Author Archives: baxterandmain

caramel pecan cinnamon rolls

Posted in bread, breakfast by

As promised in my first post of the new year, the recipe for my Aunt Sarah’s cinnamon rolls, aka the best cinnamon rolls ever.

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She told me the original recipe came from the back of a bag of flour and she has tweaked it over the years to get it right.  In fact when I asked for the recipe she had to translate it for me because she was still using the original cut-out from the back of the flour bag which was in rough shape and didn’t have any of her modifications noted on it.  Point is, this recipe is time-tested and a proven winner.  Trust me on this one.

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You begin by making the sweet dough which then gets divided in two and is kneaded and then sits for a little while to rise.

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Next you roll the dough out into two rectangles and spread with softened butter (I microwaved the butter for about 30 seconds so it was partially melted and that seemed to work well) and then sprinkle with a brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.

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Then you roll the dough up.

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Once the dough is rolled up you use a sharp knife or kitchen twine and cut the dough into 1 1/2″ sections.  I got a little too generous with a few rolls and they wound up being closer to 2″ which messes up the caramel-to-roll ratio in the end so I advise you get don’t cut them any wider than 1 1/2″.

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Next you put 4 to 6 tablespoons of melted butter in the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ pan, then drizzle 1/2 of light corn syrup over the top, followed by 3/4 cup of brown sugar, and finally pecans if you are using.  I decided to make half the pan with pecans and half without.  Another tip here that I wish I had thought of before I baked the rolls: butter the sides of the pan so the rolls don’t stick and therefore drop out of the pan easier when you get that point.

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Then you place the rolls into the pan on top of the buttery-sugary goodness and let rise in the fridge for 2 to 48 hours.  Once they have risen in the fridge you then take them out and let them rest on the counter for another 1 to 2 hours.  Do not do as I did and stuff the pan quite as full as the below picture shows.  I forgot to take into account that the dough nearly doubles in size so it threw off the baking time of the rolls since they were too close together and a few rolls in the middle of the pan did not cook all the way through.  I think I would have been okay if I had taken 3 rolls out of the 9″ x 13″ pan and placed them in a separate pan to bake.  Live and learn.

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After the rolls bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes (I recommend checking after 20 minutes and if they are browning already, cover with aluminum foil for duration of baking time) you flip the pan over (away from you) into prepared foil with upturned edges so you do not get caramel all over your counter top.  The caramel from the bottom of the pan coats the rolls in a beautiful golden brown and the scent is heavenly.

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Alas, because I did not butter the sides of the pan and then stuffed a few too many in, my rolls did not come out the pan in an attractive manner.  They still tasted wonderful but were not so much photo-worthy so I am instead substituting with a photo of the rolls my aunt made at Christmas.  As they say, practice makes perfect…

Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls (CoolRise Rapidmix Sweet Dough Recipe)

Dough:

  • 4 – 5 cups bread flour
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 packages active dry yeast
  • ½ cup (1 stick) soft butter
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ cups very hot tap water
  • 2 eggs at room temperature

Filling & Caramel:

  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
  • 1 ½ brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon
  • ½ cup light corn syrup
  • ½ cup pecans, optional

Make dough:

Combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, sugar & salt in large bowl (use pedestal mixer if you have one).  Stir well to blend and add softened butter.

Add hot tap water to ingredients in bowl.  Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Scrape sides of bowl occasionally.

Add eggs and 1 cup more flour.  Beat with electric mixer at high speed for 1 minute or until thick and elastic.  Scrape sides of bowl occasionally.

Stir in remaining flour gradually with wooden spoon.  Use just enough flour to make a soft dough which leaves sides of bowl.  (I only used about 4 and ½ cups bread flour.)  Turn out onto floured board.  Round up into a ball.

Divide dough into two equal portions.  Knead 5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic

Cover with plastic wrap & then a dry towel.  Let rest 15-20 minutes and punch down.

Make pecan rolls:

Roll each ball into a 12” x 18” rectangle (approximate size).  Spread with 1 stick of softened butter and sprinkle with a mixture of ¾ cup of the brown sugar and all of the cinnamon.  Starting at the longest side, roll up the dough leaving the seam side down.  Using a sharp knife or twine, cut each roll about 1 ½ inches deep.

Butter sides of a 9” x  13” pan and then put 4 tablespoons of melted butter in the bottom of the pan, swirl light corn syrup over butter, and sprinkle remaining ¾ cup brown sugar on top.  Add whole or chopped pecans to the pan and then lay cinnamon rolls on top.  Lightly brush rolls with melted butter, cover loosely with plastic wrap, then a dry towel and refrigerate 2 to 48 hours.

