Ingredient: butter, softened

Spiced Parsnip Apple Scones

A fall frost warning announces the end of the road for most of the garden vegetables we’ve enjoyed over the summer. Happily, there are a few vegetables that reach their pinnacle of deliciousness when the cold weather arrives. Winter sweetening is a phenomenon that enhances the flavor of crops such as kale, collards and Brussels sprouts, along with root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, beets and parsnips.

Over the course of the growing season, these vegetables store up energy in the form of starches. When the temperatures start to drop, these starches are converted into sugars, which act as a natural antifreeze. Winter sweetening is especially profound with the humble, underappreciated parsnip.

Before sugar was widely available, vegetables were used to sweeten dishes such as cakes and jams. Carrot cake has stood the test of time, but parsnips add similar flavor and sweetness.

These vegetable/fruit scones mimic the spice and texture of a carrot cake, adding a mysterious subtle sweetness with the nutty flavor of grated parsnips.

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 Spiced Parsnip Apple Scones
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword parsnip apple oatmeal scones
Servings
Ingredients
Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword parsnip apple oatmeal scones
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter 12 scone tins or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a food processor, pulse oatmeal for a few seconds then transfer to a large bowl. Whisk oatmeal, flour, baking soda, spices, salt, flax & pecans together until well combined. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk egg, brown sugar, butter, mashed banana, orange zest, orange juice & vanilla together until well combined.
  4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stir a few times, then add raisins, parsnips & apple. Fold together gently just until blended.
  5. Scoop into scone tins or onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes or until scones test done with a toothpick in the center.
  6. Remove from oven & place on a cooling rack to cool. Top with a simple powdered sugar/lemon juice drizzle if you wish or just serve as is.

Cinnamon Bun Rice Krispie Treats

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Whether you’re hosting a Halloween party, attending a potluck, or simply craving something sweet, Halloween rice krispie treats are a classic choice. Loved for their crispy texture, chewy marshmallow consistency, and endless decorating possibilities.

Rice Krispie treats have been around for about 85 years. Snap, crackle, pop! These three words have become synonymous with Rice Krispies, the breakfast cereal made from pieces of crisped rice that, when combined with milk, emit a noise that you can probably imagine while reading this. Regardless of the last time you enjoyed a bowl of Rice Krispies in the morning, it’s clear that the beloved brand exudes childhood nostalgia. The iconic mascot trio, memory-stimulating sound, shape, and aroma are embedded into many memories. 

Rice Krispies Treats are a legendary confection with an undemanding recipe that has graced several generations. Not only are the possibilities endless with these delicious treats that kids and grown-ups can enjoy but they can bring a challenging cake shape to life while making the process so much more manageable. Intricately sculpted cakes often have a surprise inside: rice cereal treats. Swapping traditional batter for these crispy treats provides structure and strength to modeled cakes that you just can’t get with fondant and modeling chocolate alone. And the best part is, the method you use to sculpt the cake afterward isn’t that different than when you sculpt a traditional batter-filled cake.

For some tasty little Halloween treats this year, I’m making some cinnamon bun rice krispie rolls with a cream cheese frosting. I can think of a few kids & adults who will enjoy these!

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 Cinnamon Bun Rice Krispie Rolls w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Keyword cinnamon bun rice krispie treats w/ cream cheese frosting
Servings
Ingredients
Rice Krispies
Filling
Frosting
Course dessert
Keyword cinnamon bun rice krispie treats w/ cream cheese frosting
Servings
Ingredients
Rice Krispies
Filling
Frosting
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Rice Krispies
  1. Line a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Spray well with cooking spray. Set aside
  2. In a large pot, melt marshmallows, butter, vanilla & cinnamon over low heat. Stir until melted & smooth. Remove from heat & stir in rice krispies. Scrape rice krispie mixture onto prepared pan. Using well buttered hands, press out evenly into pan. Let cool to room temperature.
Filling
  1. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, butter, cinnamon & flour until creamy.
Assembly
  1. Carefully spread filling onto the rice krispies. Sprinkle with pepita seeds. Roll up from the long side like a jelly roll while rice krispies are still flexible. Press firmly as you roll.
  2. Place in fridge for 15-20 minutes. When it feels FIRM, cut into 1/2-inch slices using a serrated blade & sawing motion. You should get approximately 24 slices.
Frosting
  1. Beat together cream cheese, vanilla & powdered sugar until smooth. Place in a piping bag & pipe a swirl onto each slice. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon if you wish. Keep in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Streuseltaler

Nothing tastes more like fall than fresh baked pumpkin goods. I love just about anything with pumpkin in it. It definitely wasn’t always that way but it’s amazing how your taste buds change as time passes.

