Cinnabon - Cinnamon Rolls

After making Taco Pizza earlier this week, it dawned on me I could use the same dough mix for Cinnamon Rolls! Imagine my excitement and how pleased I felt with my idea.

Even though there's half a batch of Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and a batch of mostly flopped Eclairs to be eaten or morphed into something else, I just felt the need for Cinnamon Rolls. Yummy, gooey, hot, sweet, melt-in-you-mouth goodness.

As I type, the Cinnamon Rolls are rising in a warm oven {Not quite double their size}. The frosting is made and my taste buds are anxiously waiting. Yes, I tasted the frosting, to make sure it will serve it's purpose atop the baked rolls. If all goes well, I'll be able to reminisce in my happy memories of enjoying Cinnamon Rolls and it will be a new sweet treat for Patrick, as he's never tasted Cinnamon Rolls before - so deprived!

My Great Grandmother's Cinnamon Roll recipe wasn't at my finger tips, so I decided to "loosely" follow Copy Kat's Cinnabon recipe. I've always enjoyed Cinnabon and while in Vancouver would trek out at lunch or for an afternoon break to enjoy a scrumptious Cinnabon. My friend and former colleague, Greg, was such a sport when I got a hankering for Cinnabon, Banana Split Blizzard....

Speaking of my Great Grandmother; she's the only one I ever met. She was German/Russian and spoke very little English. My mother enjoyed some of her recipes so much, one weekend mom picked Great Grandma up, brought her to our house and proceeded to work with Great Grandma (GG) to document her recipes. One of those being Cinnamon Rolls. Mom, stood beside GG and before GG could throw the handful or pinch of ingredients in the bowl, mom would measure the ingredient, write it down and preserve the recipe.

Honestly, I've never made Great Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls. I'm afraid of yeast, much like I'm afraid of custard. So I think while I'm in Colorado, I'll spend time with my Grandma Lauer and my Aunt Pam to learn the secrets of yeast doughs and custards-not-from-a-box. If I figure either out and shed the fear, I'll be sure to post about it here.

For now, it's time to turn up the flame on those Cinnamon Rolls, not sure I can wait much longer to see how they taste.

And the wait is over....

Back in the Kitchen

So, I'm back in the kitchen. It's a nice feeling, although there are still a a few ingredients I'm steering clear of. Like onions and garlic.

In the last few weeks, I've been making foods I remember from my childhood. Comfort foods, I suppose, something my Irish mom tells me happens when you're expecting. All of a sudden, your body only wants those foods you enjoyed when you were younger. So far her words haven't been too far from my experience as I've made Chicken Chalupa, Tuna Tetrazzini, Pork Chops and Creamy Rice, Grandma Lauer's Dill Dip, among other things. It's amazing what the right food + an iron supplement + the 2nd trimester can do for a persons hunger, nausea, and starvation feelings!

One of the foods I've really had a hankering for is Donuts. As it turns out, Ireland, like Canada, is really not hip on Donuts. Sure you can find a Jelly Filled or Chocolate Glazed at Tesco; however, these just don't really cut-it when you've tasted Hostess Donettes or Dunkin Donuts, a Chocolate Raise Glazed from Safeway, heck even a fresh of the belt Krispy Kreme. Yes. I admit, I LOVE Donuts and with that love comes a discerning taste bud.

When you want a Donut, this is not an easy void to fill. My parents are wonderful, FULL STOP. A few weeks back they sent us a care package with Coffee for Patrick and Chocolate Covered Hostess Donettes for me. The Best Before Date gave us about 3 days to polish off the two bags of Donettes and lets just say there wasn't a crumb left at sunset on the third day.

All that aside, I found a recipe for Chocolate Eclairs on the Copy Kat Recipes website. I'm thinking, this fancy Donut, just might do the trick until I can get myself to a Dunkin Donuts!

So, I'm going to give these babies a whirl, turns out I have all the ingredients in the press, even a can of whipped cream so we can have two versions. Chocolate Eclairs with Homemade Custard and Chocolate Eclairs with Whipped Cream. I think it will be a calorie-filled day in Hog Heaven. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Now go find yourself a Donut Shop and enjoy a Baker's Dozen for me!