I trolled the Interwebs for a recipe with great reviews and I made a few small changes to the dough and filling.  The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

3/4 c milk
1/4 c butter
3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 1/4 t yeast
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 c water
1 egg – beaten

Filling
1 T ground cinnamon
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
1 T molasses
1 c toasted and chopped pecans

Directions

Toast pecans in a single layer at 375 degrees for 0-15 minutes.  Don’t over toast!  Let cool and chop by hand or use your food processor.  Set aside.

Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until they bubble. Let cool until lukewarm (120 degrees.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well.

Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well using the dough hook on your mixer.

Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Mix using the dough hook for 4-5 minutes until the dough pulls together.  You can knead it on a cutting board for a few minutes if you want, but I didn’t have to do that.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Can you see the nutmeg and cinnamon in the dough?  Yum!

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened butter and chopped pecans.

Roll out dough into a 12×9 inch rectangle (mine was much bigger.  There’s A LOT of dough! (I’m going to make this again, and roll it into two rectangles maybe 6 inches wide and make mini cinnamon rolls. I’ll add the picture to this post when I do that.)

Spread dough with butter/sugar mixture.

Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. I used a small bit of egg wash left over from the beaten egg to help seal the edges.  Water would work too.

Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in a 9X13 pan.  Look at these cute little buns!

This is where I stopped and put them in the refrigerator overnight.  I will take them out and let them rise until doubled for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until browned.  (Check them after 25 mins.  There were patches of mine that were borderline brulee-ed aka nearly burned!)

Remove from oven and slather with maple cream cheese frosting. Serve warm.  You could serve them cold, but I’m sure there won’t be any left to eat cold.  Next time, I’ll line the pan with parchment paper just to prevent sugar from burning to the bottom.

Maple Cream Cheese Icing (not very cream-cheesy, which I like)  This made enough for  double batch, so I’d cut it in half if possible OR just make a double batch of cinnamon rolls

1/4 package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 c butter, softened
2 c powdered sugar
1 t maple extract
1t milk or water   (may be optional)

Let cream cheese and butter come to room temperature.

Beat together the cream cheese, butter and maple extract.

Add in the sugar in small amounts until fully incorporated.  Beat for at least 5-10 minutes until light and really fluffy. I had to add some liquid, but you may not need too.

Apply to warm cinnamon rolls with the “slather” technique. Yes, I said slather.  Icing should only be applied in the slather technique.   You know how it goes.  You get a spatula and a big dollop of icing and kind of drop it on the warm cinnamon rolls and schmear it all

Just because I like you all so much, I’m going to give you a sneak peek at the top secret Slather method of icing.  Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone.

Slather Method (click on the link – I haven’t figured out how to embed videos)

Results:

Ok, so we all loved the pecan cinnamon rolls.  The filling became almost stickybun like (I credit the sugar and molasses instead of brown sugar…it really does make a HUGE difference.)

We were split on the icing…it was sweet and the rolls certianly don’t need more sweetness.  I suppose you could make it and have it on the side for people to slather as they wish.  You could also just do a maple glaze (1c powdered sugar, 1/2t maple extract, 1T water/milk) which would work equally well.)

Ingredients

3/4 c milk
1/4 c butter, softened
3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 1/4 t yeast
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 c water
1 egg – beaten
Filling
1 c sugar
1 T molasses
1 T ground cinnamon
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c toasted and chopped pecans

Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until they bubble. Let cool until lukewarm (120 degrees.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well.

Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well using the dough hook on your mixer.

Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Mix using the dough hook for 4-5 minutes until the dough pulls together.  You can knead it on a cutting board for a few minutes if you want, but I didn’t have to do that.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened butter and chopped pecans.

Roll out dough into a 12×9 inch rectangle (mine was much bigger.  There’s A LOT of dough!

Spread dough with butter/sugar mixture.

Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal Iused a small bit of egg wash left over from the beaten egg to help seal the edges.  Water would work too.

Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in a 9X13 pan and let rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until browned.  Remove from oven and slather with maple cream cheese frosting. Serve warm.  You could serve them cold, but I’m sure there won’t be any left to eat cold.

My intention was to call this cookie The Temptation because the ingredients in it are so darn tempting, but then I tasted it and this spectacular cookie may “fix” all of my sweet and salty snack cravings.  Soooo I’m unsure of what to call it.  Read this post and maybe you’ll be lucky enough to do a taste test, then chime in on the name choice.  (A savvy candy bar aficionado will notice that this cookie has a lot of similarities to the Take 5 candy bar…which may be my favorite candy.)