My original thoughts were to make some German pumpkin plachinda. It was one of those wonderful things my mother used to make that got pushed into the back of my memory.

It seems most recipes you find on the internet make plachinda as individual pastry turnovers with a pumpkin filling. I think I recall my mother making it in a rectangle casserole dish with the pastry on the bottom and up the sides and the filling showing.

I decided to do some ‘recipe development’ and try making some German streuseltaler and top it with a sweet pumpkin (plachinda) filling.

Streuseltaler was inspired by the round shape of the taler, a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in the currency called dollar.

Taler is a German word for coin, so the name of the dessert literally translates to streusel coin. Basically, a free form tart made with a yeast dough topped with a huge amount of streusel, sometimes filled with custard and often with a sugar glaze.

A traditional German streusel (streusel meaning something ‘strewn or scattered’ in German) bakes up into shortbread balls. It makes a crunchy, cookie-like top but is soft on the bottom where it meets the bread or fruit compote.

Streusel was first popularized in Germany. In its simplest form, it consists of flour, sugar and butter but gets even better with the addition of oatmeal, cinnamon and nuts …. just my opinion of course!

In the history of cooking, one could find recipes that have constantly changed and could be seen as a connecting link between modern times and our past. I guess this is my contribution to the evolution of plachinda.

For all of you who love pumpkin, here’s a treat you don’t want to miss!

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 Pumpkin Streuseltaler
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine German
Keyword pumpkin streuseltaler
Servings
SERVINGS
Ingredients
Pumpkin Dough
Pumpkin Filling
Streusel Topping
Glaze
Course dessert
Cuisine German
Keyword pumpkin streuseltaler
Servings
SERVINGS
Ingredients
Pumpkin Dough
Pumpkin Filling
Streusel Topping
Glaze
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Dough
  1. In a small bowl, add yeast, lukewarm water & 1 tsp sugar. Allow to sit about 10 minutes until frothy.
  2. In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, butter, salt, cinnamon, eggs & pumpkin puree. Mix well. Add flour, one cup at a time, until well combined. Knead dough for about 8-10 minutes or until smooth & soft. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel & allow to rise for about 1 hour or until double in size.
Filling
  1. In a small dish, combine the filling ingredients, set aside.
Streusel Topping
  1. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon & salt. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
Assembly & Baking
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface & divide into 12 pieces. Form each piece into a ball & allow it to rest for about 5 minutes.
  2. Space out the balls on parchment lined baking sheet. With fingertips or the back of a Tbsp., press out center of each ball to about 4-inch diameter. Add about a Tbsp of pumpkin filling to each dough piece & spread leaving a border around the outside.
  3. Divide streusel topping evenly between the pastries. Allow to rise for about 15-20 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. In the meantime, you can prepare the glaze.
Glaze
  1. In a small dish, whisk powdered sugar & lemon juice to a thick glaze. When streuseltaler are cooled, drizzle with glaze.
Recipe Notes
  • The picture at the bottom of the recipe is MY version of my mother's plachinda. I had posted it on a blog in October 2016. She used to serve this wonderful pastry when she made a white bean soup. At the time I thought it was an odd combination but it works! Another one of those 'taste of a memory' kind of comfort foods.

Spiced Upside Down Peach Crisp

Fruit crisp is a classic dessert that has been around for centuries. The first known recipe was published in an 1828 cookbook. The recipe used frozen fruit instead of fresh and while fresh fruit is often used in baking, frozen fruit is a great alternative. 