Remove rolls from the fridge and uncover, letting them rise at room temperature for approximately 1 to 2 hours, or until nearly doubled in size.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until done (making sure the rolls aren’t doughy in the center).  Cover lightly with foil if they brown too quickly while baking.

Remove from the pan onto a large sheet of heavy aluminum foil with edges that have been turned up (to prevent hot caramel from spilling onto the counter).  Make sure to tip the pan away from you to prevent caramel from splashing on you.

kale and white bean soup

Posted in soup by

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After all of the junk I ate over the holidays I decided I needed to atone for it in the new year and the first food that came to mind?  Kale.  It’s so good for you and I am actually quite a fan of it so it was not difficult to convince myself to seek out kale-based recipes.  Other foods that are good for you?  Carrots, white beans, garlic, and onions.  Check, check, check, and check.

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Last week was very cold with temps in the single digits at night so soup sounded like an especially excellent idea and also an easy way to combine all of the aforementioned ingredients.

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The recipe recommended adding kielbasa or other smoked sausage so I did, though the soup could easily be made vegetarian by omitting the sausage and substituting vegetable broth for chicken broth.  It would still be excellent with these changes though I am glad I used the kielbasa because it definitely added a nice smokey dimension to the soup and made it more hearty.

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Another key ingredient that I have never once added to a soup before is a hunk of parmesan cheese rind.  It totally works.  It partially melted into the soup adding a salty creaminess though there was still a substantial chunk of cheese left after it was done cooking that I discarded along with the bay leaf.  This may be my favorite new soup and it was very simple to make.  Certainly it would have been a little healthier without the kielbasa and parmesan but overall I think the good far outweighs the bad and it’s definitely a good way to start the new year!

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Kale and White Bean Soup (recipe found at www.epicurious.com)

  • 1 lb dried white beans such as Great Northern, cannellini, or navy
  • 2 onions, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 5 cups chicken broth
  • 2 qt water
  • 1 (3- by 2-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf (not California)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 lb smoked sausage such as kielbasa (optional), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
  • 8 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 lb kale (preferably lacinato), stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped

Cover beans with water by 2 inches in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, 1 hour. Drain beans in a colander and rinse.

Cook onions in oil in an 8-quart pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beans, broth, 1 quart water, cheese rind, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and rosemary and simmer, uncovered, until beans are just tender, about 50 minutes.

While soup is simmering, brown sausage (if using) in batches in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning, then transfer to paper towels to drain.

Stir carrots into soup and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in kale, sausage, and remaining quart water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper.

Cooks’ note: Soup is best if made 1 or 2 days ahead. Cool completely, uncovered, then chill, covered. Thin with water if necessary.

a belated Happy New Year to all!

Posted in Uncategorized by

Happy belated holidays!  I took a little time off and I hope you did too.

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My holiday break started with one whale of a storm in these parts of Wisconsin.  The snow started falling at about 8 at night and kept going for a good solid 24 hours after that.  It was really beautiful.

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Until I had to shovel, of course.  But even then I didn’t mind so much, especially because I knew it was likely the last bit of exercise I would get before the total glutton-fest that are the weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s.

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Below you can see my handiwork and also get a better picture of just how much snow there was.  That was two weeks ago and it looks pretty much the same now except I threw out the wreath as the sun managed to dry it out.

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But on to the glutton-fest, beginning with my Aunt Sarah’s famous cinnamon rolls that she only makes this time of year.  She gave me her top-secret recipe and I plan to share it with you in the coming weeks.

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I did a little bit of cooking over Christmas– a couple of soups for my dad who wasn’t feeling great, including my first attempt at chicken noodle soup (pretty darn good once I got the salt amount right) and a pumpkin bread pudding for Christmas day brunch.  Mostly though I ate the cooking/baking of family members whose talents in the kitchen are immense.  In addition to the aforementioned rolls, highlights were my cousin Erica’s corn pudding, cousin Wendi’s peanut butter balls, Aunt Dianne’s vegan potato casserole, and my brother’s girlfriend’s outstanding German New Year’s Eve meal which concluded with the below pictured mango-peach chocolate torte.

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I swear she made it herself and didn’t buy it from one of those fancy bakeries.  And it tasted as good as it looked!

