fifty tiny toes

Happy Blogiversary

2011-08-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

We blogged for a year...
We loved every minute...
It's a lot of work!
So, for our anniversary...

We QUIT!

(That's right, we're two women who know our limits.)
Thank you for following our journey and passing the blog along to your friends. We hope we've inspired you and maybe made you laugh. We set out with no real timeline or goal in mind; we just wanted to continue as long as we were having fun. The blog isn't going away--we'll still post if a magnificent idea strikes us--but we won't be posting weekly...probably not even monthly.

Green Bunny: Super Logan

2011-08-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

The color scheme on this one was a lot of fun. I love these pictures because it was the first time Logan wanted to be "Super Logan" and have his blankie for a cape.

Green Bunny: Love Birds

2011-08-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this layout! The top picture was the first one ever taken of Dan and I. The bottom picture is us, re-creating it, 10 years later.

Green Bunny: Canvas!

2011-07-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Canvas art! This was a really fun project. I am thinking it might be something I offer when I start my little business venture. I started with an 8x10 blank canvas. Next, I painted the whole canvas with Making Memories scrapbook paint. Then, I sifted through a bunch of patterned paper scraps and picked some coordinating designs.

I used foam alphabet stamps for my words and attached my papers with sticky photo tabs.

I finished the projects with a layer of modge podge. The boys always get my 'first tries'. You R My Sunshine in Carter's room and I Love You This Much goes to Logan. Can't wait to try a couple more with other colors and sayings!

Green Bunny: Little Blue Pool

2011-07-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is...by far...one of my favorite layouts!

There is just something about chubby arms and that little blue pool that create a recipe for pure joy. This was the first time I combined both color and black & white photos on a layout and I love the outcome.

Joyeux Kitchen: Sangria! Ole!

2011-07-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

We had a party over the weekend and this Emeril recipe was a huge hit. It's easy to make ahead and serve later; perfect for a busy party day!

You'll need:

1 (750 ml) bottle of red wine
1/4 cup brandy (I used apricot)
1/4 cup triple sec/orange liqueur
2 tbsp fresh lime juice (I used bottled)
2 tbsp fresh orange juice (again...bottled)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 an orange, thinly sliced
1/2 a lemon, thinly sliced
1 unwaxed apple, cored and cut into thin wedges (Oh please Emeril, where am I going to get an unwaxed apple? I used waxed and didn't core it either.)
1 (750 ml) bottle of sparkling water, chilled

I also threw in a handful of tiny key limes sliced in half since I used bottled lime juice. Combine everything but the sparkling water in a large plastic container or glass pitchers. Cover and chill completely, 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve, add the sparkling water. This recipe is great doubled if you're serving a crowd! I doubled it, but didn't have a second bottle of sparkling water, so I used 2 cans of Sprite. YUM!

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse & foodnetwork.com.

Green Bunny: Week In The Life

2011-07-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Another amazing project from Ali Edwards. I LOVED capturing our life for a week. All the 'stuff' that makes us the McCabe Family. I did my first Week In The Life album in May 2010. I tailored mine after Ali's for the first go round and used her Designer Digitals templates to set up my album. I basically followed her format exactly as I got my toes wet in this process. It is an 8.5x11 format. I used Photoshop Elements 4.0 with the digital overlays and the divided pages are baseball card protectors. Not sure if I will use the same templates this year or try something new. I'm a big believer in "if it ain't broke..."

Ali has set her week in July this year. With Dan traveling, our anniversary, and Carter turning two, it didn't seem like the ideal week for us. I'd like to capture an 'ordinary' week (if that exists). I am going to set aside a week in August (currently looking at Aug 15-21). Consider yourself invited to join in during either time period. Visit Ali's Week In The Life page for even more inspiration.

SERIOUSLY...Give it a try! Last year, I took 80-100 pictures a day (Don't be overwhelmed by this number...that incudes 4-5 pictures of each subject to make sure I got atleast one good one...blurries...etc). It was easier than I thought it would be. I tried to capture several aspects of our lives: foods we were eating, the way our street looked that time of year, our shoes, toys, clothes, dog, the boys wrestling, the boys reading, the boys playing...I also included receipts, packaging, lists, pieces of mail, etc. I kept my Itso bin (mentioned in a December Daily post) on the kitchen counter with a file folder for each day of the week to keep track of everything. At the end of each day, I uploaded all the pics to a dated folder on my desktop. That way, I didn't have to sort through 1000 pictures at the end of the week and try to decided what happened on each day. I also kept a spiral notebook in the Itso bin to write notes and stories from each day. My mama brain NEEDS notes!

