Angel Biscuits

I've probably said this before, but if I could only eat one type of bread for the rest of my life, it would definitely be biscuits.

Most kids have cake for their 1st birthday. Not me. I had a biscuit with a candle in it.

My favorite biscuits are made at a fried chicken restaurant my family always went to growing up (in fact, that's where my 1st birthday biscuit was from).

Brunch this morning

Their biscuits are so light and fluffy, and of course, best served with lots of butter and sorghum!

This recipe is the closest thing I've ever found to those biscuits. They're leavened with baking powder AND yeast, to ensure maximum fluffiness!

Notice that all the fried chicken is gone. . .

Angel Biscuits

Yields: 12 biscuits

Time: 30 minutes

1 tbsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp warm water

2 3/4 cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp milk 

1 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a skillet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. 

2. Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Combine remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

3. Cut shortening into the dry ingredients. Mix yeast mixture with buttermilk and stir into the dry ingredients until just combined. 

4. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1" thick. Cut with a 2 1/2" circle cutter and place in the lined skillet. Brush the tops of the biscuits with milk. 

5. Bake 13-20 minutes, until they reach the desired golden color. Brush the tops of the baked biscuits with melted butter. 

How many biscuits is too many to eat in one day? I'll get back to you. 

Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Minis

Have you ever met someone who doesn't like Chick-fil-A?

I'm sure you haven't, because it's not even possible to dislike Chick-fil-A.

Austin and I love Chick-fil-A. One of our favorite things there is the Chick-n-Minis. They're soft honey butter rolls . . .

. . . with Chick-fil-A nuggets inside. 

We've been making Chick-fil-A nuggets at home for some time now, but we've only just recently discovered that you can make Chick-n-Minis at home. Best way to start off 2016, if you ask me! 

These seriously taste exactly like the Chick-n-Minis at Chick-fil-A. 

Chick-fil-A Chick-n Minis Copycat

Yields: 24 chicken minis (6-8 servings)

Rolls

1 tbsp (1 packet) yeast

1 cup warm water

3-4 cups flour

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup veggie or canola oil

2 tbsp butter, melted

1. In a medium bowl, combine warm water, 1 tbsp of the sugar, and the yeast. Let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. 

2. To the yeast mixture, add the egg, salt, remaining sugar, and oil. Stir with a spoon to mix, 20 seconds or so. Put flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix/knead until all the flour is incorporated. 

3. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Roll out to 1/2" on a lightly floured surface. Butter a 9x13 pan and spread the remaining butter on the dough. Cut into 24 squares using a pizza cutter. Let rise, covered, until doubled in size. 

4. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Brush with honey, if desired. 

Chick-fil-A Nuggets

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 lb chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 1" pieces

1 1/4 cup flour

2 tbsp powdered sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp paprika

Oil for frying

1. Combine egg and milk. Add chicken and soak in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight. 

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bag. Heat up oil to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Add a couple of pieces of chicken to the dry ingredients and shake. Add them to the hot oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. 

3. Remove onto a paper towel and put inside honey-butter rolls. Enjoy while they're hot! 

Homemade Oreos

We've all seen the recipes for homemade Oreos floating around the internet.

You know... the ones that are all soft and not at all like actual Oreos?

These, dear friends, are not like those fake Oreos at all. These taste exactly like real Oreos. 

They have exactly the right crunchy consistency, just like I hoped they would. And the frosting?

Creamy and smooth, exactly as it should be.

I made these Oreos to put into homemade cookies & cream flavored ice cream, but I can't stop eating them. We'll see if any of them survive. 

So, to sum up: homemade Oreos, perfect crunchiness (not reminiscent of whoopie pies at all), delicious flavor, without all the preservatives from the store-bought cookies. 

Homemade Oreos

Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder, dutch process 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp cream (or half & half or milk)

1. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. 

2. Add the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out into desired shapes. Bake for 10-12 minutes on a lined baking sheet (I line it with my silpat, but you can use parchment paper). 

