Cinnamon Rolls

For a long time, I didn't think I liked cinnamon.

Growing up in a household that used very little in the way of herbs and spices in cooking, I wasn't too familiar with it. My introduction to cinnamon came in the form of some horrendous boiled sweets a friend brought back from the US. I hated them, and so I though I hated cinnamon.

It is a spice that I have since grown to love however, but in moderation. I still don't like it if people are too heavy handed with it. Other than in apple pie, my favourite use of cinnamon is in the cinnamon roll. The beautiful soft enriched dough with the hint of cinnamon is a great breakfast treat, especially if it is oozing with a delicious cream cheese frosting, or maple syrup glaze. As it is quite sweet, you can just brush it with a little melted butter.



Dough Ingredients:

• 180ml milk, warmed (110f/43c)
• 7g instant yeast
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 560g plain flour
• 70g corn flour
• 115g caster sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 170g  softened unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (easier to do this while cold)

Filling Ingredients:

• 200g light brown sugar
• 1½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 70g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Method:

1.      Line a 13"(33cm) by 9"(23cm) baking pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over pan edges. Grease foil and set aside.

2.      Add warm milk into mixing bowl, stir in yeast and allow to bloom.

3.      In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cornflour, sugar and salt.

4.      Once the yeast has bloomed, dump the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl.

5.      With mixer on low and using a dough hook, slowly add in the beaten eggs until dough comes together.

6.      Increase speed to medium, and add the butter 1 piece at a time until incorporated.

7.      Either turn out and knead by hand or continue to mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the bowl (approx. 8-10 mins).

8.      Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film, and place somewhere warmish until its doubled in size(about 1½-2 hours)

9.      In the meantime, prepare your filling. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and salt into a small bowl.

10.  Once the dough is fully risen, turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knock the air out of the dough, then roll our into a rectangle about 16"(40cm) wide by 12" (30cm).

11.  Pour the melted butter over the dough and spread with your finger tips. Sprinkle over the sugar mix and spread with your fingertips.

12.  Starting at the edge nearest to you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch to seal seam.

13.  Cut into 12 even sized rolls. Transfer rolls into prepared foil-lined pan. Cover with cling film and leave to rise again until doubled in size. This can be done overnight in a fridge so that they are ready to bake for breakfast.

14.  When ready to bake, discard cling film and place in an oven pre-heated to Gas 4/180c/350f for 35 to 40 minutes.

15.  When done, allow to cool in the pan for a moment. At this point, you can ice or glaze them if you want. When ready to serve, use the excess foil to lift from the pan.

TIP: Cinnamon rolls freeze very well once cooked (unfrosted). You can freeze them  in bulk or individually, then once thawed, warm for a few minutes in the oven before frosting, or you could just stuff your face with them  straight away.

Also, for an interesting twist, why not try throwing a handful or two of mixed dried fruit along with your sugar and cinnamon filling.

Apple Galette with Toffee Sauce

A galette in French cuisine means flat, round or freeform crusty cakes. This simple, but effective dessert, utilizes that marvelous stuff known as puff pastry, that can make many a dessert or savoury treat look special.

If you are feeling particularly creative then go ahead and make your own puff pastry. I however, decided to use the ready made stuff. It really does make this dessert much simpler. You can compensate by making your own toffee sauce, like I did, or again you can pick up some ready made sauce.

You can use any dessert apple but I used Pink Lady, because it is firm, sweet and juicy. I chose to leave the skin on as the beautiful pink red skin looked pretty, but you can peel your apples too if you prefer.

Ingredients:

• 225g ready made puff pastry
• 2-3 firm apples, halved and cored.
• 1 egg, beaten
• 40g caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6
2. Draw yourself an apple template, slightly larger than the apples you are using, on some greaseproof paper and cut out.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut around the template until you have all the apple shapes cut out. You should be able to make at least 8
4. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside
5. Take a half an apple, and slice if very thinly.
6. Starting at the outsides, lay the slices moving inwards.
7. Use smaller slices or trim some down for the centre.
8. Brush with egg, then sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar.
9. Bake for 11-12 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and top is crunchy and golden brown

Serve with toffee sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.

 For the toffee sauce:

1. Put 50g of caster sugar in a pan with 1 tablespoon of water.
2. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves
3. Turn the heat up and boil until it goes golden and begins to caramelise. Swirl the pan to prevent burning but do not stir - this will form sugar crystals and make your sauce gritty.
4. Once it starts to caramelise, take it off the heat and whisk in a 140ml double cream until smooth.

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles is such a great word. I love the way it sounds. I have to say, before I first investigated the ingredients, my mind had conjured up something involving peanuts that had been crafted in Willy Wonka's lab. They are in fact lovely little vanilla cookies, rolled in a sugar and cinnamon mixture prior to cooking.

It seems that the name has nothing what so ever to do with Snickers, as you would thing. According to Wikipedia, the name is German in origin, derived from Schneckennudeln, which means 'snail noodles'. Another hypothesis suggests that the name has no particular meaning or purpose, and is simply a whimsically named cookie that originated from a New England tradition of fanciful cookie names. I think I like that version better, as none of the images I have ever seen resemble a snail... thankfully.

Cookie Dough:

•    360 g Plain flour
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    2 teaspoons baking powder
•    227 g  unsalted butter, room temperature
•    300 g caster sugar
•    2 large eggs
•    1 teaspoon pure vanilla

TIP: I added a teaspoon of ground mixed spice to make the cookies even more festive.

Coating:

•    60 g granulated sugar
•    2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1.    Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth
2.    Beat the eggs with the vanilla extract, and add to the butter and sugar a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a small handful of flour if you like as this can help prevent splitting
3.    In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
4.    Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough. If the dough is soft, cover and refrigerate until firm (about one to two hours).
5.    Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5 / 375 F / 190
6.    Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or greaseproof paper. 
7.    Shape the dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) round balls.

Adding the coating:

1.    In a large shallow bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
2.    Roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on the prepared tray, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
3.    Using the bottom of a glass, gently flatten each cookie a little to about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick.
4.    Bake the cookies for about 8 - 10 minutes, or until they are light golden brown and firm around the edges. The centers of the cookies will still be a little soft.
5.    Remove from oven allow to cool for 1 or 2 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool.


Can store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for about 7 - 10 days.

Difficulty	Easy
Servings	50
Calories per serving	90 kcal