It is so fun to look back at last year's album. SO much has changed in just one year (no more bottles, Carter is walking, Logan is potty-trained, the toys have changed). Imagine looking back in 10 years and seeing what your 'reality' was. A glimpse of what used to be. LOVE it!

My hope is to continue doing one week a year and shifting a couple months each time in order to include different months/seasons over the years. I think I'll be able to fit two to three 'years' in one album. May 2010 was 16 pages. Take a look:

The right page is a printed 8.5x11 photo. I used Ali's digital overlays to create the collage and then printed them up on scrapbookpictures.com. I added the patterned paper once they arrived in my mailbox.

A couple of 6x12's for some variation...

The baseball page protectors were a fun size to play with. For the photos on those pages, I created a 5x7 canvas in Photoshop and added four 2.5x3.5 photos in collage format and printed them through scrapbookpictures.com. Just a small amount of cropping when they arrived and they were ALL the SAME size!

Inspired yet? I hope you'll join me! This is a great little book of memories for your family. Feel free to leave any questions you have in the comments section too!

"That's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying."

2011-06-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

I ran my first marathon on Saturday. Immediately after the race, I might have been tempted to call it my one and only marathon. But today I can tell you with certainty that I will do it again.

I ran with a very dear friend, and for her company along the course I will never be able to fully express my gratitude. She could have finished faster but stayed with me every step of the race. She had dozens of inspirational running quotes that she doled out along the way, wisdom from other marathoners and elite runners, and stories from random folks she'd met at other races who had all left an impression on her. She has so much HEART. She only let on that she was hurting one time that I can remember, as opposed to me constantly assessing which new body part was feeling searing pain. God bless that woman and her sweet Midwestern accent; without her I might have veered to the left when the half-mary runners split from the full.

Thank goodness for our support crew (my husband and her dad) who tracked us down at three separate places along the course carrying a bright yellow sunshine balloon so we could find them easily. Thank goodness for my mama, who kept the girls Friday and Saturday so I could enjoy the weekend worry-free. Thank goodness for the spectators and volunteers who showed up at the crack of dawn to cheer us on. All along the course they held hand-written signs with memorable one-liners:

"In our minds, you're all Kenyans!"

"That's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying!"

"Chuck Norris never ran a marathon!"

"There's beer at the finish line!"

"This 26.2 is for all the girls picked last in gym class!"

I loved the sense of community all throughout the race: 26,000 strangers and throngs of supporters, united by a common goal and shared passion.

At mile 7, we reached the tribute to our nation's veterans and those lost in combat. There were volunteers holding photos of service men and women who didn't make it home, and a long line of American flags, and the sight of it all quite literally took my breath away. Talk about perspective.

At mile 12, I started having what I call 'big thoughts,' as in: We've already been running for two hours and we aren't even halfway done yet, and My God What Have I Gotten Myself Into??? Then we came across a table full of snack food for the race volunteers. Doughnuts....and grapes and broccoli. The doughnuts proved to be too large a temptation--I made off with half an old-fashioned glazed and popped it in my mouth with two broccoli florets. Mmm.

I am not a natural runner, it doesn't come easily to me. At mile 19, I remember saying, "This is harder than childbirth!" Maybe I was being melodramatic. Maybe I had freakishly mild labor and delivery experiences. (The girls all came out in 1 or 2 pushes so I certainly don't have the perspective of a woman who had to push for hours.) 26.2 miles of pavement pounding is grueling and there is no mid-race epidural. (If you've done both and still disagree and want to call me names that's totally your prerogative. ;)

The last mile of the race felt like at least three miles; the anticipation of the finish line was palpable and painful. But crossing it, hand in hand with my sweet friend, was an amazing rush. I came home to bone-crushing hugs from my girls and peonies on my porch from lovely Lindsay.

