Cinnamon Roll Twist

Something quick and easy you can try the next time you make cinnamon rolls. This is fun to make, and you can serve it like a coffee cake. I failed to get finished photos of this, but you get the idea. :) Drizzle with Cream Cheese Icing and serve warm!

Cinnamon Roll Twist

Use your favorite whole grain sweet dough recipe (sweet breads are featured in the new Winter issue of Seasons at Home). Roll out a rectangle of dough, 20" x 10" and about 3/8" thick.

Spread with 1/4 cup melted butter, and sprinkle generously with ground cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up cinnamon roll-style.

Use kitchen scissors to cut the roll down the middle. 

Let the ropes fall open a bit, and take pieces of them and begin wrapping in a circle. Continue until all of the pieces are used up. You can make this large or small, however you like! Add a little more if you would like a coffee cake for a crowd. Don't make it too large, or it won't bake properly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes. Drizzle with this cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

In a small bowl, combine: 

3 tbsp. butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. half & half

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Whisk together until very smooth. Add a little more half & half if you would like a thinner icing. 

~ Makes about 2 cups ~

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

This is our basic muffin recipe from our April Tea Times, 2012. Makes 12 muffins.

Take this base recipe and change the add-ins any way you’d like. Substitute different berries for the cherries, or even leave out the fruit and make cinnamon streusel muffins! When you make muffin batter, your goal is to mix the batter as little as possible; this will make high, tender muffins. Use a fork to mix! Never mix the batter until it is completely smooth, you will ruin the texture of the cake and they may not rise as much.

I made this morning for a friend because she was having trouble with the recipe. Remember, this recipe uses soft white wheat flour. I mill my own. If you are using white flour - I would experiment with 2/3 cup less. I haven't made them with white, so I'm not exactly sure of the measurement for it! Sorry!

First, prepare your muffin pans and either grease
or use a paper liner each cup. In a large bowl, sift
together:

• 2 2/3 cups soft wheat flour - 2/3 less if white flour is used
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, into
the well, add:

• 2 large eggs, beaten well
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2/3 cup milk or buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Use a fork to gently start pulling the flour mixture into the liquid ingredients in the middle. Combine just until the flour mixture is wet and still lumpy. Before you finish moistening the batter, stir in 3/4 - 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit. (Berries, chopped apples, etc.)

Use a spoon to fill each muffin cup 3/4 full; never fill to the top. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with sugar. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes, until golden and firm. Serve with butter! Enjoy!

Whole Grain Orange Sweet Rolls

I was looking through some recipes and found this delicious treat! You can even try this recipe with lemon instead of orange, and perhaps a cream cheese filling...

Whole Grain Orange Sweet Rolls

In a small saucepan, melt 2/3 cup butter over medium heat. Then add:
2/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup milk
1 tbsp. orange zest

Continue to heat, stirring constantly, until warm. In the Bosch mixer with the dough hook, combine:
warmed mixture
        1 cup warm water
1 large egg
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. SAF yeast
3 cups freshly ground hard wheat flour

Mix on medium speed until smooth. Cover bowl with lid and let mixture sponge for 35-40 minutes. As the mixture rises to the top of the bowl, turn on the mixer for a few seconds to jog it down. Once done sponging, add:
1 tbsp. sea salt
enough wheat flour to clean the sides of the bowl

Add flour one cup at a time, mixing a little after each addition. Stop adding flour when the dough is soft, but not too sticky, and is cleaning the sides of the bowl. Knead on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into two portions. On a greased surface, roll out each portion into a 10" x 20" rectangle. Brush with 3 tbsp. melted butter and sprinkle with ground cinnamon (as much as you like!) Sprinkle generously with brown sugar.

Roll dough up lengthwise and cut into slices with either scissors or string (string works the best!). *See our cinnamon roll recipe here for step-by-step photos. 

Place slices in a greased glass baking dish. Let rise for 15 minutes in a warm place. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown and spring back when touched. 

