White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

1 t. vanilla extract

125 g. (1/2 c.) white chocolate, melted

Recipe:

1. Beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy on medium speed.

2. Add the vanilla and mix well.

3. Decrease the speed to low and slowly beat in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cut at a time.

4. Add in the melted white chocolate and beat until well incorporated. Frost cooled brownie slices.

Rating: 4 of 5

I thought this frosting was pretty good. The white chocolate is barely there and adds a nice taste. Super easy to put together.

Source: Food Wanderings in Asia, White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Cinnamon Sugar Breadsticks with Cream Cheese Drizzle

Ingredients:

For the breadsticks:

2 1/4 t. yeast

1/4 c. sugar, divided

1 c. warm water, divided

1 1/2 T oil

1 egg

1/2 t. salt

2 1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. butter, melted

Cinnamon sugar mixture: 6 T. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon

For the cream cheese drizzle:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. whipping cream

1 t. vanilla

Recipe:

1. In a mixer dissolve yeast, 1/2 T. sugar, and 1/2 c. warm water. Allow yeast to proof (about 10 minutes).

2. Add in oil, egg, salt, and 1 1/2 c. flour and remaining sugar(1/4 c - 1/2 T) and water (1/2 c.). Mix until smooth.

3. Stir in remaining flour (3/4 c.) to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic.

4. Place into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes or until doubled.

5. Punch down the dough and put onto floured counter. Roll into 8x14 rectangle.

6. Using your pizza cutter, cut into about 10 pieces.

7. Roll each strip like a snake. Then hang the dough over your finger in the middle and twist the two ends together.

8. Place on a greased cookie sheet and allow to rise for another 40 minutes or until doubled.

9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

10. While breadsticks are baking, mix together the cream cheese drizzle ingredients. Beat until you reach a good consistency for drizzling. Place in a Ziploc bag and snip off the corner.

11. When breadsticks are done cooking, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Drizzle with cream cheese mixture.

Rating: 3 of 5

These are good, but they aren't quite as good as I was expecting. First off, I think there are some serious typos in the bread measurements, because the dough I ended up with was as if I hadn't added the remaining flour even though I had. I probably ended up adding about 2 more cups of flour until I felt like the dough reached the proper texture and consistency. So, that was a little bit of an issue, but a fixable one.

I feel like the puffiness of the bread is too much for the cinnamon sugar taste. The sweetness gets a little drowned out. But, with that being said, the bread is really fluffy and soft, which is always a plus. The cream cheese drizzle was not as good as I was hoping. I guess I just got my hopes up. I thought that this recipe would get pretty close to pretzels you get at the mall. Oh well. They're still good. I just might have too high of a bar for them right now. (P.S. Just because they're a 3 doesn't mean I didn't have at least 5 of them when they came out of the oven......)

Source: Thirty Handmade Days, Cinnamon Sugar Breadsticks with Cream Cheese Drizzle

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

1/3 c. granulated sugar

2 large egg whites

pinch table salt

12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoon pieces

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to 85-100 degrees

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Recipe:

1. Combine the sugar, egg whites, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.

2. Set over a small saucepan of simmering water, and whisking constantly, cook until the mixture is slightly thickened, foamy, and registers 150 degrees on an instant read thermometer, 2-4 minutes.

3. Attach bowl to the stand mixer and fit the whisk attachment, beat at medium speed, until mixture is the consistency of shaving cream and slightly cooled, 1-3 minutes.

4. Add butter 1 piece at a time, until smooth and creamy.

5. Once all the butter has been added, pour in the cooled chocolate and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

6. Increase speed to medium-high and until light and fluffy, another 30 seconds to a minute.

7. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

This is a rich frosting, I think. Pretty easy to make, but slightly technical. I'd rather make a frosting without dancing around a thermometer. Mine didn't set right away, so I needed to put it in the fridge for a few minutes in order to use it on the cupcakes.

Source: Sweet Pea's Kitchen, Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling

Baked Doughnuts

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. warm milk, 95-105 degrees

2 t. instant yeast ** If you only have active dry yeast on hand, proof it with 1/3 c. warm milk and sugar. Once foamy, add remaining milk and continue on with the recipe.**

2 T. butter *

2/3 c. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

5 c. all-purpose flour

a pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated**

1 t. salt

(For the cinnamon-sugar topping listed in the original recipe: 1/2 c. butter, 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar, 1 T cinnamon.)

