"Braided" Nutella Bread!

NUTELLA!  Yes, everyone's favorite hazelnut spread, right?  I'm sure you've pinned at least 4 or 5 pins that have something to do with Nutella.  If you haven't, this post may not be for you.

Maybe you've seen it and skipped over it because it looked difficult to make, or maybe it's sitting on your food board.  I know many of you have thought that this would be divine if you could figure out how to make it.  I was intimidated, I won't lie.  I haven't really used yeast before, so I enlisted the help of a couple family friends when I tested this recipe.  :)

The pin should take you to a website called Good Home Design, but there be careful.  There are a lot of pins for this particular recipe that are incorrectly linked!  Even though I tried fixing the link on the pin on my board, Pinterest won't allow you to go to the website.  :(  

Good Home Design is the correct originating website though. 

Here are the ingredients and instructions for the Braided Nutella Bread from the website:

• two and a half cups of all purpose flour;
• a half of teaspoon of yeast;
• a cup of water;
• a teaspoon of salt;
• a tablespoon of sugar;
• some Nutella;
• cornmeal;
• one egg;

Start by dissolving yeast with a quarter of a cup filled water, poured into a small bowl. Take another bowl, and while you let the yeast rest for 10 minutes, mix in – with the use of a stand mixer – the appropriate amount of flour, salt, and sugar. Add the yeast and mix at a low speed. Smoothly turn the speed to medium and keep turning for 7 minutes.

Get another bowl and lightly oil it and place the dough you recently made in there. Cover it with a plastic wrap and in about an hour of sitting in a warm place it will double in size.

Roll some of the dough in order to make a circle. Careful you leave enough because you’ll have to make another circle in a few minutes. Take the Nutella (be careful to take it out the fridge for a while so it would be easy to spread; you could also microwave it for 30 seconds to be sure) and pour an even layer on the surface, but leaving half an inch of margin of dough all around.

The next step is to place another roll off dough (Nutella free) on top. Afterward, place it on a parchment-lined or silicon-lined baking sheet. It’s advised you sprinkle the sheet beforehand with cornmeal. Use a knife to cut the dough down the middle, but keeping one end intact. Look at the image for guideline.

By turning the cut side toward the top, twist the ends of the dough overtop each other. Do this for every cut you made. For the next 20 minutes, let your future bread sit in a dry place, but make sure you cover it with plastic wrap. In the meantime, prepare the oven. Set it to 350°F. Before placing the dough in, brush it with some egg wash. Then, bake at this temperature for about 20 minutes. To get that lightly brown look and taste on top, raise to 425°F and bake for another 5-7 minutes. It’s done! Let it cool before serving.

If that doesn't sound intimidating to you, you're braver or more confident that I was when I first read the instructions!

Before we attempted to make the bread, we read through the comments.  I find that when I test recipes, I check to see if any readers, much like yourself, have tried the recipe and what they say about it.  One of the biggest issues we noticed was that the amount of yeast the recipe calls for is not enough.  We were definitely glad that we read the comments because 1/2 tsp of yeast is definitely not enough!!  So there, we give you change #1, use the entire packet of yeast.  We dissolved that in 1/4 cup of warm water, as stated in the directions.  When it came time to add the dissolved yeast to the flour mixture, we then added 3/4 cup water to the mixture (change #2).  When we placed it in another bowl to allow it to rise, we let about 2 hours to pass.  This is only because we forgot about it since we forgot to set a timer.  :p

When it is time to take the dough and roll it out, one thing they do not mention is that you will need more flour.  If you're as inexperienced as I am with dough, you will need to flour your space so that the dough will be manageable.  Change #3- flour your rolling surface!

Stephanie working with the dough

 

Jayson stepped in to roll out the dough and shape it.  Since we were experimenting, we didn't take the time to get a bowl to cut it out to be a circle.  

Stephanie spreading out the Nutella.  I don't know about you, but we do not 

refrigerate ours, especially since the container says not to!

 Jayson cutting out slices in the dough

Teamwork!

Stephanie twisting the dough.  This made us want to look for a pin that actually calls 

for braiding the bread so that it lives up to the name :)

 Stephanie applying the egg wash

The finished product!

The verdict: It was good, but definitely need to tweak it a bit more.  The dough wasn't as flaky as we wanted it and we thought it could be sweeter.  The husband described it as "pretzel dough with Nutella."  We're definitely going to experiment with this more and once we perfect it, I will definitely share it!  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share!

Cheers!

