Daring Baker's Challenge: August - Tubular and Coiled Treats

This month's challenge was Tubular and Coiled Treats.

What?!?!

Sounds cool, right? So, of course, I wanted until September 1st to try it. But even though the month was over, it really sounded fun. So I still wanted to give it a shot.

And it WAS fun! The kiddo loved it. Especially the cinnamon-sugar part. It was a lot like a cinnamon roll or a pretzel. Easy, fun, yummy... I admit, I almost forgot to take a picture because we were enjoying eating them. So I only got half of the last one, while little miss eats...

Recipe:

Chimney Cake:
adapted from Pearls of Baking

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups Flour
2 tsp. Instant Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
42 g. Melted Butter
125 ml Warm Milk
Oil for greasing molds
3 Paper Towel cartons (from center)

Topping:
Pecans/Walnuts
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions:
1. Make the chimney cake molds by cutting paper towel cartons (from the center of the roll) in half. Cover each with foil and then grease with oil/cooking spray.
2. Dissolve yeast in milk and set aside for 20 minutes. Then combine all ingredients for dough and knead about 10 minutes. Place in bowl and let rise about an hour, or until double in size.
3. Divide dough into 6 pieces and roll into ribbons/snakes, about 2 feet long. Wrap the ribbon/snake around the mold, from the bottom and working upwards, creating a spiral. Repeat with all the pieces.

4. Combine topping ingredients in a shallow dish and roll cakes to cover. Place vertically on a baking tray, let stand 10 minutes, and then bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for 15 minutes, or until done.

5. Remove from oven and slide off molds. Enjoy!

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!

Daring Baker's Challenge: May - PÃO DE QUEIJO

So I said I was going to do it and I did it! I'm officially a "daring" baker! I didn't join until now, though, because of my foreign travel plans. I figured I needed to wait until I had time to commit. And so May is the first official month as part of the challenge, for me!

This month was "PÃO DE QUEIJO" and, honestly, it was a complete failure for me. Okay, maybe not a COMPLETE failure. It sounded delicious! I love bread. I love cheese! What else could a girl want? The pictures showed delightfully fluffy scone-like breads. Looked amazing.

So I ordered me some Tapioca flour online and, once it arrived, I followed the provided recipe and baked! It was an interesting experience, I'll admit. It seemed to progress according to the instructions. But my little scone-thingies didn't puff up in the oven AT ALL. They remained hard little golf balls. So maybe I did something wrong--maybe?

Don't get me wrong. They tasted fine. Not great, but not bad. They were edible. They were okay. But they weren't anything I was going to keep around after they cooled, and most made their way into the trash. It was disappointing... they are highly popular and I imagine quite yummy when made right!

Regardless, here is the recipe I was provided. Maybe you'll have better luck (but if I were you, I'd find some at a store and eat them there!):

Recipe:

PÃO DE QUEIJO

Ingredients:
4 cups Tapioca Starch
1 cup Whole Milk
2 3/4 Tbsp. Butter
1 tsp. Salt
3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese
1-3 Large Eggs

Directions:
1. Heat milk, butter, and salt in small sauce pan until it boils. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Pour hot milk mixture over sifted tapioca starch and blend with a fork (it will form a lumpy mixture). Break down lumps and continue to stir until just warm.
3. Preheat oven to 400. Add the grated cheese and mix in with your hands.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing with your hands, until dough comes together in a soft but pliable dough. It can be slightly sticky.
5. Form balls with dough and placed on lined baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or until just brown on the bottom. Do not over bake.