Fresh fruit always has such appeal. It brightens the fridge and counter with cheery colors and sweet scents. Frozen fruit allows for some flexibility by extending a typically short shelf life. Both have their place in the kitchen.

 Frozen fruit may not have the same crispness or texture as it’s fresh counterpart but there are some great benefits to using it.

  • It’s available all year round
  • You can use it straight from the freezer
  • Convenience – it’s already washed and ready to go
  • Frozen fruit is generally quick-frozen at its peak and as soon as it’s picked

This peach crisp is amazing! The frozen peaches are enhanced with fresh lemon juice and flavorings and the spiced oatmeal topping has toasted pecans to add a little crunch. Yum!

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 Spiced Upside Down Peach Crisp
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword spiced peach crisp
Servings
Ingredients
Fruit
Crisp Topping
Spiced Cream Topping
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword spiced peach crisp
Servings
Ingredients
Fruit
Crisp Topping
Spiced Cream Topping
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Fruit
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line & lightly grease a 9-inch spring form baking pan with foil.
  2. In a large bowl, combine thawed & drained peaches, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, almond extract & salt. Set aside.
Crisp Topping
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, flour, oats, pecans & spices. Add butter & mix with a wooden spoon until topping is crumbly.
Assembly
  1. Into prepared baking dish pour peach mixture. Sprinkle the crisp topping evenly over the peaches. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven & allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove outside ring from pan then flip crisp over on a serving plate & slice.
Spiced Cream Topping
  1. Add heavy cream to a chilled bowl & beat until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla, sugar & spices until peaks form.
  2. Serve crisp with spiced cream topping or vanilla ice cream if you would rather.
Recipe Notes
  • Since there are just two of us, I made only half of the recipe, that's why mine is quite thin in the picture. Still gave us 10 pieces!
  • I baked it long enough to really caramelize the peaches. Yum!

Spice Balls w/ Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

The weather is cooling, and fall baking fills the air with the warm aromas of cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Spice cake recipes from turn-of-the-century cookbooks call for early forms of baking soda, which require an acid and the presence of heat to create a reaction that generates carbon dioxide bubbles. Tomato soup being acidic, provides the acid to make that reaction occur, the same way applesauce does. These spice cake balls are using both applesauce and tomato soup, making them super moist and full of flavor.

Who knew that a can of tomato soup could be turned into a cake? Condensed tomato soup appeared in stores in the late 1890s, and recipes for tomato soup cake began appearing in cookbooks in the late 1920s, early 1930s. This cake gained popularity likely in response to the depression, since the original recipe didn’t contain eggs or milk, which were in short supply during that time. Canned goods were an important staple during the depression, and like mayonnaise, the soup serves to bring moisture and bind the cake together. While it does not leave a tomato flavor in the cake, it does give the cake a lovely reddish color.

The Campbell Soup Company didn’t actually produce a recipe until 1940 and by 1960 it was featured on a Campbell’s soup label, making it the first recipe ever to appear on a soup can.

Tomato soup cake has moved beyond its humble origins. It is truly a recipe for all ages and for all seasons, a recipe that has been revised and modified to suit changing needs and tastes, a recipe that has stood and triumphed over the test of time. Around 1966, a cream cheese–frosted version surfaced, which remains the most popular version to this day.

The pumpkin spice cream cheese frosting is truly the ‘icing on the cake‘.

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 Spice Cupcakes w/ Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword spice balls w/ pumpkin spice cream cheese frosting
Servings
OR 12 CUPCAKES
Ingredients
Spice Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting, Divided
Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword spice balls w/ pumpkin spice cream cheese frosting
Servings
OR 12 CUPCAKES
Ingredients
Spice Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting, Divided
Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Spice Cake Balls
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. If you are using cake pop pans it is not necessary to grease them. If you are using muffin cups, line with paper cups.
  2. In a large bowl, cream sugar & butter. Mix in applesauce & tomato soup.
  3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking powder & baking soda.
  4. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients along with walnuts or pepitas. Fold together, mixing lightly. Do not overmix batter.
  5. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. Place cream cheese in a bowl & beat with mixer until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, vanilla & salt. Combine well.
  2. For Pumpkin Spice Frosting: Divide cream cheese mixture (from recipe above) in half. To one half of the mixture add the pumpkin pie spice.
  3. In a piping bag, fitted with a star piping tip, place the white cream cheese frosting on one side & the pumpkin spice frosting on the other side of the bag, Pipe a swirl over each 'spice cake pop'. Decorate with some whole pepitas if desired.

