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.

Klobasnek (Sausage in a Roll)

A while back, I posted a recipe for Kolaches.  Kolaches are a Czech sweet roll with a fruit or cream cheese filling.  I don't know if there are enough ways to say that these are DELICIOUS!  In that post, I went on a crazy rant (I do that sometimes) about how sometimes people will give you a "kolache" with a sausage.  (Donut shops are the worst offender of this heinous crime.)  This is NOT a kolache.  The correct term would be a klobasnek.  In English, we usually say "pig in a blanket".  The difference is that a "pig in a blanket" is typically more of a flaky biscuit dough wrapped around a cocktail sausage whereas a klobasnek is a typical yeasted roll around bigger sausage.  The key to making a good klobasnek is the sausage you use.  People put a variety of different sausages in their klobasnek, like stuffed cheese, stuffed cheese & jalapeño, or just a typical sausage.  Most Czechs would probably scoff at the ones I made because I used a Hillshire Farm sausage.  I'm afraid the type I used is escaping my memory and they don't have them listed on their website.  Seriously?!  (I knew I should have written it down.)  Anyway, they are found near the smoked sausage links.  They are bigger than cocktail sausages, but smaller than their bun sized sausages and come in packages of 12.  I'm thinking they are about 3-4" in length.  They are the perfect size for this recipe and you will need 2 packages.  For the bread, I used the same recipe as the Perfect Dinner Rolls.  These can be used as breakfast or snacks.  I'm considering taking them to a Super Bowl party.  Trust me on this...you will NOT be disappointed!

*Edit*  I discovered why Hillshire Farm doesn't have the sausages I used on their website.  Um...it's because the sausages I used are Eckrich brand.  *insert sheepish smile here*  They are called Eckrich Smok-Y-links.  

Klobasnek
2 - 12 count packages of Hillshire Farm sausages (see above for a better description)

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup, then leveled off

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour - on low speed with the paddle attachment incorporate the flour to create a wet, sticky mixture. Still on low speed, add 1 cup of the remaining flour and incorporate. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining 1 cup flour. On low speed, mix the dough to incorporate the final addition of flour until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl - turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 20 -30 minutes.  These steps can also be done by hand.  You do not have to have a mixer for this recipe.  

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate into a rectangle. Cut it in half vertically, then each half vertically again into thirds so you have 6 equal strips of dough. Cut each strip of dough into fourths by cutting horizontally to make 24 little squares of dough.

Take a square of dough into the palm of your hand then wrap it around a sausage leaving the ends of the sausage exposed.  Pinch the seams tightly and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Cover the klobasneks in the pan with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and let rise to double while your oven is preheating to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) - about 20 minutes. If you want an even more golden color to the rolls, brush them with a little melted butter before baking. Bake for 13-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!

Linking up at these fun parties:
Making the World Cuter: Making the World Cuter Monday

33 Shades of Green: Tasty Tuesdays

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam: Tasty Tuesday

It's a Blog Party: Delicious Dishes 

Giggles, Glitz, & Glam: Glam Party

A Moderate Life: Hearth and Soul Hop

All Thingz Related: Anything Related Tuesday

My Sweet & Savory: Let's Do Brunch
Creations by Kara: Look What I Made Day

The King's Court IV: What's Cooking Wednesday

Frugal Follies: Frugal Food Thursday

House of Hepworths: Hooking Up With HOH

Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom: Commercial Break Thursday

Whistlestop Cafe Cooking: Friday's Favorites

ceo a's draiocht: Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent 

Oatmeal Bars

It always seems that my family is running late.  It's not that we don't try.  We really do!  Even this entry is late!  Just for some reason getting out the door can be so difficult at times.  Because we're always late, we rarely have time to sit down to eat a good breakfast.  So I'm always on the lookout for fast & healthy things to serve my family when I'm throwing their breakfast like a frisbee at them as we pull out of the driveway.  OK, so the frisbee thing isn't exactly accurate, but it feels like it sometimes! =)

While James and I were taking our childbirth classes, the couples were supposed to take turns signing up to bring a snack for the group each week.  The first week, our instructor provided the snack.  Yep, you guessed it. She provided these oatmeal bars.  She encouraged us to not go overboard while we were getting the snack.  She said, "I just made some homemade granola bars real quick."  That's right.  I looked at her like she had lost her mind.  We tried them and they were really good!  My husband loved them!  And all the wives reading this knows that when your husband really likes something, you will do anything to reproduce that for him.  It's no secret that a happy husband has a happy belly. ;-)  To my surprise, they were really easy!!!  One of the best parts of all, they are saving us so much money!  We used to buy prepackaged granola bars that were expensive and not very filling.  My husband takes one on his way to work every morning, so I make a lot of them.

Anyway, the recipe came from a book called The Laptop Lunch User's Guide.  As I started looking around, I found that they sell reusable lunch box kits and promote healthy foods.  Cool!  I also found that they have a blog here.

The following is the word for word recipe and I'll put my tips at the end.

