Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls have always been a Sunday brunch kind of food. But for some reason, in my family, they become a special occasion. We usually only eat them on holidays. But we've never made them homemade before. We always had bought the kind you get in a roll at the grocery store and just follow the directions on the roll. So I decided that for once I was going to actually make them. Let me tell you, now that I've made them, there is no WAY we are ever going back to the store-bought kind. EVER. So if you are like my family who only buys the store-bought kind, give this a try. It will absolutely change your mind.
Cinnamon Rolls
For dough:
1 C cottage cheese
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C oil
1/2 C milk
2 Tbsp. baking powder
4 1/4 C flour plus extra for dusting
For filling:
2 C firmly packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 C butter
1/2 C honey

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place the cottage cheese in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Add the eggs, sugar, oil, and milk and purée until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the baking powder. Add 3 1/2 cups of the flour and stir until the mixture forms a dough. Using your hands, add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour a little at a time by sprinkling a little flour over the dough and folding the dough over to mix it in. Repeat this process until the dough is smooth and not sticky. (You may not need all of the flour.)
4. Spread a thin layer of flour on a flat work surface and roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 20 by 25 inches.
5. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt the butter and brush over the entire surface of the dough. Drizzle the honey over the butter, then sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the dough. Starting on th longer side, carefully roll up the dough as tightly as possible.
6. Lightly butter or spray the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.
7. Using a serrated knife, cut the roll into 1 1/4-inch-thick slices with a sawing motion.
8. Arrange the cinnamon rolls in the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until done. ( To check for done ness, pull up slightly on the center of one of the rolls in the middle of the pan. The dough should pull apart. If it stretches, it needs to cook more.)
9. Remove the pan from the oven, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cinnamon rolls, and invert the pan onto a serving platter.

*Recipe from the cookbook Teens Cook by Jill and Megan Carle

Lemon Tea Cookies

I'm not really the largest tea connoisseur there is in the world. I mean I'll drink tea, sure, but I don't really consider myself a tea person. Tea, to me, is more of a cold-winters-day or you-have-the-flu kind of drink. So when I saw this recipe I wasn't immediately "hooked" with trying it out. But I mean I like lemon stuff so why not, right? So to make long story short, I tried it, and of course I love it. These cookies are DELICIOUS! I seriously didn't think they would be that good! They're really moist and delicate and kind of cake-like almost. I swear I will drink tea more often if that cup of tea comes with one of these cookies. They're really that good.
Lemon Tea Cookies
You will need:
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/3 C milk
1/2 C butter, softened
3/4 C white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 C white sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the 2 teaspoons of lemon juice with the milk, let it stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the lemon zest and milk mixture.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly blend into the creamed mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are light brown. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make glaze, stir together the remaining lemon juice and sugar. Brush on to cooled cookies.

Strawberry Banana Bread

I'm just going to start off by saying: I love bread. No, seriously. I LOVE bread. Don't ask me why, because truthfully I don't really know why. I just always have adored bread. It's a good thing that grains are a good part of our diets because I would not be able to live without my beloved bread. Anyways, I also LOVE bananas. And if you read this blog often you might have noticed that or seen me saying that before. It's an addiction. I can eat anything with banana in it. Even if it doesn't have banana in it and you tell me it does, I will try it anyway. That is how much I love the funky looking fruit. Better yet, (you guessed it) I love strawberries too. So, technically I love everything about this bread. (EVERYTHING.) So I suggest you try this recipe if you are a bread obsessed, banana loving, strawberry connoisseur, such as myself. Enough said.
Strawberry Banana Bread
You will need:
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 C vegetable oil
3/4 C mashed fresh strawberries
1/2 C mashed ripe bananas
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease or butter a 9-in x 5-in x 3-in loaf pan; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and oil until smooth; add the strawberries and bananas.
3. Stir the oil mixture into the dry mixture until just incorporated. Fold in walnuts.
4. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes. (Or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.) When done, cool for 10 minutes in pan the transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Microwave Caramel Corn

Once you're done reading this, you can thank me. Why? Well now you just don't have to settle with regular boring old popcorn because you now know how to make this! Better yet, when your craving some caramel corn, you don't have to leave your house. You can stay right at home safe and sound! Doesn't that just excite you? Okay, well it may not excite you, but it definitely makes me excited. I mean, I love caramel corn! And now that I know how to make it, I'm set! Well this could be good thing and bad thing for me... On one hand I know how to make it, on the other hand, while I'm eating regular popcorn I'll think about how I could have made it into caramel corn instead. Uh-oh. Now I have some thinking to do....
Microwave Caramel Corn
You will need:
2 bags microwave popcorn
1 C firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter
1/4 C corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1. Spray the inside of a microwave-proof cooking bag or a brown paper grocery bag with vegetable cooking spray. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper and set aside.
2. Pop both bags of microwave popcorn according to the directions.
3. Place the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt in a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 4-5 minutes, or until mixture boils. Add the baking soda and stir until foamy.
4. Pour the popcorn into the prepared bag and pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn. Microwave in high heat for 1 minute, remove from microwave, and shake well. Cook for 45 seconds and shake well. Cook for 30 seconds and shake well. Cook for 15 seconds and shake well. Pour out onto baking sheet and let cool.