April 3, 2013

Nutella Cinnamon Rolls

I love breakfast.

It is by far my favorite meal of the day...if I have something delicious.

Pancakes, waffles, muffins, scones, donuts, bacon, grits, biscuits, CINNAMON ROLLS.

I love all of it. Especially cinnamon rolls. That's why I decided on cinnamon rolls for our Easter morning breakfast. I'll take any chance I can get to make them. But this time, I decided to put a little bit of a twist on them and turn them into NUTELLA cinnamon rolls.

How delicious does that sound?!?

I promise you...they taste equally as fantastic as they sound.

Please ignore the TERRIBLE quality of the pictures. It was still dark outside, so the only light I had was the one right above the table, and it caused an awful glare on the cinnamon rolls.

Also, I'm just really bad at photography.

But don't let my poor photography skills keep you from making these!

Nutella Cinnamon Rolls



Nutella Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:
For the Cinnamon Rolls
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts (optional)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Nutella Ganache
6 tablespoons Nutella
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used a lot more than this)

Directions:
For the Cinnamon Rolls
To make the filling, combine all of the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture looks like wet sand. Set aside.
To make the dough, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Brush a 9-inch cake pan with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. 
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, hazelnuts, sugar, baking power, baking soda, and salt. Add the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, and stir until just combined. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead until smooth. If the mixture is too sticky or wet, place in a lightly floured bowl, cover, and chill for 20 minutes.
Flatten the dough into a rectangle about 12 X 8 inches. Pour 2 tablespoons of the melted butter on and spread around with your fingers. Pour the filling over the dough an spread it evenly over the top, leaving about a 1/2 inch or so border around the outside edge. Press the filling down to pack it on top of the dough. 
Starting on the short side of the dough, roll the dough up, pressing as you go, to create a tightly rolled log. Pinch the seam closed and lay the log seam side down. Cut into 8 even pieces, and transfer each roll to the prepared cake pan. Brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. 
Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack set over parchment paper. 

For the Nutella Ganache
In a medium bowl, stir the Nutella with 2 tablespoons of cream. Mix until the mixture is smooth. If it is too thick, add more cream, a tablespoon at a time, to loosen it up. Pour the icing over the rolls and serve them warm. 

April 1, 2013

Easter Sweets

Happy day after Easter!

I'm sitting outside on this BEAUTIFUL day as I write this post. Spring is actually starting to make its appearance, and I couldn't be more thankful. If I have to endure another day of 35 degrees and rain (like last Monday), I might go crazy. Literally. And moving to Florida will be the only logical solution.

It would have been fortunate if we had this beautiful day yesterday, but we weren't so lucky here in the Atlanta area. It was pretty gloomy, but the rain only lasted a few minutes, and we got to get a couple of pictures on the deck in front of the pretty cherry trees!



Our Easter was wonderful! We had a delicious breakfast of Nutella Cinnamon Rolls (recipe coming soon), followed by church, a steak lunch, and an afternoon of games and an Easter egg hunt. Which brings me to my question...how old is too old to hunt Easter eggs? Answer: you're NEVER too old! I even got to finish off my Easter Sunday with a game of tennis with some of absolute FAVORITE people. I am so thankful for friends and fellowship.

Now onto the sweets. I have multiple recipes to post soon. I know it's been a while since I've done that. But in the mean time, here are some of the Easter treats I made this weekend!





And non-Easter related, here are some Minnie Mouse cookies.


I hope you all had a great weekend celebrating the death and resurrection of our Savior!

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." 
Isaiah 53:5