Tis’ the Season for Baking (and Looking) Good | Whiskey Brown Sugar Glazed Ham + French Country Rye Bread with Slow Cooker Brandy Apple Butter

Hello, friends.

So, Christmas is now dangerously close. Unfortunately, final exams are even closer which seriously bums me out. I’m tired of being a student of higher education. I just want to bake and sleep through my responsibilities. Ugh! Why is being an adult so hard?! Okay, rant over. That’s right, today marks the start of final exam week for me. Luckily, I don’t have any tests until later in the week which gives me ample time to study as well as procrastinate by baking. During final exam week, I enjoy gathering together with friends, getting in the kitchen and making some delicious food, and sitting down together to eat, converse (and study). For the holidays or a weekend night study session, one of the great lessons of hosting I’ve learned from Momma Crawford is to make it simple. You want a dish that tastes delicious but doesn’t take an arm and a leg to make, especially during this stressful time of the year. Luckily, I’ve teamed up with JORD Wood Watches to share with you some of my culinary tips for hosting and/or attending a holiday gathering this season (and how to look good while doing it!)

P.s. Be sure to the read to the end of this post for an exclusive $25 e-giftcard you can use to get either my watch or any other style of watch from JORD. 

Dutch Apple Pie Cookies with a Caramel Apple Glaze | #TheMagicofTea

Hello, friend.

Halloween is over and November is in full swing! The days are colder and the nights are longer. During this time of year when I’m not spending my time in class or in the library studying, I can be found baking my little heart out in my tiny apartment kitchen. There is something therapeutic about coming home after a long day of school, out from the biting autumn winds of Illinois, and just baking my feelings. After I am all said and done, I take a deep sigh, brew myself a steaming cup of tea, sit down at my desk and proceed to go on a photo editing binge, the sounds of smooth jazz acoustics playing softly in the background. 

As I've gotten older, tea has become one of those drinks that has ever so quickly grown on me. Coffee has always had my heart (or at least since freshman year of college when I started drinking it), but there is something so powerful about the calming, floral flavors that tea provides. It's this which has recently gotten my hooked, the warm brew trickling down my throat with each savored sip. Tea reminds of late night study sessions at my or my friend's apartments, our laughter proceeded late into the evening. Happy memories and funny moments, all over a cup of tea, and  more specifically, Celestial Seasonings tea.

Spiced Grapefruit Sponge Cake with Candied Orange Slices

Hello, friend

The citrus fruit season is almost behind us. Before it leaves and the flavors of autumn begin to drown us in their apple spiced goodness, you need to get your hands on some oranges and a bottle (or two!) of this Spiced Grapefruit Tonic mixer from Powell & Mahoney and make this sponge cake. The cake is warm with hints of autumn from the honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The spiced grapefruit tonic mixer adds a hint of allspice and a subtle tartness to this simply sweet cake. The cake is light and almost cloud-like. Couldn’t you image it? Instead of clouds we had little flying sponge cakes in the air. Actually, scratch that idea, that sounds terrifying. Clouds belong in the sky and cake belongs on my plate. You should put that saying on a t-shirt.

Orange Blossom & Honey Cinnamon Buns + a change

Hello, friend.

Whenever I’m feeling homesick (or more specifically, when I’m missing Momma’s cooking), I bake. The smell of warm cinnamon rolls brings me back to those early Saturday mornings growing up. Mom pulling them out of the oven and generously drowning each roll in a sweet icing glaze. Sweet bliss, my friends. These orange blossom & honey cinnamon buns are the perfect end of summer goodbye and hello to autumn brunch or afternoon dessert. I first attempted this recipe back in July (hence some of the rolls in the iron skillet), but I wasn't happy with the recipe so I kept adapting. Now I have a recipe I'm proud of.  The sweet and fruity notes of the orange and honey play beautifully with the floral undertones of the orange blossom water. I am a huge love of rose water. I’ve even featured it in a few recipes (and, hint-hint, it’s a featured ingredient in an upcoming blog post).