4. Let cool on a cooling rack and make the filling. Beat the butter for 30 seconds on medium, then add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, then add the cream as necessary to thin it to the desired consistency. 

5. Fill and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. 

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread

I have a confession to make.

Every time I go to a restaurant that has complimentary bread (of any kind), I totally fill up on bread.

So much so, that I usually only eat a couple of bites of my entrée. It's bad. Bad, but so, so good.

We've all been to The Cheesecake Factory, right?

They serve complimentary bread baskets for you to munch on while you wait. The white bread is delicious, but have you tried the brown bread??? 

It's life-changing. Apparently it's called "honey wheat black (or black) bread," but I just call it the brown bread. I've wanted to try a recipe for this bread for a long time, but I could never find a good one that seemed reliable.

So I looked through different recipes to create my own. I gathered ideas from various recipes.

Friends, this bread is a home run. It tastes EXACTLY like the bread from the restaurant. EXACTLY LIKE IT!! Get out your mixers, because you're going to want to make this right now.

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread

Yields: 5-6 small loaves

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp instant dry yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp molasses
1/4 cup honey
oats for decoration

1. In a medium bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir until combined and let it sit for 5 minutes to activate.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups bread flour, 2 cups whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

3. Pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and add the butter, molasses, and honey. Stir to roughly combine, then attach the dough hook. Add more flour if needed (the dough should not stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl). Knead on medium-low speed for 8-10 minutes, or until it passes the fingerprint test (meaning, when you poke it with your finger, it should bounce back slowly.)

4. Let dough rise in a covered greased bowl in a warm place until doubled. Mine took about 30 minutes because I put it in a 100 degree oven.

5. Divide the dough and form it into the desired shapes. Spray the tops with water and sprinkle oats, if desired. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the loaves with it, then let them rise until doubled.

6. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, depending on the shape. Loaves are done when they sound hollow when you tap on them.

Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

One of the hardest parts about moving to Utah was knowing that I wouldn't be able to eat Panera for months. There are no Panera Bread restaurants in the whole state. My husband's hometown recently announced Panera Bread will build a new location there, which is only about 6 hours away! If I have to drive 6 hours to get their summer corn chowder and baguettes, I will!

 In the meantime, I needed a fix for my cinnamon crunch bagel craving. I looked online for recipes, and I found several. (Apparently bloggers are on the same page). I tweaked my recipe from Buns in My Oven.

Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

Yields: 12 bagels

Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup brown sugar, divided use
2 tsp active dry yeast
3 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, 3 tbsp brown sugar, and yeast. Mix it and let it sit for 10 minutes, or until foamy.

2. Add cinnamon, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Stir with a spoon or a whisk until combined. Attach the dough hook and slowly add flour until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (it may not take all of the flour). Knead for 8-10 minutes.

3. Let rise in a greased bowl covered, for 30-45 minutes in a warm oven (turn your oven onto warm for 5 minutes, then turn it off).

4. Turn dough out onto a floured counter. Divide into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls. Poke your thumb through the middle and stretch the hole a little bit to shape it like a bagel. Let sit for 10 minutes.

5. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the remaining 1 tbsp brown sugar. Boil the bagels, 2 at a time, for 45 seconds on each side. Pat dry with paper towels and place 2" apart on a lined cookie sheet.

6. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over the bagels. Bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.

7. Let cool and store at room temperature for 3-5 days. You can freeze them for up to a month.

*** I would recommend toasting these in a toaster oven with the sugar side up so it doesn't burn-- a regular toaster will probably burn the sugar! (I can't try it because we don't even have a regular toaster-- weird, right? My family always survived just fine without one so I don't see the point!)

Cosmic Brownies

When I was in elementary school, one of my favorite things to eat was Zebra Cakes. They're one of life's greatest pleasures, provided for us by Little Debbie. I remember I ate them like most people eat Oreos-- I'd split them in half horizontally and lick the filling out. Yum!

My husband's favorite Little Debbie snack has always been Cosmic Brownies.