* I melted the butter in the microwave with the remaining cup of milk.

** I just used nutmeg from a jar

Recipe:

1. Place the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and sugar.

2. Add the butter. Mix the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt.

3. Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon and eventually your hands) for 2-3 minutes at medium speed. Adjust the dough texture by adding flour a few tablespoons at a time or more milk.

4. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be very soft and smooth but still slightly sticky -- don't overflour! Knead the dough for a few minutes (again, by mixer or by hand) and then transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl.

5. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size (the exact time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen).

6. Punch down the dough and roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured counter.

7. Using a doughnut cutter or a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Carefully transfer the circles to a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. Be sure to make the holes large enough that, as the doughnuts rise again and bake, they don't fill in the doughnut hole with the puffiness of the dough.

8. Here's where you can do two different things: bake the same day, or put in the refrigerator overnight for the next morning. If cooking the same day, let the doughnuts rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled. If saving for the next morning, then cover the tray with lightly greased plastic wrap and place in the fridge. The doughnuts will rise throughout the night. In the morning, remove from the refrigerator and put them on the counter about an hour before baking.

9. Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8-10 minutes. Start checking the doughnuts around minute 8. They should still be place on top, not golden and browned, and just barely cooked through.

10. Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. (For the cinnamon-sugar topping: Dip each one in the melted butter and toss or sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar.)

11. Serve immediately.

Rating: 2 of 5

This recipe makes a great sweet roll recipe. Doughnuts, though......not my favorite. Won't be making this one for doughnuts again. But, add some orange extract and zest to the dough and then cover with orange glaze when they're done cooking and they would be awesome!

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Baked Doughnuts

Everyday Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 c. milk

4 T. butter, cut into chunks

3 1/4 to 3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided

2 1/4 t. "rapid rise" yeast

1/4 c. white sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 egg

Filling:

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 T. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. butter, softened

Icing:

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 T. melted butter

1/2 t. vanilla

1-2 T. milk

Recipe:

Dough:

1. Place milk and 4 T. butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute 30 seconds. Butter should be at least partially melted. Stir and set aside

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 c. flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt.

3. When milk mixture has cooled to warm (not hot) add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater (paddle attachment for those using a stand mixer) is running. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute.

4. Switch to the dough hook now. Add remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft and slightly sticky. Continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes. (If not using a stand mixer, turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes by hand.) Turn dough out onto floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes whiel you make the filling.

Filling:

1. Make sure the butter is softened well.*

2. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

*If you the stick of butter right out of the fridge like I do, then 20 seconds in the microwave gets it pretty close to "softened" state.

Assembly:

1. Roll dough into a rectangle about 12x14 inches.

2. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around.

3. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces and then cut into rolls.

4. Place in a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. When roll have finished rising, bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. If desired spread with icing while still warm.

Rating: 4 of 5

I really like the filling in this recipe. I was pretty nervous about the amount of cinnamon that it called for, but the cinnamon was not an overpowering taste. I was scared that they would end up tasting like Cinnabon's cinnamon rolls (which I don't like), but they didn't! The bread was super fluffy and delicious! It was perfect roll bread. The icing, well, it's icing. I really don't think there is much you can say about powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Although...I guess I will say that you probably don't need to add the butter into the icing. I have a family recipe that the measurements are almost identical, except no butter, and I can't tell the difference. However, I think for this recipe I would prefer a little bit more of the icing on top.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Everyday Cinnamon Rolls

Snowman Cupcakes

Ingredients:

12 cupcakes, baked and cooled

1/4 c. each red and green decorating sugar *

24 mini vanilla wafers *

1 16-oz can vanilla frosting

4 candy orange fruit slices

1/4 c. dark chocolate frosting **

1 c. white decorating sugar ***

6 each, red and green licorice twists

24 pink large sprinkles ****

24 mini brown M&Ms **

* I actually just used gum drops for the ear muffs. Cut down on a lot of work and supplies.

