Bakes: Cinnamon Cloud Roll

Wow. Wow. Wow. 

This hit the spot. I was looking for a guilt free, clean treat and boy was I happy I put this together!

Do you see that? Do you realize that is a dinner plate? 

Yup. A dinner plate sized cinnamon roll with zero guilt attached!

This recipe can be looked at as three separate recipes. 

This recipe starts with cloud "bread" its a zero carb, clean bread alternative.

Once you learn the basic recipe, you can make the batch size as big or as little as you want or alter it like I did here by adding the cinnamon paste filling and frosting!

CINNAMON CLOUD ROLL
Makes 1 Large or 3 Small

2 eggs, separated
pinch of sea salt
2 oz cream cheese
1 packet Stevia in the Raw
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon Roll Paste:
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
2 packets Stevia in the Raw

Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 packet Stevia in the Raw

Preheat oven to 350.

Whip eggs whites and sea salt until peaks form, and bowl can be flipped and whites do not fall out. Combine cream cheese, yolks, stevia and cinnamon until smooth ( I use my Magic Bullet!). Gently fold peaks and yolk mixture together. You want to combine without deflating the whites. Spread mixture onto a greased cookie sheet (use good old fashioned real butter!)

Create a paste using butter, cinnamon and stevia. Put paste into a plastic baggie. I actually mixed my paste right in the bag! No need to dirty another bowl! Cut the tip off. 

Swirl on top of your egg mixture.

Bake 14-17 minutes. Make your frosting! Mix ingredients together until smooth. 

Let Cloud Roll cool a few minutes before adding frosting, or frosting will melt.

NOTES: 

This is a large amount of frosting. You only need about 1/3 of the amount for one batch of the Cinnamon Cloud Roll. Can freeze remaining frosting for another day.

Cinnamon Cloud Roll will freeze too, just freeze separate from the frosting. Let thaw, add frosting.

Looking for a crunchier version, toast cinnamon roll before adding frosting! Yum!

{Recap} October 2015

October, where it starts to feel like fall.

Routines fall into place. Or out the window, again.

This was also the month we found out we were welcoming another boy to our family! 

So if you are keeping track that makes three boys and one girl!

Anyone else with me? Once you have a baby of one gender and go to have another of the same gender, doesn't it make it so much harder than picking out a name for the opposite gender?

October was also the month of Applesauce making!

All these years we thought it was a crab apple tree. Sure enough, it wasn't! We think because we moved our apple trees, it helped pollinate it! So we made lots of applesauce!

Ah, I am loving going through my pictures to share.  

I was working with Wyatt on his letters, and e wanted nothing to do with it.

I started to feel like his fine motor skills needed some work, but he didn't want anything to do with pencil and paper.... so out came the chalkboard, chalk and a wet q-tip to erase what I had wrote!

Worked like a charm!

October is the time of picking the last of the garden before frost threats!

Itty bitty squash anyone? 

This year the kids could not decide what they wanted to be for Halloween. 

I could ask daily, and it would be so different than the day before.

So this year, I sucked it up and just bought their costumes.

At first I had mom guilt. But I couldn't have made them for $10 each and thats all they cost!  So no tutorial on what I made them!

But! I did make these for Carter's Halloween Party at School! So fun right?!?!

Some of the kids loved them, others thought they were too gross to eat! Ha!

{Recap} August 2015

August is always a pretty busy month around here.

End of Summer, Two birthdays in our house plus friends and family birthdays too, Gearing up for School, and Winding down the Garden.

Last year, a local beach (at a lake) was re opened. I remember going as a kid, and then not going for years. I am so happy they reopened this beach as it is the perfect size for my kids! The first set of buoys goes maybe up to my 6 year olds waist! The second set of buoys maybe go up to his neck!

Makes it that much easier for me to feel comfortable, even with all their swim gear on I am always doing a head count!

My second son, Wyatt celebrated his 4th birthday! And he is all about Batman! 

This was my first attempt at fondant and I have to say it came out pretty well! 

Everyone warned me that the black would be hard to get dark enough (fondant is marshmallow based) and I didn't have a problem! What I did have a problem with? The bat logo! So hard to cut out! I tried over and over and ended up using a tag from one of he shirts we bought him as a gift! Ha!

Love when things just fall into place!

This picture just makes me smile! Actually the whole album it's from does.

This is from my great aunt's 90th birthday parade!

Yes. We gave her a parade! 

My only "big" potato. Darn root vegetables you stump me!

{Tips} To Be a Better Baker

I will admit, I am not the best baker in the family. Nor do I think I will ever be.

But I am getting better. Nothing fabulous and prize worthy, but my cookies and cupcakes are edible now!

My mother hates baking, all she has to do is look at the flour and its everywhere.

My sister is an amazing baker, hence the reason she makes my kids' birthday cakes every year!

Occasionally, I would bake. And occasionally it comes out well. 

Let me back up. I can bake a mean banana bread,  or bundt cake.

But cookies and cupcakes? I'm just starting to get better.

I am finding that practice is making perfect! 