Oatmeal Bars

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

These oatmeal bars are a great alternative to many similar prepackaged products.  Freeze some for future use.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3 cups "old fashioned" oats
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup walnut oil
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons orange juice or water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Combine oatmeal, flour baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, combine honey,, oil, egg, orange juice (or water).
• Combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix again.  
• Using a spatula, press mixture firmly onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet, forming one large rectangle about 1/3 inch thick.
• Smooth the edges with the edge of the spatula.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until light brown and firm.
• Remove from oven and cool.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the large rectangle into smaller 1 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch rectangles.

My tips for this recipe:

• Walnut oil - We don't use walnut oil in our bars.  I substitute it for apple juice concentrate.  I actually do this a lot when I bake.  I keep it in a container in the freezer and just scoop it out with a measuring spoon when I need it.
• Orange juice - I keep another container in the freezer with orange juice concentrate.  I measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of orange juice and the 1 1/2 tablespoons of water for the recipe.
• Vanilla extract - We have made them with the vanilla extract before, but now make them with almond extract now.  I love the flavor with the oatmeal
• 1/3 inch thick - We make ours much more thick.  Ours are more like 3/4 inch thick.  They don't seem to fall apart easily.  Because we like to make ours more thick, I have to bake them longer.  It takes closer to 20 minutes in my stoneware.  
• Extras - We add a few more ingredients.  I have a cranberry thing, I eat them year round.  We also like chocolate...and pecans.  So, we add 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, and 1/4 cup of chopped pecans.  You can add pretty much anything your imagination can think up.  Add, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, any nuts, dried fruits, coconut.  Anything you like!

 

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

OK.  I know that pancakes aren't technically baking...but after I had these I knew that I HAD to share!  Not too long ago, I was browsing through cooking blogs (as I often do) and I found Big Red Kitchen.  It's an excellent blog with great recipes and beautiful pictures!  Anyway, I found a recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes and my jaw dropped.  I had to wipe a little bit of drool from my mouth and wipe my eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving me.  Yay for me...they weren't!  When I posted the recipe for the 90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls, I said that in my opinion, cinnamon rolls are the ultimate comfort food.  It's the truth!  But even at 90 minutes, sometimes that's too long and you need your fix now!  My family went nuts over them.  It has quickly become a frequent request for Saturday morning breakfasts.  Go ahead and try them.  I triple dog dare you!

I will be putting the original recipe on here word for word with my pictures and then adding the things I changed at the bottom.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

For the Cinnamon Filling...
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, mix until smooth:
1 stick softened butter, almost melty
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 T. cinnamon

Using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides, pour this mixture into a large pastry bag that had been opened and stood up in a tall tumbler. A large ziptop bag with the edges folded over the tumbler would work too. 

For the Cream Cheese Icing...
In the same bowl that you used for the cinnamon filling, mix together, using the hand mixer again:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 ounces cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
4 T. milk

Mix until smooth and pour into a second pastry bag just like you did with the cinnamon mixture above.

For the Pancakes...
In the same bowl that you used for the filling and the icing- no need to be using or washing too many bowls now- mix together:


2 cups pancake mix- I used Bisquick's Heart Healthy
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 T. powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups milk

the hand mixer, blend until smooth. In a large non-stick skillet, over medium to medium-low heat, and using a 1/4 cup dry measuring cup, ladle 2 pancakes. Snip the tip off the pastry bag containing the cinnamon filling so that the opening is a scant 1/2 inch wide, swirl over cooking pancakes in a circular motion- 3 go-a-rounds should do. Continue to cook the pancakes until bubbles form evenly through each cake. Gently flip each pancake over and cook another 30-45 seconds, remove to a serving platter and serve immediately or keep warm covered in a warm oven. Continue with the rest of the batter. Place 2-3 pancakes side by side (too pretty to stack!) on each person's plate and drizzle each one with icing. Serve maple syrup, bacon or sausage, and fruit on the side. Makes 18 pancakes.

Note- Using a damp paper towel, wipe your skillet after each pancake is made. This will keep the next pancake from sticking to any of the cinnamon filling that has leaked onto your skillet or griddle. 
After I swirled each pancake with the cinnamon filling, I returned the pastry bag, tip down in the tumbler. This kept it from leaking all over. 
Store any leftover icing in the refrigerator for future use. 



My tips for this recipe:

• Pancake mix: I don't typically use a prepared mix. I made the pancakes that are found in my Betty Crocker cook book. Here's the recipe:

Prep: 5 min; Cook: 10 min
Makes nine 4-inch pancakes

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon granulated or packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Margarine or shortening

1. Beat egg in medium bowl with hand beater until fluffy.  Beat in remaining ingredients except margarine just until smooth. 

2. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375.  Grease griddle with margarine if necessary.  

3.  For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter from cup or pitcher onto hot griddle.  Cook pancake until puffed and dry around edges.  Turn and cook other side until golden brown.

• Cream Cheese Icing:  *Sigh*  Sadly I didn't have any cream cheese.  So typical, you know?  So I used this for my icing:

2 Tbsp butter, melted 

pinch of salt

2 -3 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp almond extract

Whisk all ingredients until smooth.  If needed add more milk 1 Tbsp at a time until it has reached drizzling consistency.

• Serve with syrup:  We didn't need or want any syrup on ours.  It was plenty sweet with just the icing.  (My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it!)

Enjoy your breakfast!!!

    




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...

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