Cool for 20 minutes before serving. Drizzle with orange glaze! 

Orange Glaze

In a small bowl combine: 

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. finely grated orange zest

1/4 cup orange juice

Whisk together until smooth.

Enjoy the recipe! Homemaking Blog Hop Wednesday is tomorrow, come by and share your links with us! Have a blessed day ~ Jessica

Shared on:

Homemaking Blog Hop Wednesday ~ October 30th

Good Morning Ladies!

We have a special whole grain recipe for you today along with the blog hop this week, and another fun tidbit...

Joyous Notions's Twisted Almond Wreath was featured in Solo Foods e-Cookbook - No Kid Hungry.

Please leave links for the blog hop! Have a wonderful day!

~ Jessica

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One thing we love to do in our work is encourage ladies in making their homes... we are so pleased to start this Homemaking Blog Hop each week! Please join us, and share your links!

Topics can include... crafting, homemaking, encouragement, recipes, homeschooling, sewing, quilting, organizing, anything that has to do with making our homes! 

At the bottom, use the link tool to share your link, title and pick your image, it's so simple! And yes, you can share multiple links. =) 

Grab our Blog Hop button to add to your blog to share the fun! *Required to participate*

<a href="http://www.joyousnotions.com/search/label/Blog%20Hops"target="_blank"><img src="http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x208/Starbuckschick20/homemaking-bloghop2_zpsa53885b3.png"></a>

And don't forget to watch for...

An InLinkz Link-up

Pumpkin {Sweet Potato} Spice Bars

We have been enjoying a quieter week, finishing up some projects, and starting new ones. Family is coming into town and plans need to be made for the Christmas season, it's all going to go by so fast, as usual - trying to enjoy every bit of the season as it comes!

The fall color change is beautiful and we have been seeing the first bits of snow, including more snow today. Yesterday was windy and cold - a baking day!

I intended to make these with pumpkin, but found I only had sweet potatoes available... so you can also make sweet potato spice bars with this recipe. Either way, these are delicious! I know what I'm having with my coffee tomorrow morning... 

Pumpkin {Sweet Potato} Spice Bars

In a small bowl, soak 1 1/2 cups of raisins in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a large bowl, combine: 

     2 1/2 cups soft wheat flour

     1 1/2 tsp. each of baking soda and baking powder

     1 tsp. sea salt

     2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

     1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Whisk together. In a separate bowl, combine: 

     1 cup butter, melted

     1 1/2 cups brown sugar

     2 large eggs

     1 tbsp. vanilla extract

     

Whisk together until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree` or 1 1/2 cups of cooked, mashed sweet potato and stir until smooth. Add this mixture, drained raisins and 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) to the dry ingredients and stir well. A little bit of rum, 2 tbsp. or so, does not hurt the batter here either! So, perhaps add some? I did. 

Pour into a greased and floured 18" x 13" jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then turn out on to a rack to finish cooling, or leave in the pan to cool. Frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and cut into bars. Serve and store leftover bars in the refrigerator.                                                                                 ~ Makes about 32 bars

     

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

In a small bowl, combine:

     1/4 cup butter, softened

     1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

     1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

     2 tsp. vanilla extract
     2 tbsp. half & half

     2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

     

Beat on high speed with a hand mixer for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Add a little more half & half (one tablespoon at a time) if the frosting is too dry. Spread over cool bars.

Happy Fall! ~ Jessica ~ 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the tricky things with whole wheat is how to exchange white flour out. This recipe works great - you can use hard white wheat such as Prairie Gold with this, or soft white wheat. NO white flour! We use freshly milled flour.

See Joyous Home - Nutrimill for a great grain mill if you don't have one!

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a large mixer:
1 1/2 c. butter (3 sticks) - softened
2 1/2 c. brown sugar
3 lg eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Cream together until well blended and fluffy.