Since finding out my oldest son, Carter, is severely allergic to peanuts I have stepped up my game in the baking department. This way I know exactly what is going into the cookie or cupcake, reading all the labels in the store was making my head spin! 

Processed in a facility with nuts, Processed with same equipment, so frustrating.

Nuts, Peanuts, Tree Nuts. They are not the same. The labels just aren't always clear. 

Our allergist explained to us that a company can label their product that way, and change their manufacturing techniques and not have to change the label. So Carter could be fine with a product one week, then the  next week it could be deadly because the label doesn't have to be changed.

I am in heaven though when I see this, Made in a NUT FREE FACILITY. Plain and simple. 

Huge sigh of relief. 

Since I am probably not the only person struggling with cookies and cupcakes, 

I thought I would share some tips and tools I have figured out along the way.

{Patience}

Yes. It's not a tool, and you certainly cannot buy it. But when it comes to cookies and cupcakes you need patience. A sweet bread or cake you whip up the batter and that's it. No fussy liners, cutting or dropping spoonfuls.  So if your not in a good mood, don't decide to bake 8 dozen cookies.

{Proper tools}

Don't get me wrong, having a stand mixer is nice, but not important!

I'm talking simple tools. Like a cookie scoop, measuring cups and a thin metal spatula.

These have made my cookies so much better! 

Who knew baking the same size cookie dough ball makes a difference!

And that dollar store metal spatula? Not a single broken cookie.

{Recipe with Directions}

And stick to it! 

Baking is more of a science than cooking. One incorrect amount, or missing ingredient and the entire batch will fail. You don't want to know how many times I have forgotten an ingredient.

I've been given recipes that say a little of this, lot of that. And they haven't worked. Sigh.

{Sift your Flour}

Recently, I found that sifting flour makes a huge difference. Some recipes call for it, some don't. I've been sifting all my flour and seeing a difference! Airy, loaves of bread or pizza and not dense!

{Don't Skip Steps}

If your dough needs to be chilled before you cut or scoop, chill it.

If your recipe calls for butter, don't even try to use margarine or shortening, it's not the same. 

Trust me.It does make a difference! 

{Uniform Cookies, Cupcakes, Etc}

Once you decide what your making, make them uniform.

For cookies, I use either a cookie scoop, or a measuring spoon (tablespoon or 1/2 tablespoon) depending on size.

For cupcakes, muffins I use a measuring cup to put the batter into the baking cups.

Typically I use the 1/4 size full, but recently I used it only 3/4 full and they were perfect!

  For mini cupcakes, I actually use a gallon ziploc bag! I cut the corner off (just a tiny bit, for a tiny hole) and pipe it into the mini baking cups. I just eyeball how full the cups are.

{Pipe your Frosting}

I never thought it was a big deal, but after bringing cupcakes to school a couple times,

 I've gotten several compliments at how nice my cupcakes look. 

I use a star tip that came with a  cookie press I think.  For my bag, I clip a small hole in the bottom of a ziploc bag (big enough for all the frosting) push the tip through the hole, you want to have to push it through so it is tight, and frosting can't get out the sides, just the tip hole. Add your frosting to the bag. Here is where it gets tricky. Twist the bag closed, keeping the frosting in.  You don't want your frosting cold for this, or it will be hard to get through the tip.  I start making a circle on the outside of the cupcake and work my way in.   I don't use the white press pictured. It doesn't hold much frosting or else I would! Perfect, pretty cupcakes each time. And I think it takes less time that frosting with a knife!

What baking tips do you have? Anything I missed?

Bakes: Peasant Bread

Oh. My. Word.

I'm going to gain a million pounds if I keep making this bread.

I'm a sucker for good bread...

So easy, so good!

We took our grilled cheese and tomato soup to an entire new level!

Homemade bread, and homemade tomato soup. 

I followed this recipe, except I used my Pyrex 323 (look on the bottom of your bowls) to make one large loaf instead of two small. I baked for the same amount as for the little loafs and it worked out fine. 

For the tomato soup, I use my canned sauce and add chicken broth, more info here. If you like a thicker soup, more like Campbells you can make a rue (equal parts butter and flour) then add the broth and tomato (combined). I found my husband and kids like the thicker version. While I like both!

This bread was so good, I'm tempted to make rolls for Thanksgiving using a muffin pan!

Bakes & Sweets: Spooky Skelton Candy

Ever make candy? It's super easy with Candy Melts!

Pick out your mold, melt, fill, chill, done!

So when I was working on my #spookyspaces for Halloween and Joann Fabric and Craft Store, I knew candy would be included!

When I went shopping at Joann's I made sure to check out their molds.

Seriously, there are so many awesome molds for candy, you can make it for any theme!

But sticking with spooky and Halloween, I picked up some skulls and skeleton fingers.

When I was making the skulls, I thought how could I make more without using more chocolate?

Fill them? And what better to fill skulls with... but brains?

So I started plopping cherries into the skulls, and the effect is perfect!

Look at those eyes! Love. 

The perfect amount of spooky for my little ones!

And how about the fingers? Looking good in that jar!

Now, I wont give these to any trick or treater, because they are not wrapped. 