Slutty Brownies

Oh my, I've neglected to update this blog!  I know I don't have a large following, but I do apologize for anyone who was following.  School has definitely taken up most of my time since I left the military!  I promise I'll do better! :)

Today, I bring you something sinful.  So rich, you'd be crazy not to pour yourself a glass of milk to accompany it.  I pinned it because the name itself was intriguing.

Right?  I visited the blog where you can find out about these devilish brownies, Debbie Doo's, and unfortunately there was no real explanation as to why they are slutty.  I like to find out the reason behind the name when they're out there, don't you?

The ingredients and directions are very, very simple.  3 ingredients and that's it.  Pre-made cookie dough, Oreos, and brownie mix.  Sure, you could make the cookie mix and the brownie mix from scratch, but if you're limited on time, just pick up the ready to make mix!  Simply place the cookie mix first, then place some Oreos on top, and then pour the brownie mix on top.

I made it for my husband's class he was teaching at the time.  He told me was that his class loved them!  Of course, he asked them for any suggestions to possibly improve them.  One student recommended added marshmallow fluff.  I made the brownies again when we had company in town with double stuf Oreos and marshmallow fluff.  Wow.  Didn't think they could come out any better.  

If you add the fluff, I recommend adding it as the second layer, after the cookie dough.  I put it on top of the Oreos, and being that I never worked with it before, I found it difficult to lay it down without it bringing up Oreos!  So putting it under the Oreos or maybe even mixing it in with the brownie mix before putting it on top would be better.  :)

Hopefully it's a hit with your family!

Apple Enchiladas

 There's nothing quite like warm apple pie... is there?  This pinned recipe is pretty darn close.

I'm too intimidated to attempt apple pie from scratch, so when I found this pin, I was excited because it meant that I make a quick, easier version a bit similar to the popular pie.








Ingredients and directions:

Cherries or peaches can be substituted for apples.

1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

• Spoon about one heaping quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon; roll up, tucking in edges; and place seam side down in prepared dish.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.
• Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 45 minutes.
• Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Combining the sugars, butter, and water smelled so nice while it warmed on the stove!

When you start to spoon the apple pie filling into each tortilla, you begin to realize that one can probably isn't enough to really fill the inside.

 I folded them up and placed them in a 9x13.  I know, I know, my enchiladas are inconsistent in size.  The first one is filled more when apple pis filling than the ones at the top.  The last ones I did aren't as full and I folded them loosely in attempts to make them similar to the other ones.

I plated the apple enchiladas with some vanilla bean ice cream and also some whipped cream.  I also drizzled some of the sauce over everything. :)

Verdict:A very tasty dessert!  The tortilla was still a bit soft, I think maybe it would've been a bit better if it was crispier.  Definitely will buy two cans of apple pie filling next time so that there's more to fill up. 

Easy Spread Cookies: Biscoff

My husband is a Biscoff spread nut.  Ever since my youngest sister gave us a jar to try a couple years ago, we always have jar in our pantry.  If we run out of Nutella, he'll wait until our next grocery run to get some.  Biscoff spread gone?  He's off the same day.  Every now and then, we'll pick up some of these delightfully tasty cookies from the commissary or if we see them somewhere else. 

During one of my pinterest hunts, I pinned a cookie recipe that uses this delicious spread.  I finally remembered it and decided to test it out since it only uses 3 ingredients.

This recipe is from Kirbie's Cravings, a food blog that belongs to the gorgeous foodie Kirbie, who reviews restaurants in SoCal (or where ever they might travel to), posts recipes, and other musings from her daily life.  Reading her blog reminded me that I should start using my dslr more often to take pictures for my blog and not use my P&S.  :/  Anyway, definitely check out her blog!

Ingredients and directions as listed on her site:

3 Ingredient Biscoff Spread Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup Biscoff spread
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp flour (make sure you don't under measure the flour or you won't have enough dry ingredients)
1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth cookie dough forms. It will be a little sticky and oily, but you should be able to work with the dough.
2. Take 2 tbsp of dough and roll into a smooth ball. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing two inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes. Cookies will spread and should no longer be wet and gooey. Let cookies completely cool on cookie sheets to firm up and set before removing and eating.


When I made these cookies for my husband, I used his favorite version of the spread; CRUNCHY.  I had a feeling that it would change the consistency of the mixture and probably the way that the cookies would bake, but decided to try them anyway. 

So good!

 I was so skeptical of a cookie that only used 3 ingredients.  If it came out any good, I'd be in so much trouble!  C'mon, an easy cookie you can whip up in about 15 minutes?  Not a good sign for my waistline.  I combined the ingredients and the mixture was in fact sticky and oily.