Add: 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
         2 tsp. sea salt
         5 c. soft wheat flour
         1 c. finely chopped almonds

Mix until blended and stir in: 
         2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Drop by rounded spoons onto parchment paper. Baking time is 8-10 minutes. Check after 8 minutes. These are great with vanilla ice cream!
 

Gluten Free Chocolate Pie Crust

It brings me great joy to say that we are not gluten free, but we do have a lot of friends from our church who are gluten free. When you like to have people over for meals, or need to take someone dinner, a small handful of gluten-free recipes will always be helpful!

We had some friends over for dinner and I wanted to make something for dessert. Since I haven't really done any gluten-free baking, I wasn't sure what to make that was more creative than ice cream. Low hazard recipes are always best when you don't know much! I had seen almond flour in Sprouts and thought I would try it as a replacement for the chocolate wafers/graham crackers used in chocolate pie crust, and make a pie. It had a nice simple sound it...

It came out so good! Perfectly sweet, chocolatey, and even better, it didn't fall apart. A very easy recipe for the non-gluten-free baker.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Pie Crust 

This recipe made a little more than what I needed for a 9" pie plate. You will either have a little leftover to freeze, or you can make a bigger pie! 

In a large bowl combine:
2 cups almond flour (or very finely ground almonds)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Whisk together until blended. Stir in:
1/3 cup  melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Stir with a spoon until the mixture is evenly moist and can be pressed together in your fingers. Press the mixture into a 9" pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Let cool, then chill until cold in the refrigerator. Ready to fill!

Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the recipe for chocolate cheesecake filling I made for this, but it was so very yummy! Perhaps I will have to make it again to post another time...

Have a blessed day! Jessica

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Biscotti

Since we make so much food on Thanksgiving Day, this biscotti is perfect for breakfast. Have yogurt and of course coffee with it while you prepare your bigger meal!

The pumpkin will make this cookie in the middle, so cut the slices thin for the second baking and they will be crisper. Add more spices for a spicier cookie! YUM!

We milled our flour fresh, using the Nutrimill. Contact us if you are interested in the 4th quarter specials on the Bosch Plus Mixer! The Bosch and Nutrimill make perfect Christmas gifts!

3 cups soft white wheat flour
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. rum extract
1 tsp. pure vanilla
2 eggs
1 cups pumpkin puree
1 c. white chocolate chips (or nuts) (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
We used the Bosch mixer with the cookie paddles. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Make sure you are using level scoops of your warm flour!

 Add wet ingredients and mix well. I let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes. We used this yummy organic pumpkin! Be careful to use only a cup, unless you want a softer biscotti. This is the time to add white chocolate chips, nuts - such as Macadamia or Pistachio!

Spread into a loaf shape onto a pan lined with a baking liner or parchment paper.

  Bake 20-30 minutes until golden.

Cut into slices and place on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, or until crisp on one side, turn and bake the other side until crisp.

 
Melt a cup of white chocolate chips and over the tops. The trick to melting these in the microwave is not adding too many to your glass cup and only heat for 10 seconds at a time! As you stir from the bottom they will melt quickly if you keep stirring. Burned chocolate is yukky! Enjoy!

Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffins

Almost all of the pumpkins in our garden are ripe and ready to be picked. We just recently roasted one of them for some recipes, and this was one of the treats we enjoyed from our harvest.

Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffins

Combine in a large bowl:
    3 cups freshly ground soft wheat flour
    1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
    1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
    2 tsp. ground cinnamon
    1/2 tsp. ground allspice
    1/2 tsp. ground ginger
    1 1/2 cups brown sugar
 

    Whisk together. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add:
    1/2 cup melted butter
    1 cup sour cream
    1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin puree`
    2 large eggs
    2 tsp. vanilla extract
   

Stir together just until all of the ingredients are moist. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Spoon the batter into the cups, filling no more than 2/3. Leave plain, or sprinkle with cinnamon or maple sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Serve with homemade pumpkin butter (we included our recipe in the Fall '12 Joyous Journal!), or spread them with soft, homemade spreadable butter. Delicious!      ~ Makes 18-20 muffins 

Enjoy! ~ Jessica

Oatmeal Cookies

Our weather over the last week has been absolutely beautiful.  Warm, sunny days well up into the 70's and even 80's, but this is merely our summer teasing weather.  Yesterday was sunny and over 80 degrees, today we are under a winter storm watch and awaiting a few inches of snow.  We are taking advantage of our cloudy and chilly day with a big pot of chicken soup on the stove and oatmeal cookies in the oven- it's just that sort of a day!   

Oatmeal Cookies

In the Bosch mixer with the cookie paddles, combine:
   1 1/2 cups butter, softened
   2 1/2 cups brown sugar
   2 large eggs
   1 tbsp. vanilla
   2/3 cup milk

Cream together on high speed, for about a minute, until very light and fluffy.  Add:
   1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
   1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
   1 tsp. sea salt
   3 3/4 cups freshly ground soft wheat flour

Mix together until well combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add:
   6 cups freshly flaked oats, or old-fashioned (not quick) oats
   1 cup chopped pecans (these are optional, but tasty)
   2 1/2 cups raisins (a must!)

Mix together slowly until mixed together.  Drop by tablespoons on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper- I love parchment paper for baking cookies!
 

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.  ~ Makes 6-7 dozen cookies    

Enjoy!  

~ Jessica 

On the 10th Day of Christmas

Good morning!

The winner of yesterday's Joyous Home Journal is Carolyn!  Email us at ripe4harvest@msn.com so we can get the Christmas Journal to you!

Note:  Monday is our last day of projects!  We will give away FIVE Journals, PLUS have a bonus giveaway for ONE other winner! 

We are doing some baking today!  Eggnog is in seasonal abundance right now and this cake is a wonderful treat for breakfast in the morning or even tea in the afternoon.  I don't care for drinking the store-bought eggnog, but I will bake with it.  Enjoy this very buttery tasting tea cake!

Eggnog Tea Cake

 With a mixer, cream together:

3/4 cup soft butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat for about 2 minutes, until very light and fluffy.  Like a pound cake, beating the cream mixture adds volume to the cake. Slowly mix in 2 cups eggnog.  Mix until blended.  Add:

2 Tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup unbleached natural white flour

3 1/2 cups freshly ground soft wheat flour

1 cup crushed walnuts

*If you prefer to skip the nuts, add an additional 1/2 cup soft wheat flour.  Blend until all of the flour is incorporated.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Divide the batter between two greased 8" x 5" loaf pans.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Top cakes with Butter Frosting!

Butter Frosting

In a bowl combine:

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Tbsp. milk

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Whisk together until smooth.  Once the cake has been cooled, spoon the frosting over the cake and grate fresh nutmeg over the top.  Delicious!

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Joyous Home Journal Giveaway Details!

 For the remaining posts of this event, everyday we are going to be giving away the Christmas 2011 Joyous Home Journal!  On the last day we will have an extra gift to give along with the journal to one winner!

We are keeping the daily giveaway as simple as possible. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment to that day's blog post and say that you want to be entered in the giveaway - one comment equals one entry. You can earn one additional entry by posting about the daily 12 Days of Christmas blog post on your blog, Facebook (add us, Theresa Powers or Jessica Munday, as friends on Facebook for verification) or twitter. Each day we will draw a winner and announce the winner the following day before the next daily post!

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See you on Monday for our final post and giveaway!  You may comment to enter for today's Journal giveaway today through Monday.  We will announce the winner of today's Journal on Monday when our final post is up.
 
Have a blessed weekend ~ Theresa and Jessica

On the 1st Day of Christmas...

Hello all!