Citron Anise Pudding Cookies

Although pudding cookies have been around forever, it’s always interesting to take a basic recipe and personalize with flavors that appeal to you especially. I have always had loved the flavor of both citron and anise, so I decided to incorporate them in this cookie. I have very vivid memories of my mothers’ huge, wonderful garden, on our farm in southern Alberta. Citron was one of the melons that she grew and made it into a nice, preserved fruit for the winter months. I just loved it, but it seems this melon has become extinct these days. The reason can be deduced from historical seed catalogues. Throughout the period of about 1910 to 1950, whenever imported winter fruit and reliable refrigeration arrived in a region, the local seed companies tended to drop citron melon seeds from their catalogues.

The real value of citron melons was that they kept for nearly a year with no special storage, which means a rural family could depend on them for winter food (with some boiling and sugar), and they could be processed into sweet desserts at any time of year when there was less outdoor work to do. Combined with the fact that the plants require very little care, and can yield a decent crop in poor soil, citron melons were a very practical source of useful fruit for farm families and rural communities.

Citrons were a preserving melon, not meant for fresh eating that were widely grown by farm families and gardeners in the 1800s and early 1900s, all across Canada.

Since the flesh of the citron has no color or flavor of its own, it could be combined with other fruit to ‘extend’ them, making more jam, pies, and preserves. I recall my mother putting raisins with hers.

Anise can be a bit of a polarizing spice. It has the flavor that most people associate with licorice and tends to be something you either like or you don’t. I have always enjoyed the taste, so combining with citron makes a match made in heaven.

The tradition of using anise seeds to flavor meals and desserts dates to the time of the ancient Romans. It is said that the Romans would serve large cakes flavored with anise at the end of their feasts in order to enhance their digestion. 

Now this brings us to the question ‘why use pudding mix in cookies’? Added to cookie dough, pudding mix yields unbelievable texture and depth. They come out of the oven nice and crunchy on the outside, but they maintain that delicious soft, chewy texture on the inside. Cornstarch is a key main ingredient in instant pudding, so it probably makes sense that it helps make pudding cookies super soft and chewy. And when it comes to the recipe, you’ll want to choose your pudding mix carefully. An instant pudding mix is required.

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 Citron Anise Pudding Cookies
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Cuisine American
Keyword citron anise pudding cookies
Servings
DOZEN
Ingredients
Cuisine American
Keyword citron anise pudding cookies
Servings
DOZEN
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together flour & baking soda; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add pudding & beat until well blended. Add eggs & vanilla, mix well.
  4. Add flour mixture slowly until well incorporated. Add anise seed & citron peel; beat just until incorporated.
  5. Roll into 60 - 1-inch balls & place on baking sheet. They don't spread much but still need a bit of room .
  6. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until set in the center. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to completely cool.

Crunchy Streusel Rhubarb Cupcakes

One thing that really makes muffins and coffee cakes of all types extra special good is a sweet and crunchy streusel topping. These fluffy vanilla rhubarb cupcakes are topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting, drizzled with poached rhubarb and then sprinkled with some crunchy, spicy, baked streusel.

The simple addition of Chinese 5-spice powder makes for a delicious aromatic streusel. Five spice powder combines Chinese cinnamon with anise, cloves, ginger and fennel in a delicious balance that complements rhubarb, coaxing out more of its natural aroma. Adding pepita seeds and baking the crumble separately, creates a special crunchier topping.