When I was trying to decide what to bake a few weeks ago, my husband saw the recipes I was looking at and insisted that I make the cosmic brownies. I didn't have the delicious "chocolate chip candy" (chocolate chips dipped in like an M&M coating), so naturally I had to make an order at Amazon. (Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch 5.25 oz.)

The best part about these is that they taste unbelievably fresh (as opposed to Little Debbie snacks which have been sitting on a shelf for who-knows-how-long)! No preservatives means they don't have the unmistakable chemicaly flavor. Recipe adapted from Life Made Simple Bakes. 

Cosmic Brownies

Yields: 16 brownies 

Brownies

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 tbsp milk (I used whole milk)

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

Ganache Topping

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but you can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or whatever kind you like best)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Candy-coated chocolate chips-- Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch 5.25 oz.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a 9x13" pan with a piece of parchment paper and lightly grease. 

2. In a stand mixer, combine melted butter, sugars, and vanilla. Beat on high for 4 minutes. Add eggs and beat again. 

3. Combine dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt). Alternating with the milk, add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat until just combined. 

4. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 18-24 minutes. Let brownies cool in the pan. 

5. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Continue in 30 second increments until completely smooth. Spread evenly on cooled brownies and top with sprinkles (Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch 5.25 oz.)

Milano Cookies

No introduction necessary. They're butter cookies filled with a smooth chocolate ganache. What more could a girl want? Recipe tweaked from Sunny Side Up. 

Homemade Milano Cookies

Yields: about 3 dozen sandwich cookies

12 tbsp butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
5 egg whites
2 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used 60% Ghiradelli)
4 tbsp cream (give or take)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with silpat mats.

2. Cream the butter on medium high speed until it's smooth. Add the powdered sugar slowly.

3. Add the egg whites and vanilla, then add the flour. Beat until just combined.

4. Put the batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2" round tip. Pipe 2" long sections 2" apart. At this point, I put my cookie sheets with the cookie batter on it into the freezer for 3-4 minutes so the cookies wouldn't spread so much. This made them a better consistency in the end.

5. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the edges are golden.

6. Microwave cream until scalding, then pour on top of chocolate chips. Stir until melted. Add more chocolate or cream to achieve the desired consistency. Pipe onto cookies and sandwich them together.

Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Bites

 It seems I've been all about soft pretzels, muffins, and donuts as of late. Any objections? Good. I made this recipe a few weeks ago for a work potluck, but there wasn't time to photograph the pretzel bites. I had to make the recipe again (Oh, woe is me!).

These taste just like little bite-sized pieces of those delicious cinnamon sugar mall pretzels. I've also included a cream cheese dipping sauce, which is the perfect amount of tanginess to go with these delicious pretzel bites!

Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Bites

Yields: about 100 small pretzel bites

1 cup warm water
1 tbsp (or 1 packet) dry active yeast
2 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 to 3 cups flour

3 cups hot water (I microwaved mine in a pyrex for about 4 minutes)
1/3 cup baking soda

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Combine warm water, yeast, and 1 tsp of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir with your finger, then let it sit for about 10 minutes to activate.

2. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar, the brown sugar, veggie oil, and salt. Stir. Attach the dough hook and add the flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Knead in the mixer for about 4 minutes or so, or until elastic and smooth.

3. Put in a greased glass bowl and let rise, covered, in a warm oven (about 140-150 degrees fahrenheit) for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. After removing from the oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit.

4. Combine hot water and baking soda. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Take one part and cover the other parts with a kitchen towel so they don't dry out. Roll the section into a snake about 28-30 inches long. Cut it in half, then each in half again. (4 snakes) Divide each into about 1-1/4" sections.

5. Dip each bite into the hot water/baking soda mixture, then place on a silpat-lined (or parchment paper lined) baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining sections of dough.

6. Bake at 425 for 7-10 minutes, or until the tops are golden.

7. Roll in the melted butter, let sit on a plate for about 1 minute to let the butter soak in, and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.


Cream Cheese Dipping Sauce
4 oz cream cheese (1/2 of a regular pack)
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk, optional

Combine cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat. Add milk, if needed, to attain the desired consistency.