I think Saturday was the beginning of a journey for me: a lifetime of marathons, hopefully some faster and probably some slower, but each with it's own unique set of experiences. I will cross the starting line for my next 26.2 armed with the knowledge that I absolutely CAN do it. And if I can do it, anyone can.

Green Bunny: Some Kind Of Wonderful

2011-06-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

It is official: The first day of Summer.

C'mon sun...c'mon sun!

Here's a layout of the (no exaggeration) only sunshine day we've had so far in the Pacific NW. I DO see a glorious ball of bright in the sky this morning, so maybe it was just holding out until it was officially summertime!

Joyeux Kitchen: Great-Grandma Nell's Raspberry Swirl

2011-06-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

(Doug's favorite dessert)

*This recipe includes raw eggs. It's an old-school creamy dessert, and back in the day no one thought twice about using raw eggs to achieve super creamy texture. I like livin' on the edge, but it seemed like an appropriate disclaimer if you're concerned about the possibility of food borne illness. I list suggestions at the bottom for making it without the eggs but I can't guarantee the same creamy texture.

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (this time I was out of grahams so I used finely crushed animal crackers...Nilla Wafers would work too)
3 tbsp. melted butter
2 tbsp. sugar

Combine and press in the bottom of a greased or parchment lined 8 by 8 (for a thicker slice) or 9 by 13 pan. Bake @ 375 for 8 minutes and cool completely. Don't let it get too dark in the oven! I left it in for 12 minutes by accident one time and it tastes terrible.

3 eggs, separated
1 8-ounce cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup whipped cream (homemade or Cool Whip)
1 bag frozen, sweetened raspberries, thawed

Beat egg yolks until thick. Add cream cheese, sugar and salt and beat until light and smooth. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold whites and whipped cream into cheese mixture. Puree raspberries; gently swirl 1/2 through cheese filling. Spread onto crust. Stream remaining berries onto top in long strings and swirl with a knife (for Father's Day I put it in my piping bag to be fancy :). Freeze for at least four hours, or preferably overnight.

Let thaw for a few minutes on the counter before serving or it will be impossibly hard to get out. It will also be really hard to get out if you forgot to grease the baking pan before you put the crust in it. But it'll still taste great. C'est la vie!

Websites with ideas for raw egg replacement:

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2825/banana-split-dessert.asp

http://www.homemade-dessert-recipes.com/eggs-and-salmonella.html

Popular ideas seem to be pasteurized whole eggs, liquid refrigerated eggs or egg whites, or egg substitutes. Haven't experimented yet but I'll let you know when I do! I'll be much more comfortable serving this at parties and not having to hold my breath for a couple days wondering if I gave anyone food poisoning.

Homemade Crayons

2011-06-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

When I asked Logan what he wanted to give his teachers as a thank you, he enthusiastically said "CRAYONS". I couldn't see myself handing the teachers a box of Crayolas, so I had to get creative.

Why not MAKE crayons? (I said in my head)

Super simple AND super fun!

Peel your old crayons and break them into small pieces.

just pretty

I sprayed both a silicone baking mold (squares) and a metal tart tin (circles) with Pam cooking spray and started dropping in crayons. Logan was serious about creating color combos he liked.

Ready to go in the oven. I put them in at 300 degrees and watched them closely. 7-10 minutes depending on metal vs. silicone.

This pic is about halfway through cooking. Once the lumps are gone and they look melted, pull them out and let them cool completely. I used a toothpick to swirl the colors a bit before they set.

BEAUTIMOUS! Such a fun project that the kiddos can help with.

Vintage Nellie Cooks -- Froot Loops Fiestas

2011-06-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

Another treasure from Nellie's recipe box! This one was clipped off the side of Nellie's breakfast cereal (and really, if you look at the sugar content, Froot Loops for dessert is far more appropriate than on the breakfast menu!). These are light and buttery and the cereal stays crunchy--kids will love them. The only note I'd add is that you have to push them flat with a fork like a sugar cookie, they won't flatten out on their own. You could use any kids' cereal that you have on hand (Fruity Pebbles would be perfect). Happy Monday!

Thank You...Thank You Very Much

2011-06-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

I was trying to come up with something fun for Logan's teachers at the end of the school year...instead of a blank thank you card.

