Caramel Apple Kolaches

I am so excited that this post is participating in The Improv Cooking Challenge hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain! 

Some things just speak to you.  You know?

There's just something about fresh apples...

and gooey caramel sauce.

It holds a special place in my heart. <3

I've actually blogged about kolaches before.  I defined what a kolache is...and what it isn't.  Today's recipe is not a traditional kolache, because of the filling, but oh my goodness is it good! 

Kolaches 

(adapted from recipes found in Texas Monthly and the HoustonChronicle as found on The Homesick Texan)

Makes 18 rolls


Ingredients:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups of all-purpose flour (original recipe calls for 3 cups.  I have needed 4 cups every time I've ever made them.)
2 eggs
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 teaspoon of salt

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
• Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
• Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
• Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
• Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
• Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
• After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
• Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
• After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) 

 

• fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling (recipe to follow) 
• Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.

•   Drizzle with caramel sauce.  (recipe to follow)

• Drool, then enjoy!

Apple Filling 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup water

4 cups peeled & sliced apples (about 4-6 apples)

1 tsp lemon juice

Directions

• Mix sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a 2 quart saucepan.  Add water, apples, and lemon juice.  Stirring constantly, cook over medium-high heat until it thickens and then boils.  Continue to stir and boil for about 5 minutes.  Add water if necessary.

Caramel Sauce

(Recipe & Pictures from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/caramel_sauce/)

Cook time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter 
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

METHOD

1 First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first - make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

 

2 Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

 
 

3 As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4 Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big.

5 Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Yield: Makes a little over one cup of sauce.

Kolaches

If you're digging my plate, there is still a very limited supply available at Home A La Mode in 8" and 12"

Being a native Texan, it's hard to imagine life without kolaches!  For those of you that need to be educated, a kolache is a Czech sweet bun made from yeasted dough and usually having a fruit or poppy seed filling.  They are such a yummy little piece of heaven.  There are some people that will try to give you a "kolache" with sausage inside.  My friends, please hear me when I say, "THAT IS NOT A KOLACHE!!!  IT IS A PIG IN A BLANKET!!!"  There.  I got that out of my system. *Panting*  If you want the actual Tex-Czech name for a 'Pig In A Blanket' it is "klobasnek"  If you want to join my anal-retentive kolache world, here's a pretty good read on the differences.

Anyway, the best place to buy these little goodies is in a small town called West, TX at The Czech Stop.  It is halfway between Dallas and Austin.  It's just a little far for me to drive there to go get one.  =(  But, I have found a recipe that is just about as close as you can get to the ones at The Czech Stop.  *High pitched squeal!*  I found the recipe at The Homesick Texan.  She has such pretty pictures of the finished product too!  Thanks Homesick Texan for sharing! 


The following is the word for word recipe with my pics added in.  I will post a few of my tips at the end.

Kolaches 

(adapted from recipes found in Texas Monthly and the HoustonChronicle as found on The Homesick Texan)

Makes 18 rolls


Ingredients:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 teaspoon of salt

Method:
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much)

and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling (recipe to follow) 

and sprinkle with posypka (recipe to follow).

Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.












Kolache filling
Ingredients:
1 pound of dried fruit such as apricots or prunes.
Sugar to taste
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Lemon zest

Method:
Soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours or overnight.
When fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste (I find the fruit sweet enough so I don’t add sugar, but you may prefer it sweeter), cinnamon and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.


Posypka

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Mix all ingredients until crumbly.




My tips for this recipe:

• Dough: I needed closer to 4 cups of flour vs. 3.  Start with 3 cups and if the dough is too sticky to knead, add  flour 1/4 cup at a time.
• Filling: I did not try the recipe.  I used a cherry fruit spread instead.
• Posypka: I found that it made way more than needed.  Feel free to cut it in half.  You will still have plenty to spare.  You also may need to add a little bit of butter.

