? I think each year Ryan and I work to try to blend the two.

Regardless of how your family opens present, I think we can all get on board with the tradition of cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter are intoxicating scents that give the feeling of Christmas. Warm and sweet, cinnamon rolls are feel like a special indulgence – and that’s a nice thing to have on Christmas.

Most of the cinnamon rolls I’ve had in the past are either from a stand in a shopping mall or from those cardboard tubes that make the satisfying pop when they open. And those are good and easy, requiring little work from you. But, as Ryan said to me, “these are homemade and that makes them great.” Homemade is great because you can make them as sweet or cinnamony as suits your tastes. I also thinking making something homemade is a nice gift to give the people around you at Christmas.

Most importantly, this recipe won’t require too much work from you. You won’t have to worry that you’ll be in the kitchen all morning working away while everyone else plays with their new toys. I called this recipe simple for two reasons. First, the recipe does not call for yeast. That means you don’t have to worry about rising times or kneading the dough. That cuts down on time. Second, your kitchen electronics do all the work (unless you don’t have a food processor or mixer, then you will have to do a little more work). You could even make the dough and assemble the rolls before opening presents, then pop the rolls in the oven later in the morning when you’re ready to eat.

Last tip, I find these cinnamon rolls great on their own without a lot of icing. If you disagree and like a lot of icing, I recommend you double the icing recipe below so you can slather the rolls to your heart’s content. I for one am looking forward to having these again in less than two weeks time. And I hope you too will enjoy these rolls for the holidays (or for that matter on any weekend morning you want).

Adapted from Domestic Chic by Kristin Sollenne

Messy level: In terms of work, this recipe is pretty easy and not very messy. That’s because most of the mess is going to be contained in the food processor and mixer, which is great. However, you will have to take the dough and roll it onto your counter. That means lots of flour and a little sticky dough. It’s not a huge mess, but the counter will need a good wipe afterwards.

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Serves: 9

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing the pan

Cinnamon Filling

• ⅓ cup/ 76 grams butter, softened
• 1 cup/ 200 grams brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Dough

• 1 egg
• ⅔ cup/ 160 ml milk
• 2¼ cups/282 grams flour (plus 2-3 tablespoons more for dusting)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ cup/113 grams cold butter

Icing

• ½ cup/ 63 grams powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1½ teaspoons milk
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Grease an 8x8" pan with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.
3. Start with the filling: In a medium bowl using an electric mixer on high to cream the butter, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the creamed butter. Mix until combined. Set aside.
5. Now for the dough. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Set aside for now.
6. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Turn the food processor on high for a few seconds to make sure all the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
7. Add the cold butter to the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter has been cut into the flour and the mixture looks crumbly.
8. Now pour in the whisked egg and milk mixture. Mix briefly on high until the dough has come together.
9. Generously flour your work surface. Turn the dough out onto the work surface. The dough might be a bit sticky. If so, knead in another 1-2 tablespoons of flour until the dough becomes drier and you are able to handle it without it sticking to your hands.
10. Roll or pat the dough into a rough square, with the dough about ¼-1/3" thick.
11. Sprinkle the cinnamon butter filling over the dough. Use your fingers or a knife to spread the filling as best as you can as evenly as possible across the dough.
12. Roll the dough up, as if you were rolling up a newspaper. This will give you the cinnamon roll swirl pattern.
13. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 9 pieces.
14. Put the 9 pieces into the prepared baking pan. Leave some space between them, they will puff up and touch each other as they cook.
15. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
16. While the rolls are cooking, make the icing. In a small bowl stir together the powdered sugar, hot water, milk, and vanilla extract. Drizzle on top of cooled cinnamon rolls. If you're too eager and put the icing on while the rolls are too hot the icing will melt into the rolls.
17. Serve iced rolls slightly warm.

3.5.3208

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