I decided to use the worksheets that they had worked on all year to spell "thank you". I added an adorable little man, snapped the picture, and:

We packaged them up with our gift...HOMEMADE CRAYONS!!! (watch the blog next week for a step-by-step)...and they turned out super cute. You could also do this card in variations: maybe with birthday gifts as a thank you after a party...I just saw one online yesterday with a little girl and boxes of girl scout cookies thanking everyone who ordered from her.

An Obsession...REVIVED!

2011-06-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

Green Bunny: Notes to my Boys

2011-06-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, one photo (usually of nothing incredibly spectacular) will send me into an emotional-please don't ever grow up-mommy tailspin and I feel the need to write about the little things in life. The quirks that I don't want to forget about my boys. Here are two such layouts:

I definitely encourage you to keep track of the little things that make your kids tick. Someday, you'll really wish you could remember that silly thing they used to do! Another idea I had for preserving all these delicious childhood moments can be found here: You've Got Mail...Kids.

And the winner is....

2011-06-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

YAY! I'm so thrilled that we pulled fifty tiny toes follower Stacy Low out of the mixing bowl. Stacy has promoted Joyeux Kitchen on her Facebook page a lot over the past month (in fact, she was also my first order this morning!!) and I can't wait to make her some goodies. Stacy, thanks for following the blog, and thank you everyone for taking part in our first contest. Looking forward to the next one!

Joyeux Kitchen: Taking orders today!

2011-05-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

The big day is here! I'm elated to announce that I'm now taking summer orders. (You can view the original menu and post here.) Also, Joyeux Kitchen will be a permanent page in the column to the right with a price list and a few *what might be* Frequently Asked Questions (I did a casual self-interview this afternoon).

Let me take a load off your shoulders! If you have a family barbecue coming up, maybe a church bake sale or Father's Day brunch, give me a shout and I'll have your treats ready in no time.

It's contest time!
At 4pm (PST) today Lindsay and I are going to draw a fifty tiny toes follower's name out of a hat and that person will receive a FREE Joyeux Kitchen dessert of your choice (*if it has to be shipped, choices are scones, cinnamon rolls or cake balls). So join our follower's list for a chance to win!

Don't forget to "Like" Joyeux Kitchen on Facebook!
I'll be sharing baking tips, my favorite foodie blogs, running occasional contests, and you'll be the first to know about special yummies for sale beyond what appears on the regular menu.

Friends and Family Referral Reward
If you refer a friend or family member (or your dog walker, or your checker at the grocery store) and they mention your name when they order, you'll get a credit for 15% off your next purchase. You're eligible for a reward every time a new customer mentions your name!!

Joyeux Kitchen: Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

2011-05-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

We love Memorial Day weekend! It's a bonus day to have Daddy home and a great excuse to get together with family and barbecue. These homemade marshmallows are a perfect, albeit unconventional, take on tomorrow's dessert, or you could use them as little going-away treats for visiting friends and family. If you've never made marshmallow from scratch, you're missing out! It's easy!

You'll need:

7 oz toasted coconut
3 packages unflavored (Knox) gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
powdered sugar for rolling/dusting

Start your mallows by combining the gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and allow this to sit while you make the syrup.

For the syrup, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly on medium for another minute, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Sprinkle half the toasted coconut (How To Toast Coconut Tutorial) in the bottom of a 9 by 13 glass dish, Pour in the marshmallow batter and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands. Sprinkle on the remaining toasted coconut. Allow to dry overnight, uncovered at room temperature.

Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares. Roll the cut sides of each piece carefully in powdered sugar. Store uncovered at room temperature. (I'll post a picture of this step in the morning!)

I can't wait to try them toasted over the firepit! YUM!

Original recipe from Ina Garten.

101 Things To Do...

2011-05-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

...in your life together!

Target's Club Wedd recently posted this list on Facebook and I thought it was awesome. A nice little reminder to do something out of the ordinary once in a while with the love of your life.