Test Batch #1

1 stick unsalted butter – softened
1/2 c coconut oil
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped finely in food processor
1c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1c peanut butter chips
1 c caramel bits (they come in a bag of easy to melt pieces)
1c pretzels, broken into pieces (I used Snyder Snaps)

Cream together the butter and coconut oil.  Add in the sugars and continue creaming until light and fluffy.  Mix in vanilla extract. Add in the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Add in peanut butter.  Give it all good mix, scraping the bowl to make sure all items are blended.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and add into the butter sugar peanut buttery goodness a little at a time.  Don’t overmix it though!

Now here’s where your mixer or your arms are going to get a good workout.  Mix in the chopped peanuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, caramel bits and pretzel pieces.  Whew did you get all that?

You know by now, that I roll out ALL of my cookie doughs and throw them in freezer until they are frozen.  Then I put them in freezer baggies in groups of 3 or 6 so I can make just a few cookies at a time if I want.

Look at this beautiful cookie!

Bake at 375 for 11 minutes.  Cool on a baking rack. Enjoy with a glass of milk.

Let’s look at that ball of dough again!

You can see the peanuts, pretzel pieces and chocolate chips.  (The other ingredients are there too, they’re just hiding!)

Notes:  Initial results are pretty delicious. It may be a tad dry and I’ll need to think of a solution, but I need to taste them at room temperature. I ate one hot from the oven, and it was deeeelish!  I have a few people taste testing and I can’t wait to see what they have to say.

Check out this cute guy sticking out his caramel tongue.

Oh, in case you were wondering….this cookie was inspired by my friend DL who’s also a little nutty.

We spent an afternoon at Lisa’s house because she has much better kitchen lighting than I do.

Here’s the dish in step by step pictures, and the full recipe is repeated at the end of the this post.

Heat 2T olive oil in a deep saute pan.  Add 2T minced garlic and cook over low heat.

Boil 1lb boneless skinless chicken breast until it is cooked. Remove from pot, let cool enough to chop.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook til it is al dente. (No picture needed because it’s boiling water for pasta.  You can do that.)

While the chicken is cooking, cut 3/4 pound of thick cut bacon into pieces and begin to render in the saute pan with the garlic.

Bacon!

Mmm. Bacon cooking!

Mmm. Bacon and bacon fat!

Shred chicken into smaller, coarse pieces. Add to the pan with the bacon and garlic; toss together. Remove from heat.

Everything is nicely incorporated. All the chicken tastes like garlic and bacon now. Yummmm.

While the pasta is cooking, prep the sauce!

In a large bowl, whisk together 8 egg yolks, 1 pint whipping cream,  1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 c chopped basil.

Checking for doneness.  (No throwing against the wall!)

Add the cooked pasta to the bacon garlicky goodness in the saute pan and mix thoroughly. Turn on heat to low.

Pour in the cream sauce. Add fresh black pepper, and toss over medium-low heat until everything is mixed together and hot, about 5 minutes. (Make sure you keep the heat low so that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs)

This is where it gets messy!  You almost need an extra set of hands to mix everything together.

Top with lemon zest, and mix it in.  Don’t forget this ingredient, it’s the secret to the amazing flavor.

Chicken Carbonara ala Kelly

2 tsp olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 lb. thick cut bacon
1 pint whipping cream
1 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 egg yolks
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil leaves
1 lb. capellini or angel hair pasta
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and garlic, and saute until crisp.

Boil the chicken until it is cooked. Shred chicken into smaller, coarse pieces. Add to the pan with the bacon and garlic; toss together. Remove from heat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook til it is al dente.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whipping cream, parmesan cheese, and basil.

Add the cooked pasta and cream mixture to the frying pan. Turn heat to low. Add fresh black pepper, and toss over medium-low heat until everything is mixed together and hot, about 5 minutes. (Make sure you keep the heat low so that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs)

Top with lemon zest, and mix it in.

Enjoy!

I was going to explain each of these comments, but that would take all the fun out of it.  How about if you just pretend to figure out the context of these utterances.  You’ll probably be wrong.  Probably. Maybe.

Can’t you see where a pickle will come in handy here?

If you can lick it, it counts.

Is it that easy to find bang-age around here?

I’ve got a cure if you have a glass of water.

We’ve been playing this game since last year.

Who has the phattest dictionary in the place?  And I mean with a PH – sugah!