Funfetti Mini-Cinnamon Rolls with a Maple Sugar Glaze

Last Tuesday was Marti Gras, which has nothing to do with this post. Side note: I didn’t know it was called “Fat Tuesday”. Why is that? Who comes up with these names? The world is strange. What I am really getting at is that everyone likes a good party (good over-generalized statement, Nate. Love it!). Parties are fantastic ways to get out into the world, meet new people, connect with friends, and just be all around a social member of society. This sounds great in movies and on Twitter, but for anyone who has been to a party of any degree before, knows how anxiety infested they are. Wear the wrong socks, make an inappropriate joke, or bring a vegetable tray (never be that person for the sake of humanity) and you will be instantly annihilated by judgmental stares and passive-aggressive tweets from the other party guests. This is why I choose to stay home and find solace with the Internet, where is never any judgment. 

All kidding and self-deprecation aside, I really enjoy a good party with friends and/or family. As I get older, and more experienced with cooking/baking, I find myself, as I’m going to a party, feeling obligated to make something for the occasion. Even if the host says “Don’t worry about food, just bring yourself and a positive, party attitude”, what I hear is, “I demand food and I demand it now.” Inevitably, my subconscious bullies me into making guilt-tripped baked goods. My twin brother, Jon, and I were invited to a birthday party this past weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn’t going to be able to make the party due to work commitments, but I knew I had to send something fun, creative, delicious, and something that everyone would enjoy. My answer: bite-sized cinnamon rolls with multi-colored sprinkles (keeping to the birthday theme). Nothing says party like baked goods. My other option was banana bread, but I didn’t want to be the short guy and the loser who brought banana bread to a birthday party. 

The cinnamon roll recipe I used is incredible. It comes from Momma Crawford who, after finding a recipe for it online, has made it for my family and me for years. These cinnamon rolls are buttery, soft, warm, and have that sugary-sweet aroma that everyone craves on a Saturday morning. I love the smell of fresh brewed coffee lingering in the air as mom pulls a tray of gooey cinnamon rolls out of the oven. The icing is laced ever so evenly over the tops, melting together beautifully with the rest of the roll. Perfection.

The maple-sugar icing drizzled on top literally, and figuratively, “wraps” the whole roll together. It’s soft, ambrosial, and warm with delight. Imagine the center of a gooey cinnamon roll, but the entire thing being that. This cinnamon roll is that fantasy. I know, your mind is blown. I usually make these rolls bigger (woah size queen), but since I was sending these with Jon (who I personally can’t trust around anything sweet because he’ll just devour it and leave it left for dead), I wanted to make these bite sized. Plus, nothing says party like multi-colored sprinkles (seriously, ask anyone.) On a snowy day or a Saturday morning, these cinnamon rolls are practically perfect in every way (okay, Mary Poppins). 

 Funfetti Mini-Cinnamon Rolls with a Maple Sugar Glaze 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Milk
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 ½ teaspoons)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted  
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract (or 1 ½ teaspoons if voiding or avoiding the maple extract)
• ½ teaspoon maple extract (optional)
• 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• Flour, for dusting
• 12 tablespoons softened butter (1 ½ sticks)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon cardamom
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• Rainbow sprinkles, for topping

Directions

Pre-Step: Get ready to roll with the punches! Cinnamon rolls that is. What are you gonna do about the haters?

1. Pre-heat oven to 325°F. Over low heat in a medium saucepan, heat milk until it reads 100°F on a candy thermometer.  Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast (it’s the yeast you could do) and sugar. I know you will be tempted, but don’t stir this mixture. Let it sit for about five minutes. After five minutes, whisk in your melted butter, egg yolk, vanilla and maple extract.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and nutmeg. Making a well in the flour, slowly pour in your yeast mixture. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix together until a rough dough forms, about 3-5 minutes. Once your dough begins to come together, take it out of the bowl and form it into a ball. Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and set on the stove top for 1 hour 15 minutes. 
3. On a floured surface, roll your dough out using a floured rolling pin, about ¼ inches thick. The dough should look like an edible rectangle. With a butter knife and a delicate hand, spread the soften butter on the dough. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and ground cloves. Distribute the sugar mixture evenly over the dough.
4. Starting from the length end, gently roll the dough into a cylinder. If you take it slow and believe in yourself, your cinnamon rolls will be rolled perfectly and look beautiful. Cut into one inch slices. Take two buttered muffin tins and place the cinnamon rolls into the tins. Cover with a towel and place on the stove top for 45 minutes. 
5. Bake at 325°F for 20-25 minutes. Note: if you are making these rolls bigger in size, add about 10 more minutes on the bake time.
6.  In a medium size bowl, whisk together your confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream and maple syrup the desired consistence you want is achieved. Take a spoon and drizzle the icing over rolls. Let set before transporting.