The basic streusel is very versatile in that it can be customized to your personal preferences or what you have on hand. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Use 2 cups flour OR 1 cup rolled oats * 3/4 cup whole-grain flour * 3/4 cup cookie or cracker crumbs
  • Use 3/4 cup sugar OR 3/4 cup brown sugar * 1/2 cup raw sugar * 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • Use 1 cup butter OR 1 cup brown butter * 1/2 cup nut/seed butter * 1/4 cup coconut oil * 1/4 cup oil or sesame oil
  • Add-Ins .. 1 cup coconut flakes or nuts * spices & zests * 1/2 cup toasted seeds * 1/2 cup cocoa powder or wheat germ

I realize, this is a lot of steps for just a cupcake, but I think you’ll love them.

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 Crunchy Streusel Rhubarb Cupcakes
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword seeded rhubarb cupcakes
Servings
Ingredients
Sour Cream Rhubarb Cupcakes
Poached Rhubarb
Pepita 5-Spice Streusel
Ginger Cream Frosting
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword seeded rhubarb cupcakes
Servings
Ingredients
Sour Cream Rhubarb Cupcakes
Poached Rhubarb
Pepita 5-Spice Streusel
Ginger Cream Frosting
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line 9 muffin cups with large paper cups.
  2. Wash rhubarb & trim ends. Cut rhubarb into a 1/4-inch dice. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. In another bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, sour cream, melted butter, vanilla & orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over-mix. Fold in rhubarb. The batter will be thick. Scoop the batter into 9 muffin cups, evenly distributing batter.
  5. Bake for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, decrease the oven temperature to 350 F. & bake for another 12 - 15 minutes or until cupcakes test done. Remove from oven & cool completely on a wire rack.
Poached Rhubarb
  1. Place rhubarb, water, sugar, food coloring (if using) & cardamom in a saucepan. Simmer very gently for about 3-5 minutes or until rhubarb is soft but NOT mushy! Put a strainer on top of a bowl. Pour mixture into strainer & put the rhubarb pieces in another dish to cool. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan & let simmer until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Pour into a bowl to let cool. Gently combine rhubarb & syrup.
Pepita 5-Spice Streusel
  1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir until incorporated. Using your fingers, form fine crumbs. Spread the crumbs on a small cookie sheet and bake on a rack in the middle of the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature. Crumble with fingers.
Frosting
  1. Beat butter until pale. Add powdered sugar & beat until smooth & pale, about 1 minute. Add softened cream cheese & ginger; beat until smooth.
Assembly
  1. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle with frosting. Top each cupcake with a dollop of frosting then using a spoon, create a well in each dollop. Spoon a bit of poached rhubarb inside of each well. Sprinkle with pepita streusel.

Rhubarb Rugelach

Rugelach is an irresistible baked treat which is both delicious and versatile. So, is it a pastry or a cookie? Rugelach’s unique buttery, tender dough wrapped around any variety of tasty fillings seems to straddle the line.

Rugelach was invented around the same time as the croissant, in 1683 and has Jewish (Polish) origins. The word rugelach means ‘little twists’.

Traditionally, rugelach was made with yeast dough, but the pastry has evolved and is now made with cream cheese which is both quicker and easier to make. The cream cheese dough was first used by North American bakers in the 1940’s, and now forms the staple of the modern rugelach we know today.

Many folks don’t associate the crescent-shaped cookies with Christmas but rather consider rugelach a year-round treat. That being said, I see no reason not to make some summer rhubarb rugelach.

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 Rhubarb Rugelach
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine Jewish
Keyword rhubarb rugelach
Servings
Ingredients
Rhubarb Filling
Rugelach
Nut Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine Jewish
Keyword rhubarb rugelach
Servings
Ingredients
Rhubarb Filling
Rugelach
Nut Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Rhubarb Compote
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon & orange juice. Bring just to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, uncovered stirring occasionally about 10 minutes or until rhubarb is broken down; set aside to cool.
Rugelach
  1. In a cup combine water, sugar & yeast. Allow to sit until frothy.
  2. In a large bowl, combine butter & flour until resembles small peas. Add eggs & the yeast mixture to the bowl. Knead the dough until smooth & soft then divide into thirds.
  3. In a small bowl, combine nut filling ingredients. Spread 1/4 cup of the nut filling on a work surface & place 1/3 of the dough on top of it. Roll dough into a circle the size of a small pizza. Spread 1/4-1/2 cup of the rhubarb compote on top of the dough.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Cut the dough into 12 pieces like you would cut a pizza & roll each piece from the outside in. Place each rugelach on a parchment lined baking sheet with the point face down. Repeat with remaining dough.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly browned.
Recipe Notes
  • Due to a nut allergy problem, I had to omit the nut filling for our rugelach.