Cranberry Orange Cream Scones

I had to double check to make sure I did actually type "Cranberry Orange Cream Scones" and not "Heaven On A Plate".  My husband's grandmother, Grandma B, has been visiting from Nebraska for about 3 weeks.  We had the privilege of having her come to our home and spend the day with us.  Grandma B is originally from England, so I was trying to think of some sort of a yummy English snack that I could serve during our visit.  Naturally, I thought of scones.  I searched high and low on the internet for a yummy scone and finally found this recipe on House of Annie.  These scones turned out beautifully and so tasty!  They have a ridiculous amount of butter in them which makes them very moist.  The original recipe called for currants, with a substitute of cranberries and orange.  Obviously, I chose to go with the cranberries and orange.  I can't help it...I have a thing for cranberries.   =)  By the way, the scones were Grandma B approved, so they're safe for you to make!

Cranberry Orange Cream Scones

As seen in the Home A La Mode catalog!!

Prep: 15 mins; Bake: 12-15 mins

Makes: 8-16 servings

  

2 cups (10oz) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp sugar (more for sprinkling)

1/2 tsp salt

5 Tbsp (2.5oz) cold, unsalted butter

1/2 cup dried coarsely chopped cranberries

1 Tbsp grated orange zest

1 cup heavy cream (more for brushing)

Preheat oven to 425 F

Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix.  Cut in butter until it resembles coarse meal.

Add cranberries and orange zest.  Mix.  Gradually pour in heavy cream about 1/4 cup at a time and lightly mix until the dough comes together in a shaggy ball.  It will still have lots of loose, sandy pieces.  If you think it's too loose and sandy, you can add a little bit more cream without affecting the outcome.  

Place dough on a floured surface ad roughly work it into a ball.  

Press the ball down into a rectangular shape.

Fold the dough into thirds.

Press the dough down again into a rectangular shape in a vertical position and fold into thirds again.  The less you work your dough, the flakier it will be.

Press the dough down into a circle.  Cut into 8 large or 16 small triangles. (Trust me when I say that cutting into 16 triangles is a waste of time.  These are so good that you will eat two little ones. You may as well go for one big one.)  =)

Separate the individual scones and place them on a baking tray that is lined with parchment paper. (I put mine on a well seasoned baking stone without the parchment paper.)

Brush the top of the scones with cream and then sprinkle each one with a little sugar.

Bake for 12-15 mins until golden brown on top.

Stay tuned!!!  I am doing my first fun giveaway very soon!  Follow me so that you don't miss the announcement!  Here's a tasty teaser for your taste buds...

Also linking up at:

The Grocery Cart Challenge

Ninety Minute Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are the ultimate comfort food in my opinion.  They are soft, chewy, crispy, and have all the sweetness anyone could ever ask for!  They are good any time of the year and always put a smile on people's faces.  What's not to love?  I have made these rolls a few times and have not been disappointed yet!  It says 90 minutes, but it took about 2 hours for me.  But then, I'm a little slow when I work.  I'd be curious to know if anyone does actually make them in 90 minutes.  I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com and added my own icing.  Here is the recipe word for word as seen on the original source, and I'll put my own tips at the bottom.

Ninety Minute Cinnamon Rolls

Prep Time: 20 mins; Cook Time: 20 mins; Ready in: 1 hour 30 mins
Makes 12 rolls

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine, softened

Directions:

1. Heat milk in small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat.  Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar, and salt; mix well.  Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well.  Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
3. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest fro 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.
4. Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle.  Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture.  Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal.  Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 slightly greased muffin cups.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned.  Remove from muffin cups to cool.  Serve warm.

My tips for this recipe - 

1. As I already stated, this took me closer to 2 hours to complete
2. Step #2 says to knead about 5 minutes.  I typically knead for closer to 10.  
3. Step #4...there are several things to note here. 

• When spreading the margarine/sugar mixture onto the dough, leave about a 1/2 inch of dough uncovered on the long side at the top of the rectangle.  Start rolling from the bottom until you reach the uncovered portion of the dough.  Take a small bowl of water and wet your finger and run it across the uncovered portion of the dough, then pinch the seam together.  The water will help the seams stick better.
• To cut the rolls, take either a long piece of un-waxed floss or a long piece of thread; place the middle of the thread under the roll and cross the thread on the top and pull tight until the thread has pulled free.  Continue to do this until there are 12 roll.  I find it easiest to cut the roll in 1/4's.  Then cut 3 rolls from each 1/4.
• I have never put the rolls in muffin cups.  It just seems WRONG! =)  I put them in two 9-inch round pans.  You could also put them in a 9x13 pan.
• You can prepare these then leave them in the refrigerator to rise overnight.  The next morning allow them to set at room temperature for 30 minutes then bake them as directed.     