Happy 2012! You let me touch you!

You had me at viscous.

Lard ads

Bloobs

Canadian Bacon.

But before I can even talk about the cruise, we need to talk about our experience getting there because as always if it involves the two of us, it’s an adventure.

We arrived at the airport quite early, well within the parameters of our departure time, but this is where things went wrong. Very wrong.  We got in line to check in and check our bags and the ticket agent was nice and chatty.  We thought this was charming until she crossed the line from causal chitchat to full on conversations.  30 minutes later we finally get up to the counter (we were second in line, btw) she proceeds to ask us all these questions about our trip.  We’re trying to be polite and yet move her along but she wouldn’t stop talking.

So now, almost an hour after we arrived at the airport we make our way to the security line and it’s gigantic.  Like 100+ people long. At this point our flight will be boarding in 45 mins.

The line is moving s l o w l y.

We’re starting to get anxious.  15 minutes go by and we moved about ten feet.  Soon, we’ve been at the airport for almost 90 minutes and we’re still about 25 people from the front of the security line.  (Since JenTastic and I are both polite people and will wait our turns nicely, it never occurred to us to ask if people would let us through because our flight was leaving soon.  We learned that lesson alright.)

Just as we get to the front of the security line we hear them start boarding our flight.  Uh oh.  Panic mode sets in.  Wouldn’t you know it, as our bags go through the xray machine, they decide to do a spot check of JenTastic’s bag.

Wait. fidget. Wait  la la la. toe tapping.

JenTastic makes it through and as she’s shoving her feet back into her crocs MY bag gets spotchecked.  Arrggh!!

Second boarding call for our flight.

I quickly grabbed her shoulders and said, “Jen, RUN like the WIND!  Get to the gate, I’ll meet you there.  RUN FORREST RUN.” (I really did say that.)

She nods and takes off.

I get my bag and slip my shoes back on and start running down the escalator.

Mark my words, it is a MISTAKE to wear flip flops to the airport.

First, gross airport floor. Yuck.

Second, you can’t really run in flip flops.  At least, I can’t.

I see the signs for our gate and the arrow says Gates 3-20 <—- Our gate was 4, so I’m relieved that it’s just around the corner.

Yeah right.

I’m running, i.e. slipping and sliding because my flip flops keep flying off, and I’m thinking the gate is just 20 feet away and as I round the corner, I register two things.

#1 FINAL boarding call for our flight.  (They obviously know we’re checked in and at the airport.)

#2 Gate 20 is the one around the corner, my gate, Gate 4 is allllll the way down the wing.

At this point, I’m running, laughing, panicking and working on a Plan B in case I don’t get on the same flight as JenTastic.  My shoes keep flying off and my bag is literally ripping my shoulder out of the socket as  I run with it dragging behind me. (side note: I did severely strain my rotator cuff at this time.  I felt like I had a broken arm the entire cruise and it took months to heal.)

The best part is that I’m running down the wing and I see all these other travel agents just watching me run by. I wanted to yell and ask them to call my gate and tell them I was coming but I couldn’t yell, run and keep my shoes on at the same time.  Then I pass two old Italian ladies sitting on a bench who are giggling at me as I run by.

As I pass Gate 15, I’m coming to terms with the fact that JenTastic (hopefully) made it on the plane and I’ll have to find another flight to Florida.  I’m about to take off my flip flops and run, but the gross airport floor is still floating around my head.

I’m still running even though I’m sure at this point that my flight has long gone and I round a corner (I know!!) and see Gate 4!  Then I see JenTastic lying over the counter breathing heavily and pointing in my direction. I can see her gesturing wildly and as I get closer I hear, “My friend *huff* *puff*, my friend is coming.  Don’t let the plan leave. She was right behind me!!”

I’m cracking up at this point and almost crying because my arm is burning hot with pain.  I can’t let go of my suitcase handle or I won’t pick it back up.

The flight attendant looks at us and says “You JUST made it!” Surprisingly, she was not annoyed. She was probably thinking that the other passengers were going to lynch us when we got on the plane.  So I’m grabbing on to JenTastic saying, “You will not believe what happened on my way down the wing!” and she says, “Oh I guarantee my story is better.”

We get into our seats without a passenger uproar and miracle of all miracles we were NOT the last people on this plane.  Two ladies also came flying onto the plane seconds after we did.  Awesome!

We sit for a few minutes collecting ourselves and then we had this conversation:

JenTastic: Did you see those little old Italian grandmas that were on a bench as you ran by?

