Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

This receipe was adapted from Brown Eyed Baker.   By looking at the receipe, I know it is a good one...who does not like cinnamon and sugar?  Your house will be filled with the aroma of cinnamon when you are baking it.  The top crust is very very crispy and the inside is extremely soft!  Note that this receipe called for the butter to be melted till brown.  You must really do so, as the butter will be very fragrant and smells like caramel....hmmmm......

 

I am falling in love with this bread and my kids can't stop eating them!  This is an extremely delicious and simple receipe which you really must try!!

Roll the dough into a long rectangle, then spread with melted butter and cinnamon sugar

Cut the dough into 6 pieces lengthwise, stack them up

Cut the stacked dough into another 6 pieces

 

Arrange into a loaf pan

A close up of the bread...doesn't it look delicious...?

Dough :
330g        All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp      All Purpose Flour
50g          Sugar
2¼ tsp     Active Dry Yeast
½ tsp       Salt
57g          Butter
⅓ cup      Milk
¼ cup      Water
2              Eggs
1 tsp        Vanilla Extract

Filling :

120g        Sugar
1 tbsp      Ground Cinnamon
57g          Butter, melted till browned

Directions :

1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together 250g of flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.
2. Whisk eggs. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, warm milk and butter till butter melts.  Remove from heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two.
4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  Keep stirring till the mixture comes together. Add the remaining 80g of flour and stir with spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky.
5. Place the dough is a large, greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 57g of butter in a saucepan until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.  Set aside.
7. Deflate the risen dough and knead the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour into it.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be around 12 inches in width and 20 inches in length. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
8. Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices again.  Layer the sliced doughs in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
9. Preheat oven to 170°C. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked.

 

Candy Cane Cookies

You better watch out...you better not cry....better not pout, I'm telling you why...Santa Claus is coming to town......

 

Wow!!!!!  xmas is just round the corner!!!  I chanced upon a cute candy cane cookie receipe in Taste of Home magazine and thought I should try it.  Oh my....these cookies are really delicious and buttery!!!!

 

Do note that the dough for this cookie is very very soft and difficult to handle.  Do not be tempted to add more flour...you would not want your cookie to taste floury and tough.  The receipe stated to refrigerate 1-2 hours.  However, the dough still remains too soft for me to roll into a candy cane.  In the end, I freeze the doughs for around 15 mins and they were easier to handle.

 

The divided doughs

 

Candy Cane Cookies

 

Ingredients

225g     Unsalted Butter, softened

180g     Sugar

1            Egg

2 tsp     Mint Extract

½ tsp    Vanilla Extract

330g     Plain Flour

½ tsp    Salt

Red Food Colouring

Green Food Colouring

 

Directions

1. Using a hand mixer or standing mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg and extracts.
3. Combine flour and salt, gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
4. Set aside half the dough.  Divide remaining dough in half.  Add green food colouring to one portion and red food colouring to the other.  Wrap the doughs separately in plastic wrap.
5. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.  I freeze the doughs for around 15 mins.
6. Preheat oven to 180°C .
7. Divide green and red dough into 20 portions each.  Divide plain dough into 40 portions.  Roll each into a rope.  Place each coloured rope next to the plain rope.  Press together gently and twist.  Repeat with remaining ropes.  Place 2 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.  Cool 2 minutes before carefully removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.