2014 Baking Challenge Update

Well, I am officially a terrible food blogger. I've actually already accomplished several of the dishes I intended to try in my personal 2014 baking challenge... and I haven't blogged about (or photographed) any of them. In summary:

 Chocolate Chess Pie



Tried this. Terribly disappointed. Have another recipe I plan to try. I probably didn't document it because it was hideous. And just okay. I did cut the recipe to a smaller size, which may have effected it. Either way, it wasn't pretty enough to document.

2. German Dark Rye Bread



Another failure. Didn't turn out at all. With that said, I had bought all this rye flour and was determined to be successful. I did find a recipe I liked, in the end. It wasn't amazing, dried out quicker than I would have liked (that could be the desert air), but it was pretty tasty. The successful recipe was from An Edible Mosaic.

6.  Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Skillet Cookie



This wasn't beautiful. I didn't have the same sized skillet, so I used two smaller ones and they spilled over a bit (I had them on a pan, so no harm to the oven!). I can't remember why I didn't take pictures, except maybe that I was too busy eating. Because this was sooooo repeatable. It was scrumptious. It was terrible--I didn't want to stop eating. Yummy. Extra good with ice cream.

So, really, I'm 3/7 on my challenge already! Go me! Now I just need to be better about the pictures!

Daring Baker's Challenge: June - Cinnamon Rolls

The Daring Baker's Challenge for June was to make CINNAMON ROLLS! I love cinnamon rolls, and make them every Christmas morning, per tradition, using the same recipe. So I wanted to take this opportunity to try something different.

I searched a few options. In the end, I opted for a chocolate cinnamon roll. I mean, YUM, right?! I found the recipe on Bakingdom and it was pretty good. I almost liked it better a day later, even.

Recipe:

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls:
adapted from Bakingdom

Ingredients:
Filling - 
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. Cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips

Dough -
2 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6 Tbsp. butter

Icing -
2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese OR Butter, softened
2 Tbsp. Buttermilk
1 cup Powdered Sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425. Combine all of the dry filling ingredients (except chocolate chips). Add melted butter until like coarse sand and set aside.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add buttermilk and 2 Tbsp. butter and mix until just combined. Knead until smooth and a little sticky.
3. Flatten into a 8"x12" rectangle and cover with 2 Tbsp. butter, spreading with fingers. Pour filling over and spread evenly, leaving a 1/2 inch border and pressing filling into dough. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over top and press in slightly.

4. Roll up dough along long edge, pinching seam closed. Cut into 8 pieces and place in cake pan, gently pressing down on each and brushing with the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, cream butter/cream cheese and sugar. Add buttermilk and whisk smooth. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!