Me: Why, yes, yes I did. They were laughing at me.

JenTastic: Yeah, I don’t think they were laughing at YOU.

Me: Why do you say that?

JenTastic:  Well,  I was running  really fast.  Fast for me, I mean. About halfway down I looked behind me to see if I could see you.  And I got all discombobulated.  When I turned back around I got on a moving sidewalk, but it was going the WRONG WAY!

Me: Whaaat??

JenTastic: Yeah, I’m running forward but the sidewalk is moving backwards. I was doing the Running Man.  Right in front of those Italian ladies.  They they thought it was the funniest thing. I got all flustered and couldn’t figure out how to stop!

Me: Oh.  Well, they also saw my shoes go flying off my feet while I was running.

JenTastic: We’re are the stars of airport entertainment this month. I’m sure some security guard is queuing up those moments for the Best Of clips.

The flight was great.  After we got settled into our seats, the flight attendants even gave us wings.  How fun.  Then we took these pictures.

We look pretty great for just having run a marathon in flip flops with suitcases.

Of course I had to take pictures of oddness (other than us) on the plane.

Ok, now for our Helpful Hints when on a Cruise.

1. When your travels involve small, dark rooms with little space, ALWAYS travel with someone you like, and I mean really like. You will be spending a lot of time in closequarters with your traveling mate and it helps when you have similar beliefs about things such as “night time lighting”, “personal space” and “bathroom etiquette”.  For example, brushing your teeth in front of your traveling partner is NOT the time to learn he/she has an issue with open air toothbrushing.

2. Always have a watch or phone/ipod with the date and time easily accessible.  Most cruise ships have a law about alerting you to the time of day.  We saw ONE clock on the entire ship (and the time was off by 11 minutes).  If we happened to go to sleep without an ipod handy, we had no idea if it was midnight or 3 am when we woke up because our interior room had no windows and no lighting. It was like a hideyhole for a vampire.

Some people like that, I hear.

3. Cameras are important for documenting lots of things. Like every item of food you eat, look at, or other people are eating.  Or your traveling partner doing karoake when she thinks no one is looking.

Personally, I like to take pictures of people doing weird things and then post them on this blog.

Just kidding.  I’d never do that.

Honestly!

OK, maybe I’ve done that here.

4. It’s considered rude to talk about other people, even if they are doing dumb things or behaving badly in public, but it’s in our nature to tease, so the best way around that is to develop CODE words.  These code words will allow you to discuss people around you in a way that is safe, inviting and often confusing for the people who are eavesdropping on your conversation.

Now, I can’t tell you ALL of the code words we used, because well, then we wouldn’t be able to use them on our next vacation, but I’ll give you a taste of a few.

Months ago, JenTastic texted me about a problem she was having and the auto-correct on her phone changed “problem” to “leon”.  No idea why, but from that minute on, we have referred to problems as leons. Which quickly morphed into us referring to any annoyance or person doing something wrong as as a Leon. So in the course of a morning, while we were were sitting poolside relaxing with, um…coffee and reading, this would be a good sample conversation.

JenTastic: “Hey, check out that guy at 2pm.  He just picked up someone else’s towel and wiped his feet with it and put it back on the lounge chair!”

Me: “What a Leon!”

JenTastic: “I know, right?”

Often we would see people littering or making excessive noise while eating and we’d nudge each other and say “Leon, 9 o’clock” and that would suffice.  However, there are people who are worth gawking at that are not actually causing problems.  Like the people who are dressed really inappropriately(and for a cruise, that’s saying something) and the people having awkward social encounters. Those gems of society have a different code word.  We call them “aubergines.”  Read this “sample” conversation:

Me: “Did you hear that aubergine at 10 o’clock just scream ‘DO NOT ignore me when I’m talking to you on the elevator!!’ at her husband?”

JenTastic: “Totally. That reminds me of the aubergine this morning who yelled ‘STOP touching your cousin!” while we were in line to disembark at Nassau.”

Me: “Ooooh. Aubergine!”

5.  When your ship is docked and other people disembark, this is the BEST time to have the “No Children Allowed” pool ALL TO YOURSELF!

Other cruise tidbits:

Take photos of amusing things so you can discuss them at a later time when you’re bored out of your mind.

Like this gentleman’s oh so fascinating Giant Fish Eye shirt.

And Bathroom Tongs for easy cleaning.

Take some time to get out and meet the locals. Don’t be afraid of them.  They’re pirates people too!