Welcome to our 12 Days of Christmas! Over the next 12 days, each day we are going to feature a special daily post, along with a giveaway here on our blog and a Deal of the Day on a specific product on our website, Joyous Home. We will post each day's post on or before noon each day, and announce the winner from previous day. See more of the giveaway rules and details below the post!

Today, we are baking bread!

Twisted Almond Wreath

Sweet breads made into braids and wreaths, filled with jams and almond marzipan are some of our family's favorite Christmas season treats! This wreath is very easy to make. If you can make cinnamon rolls, then you will have no trouble with this! If you are a beginning bread maker, read here.

You can use any bread dough for this recipe, but for a real treat we recommend using a sweet bread dough recipe. This is our Christmas dough recipe:

In a saucepan, melt together until very warm:
1/2 cup melted butter
2 1/2 cups warm milk
1 cup maple syrup or honey

In the Bosch mixer with the dough hook:
melted butter/milk mixture
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2 Tbsp. SAF Yeast
1 Tbsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. LorAnn Buttery Sweet Dough flavor (optional, but very yummy!)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
2 1/2 Tbsp. dough enhancer (again, this is helpful but not always necessary)
4 1/2 cups freshly ground hard white wheat flour

Mix until smooth. Sponge the mix for 35-45 minutes. 45 minutes gives excellent results! As the dough mix rises to the top of the bowl, just jog the mixer to punch the dough back down.

Sponging your dough allows the yeast to develop and also gives some of the flour you've added a chance to soften and absorb some of the liquid. Allowing some of the liquid to be absorbed this way gives you realistic idea of how much flour needs to be added. Adding too much flour makes a very dry bread. After sponging the dough, add:

2 1/2 Tbsp. sea salt.
freshly ground hard wheat flour

Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing gently after each addition. Add flour until the dough is soft and sticky (but not too wet) and cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead for 4 minutes on medium-high speed. If you are a beginning bread maker, read here.

To make the Almond Wreath:
You need an 8oz. can of almond paste filling. The brand we use is called Solo and is available in most grocery stores in the baking aisle.

In the blender place 1 cup pecans or walnuts and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Spoon the almond paste on top of the nuts. Pulse the blender until the nuts and the paste are ground together.


On a greased surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 10" x 25". Brush with 1/2 cup softened butter. Sprinkle 2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon over the butter and use the brush to blend it with the butter. Sprinkle the almond paste/nut mixture evenly over the top of all.

Roll up cinnamon roll style...

On a baking sheet lined with either a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, slide the roll on the pan and shape into a circle. Pinch the dough together to connect the ends.

With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut into the outer part of the ring, 1" away from the inner circle. Twist each cut to the side.

Brush the entire wreath with an egg wash (1 large egg whisked together with 1 Tbsp. water) and sprinkle with pearled sugar (available at specialty baking stores, such as Baker's Catalog).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let the wreath rise for 10 minutes. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the wreath is a light golden brown. Cool on the pan completely.

Use large spatulas to carefully move the wreath to the plate you are going to serve it on. Drizzle with Butter Almond Icing!

Butter Almond Icing
In a bowl, mix together:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 Tbsp. half & half

Whisk together until smooth. Use a pastry bag or a plastic zip bag with a corner snipped off to drizzle the icing over the bread.

Finished!

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Giveaway Details!

We are keeping the daily giveaway as simple as possible. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment to that day's blog post and say that you want to be entered in the giveaway- one comment equals one entry. You can earn one additional entry by posting about the daily 12 Days of Christmas blog post on your blog, Facebook (add us, Theresa Powers or Jessica Munday, as friends on Facebook for verification) or twitter. Each day we will draw a winner and announce the winner the following day before the next daily post!

Today's giveaway is the Seasons At Home Holiday '09 magazine!

and the Daily Deal on Joyous Home is...

The Girl's Embroidery Scissors

On sale for $3.50 - Regular price $6.50
I love these scissors, they are our favorite for embroidery!