     4.  There is something REALLY WRONG with a cinnamon roll without icing!!!  I don't know what was

          going through their minds when they decided not to ice these things.  I use this really simple recipe:

Icing 

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/8 tsp salt         

3 cups powdered sugar

3-4 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp almond extract or 1 tsp vanilla (I prefer the almond extract)

Whisk all ingredients till smooth.  If necessary, add more milk 1 tbsp at a time until it has reached the right consistency.  Spread on warm rolls while they are still in the pan.

This recipe doesn't come with the nutrition facts.  I'll sum it up for you real fast:

They are bad for you!  

ENJOY!!!

Overnight Danish Twist

OMGSH!  These are so good!  I love to eat treats that make you feel like you've been to a bakery.  It's so much more satisfying to know that YOU made them. =)  This is an easy pastry to make and they are so pretty.  This is another recipe that I got from my handy dandy Betty Crocker cookbook. (You can find a link to purchase the book at the end of this post.)  I'm putting the exact recipe down here word for word out of the book and at the very bottom I'll give you a few tips.  OK...I'll quit stalling, here's the recipe.

Overnight Danish Twists

Prep: 55 min; Chill: 8 hr; Bake 15 min
Makes 27 twists

2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 teaspoons out of a jar)
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
4 ups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup cold stick butter, cut into small pieces
4 large eggs (separated)
1 cup ilk
Jam or preserves
Powdered Sugar Glaze (Below)

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl.  Mix in flour, sugar and salt.  Cut in butter, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs.
2. Separate egg yolks from egg whites; refrigerate egg whites for use in steps 5 and 7.  Stir egg yolks and milk into flour mixture until soft dough forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
3. Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets with shortening.
4. Punch down dough.  Divide dough into 3 equal parts.  Roll 1 part dough at a time into rectangle, 9 x 7 inches, on lightly floured surface.  (If dough becomes too sticky while shaping, refrigerate 5 to 10 minutes.) Cut rectangle crosswise into nine 1-inch strips
5. For each twist, pinch ends f each strip together to form ring, stretching strip slightly, then twist to from figure 8.  Place at least 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Brush with egg white.  Let rise uncovered t room temperature about 25 minutes or until dough is puffy and lops fill in.
6. Heat oven to 350
7. Make an indentation in center of each loop.  Fill with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon jam.  Brush dough with egg white.  Bake about 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Immediately remove to wire rack; cool slightly.  Drizzle Powdered Sugar Glaze over warm twists.

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 tablespoons water or milk

Mix all ingredients until smooth.  If necessary, stir in additional water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until drizzling consistency.

My tips for this recipe -

1. I needed 5 cups of all-purpose flour.  The dough was too sticky and there was no hope of rolling out the 9 x 7 rectangles.  Ugh...what a mess! 
2. I used a strawberry fruit spread instead of jam.  No high fructose corn syrup and uber yummy!
3. You really only need about 2 egg whites.  But, your first time to make these, it wouldn't hurt to keep them all.  You never know.
4. Step #1 says to "Cut in butter, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs."  I cut the butter into small cubes, then mashed them into the flour mixture looked like fine crumbs.
5. I made 21...not 27 twists as the recipe says. I realized later that I cut 7 strips instead of 9 strips in step #4.  They still baked evenly and were a little bigger.  =)  Is that so wrong?

OK, I know there are some of you out there that want to know the nutrition facts.  Just so you know, it takes all the fun out of it!!  So for all the A types...here you go...but I'm not happy about it. :-P

1 Twist:  Calories 190 (Calories from Fat 70); Fat 8g (Saturated 5g); Cholesterol 50mg; Sodium 220mg; Carbohydrate 28g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 3g