Just how oily the mix is because of the Biscoff spread

I probably made at least 10 cookies from the mixture.  I didn't measure out 2 tbsp exactly before I started to roll them up into balls, but it came out to be about 1.5 tbsp per ball.

Notice how my cookies didn't come out as big nor as thin as the ones in Kirbie's picture?  Now, I am assuming that my cookies came out a bit on the thicker side because I used the crunchy version.

Verdict: You could definitely tell that they were oily.  Husband wasn't a big fan, and I'm not too fond of them only because I like my desserts to be... well, sweeter.  Would we make them again?  Most likely not, but I will be trying it with the regular creamy Biscoff spread to see if it's any better. 

Cheers!

Pan-fried Honey Bananas

Need to satisfy a sweet tooth but don't want the calories or don't have much on hand?  This pin is the pin you need... well, as long as you have bananas on hand. 

I personally am not a banana fan outside of banana bread, but I'm always looking for different ways to serve up bananas for the family.  We always have a bunch on hand in the house and there are times when I make a lot of banana bread because everyone is "banana'd out." 


This recipe is from a blog found on The Crohn's Journey Foundation website.  If you suffer from crohn's disease and haven't checked out this site, what are you waiting for?  No one in my family has Crohn's, but I spent a few hours just exploring this site! 

Recipe and directions as found on the site:

INGREDIENTS
Coconut Oil Cook­ing Spray
1/4 tea­spoon Cin­na­mon
1 organic banana
1 table­spoon organic honey
INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the banana into 1/8in width.
Mix together honey and 1/2 table­spoon water in a bowl and set aside.
Place a fry­ing pan on the stove top under medium heat and spray gen­er­ously with the coconut oil spray.
Add the banana’s and once browned (about 1–2 min­utes) flip over.
Once you flip the pieces of banana over, turn off the stove and add the honey/water mix­ture all over the top and watch it bubble Sprin­kle the cin­na­mon on top and enjoy. (if you like less or more cin­na­mon, it is up to you and your taste buds)


Seems simple enough, right?  4 ingredients and takes about 5 minutes to make (you can see in the instructions you need to add water to the honey).   The pictures on the blog are very clear to make it even easier to follow as well.

Note to self: MORE cooking spray next time!

I didn't use enough cooking spray (I used regular vegetable oil spray that we have on hand), but the bananas still fried up nicely.  I didn't flip over until maybe about 4-5 minutes to really get the brown you see in the picture on the Cron's website.  I checked around 3 minutes but it was more on the golden brown side.  Might need to put the heat up more for next time.   The family likes cinnamon so you can see that I didn't exactly measure it out.  :)  I just sprinkled straight from the container.   Sigh, yes, I realize now I should've used a different color bowl for a recipe like this to really show the food.

The verdict: a great, guilt-free dessert!  Our oldest requests that next time there's more honey, but other than that, it was a hit!  I'll definitely remember this recipe when my kids have a sweet tooth and I want to use up some bananas!

Cheers!

Texas Gold, Chess Squares, Golden Gooey-ness!

FINALLY!  My first dessert post!  If I was still in the military, a dessert recipe would honestly be the first recipe I'd be blogging about.  When I was working full time, trying to balance family, home, and school life, I would try to cook every night (which of course wasn't always successful).  The one thing that I know I would make time for on the weekends is baking desserts!  I'm guilty of having a huge sweet tooth and am always game for trying out different cake, cupcake, brownie, etc. recipes!

This particular dessert I've never had or heard of before.  The pin that I have saved calls it "Texas Gold" and the website calls it "Chess Squares."  All I know, it that it's easy to prepare, only uses 5 ingredients, and a hit with my family.

Source: kevinandamanda.com via G on Pinterest

The recipe, thanks to Kevin & Amanda's blog, talks about how they wanted to originally try making something called "Crack Pie" (I hope to try this one day!), a dessert from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York.  They were turned off from trying it because of the 22 ingredients and almost 2+ hour prep time!  Thank goodness they shared this quick version!

Alas, the recipe and directions:
1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the pan. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins. Pour on top of crust. Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

Seriously, that's all there is to it.  Making these Chess Squares were incredibly simple that it made me check the recipe constantly to make sure I wasn't leaving anything out or missing a step!

Fresh from the oven!

A slice that was devoured in under a minute ;)

Don't be tempted to bake it longer when the cooking time is up because the middle isn't brown!  You'll run the risk of loosing that gooey texture!  As long as the edges are brown, you're fine. :)  My husband, who is the only one in the house without a serious sweet tooth (unfortunately my kids have my sweet tooth), said that this dessert was the right amount of sweet for him.  It wasn't over powering and he enjoyed the texture.

Cheers!