Cinnamon Monkey Bread (Pull apart)

I love monkey bread, so I wanted to find my own recipe to make it at home. Here is the basic recipe I found from the pillsbury website:

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired
1/2 cup raisins, if desired
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large -storage plastic food bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.

2. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.

3. In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.

4. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

Now, to add my own spin. One day, I was craving monkey bread, and I had the canned cinnamon rolls in my fridge, so I just cut the dough up and used that instead, it tasted just fabulous.. I ALMOST like it better that way. I just don't put the cinnamon and sugar in it since there is already some on the cinnamon roll dough. Also, I love icing on my monkey bread, so I use this simple recipe and drizzle it over the top while its warm:

1 c sifted powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
milk
Stir together sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make a thin icing (usually about 1 1/2 Tbsp).

Obviously, if you use cinnamon roll dough instead, it comes with the icing that you can drizzle over it. Enjoy!! This is baking in my oven as I type this! The smell is amazing!!

Cherry Chocolates

These babies are my absolute favorite Christmas treat. Actually they are my absolute favorite treat ever. A little history...
This recipe is my Aunt Wendy's creation, and she is known all around town for them. Every year she brings my family a big plate of them and we all hide a few in the freezer for our selves, I remember my parents hiding them in their closets and me digging them out :). I definitely went through with drawls when I moved out east. I finally got her to share her recipe a few years ago and since then nothing can compare. For real. They are a little tricky to make, as all candy is but once you get the system (making the fondant) you will be SO glad you did.

Cherry Chocolates
3 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbl. white Karo Syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond
1/4 c. butter (no margarine)

Mix together everything but butter and flavorings. Stir over medium heat ONLY until sugar dissolves. Cook to softball stage. To test, drop a teaspoon of mixture into cold water and mold with fingers, if mixture holds together softly in water then flattens when pulled out, its cooked. Do not over cook or it will turn to sugar very easily. Remove from heat, stir in butter and flavorings and pour onto a buttered platter. Let cool. Beat with a wooden spoon until it turns white and to a creamy thickness. (takes awhile)
Pour into a Tupperware bowl and refrigerate up to 2 weeks or until ready to make chocolates.

18 maraschino cherries chopped small
1 c. chopped pecans
Melted chocolate for dipping (good brand)

Mix cherries and pecans into the fondant. Rolls into small balls, you may have to refrigerate to harden enough to roll in chocolate. Melt chocolate in microwave in 20 seconds increments or WARM oven at 200. Any hotter oven will result in chocolate turning white and flaky. Dip fondant into melted chocolate and freeze or refrigerate until eaten.

Blackberry Lemon Buttermilk Cookies

Another fab recipe from My Kitchen Cafe. (Check her latest cookie entry here. OH MY!) I adjusted these babies a bit with a tad more lemon and fresh blackberries and man they were delicious!

For Cookies:

3 cups flour

Zest of 1 lemon (2-3 teaspoons)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

For Glaze:

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

3 Tbs well shaken buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 TBS lemon juice

Set oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 baking sheets. Whisk together flour, zest, soda, and salt. Set aside.

Beat together butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed until smooth. Chill dough in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Drop level tablespoons of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes until cookies are puffed and edges are golden. Transfer to racks.

Whisk together all glaze ingredients and brush tops of warm cookies. Add blackberries to the top and cool until glaze is set.

Buttermilk Syrup

This is soooooo good. It is similar to the syrup they serve at Kneader's (if you've never been, you must go for breakfast! Tomorrow! Order their french toast. You'll die of awesome flavor.)

1 1/2 c sugar (I made it with white sugar, but I think I'll try it with brown sugar next time)
3/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c butter
2 T corn syrup
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla and boil for 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Use larger sauce pan because the soda makes it frothy while cooking. You do not need to stir constantly. This is great over ice cream.

Pumpkin Apple Stuesel Muffins

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter or magarine

For Muffins: Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease or paper-line 24 muffin cups. Combine flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine pumpkin, eggs and vegetable oil in medium bowl; mix well. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Stir in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

For Struesel Topping: Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over muffin batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Makes 24 muffins.

White Chocolate Popcorn

I know, it sounds like a strange combo right? Trust me it's so good!

AIR Pop 8-10 cups of Popcorn
Spread pop corn out on cookie sheets.
Melt one bag of Nestle's White Chocolate Chips in a double-boiler (make sure it's real chocolate, not that fake stuff)
Drizzle over popcorn and lightly toss till coated.

It looks just like regular popcorn, but YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW IT TASTES!!

Total time for making this was like 5 minutes. Super easy & yummy!

I made this for my YW tonight for and they ate it up!!

Graham Crackers

3/4 C whole wheat or graham flour
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 Tbl water
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C shortening, margarine or butter
1/4 C honey, warmed

In a medium-size bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda and brown sugar, and cut in shortening or margarine. Combine water and honey and add to dry ingredients. Blend well. Roll out half the dough on an ungreased cookie sheet to 1/4 inch thick. Prick dough with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake at 375* for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into squares (we use a pizza cutter). Cool.

Not only is this a good food storage recipe, but these are fun to make with kids and super yummy! It makes quite a few so just freeze some of the extras for later!

Oreo Carmel Apples

Okay...so it may look like a pile of poo, but trust me, it is so good.

1. slice granny smith apples

2. dip in carmel

3. dip in oreo crumbs (without the filling)

4. refridgerate

Here is the caramel recipe I use.

-1/4 C. butter

-1 C. brown sugar

-1/2 C. light corn syrup

Bring to a soft boil, then add 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk (7oz.). Return to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1/2 t. vanilla. Let cool before dipping apples or it just runs right off. So yummy!