But friends, family that I know... Absolutely!

Headed to Joann's? Thinking about trying your hand at candy making?

Don't forget to use the coupon!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Joann's Fabric and Craft Store. I was given a gift card to Joann Fabric and Craft Stores to create a #spookyspace for the Celebrate the Season Campaign. 

Krispy Treats

Alright, I'm jumping on the bandwagon here. After seeing some variations of Krispy treats on pinterest, I had to make some. We had some fruit loops and marshmellows ( which honestly, I'm shocked we had marshmellows. I think Carter must have thrown them in cart!) so I whipped up a batch.

Oh. My. Word.  

Way better than any rice crispy. Even if it was coated in chocolate and sprinkles. 

Good thing I only made a half batch!  

Garden Strawberries to Strawberry Cake

This weekend, Carter and I went out to do a "garden check". I water everyday, but we don't look for new growth everyday. So we do a "garden check" to see what's  new!  And we were able to pick a ton of strawberries! Carter declared before we even finished he wanted strawberry cake. So a quick online search found Martha's recipe and we got to work!

I followed the recipe word for word ( I know, strange for me! But it is BAKING and I'm normally a disaster!) and it came out really well. I would guess it's a basic pound cake recipe as it's a very dense cake. My husband actually asked if it was a scone recipe ( which made me think I need to find a good scone recipe!) 

Overall, we would make again but...

After making, I realized that a couple weeks back Lisa over at Pursuit of Happiness shared a Strawberry Cake too ( looks a little less dense than Martha's!) That we will be trying next! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I'm a little late this year sharing my rhubarb pie recipe, normally I make one the first week of June. 

But life has been super busy! (I guess two boys will do that!)

I would have shared yesterday, but I got stung by a bee on the hand, and just didn't feel up to typing. It's still swollen but oh well. I'll survive!

Here's my recipe, and so far I've never had a bad pie from it yet!

(*Note I do put a crust on top too, but it's so pretty before hand I had to share!*)

2 cups rhubarb ( washed in cold water and chopped)

4 cups strawberry (washed and chopped)

2 eggs

2/3 cups sugar

2 tbspn flour

Splash of lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1/4 tspn extract ( original recipe said almond, I used Vanilla)

Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl with whisk, toss Strawberry and Rhubarb to coat.  

Put in favorite pie crust!

Bake 15 minutes at 450, then lower heat to 350 for 30 minutes.

Individual Baked Oatmeal

While scouring Pinterest, I found this recipe for Individual Baked Oatmeal.

What made me make it, is that people were comparing it to granola bars. 

So I got to work!

And I was excited to use the blueberries that we picked the night before!

Once they were baked I packed them up and stored in an airtight container. 

I made mini for my mini men, and full size for me and the hubs.  

Now, the flavor is great! You can't taste half the ingredients ( banana and honey) that I expected you to taste.  But I was a little bummed about the texture. It was mushy, I expected more like granola bars (per comments on recipe). So next time, I think I may leave some if not all the milk out and see what happens! 

Other than the texture they are perfect for grabbing and going, especially if you make them in muffin cups!

Back to Banana... Bread.

Last week I asked over on facebook what you all do bananas, other than banana bread.

Julie shared this link, with tons of ideas.

While some looked super yummy, I went for easy. 

I baked a loaf or two of banana bread. 

But last year I used a recipe (my recipe was similar to this) from a friend.

Here's the recipe from last night's batch!

1 3/4 c flour

2/3 sugar 

2 tspns baking powder

1/2 tspn baking soda

1/4 tspn salt

1 c mashed banana

1/3 butter, or margarine, or shortening

2 tblspn milk

2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients, then wet. Mix all together. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. 

I've also used this recipe (my recipe was similar to this, not exact) from a friend.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies using Cake Mix

Did you know you can make cookies from ANY cake mix?

Yes, which is perfect for the novice cookie maker in me! I wish I had more patience when it came to cookies, don't get me started on using cookie cutters. I just can't get it perfect!

Anyways, back to the cookies.  To convert a cake mix to a cookie mix you need:

A cake mix of your choice ( I used Devil's Food)

1 egg

3/4 cup butter ( I used Country Crock)

2 tbspns milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients. 

Create a log, and stick in freezer until firm, I did it for about a half hour.

Slice. I rolled in balls and flatened. 

Bake 6-10 minutes.

Yum.

Mmmm. Banana Bread!

It must be this time of year, because I always make 

Banana bread and Zucchini bread right in the middle of summer. 

Why is that?

Anyways, last night I whipped up a couple loaves of Banana bread. Yum.

I used my original recipe from Better Homes and Garden's New Cook Book. 

But last year I used a recipe (my recipe was similar to this) from a friend.

Here's the recipe from last night's batch!

1 3/4 c flour

2/3 sugar 

2 tspns baking powder

1/2 tspn baking soda

1/4 tspn salt

1 c mashed banana

1/3 butter, or margarine, or shortening

2 tblspn milk

2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients, then wet. Mix all together. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. 

* I actually decreased the sugar a little bit, and added cinnamon due to Gestational diabetes and it has great flavor.*