cinna-biscuits

Do you ever find yourself just realllly craving an ooey, gooey,warm, delicious cinnamon roll, but just don't want to go to all the trouble and waiting to get it? I have discovered the solution. I found this recipe for cinnamon biscuits on this fun blog, Two Peas and Their Pod. It's a perfect quick fix for a morning delicacy, or even a late night snack. The biscuits are made with heavy cream instead of butter, and the vanilla cream glaze is to die for.

I'm not an icing kind of person (too sweet usually) but this one balances the cream and the sweet perfectly. I even use this glaze now on my regular cinnamon rolls.


Speaking of cinnamon, I recently discovered a Penzey's Spices store in town. They have all sorts of tasty things, but their Penzey's Blend Cinnamon is soooo good. It actually makes the plain, run of the mill cinnamon taste like dust. I'm officially ruined. It just brings a whole new level of tasty to all your baked goods.
Anyway, I made a few changes to the original recipe, so here's my version. Make some, and have a cinnamonly delicious day!

Cinna-Biscuits

Biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Ooey, gooey filling:
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

Vanilla Cream Glaze:
1/2 cup of cream
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt, breaking up any large clumps in the brown sugar. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of the cream and mix just until combined. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a long, thick rectangle. The dough will be firm, yet wet and sticky. In another bowl, combine all the filling ingredients (1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon) and mix with a pastry cutter, until they form a crumbly mixture.

3. Slice the rectangle into 8 equally-sized squares. Lay four of the squares in the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the crumbly filling over each square, reserving a few tablespoons for the top of each of the biscuits. Place the remaining biscuit dough squares on top and lightly press the edges to seal. Top the biscuits with the remaining filling.

4. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the biscuits are slightly golden brown on the outside and just cooked through.

5. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla extract. Lightly drizzle the biscuits with this glaze. Serve immediately.

Mmm, mmm, good

Oh soup season. Here we are again. Cold, dreary nights. Snowy, windy days. Warm, hearty, tasty soups. It just goes so well together. A week or two ago, on such a snowy and stormy day, some friends came over and brought along a delicious soup. Oh, it was tasty. To say that my husband loved it would be a gross understatement. The man couldn't stop talking about it! So, I knew this was a soup I had to master. One of the unusual things about it was that it had breakfast sausage in it. We don't typically have a lot of sausage around here. I'm not sure why, it just doesn't usually make it into the daily rotation of meals. But Hubby...he loves sausage. So he really loved the soup. Anyway, today I gave it a shot. And it was a raging success. So, here's my take on Sausage and Corn Chowder. Do enjoy. :)



Sausage and Corn Chowder

1 Lb Sausage (I used Farmland's Pork and Bacon Sausage)
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 minced garlic cloves
3-4 potatoes, cubed
2 cans of whole kernel corn
2 cans of creamed corn
1 can of evaporated milk
Chicken Stock
1 cup and 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of flour or cornmeal
1 1/2 Tbs Basil
salt, and pepper to taste

Brown sausage in the bottom of a large saucepan. When the sausage is cooked, add the garlic and onions and saute until soft. Add potatoes and saute for a couple of minutes. Pour in the cans of corn (no need to drain) and the evaporated milk. Add enough chicken stock to make it as soupy as you would like. Add basil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender. Once the potatoes are cooked, mix the 1/2 cup of cream with the 1/4 cup of flour (or cornmeal) to form a roux. Add to the soup and stir. Allow to simmer for another 5-10 minutes, then add the other 1 cup of cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Thing-a-ma-jigs

Sorry it's taken me so long to reveal what those funny things in the last post are! My computer broke, so I've been unable to post for awhile. But, we're back now!
Ok, mysterious object number one...


Cannoli forms! I love cannoli. Such a tasty treat! In case you don't know what it is, it's an Italian dessert of a hard pastry shell filled with a ricotta cream. Mmmm. So, these forms are what you use to wrap the dough around, and then you fry them in oil to make the hard shell. Can't wait to try them!

Number two...

Basil seeds! I've been aching for an herb garden, and basil is my most favoritest herb. : )

And number three...

This funny little thing is actually a crepe spreading tool! You use it to spread the crepe batter thinly and evenly in the pan, to make perfectly round and delicious crepes. We're trying this one out tonight! Hope it works!