Build a fort in your living room
Watch a black & white movie marathon
Do a home improvement project with your neighbor
Build a tree house in your backyard
Watch a meteor shower
Perform a duet in a record store
Play a practical joke on your partner
Make your own artisan cheese
Have a spa day at home
Have a food fight
Camp out for a concert
Walk everywhere for one day
Play a game of flag football
Throw a black tie dinner for two
Apply Feng Shui to your house
Perfect your guacamole-making skills
Mix your own signature cocktail
Make a mix CD for each other
Get lost on purpose
Map your family tree
Take dance lessons
Write a note to your future grandchildren
Go backyard bird watching
Kidnap him for a play date in the park
Go skydiving
Go on a health kick together
Book a trip and travel on the same day
Karaoke while you cook
Cook everything from A to Z
Pretend to film a cooking show in your kitchen
Pick her up in a limo on a Tuesday
Paint a ceiling in your house to resemble a famous mural
Camp out close to home
Treat her to breakfast in bed
Do something touristy in your hometown
Go skinny dipping
Surprise her with a clean house
Bury a time capsule in your backyard
Spend a week at sea
Set a world record in something
Learn 3 guitar chords and play a song
Spend a night in a haunted house together
Swim in the ocean with a large fish
Take her out for a date in your living room
Teach her how to build a fire
Cook something that you've grown with your own two hands
Brew your own wine or beer
Go on a hot air balloon ride
Build a house of cards and then run through it
Build something that will outlast you both
Take an extended nap in a mattress store
Have a pillow fight
Send handwritten notes to each other
Get your palms read
Volunteer at a soup kitchen over a holiday
Eat every dinner at the table for a week
Throw a dart at a map and eat a meal from that country
Fly a kite
Go white water rafting
Test drive a car you'll never be able to afford
Climb to the top of a mountain and yodel
Go bowling
Get tattoos
Learn how to surf together
Cook breakfast for dinner
Make your own pasta from scratch
Donate blood together
Learn a new language together
Host a croquet tournament in your backyard
Make a movie together
Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
Send a message in a bottle
Watch 26 movies in 26 days starting with each letter of the alphabet
Plan a poker party
Throw a party because its Tuesday
Dress up for Halloween when it is not Halloween
Carve your names into a tree
Take a road trip
Cultivate a bonsai tree
Go jogging in your pj's
Learn how to throw a knuckle ball
Go for a ride on a scary roller coaster
Build a giant snow fort
Pay for the next person in a drive thru
Go on a 24-hour cleanse
Bake cupcakes and give them to a neighbor
Put the iPod on shuffle and dance all night long
Cook a 5-star dinner in the great outdoors
Take a cooking class together
Go to the top of the tallest building in your city
Go out dressed 80's style
Play a game of H.O.R.S.E.
Switch sides of the bed
Take part in a rally for something you believe in
Put on a puppet show
Volunteer at an animal shelter
Plant an herb or vegetable garden
Build a birdhouse
Put together a giant jigsaw puzzle
Paint each other's self-portrait
Do yoga on the beach

Dan and I have done 58 of these in our 13 years together. How many can you check off the list?

Joyeux Kitchen: Salted Caramel Buttercream

2011-05-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

It shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you that I'm a frosting snob. I'll just come out and say it: The canned stuff is yucky, and the film it leaves in your mouth is caused by the junk they put in it to make it 'shelf stable' (look at the ingredient list--I'm not lying). Bleh. Making your own is cheap and easy; even this recipe, which is more complex than most, hardly takes any time at all. I put this particular buttercream on espresso cupcakes, creating what I like to think of as a "Caramel Macchiato on a plate". You could also just serve it in a parfait dish, maybe, with a steaming espresso shooter. :)

You'll need:

1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened/room temp.
2 cups powdered sugar

(Double this recipe if you like mounded frosting on your cupcakes, like I do.) Stir together the granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until the mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and slowly add the cream and vanilla (start with a tablespoon or two), stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. If the cream you added was too cold, the mixture will start to separate and you'll think all is lost!! Don't despair, put it back on the still-hot stove top and stir until it comes back together, then remove from heat. Set aside until cool to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated. Turn off the mixer, then add the cool caramel. Beat frosting on low to combine, and then increase to medium-high and beat until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate if not using immediately (or to harden the frosting a bit).

Salted Caramel Buttercream originally from Gimme Some Oven!

Picture of the Day: Buzz & Woody

2011-05-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

I was lucky to get away on a girls trip to Palm Springs this weekend. This is a picture of my boys on the morning I was leaving. They were so happy to be in these pajamas together!

