Festive Cranberry Apple Tea Ring

 

I love baking from Red Star Yeast's collection of recipes. They are always clear, well tested recipes that have always turned out for me. They have so many great recipes to choose from too and I love finding things that I haven't tried before. I've definitely made tea rings before but this was a new combination that was perfect for Christmastime. It has a festive collection of apple, cranberries, orange and walnuts throughout the dough that creates a beautiful loaf that would be perfect for sharing with friends and family.

Glazed Yeast Doughnuts

After all these years, it's finally here. It's my early Christmas present to everyone; My doughnut recipe. It's not that it's necessarily been a secret or that I haven't shared it with others. Just not formally here. And of course I'm excited to be sharing this recipe through my partnership with Red Star Yeast.

Mardi Gras King Cake

It's that time of year again to celebrate Mardi Gras! When we lived in New Orleans we loved going to the family friendly parades and watching the kids (and adults) gather as many beads and gifts as they possibly could. With the snow packed up higher than our cars here in Minnesota this year, it's hard to imagine that we were somewhere else this time of year enjoying the warmth of a late evening out at the parade.

Homemade Bread Bowls

We are surrounded by walls of snow that are taller than our cars which means it was a stay in the house and pretend the snow isn't there kind of weekend. Breanne's parents are also here this week as well as two new foster kids so to keep 10 people from going crazy we decided to re-finish my office. Yeah, cause we just weren't busy enough to start with. That project involved scraping and refinishing the ceiling, painting walls, trim and doors and redecorating. It's one of the last rooms in the house that we hadn't remodeled and it is nice to have it done. Still have a bit of decorating to finish up and then I'll post some pictures.

Cheddar, Rosemary and Garlic Pull Apart Bread

Can you believe I've never made any kind of monkey bread or pull apart bread before? I honestly can't tell you why it's never come up but of course that had to be remedied. Typically you probably think of a sweet cinnamon sugar bread when you hear monkey bread but when Red Star Yeast said they'd love to have some new savory pull apart bread recipes, I was on it! I knew right away there had to be cheese and I knew that a good sharp cheddar would be perfect. Then I started thinking what herb would pair well with it and decided on some fresh rosemary. The garlic was a last minute addition but it ended up being the ingredient that pulled it all together and when the bread is toasted, the garlic makes it divine.

Super Pecan Caramel Rolls

We survived Thanksgiving and now the mad rush of holidays has begun. I love this time of year and everything that goes with it, especially the food. With more days off from work it means more days I get to make breakfast at home too. We do so many breakfast for dinner nights, it's not like we are lacking for breakfast items but it's just more fun eating it when it's actually for breakfast.

Wild Rice Bread

 

Even when I don't seem to have time to really cook anything amazing, there always seems to be enough time to bake. Baking is therapeutic to me and I can do it without even thinking about it anymore. It just seems to fit in to your schedule if you allow it to.

For example, I really needed to get this bread made today but had a million other things to do as well. So I get the dough going and then I clean up the kitchen and clean the house during the first rise. Form it in to loaves and then mow the front lawn while it raises. Run inside, throw it in the oven and then finish the back lawn. Take it out of the oven, place it on the racks and let it cool while we run out to the store to finish our kitchen remodel plans.

Danish Yeast Rolls

I think out of any type of bread other than your typical loaf of bread, I'm sure I've made cinnamon rolls the most. There's just nothing quite like a fresh from the oven cinnamon roll covered in sticky frosting. I've tried tons of different recipes and never really been disappointed with any. I certainly have my favorites and I love trying different variations of fillings and flavors.

I'm not quite sure what makes this specific recipe "Danish" but it's essentially a cinnamon roll but the filling is only sugar and coconut. I really like coconut and so I was surprised I had never tried this combination before. When I came across it at Red Star Yeast, I knew it was one I wanted to try.

Finnish Easter Bread

For our kids, sleeping in is if they make it to 6:30 in the morning. None of our kids have ever slept in and I'm not sure they ever will until they become teenagers and we no longer need them too. We have taught them to get up quietly at least and so they aren't typically running around screaming. At least until 7:00.

I'm always looking for a good bread that can be made for those holiday mornings where you get up early and want to have something freshly made to enjoy for breakfast. Easter is coming up and if you've got kids, it's not likely you're going to be sleeping in any way, so wake up early and get this bread going.

Chocolate Cinnamon Crisps

I love experimenting with new recipes, especially bread ones. It's amazing how many different things you can make from a few simple ingredients.

Take this recipe from Red Star Yeast for example. All they've done is add some chocolate to the dough and then it's all in how you form the dough in the end. Yet it's completely different than anything I've made before. Almost like a flattened cinnamon roll but the chocolate brings it a whole new direction. The kids loved these, so it's a good thing I doubled the recipe to start with.

Sweetheart Coffeecake

I think I said this last year too, but we're not really big Valentines Day celebrators around here. We'll maybe go out or do something fun but not really into the gifts or anything extravagant like that. More often than not we'll stay in make something fun for dinner together.

I know though that others out there love to celebrate and love to find anything and everything Valentines. If you want to do something a little different this year, I've got this great bread from Red Star Yeast that you can make for breakfast the day of, or make it the weekend before for a special pre-Valentines day kickoff. It's a heart. I mean what else could you ask for if you want something to scream Valentines day.

Cinnamon Swirl Brioche

One of the things I love most about blogging is hearing back from friends, family and my readers about how they tried something in their own kitchens. Maybe even if it didn't turn out as well as they had hoped, I love that people are trying to cook more on their own and that they're challenging themselves to do something they might not usually try.

Zesty Zucchini Twist

It's that time of year. Gardens are in full swing and we're enjoying the great fruits, vegetables and herbs that we've got planted this year. We didn't plant any zucchini this year though and while I don't miss having the glut of squash this time of year, I do miss the challenge of coming up with new recipes to use it all up.

Cardamom Bread

I've got the house all to myself for the next two weeks. Which means no one to help me eat all the food I need to make. We sent the boys off to Wyoming with their grandparents the day Coralie was born and then Breanne left on Thursday with the girls to Seattle for two and a half weeks. I still have tons of things I need to make though so I'll probably have to invite people over more to eat it all. Want to come over?

Sourdough Sandwich Rolls

We just had a delivery of a beautiful baby girl on Monday morning so easy lunches are in order! These sourdough sandwich rolls are so easy to bake in advance and then freeze for later use. Just pull them out of the freezer on the morning you want to use them and you're ready to go!

Whole-Wheat Sourdough Ciabatta

What great timing! This week Virtual Potluck has partnered with King Arthur Flour and Red Star Yeast and I am actually visiting the headquarters of King Arthur for a few days as part of their second Blog and Bake conference! You can follow along with some of my adventures on Facebook or Twitter for now and I'll be sharing some more on the blog as I go! For more of the Virtual Potluck activities this week, go check out the round-up from Donna at Cookistry.