I will be back soon with the regularly scheduled programming but in the meantime would like to mention that in addition to following this blog I am also follow-able on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest should you be on any of those.  My username is baxterandmain on all and while I did not update the blog or Facebook over the past few weeks I was at least tweeting, instagramming, and pinning.  So I wasn’t completely blog-neglectful…

Hey!  Look out for the icicles.

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the simplest and most amazing toffee you’ll ever eat

Posted in dessert by

I first had a version of this toffee at a friend’s Passover dinner a few years back and I shamelessly ate more than my fair share at the end of the long meal.  I couldn’t help myself it was so good!

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My friend told me then how easy it was to make but I decided not to attempt it on my own because this is exactly the sort of thing you don’t want sitting around your house or you will eat it all in a very short amount of time and then feel guilty for having done so.  However, it is a great thing to make when you need to bring a sweet treat to a party or event on short notice because it is super quick and simple to make.  There are only five ingredients: matzo crackers, butter, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and whatever you choose to top it with– shredded coconut, crushed peppermint candies, toasted sesame seeds, dried cranberries, or in this case, sea salt.

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After laying out matzo crackers on a foil-lined baking sheet you make caramel in a saucepan by heating up butter and brown sugar over medium-high heat until it gets all thick and gooey.

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Then you spread the caramel over the matzo crackers and bake it in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until it gets bubbly.

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Scatter semi-sweet (it would be good with dark chocolate too!) chocolate chips over the hot caramel and let sit for 5 minutes so that the chocolate melts.

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Then spread the chocolate around with a spatula and finally sprinkle with sea salt (or topping of choice) and let cool and harden.

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The final step is to break up the toffee into pieces to serve and watch it disappear.  Hopefully not all into your mouth but I totally wouldn’t judge if it did…

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Matzo Toffee (adapted from recipe by Zoe Bakes found at www.lhj.com)

  • 6  unsalted matzo crackers cup
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  •  Sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with greased foil and arrange crackers in an even layer.

In a saucepan, make caramel by heating the butter and sugar over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until sugar dissolved and mixture has thickened, 3 to 5 min. Pour caramel over crackers, using a spatula to spread in an even layer. Bake until caramel is bubbly, 15 min. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top; let chocolate sit for 5 min, then spread evenly over crackers. Sprinkle surface with sea salt and chill to set chocolate.

Transfer to a cutting board and peel away foil before cutting into strips. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

a monster of a cookie

Posted in cookie by

Holiday baking is the best but it’s definitely more fun when it’s a shared experience, so I invited a friend and her 5-year-old daughter over to help me last weekend.  Little Sofia was a major help in the kitchen.  She deftly crushed the peppermint candies for the Double Chocolate-Peppermint Crunch Cookies, she almost mastered separating egg whites from the yolks on her first try (not easy!), and she is an expert stirrer as demonstrated below.  She even came with her own apron!  Love it. 12.8.12 006

One of the cookies we made were monster cookies from a recipe by the guys who run Baked in Brooklyn.  Monster cookies are basically everything you could ever want in a cookie all rolled into one: peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and M&M’s.  A few years ago I made them with another friend and we experimented with pretzel pieces and marshmallows as well and both were nice additions.  You should be able to have a little fun with recipes.  Go nuts!  (I did not intend for the pun but while on the subject I will say I’m not a fan of nuts in most desserts but those would certainly be a nice addition too, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

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The resulting cookie almost feels like it’s good for you– at least that’s how I justified it as breakfast more than one morning this week… The recipe makes a lot of cookies so it’s a great one if you are participating in a cookie swap or giving them away in care packages.  They also freeze well if you want to make them now and save them for later.  Enjoy!

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Monster Cookies (from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito)

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 5 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups peanut butter
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup M&Ms

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add in the oats and whisk until evenly combined. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth and pale in color. Add in the brown sugar and the granulated sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time, being sure to incorporate the egg fully before adding in the next one. Add in the corn syrup and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Scrape down the bowl and add in the peanut butter. Mix gradually until just combined. Very carefully add in your oat mixture in three separate additions, so you don’t overload your mixer. Mix until just incorporated (don’t overmix).

Fold in your chocolate chips and M&Ms. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 5 hours. This is important for the texture of your cookies.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls the size of 2 tablespoons and place them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart from one another.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, turning the pans once through the baking time. The cookies are ready when they are set and golden. Let the cookies cool completely for 8-10 minutes on the baking sheets before removing them and placing them on a new surface to cool completely. These can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3 days.