What a team they will make.
And what a bittersweet moment.

Such a simple one that just took my breath away because as I was packing up my suitcase, I was so very aware of how in love with them I am. My little Buzz & Woody.

Picture of the Day: Thirty Tiny Pedicured Toes

2011-05-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

I love baby feet, and the girls love to get their teeny tiny toenails painted (easier said than done sometimes--best accomplished while they're in their booster seats eating a snack). They relish the opportunity to paw through my box of polish colors and choose the perfect shade, and they take sitting still very seriously so as not to smudge the paint. Just a little moment that brought us all joy this morning :).

Garage Sale-in' Fools

2011-05-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

It only happens once a year folks...the Lakeland Hills Neighborhood Garage Sale and it is fan-freakin-tastic! We always have a very precise plan of attack and move through the hundreds (may be a slight exaggeration, but go with it) of sales with ~~frantic~~ ~~frenzy~~...ahem...grace. We are armed with a wish list written days in advance, Starbucks, re-useable grocery bags, and a mama mobile sans car seats!

2011's first purchase of the day. The Notebook. A classic. Sarah was pleased! (until she saw one later with hottie Ryan Gosling on the cover. Doh!)

These babies were a dollar each and brought a huge smile to little Carter man's face!

Sarah's loot.

Lindsay's number one wish list item. A kid-sized picnic table: $5.00

Great day!

Summer time fun: $7.00

Best find? Two identical (and brand new) Superman sleeping bags: $1.00 each!

Hannah loves Scooby Doo so Sarah was stoked to find this $2 costume!

Find of the day? Maybe Doug's new Star Wars toy. Vintage for $0.50. It transforms from the ship below (complete with miniatures) into Han and Chewy-bots above.

Sarah's new sangria pitcher! $3!

Love the bowl: $2 and it now resides on top of the fridge. Shiny!

Joyeux Kitchen: Maple-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

2011-05-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

These cinnamon rolls are from Ree Drummond, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, and as far as I'm concerned, they are her greatest masterpiece. I'm made them more than a dozen times and every person (EVERY person), after one bite, says, "These are the best I have ever had." So...what makes them different? Homemade cinnamon rolls are, in general, fantastic no matter the recipe, right? You have to taste them to fully understand, but these are gooey, not dense, not too "bready", instead of the middle one being by far the best, each one is a "middle", the maple glaze is certainly a unique and welcome departure from the standard cream cheese frosting....

Warning: Friends and relatives alike may fall hopelessly in love with you after tasting these cinnamon rolls. They're the baked-goods equivalent of Old Spice body wash. ("Helllllo ladies.")

You'll need:

1 quart whole milk (4 cups) ... and yes, it has to be whole milk.
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp if you buy the jars)
8 cups (plus 1 cup extra, separated) unbleached all-purpose Flour
1 tsp (heaping) baking powder
1 tsp (scant) baking soda
1 tbsp (heaping) salt
plenty of melted butter (just go ahead and melt a whole box/lb.)
2 cups sugar
generous sprinkling of cinnamon

Maple Glaze

1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar
2 tsp maple flavoring (found on the spice aisle with the vanilla)
½ cups milk
¼ cups melted butter
¼ cups brewed coffee
⅛ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover (I use loose plastic wrap) and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough--I use somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup...it's more of a feeling than an exact science. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven or nine inch round foil cake or pie pan (I use 9 in round foil cake pans). Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans (an easy way to cut the rolls is to use dental floss for nice even slices).

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. (If you don't want to bake them right away, at this point you could cover and put the pans in the fridge for baking the next day, or put in the freezer for future use.--See step four of the tutorial at her link.)

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.

This recipe is easy for an experienced baker, but there are lots of steps and it is quite time consuming. More than once I've lost track of how many cups of flour I put in and just had to wing it. (Get ready for a shameless business plug...) If you're dying to have some but don't have a spare six hours-ish to devote to brunch making, I'd be happy to be your supplier :). Joyeux Kitchen taking orders starting June 1.

Green Bunny: Alki

2011-05-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

As promised in a previous post, here is a two-page layout featuring a 12x12 photo. LOVE!

If you are interested in playing with oversized photos in your scrapbooking, you should definitely try Scrapbookpictures.com and Persnickety Prints!