Strawberry-Banana Crumble

Crumbles aren’t just for Autumn and Winter. Most people don’t like to turn on the oven in summer and I realize no-bake desserts are wonderful, but there are some desserts worth risking the heat for. Fruit crumbles certainly fall into that category and of course, it goes without saying that it should be topped with ice cream or a whipped topping at least.

It seems that nearly any fruit is improved when you cover it in a layer of crunchy, buttery crumble. Strawberry and banana are a winning combination for many reasons. Strawberry gives a slight sweet and sour taste and banana adds a sweet and creamy texture.

This crumble is an incredibly simple and delicious dessert for when you need a last-minute dessert or for when you’re just craving a sweet, fruity treat.

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 Strawberry-Banana Crumble
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Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword strawberry-banana crumble
Servings
Ingredients
Topping
Fruit Mixture
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword strawberry-banana crumble
Servings
Ingredients
Topping
Fruit Mixture
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine strawberries, bananas, 3 Tbsp flour, sugar, lemon juice & salt. Toss together gently to avoid bruising the bananas, Pour into a 9-inch baking dish or 6 ramekins.
  3. Combine all ingredients for topping using fingertips to form a crumble. Completely cover fruit mixture with crumb topping.
  4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until mixture is bubbling on the sides. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving with ice cream or whipped topping.

Cinnamon Beet Rolls

I always think of beets as a love-them-or-hate-them food.  You’re either all in or all out! People have been using vegetables in baking for quite some time. Think about some of the classics: carrot cake, pumpkin pie, banana bread, and zucchini loaf. Beets add moisture to baked goods along with a natural sweetness. 

In yeast breads, roasted beet puree makes for an incredibly tender crumb and moist interior thanks to the added hydration of the purée (similar to potato bread!) and a delicate crust, since the natural sugar in the beets creates more caramelization. Ultimately, the beets add a pleasantly earthy, subtly sweet flavor that enhances the rolls without overpowering them. 

The best-known baked treat made with beets is probably the Red Velvet Cake, but beets can add their deliciousness to cookies, muffins, pies and other baked goods like cinnamon rolls.

The idea of using beets to bulk up bread dough is said to have originated in Paris or Vienna or Germany.

Today the nutrition-packed beet is considered a ‘super food’, credited with everything from lowering blood pressure and increasing energy to fighting inflammation and detoxifying the body.

With that in mind, it seems like a good reason to make some cinnamon beet rolls.

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 Cinnamon Beet Rolls
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cinnamon beet rolls
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cinnamon beet rolls
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Dough
  1. In a small bowl, add yeast, lukewarm water & 1 tsp sugar. Allow to sit about 10 minutes until frothy.
  2. In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, 1/3 cup sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon, eggs & beet puree. Mix well. Add flour, one cup at a time, until well combined. Knead dough for about 8-10 minutes or until smooth & soft. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel & allow to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Filling
  1. In a small dish, combine filling ingredients, set aside.
Assembly/Baking
  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle about 13” x 20”. Spread softened butter on rectangle & sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture, leaving a 1/2 -inch border around the edges.
  2. Roll up dough lengthwise into a tight roll, pinch seams shut & place roll seam side down. Cut into 12 pieces, rotating cuts on the diagonal. Press the handle of a wooden spoon firmly on the top & center of each roll to shape.
  3. Place rolls at least 2-inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Lightly cover the rolls with buttered plastic wrap & a tea towel. Set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes to rise.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Brush with egg wash & sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
  • To Roast Beets: wrap individually in foil & place directly on the rack of a preheated 400 F. oven. Bake until they're fork tender but not mushy; the total time will vary depending on the size of the beets. Allow beets to cool in foil, then rub off all the skin & any rough exterior pieces. Puree beets in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
  • Alternately, you can just boil, peel & puree if you are short on time.