** I didn't use the frosting for the mouth. Instead I used mini chocolate chips for the mouth and eyes.

*** Didn't use the decorating sugar. I thought the white frosting was enough.

**** Didn't use the sprinkles.

Recipe:

1. Place the red and green sugars in separate bowls. Spread a thin layer of vanilla frosting on top of the mini vanilla wafers to cover. Press the top of 12 wafers into the red sugar to coat. Repeat with the remaining 12 wafers and press into the green sugar. Set aside. (These are used for the ear muffs)

2. Cut 12 1-inch triangles from the orange slices to make the noses. Spoon the dark chocolate frosting into a freezer-weight ziplock bag. Spoon 1/4 c. of the vanilla frosting into a freezer-weight ziplock bag. Place the white decorating sugar in a shallow bowl. Spread the remaining frosting on top of cupcakes and make a smooth mound. Roll the tops of the frosted cupcakes into the white sugar to cover completely.

3. Add the cut orange candy as the nose in the center of the cupcake. Add the chocolate candies as the eyes. Snip a very small corner from the bag with the chocolate frosting and pipe a mouth. Add the pink sprinkles as cheeks.

4. Cut the licorice twists into 12 6-inch lengths for the bands of the earmuffs. Insert the 2 cut ends into either side of the cupcake for the headband. Snip a small corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe a dot of vanilla frosting on either side where the licorice enters the cupcakes. Add the like colored vanilla wafers as the muffs. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Rating: 4 of 5

I actually didn't eat any of the cupcakes, but how bad can it be? Cute idea. Kids LOVE them. We took them to Ally's class Christmas program and the cupcakes disappeared quickly. Although it requires a lot of supplies, they making of the cupcakes isn't bad. It goes pretty quickly.

Source: Allofyou.com, Snowmen Cupcakes

Gingerbread House

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. dark brown sugar *

1/4 c. light molasses, or dark corn syrup **

1 T. cinnamon

1 T. ground ginger

1 1/2 t. ground cloves

1 t. baking soda

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 T. water

Royal Icing

* I didn't have dark, so I used light.

** I didn't have molasses or dark corn syrup, but I had light corn syrup!

Recipe:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream to butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth.

2. Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm. *

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. Cut paper patters for the gingerbread house: **

- 2 rectangles, 3x5 inches, to make the front and back of the house.

- 2 rectangles, 3x5 1/2 inches for the roof.

- 2 pieces for the ends of the house, 3 inches wide at base x 3 inches to the roof line and slanted to a peak 5 1/2 inches from the bottom.

-4 small rectangles, 1 1/2 x 1 inch for the roof and sides of the entryway

- 1 piece, 2 inches wide at base, 1 1/2 inches to roof life, and slanted to a peak 2 1/2 inches from the bottom for the front of the entryway.

5. Roll gingerbread dough out to edges of a large, rimless cookie sheet. Place paper patterns onto the rolled out dough. With a sharp, straight edged knife, cut around each of the pieces, but leave pieces in place. ***

6. Bake for about 15 minutes until dough feels firm.

7. Place patterns on top of the gingerbread again and trim shapes, cutting edges with a straight-edged sharp knife.

8. Leave to cool on baking sheet.

9. Place Royal Icing into pastry bag with a writing tip and press out to decorate individual parts of house, piping on decorations, windows, door, etc., as desired. Let dry until hardened.

10. If following the cut-out pattern for this recipe, then glue sides, fronts and back of house together at corners using Royal Icing. Place an object against the pieces to prop up until icing is dry (it only takes a few minutes). Glue the two roof pieces to the pitched roofline of the house. Then, similarly, glue the sides and roof of the entryway together with icing. Attach entryway to the front of the house.

11. Continue decorating the house as desired.

* I actually forgot to chill the dough! But, it turned out fine.

** I completely skipped over the directions they have here and made my own house pattern.

***I wasn't sure if this recipe wanted the excess dough to remain on the sheet or not. What I would rather do, is skip this step of cutting out the shapes and do it right after pulling the dough out of the oven, or even when the dough has cooled.

Rating: 3 of 5

I've never worked with gingerbread before. So, I liked this recipe, but I'm sure there are better ones out there. Be prepared to open some windows while the dough is baking because your entire house will smell like a potpourri factory!! The dough is delicious though. A new favorite for Ally. Once the bread is completely cooled it becomes as hard as rock! So, don't plan on eating it if you have fragile teeth. Although there are a lot of steps listed in this recipe, it's actually very easy.

Source: Foodnetwork.com, Gingerbread House Recipe