Day ELEVEN: Top-Of-The-Morning Cinnamon Rolls

I started to feel like baking was becoming a chore, rather than the adventure it first felt like. So in my efforts to make it adventurous again, I took a break for a few days and rekindled my love for the hobby.

A few days ago, right before my epiphany, I tried making dough for homemade cinnamon rolls. I had a hard time getting the dough to rise, so I threw it in the fridge and figured I'd take it out later and dissect the problem. Later turned into five days. Sue told me I may have killed the yeast when I was mixing the butter, milk and water together. The recipe calls for the mix to be between 120-130 degrees. I checked mine and found it at 140 and rising. I didn't think that would make that big of a difference, but it really DOES matter. I decided to scratch the old dough in the fridge and start over completely.

Today, I gathered almost all of the ingredients I'd need and headed over to Sarahbeth's house for our baking extravaganza! I started with the dough to allow it enough time to rise. An hour and a half later, it doubled in size! Good thing SB was monitoring the warmth of the mix... it was perfect. As I rolled out the dough and added the butter and cinnamon/sugar, I started to get excited. I think it's because I've never made a dough before! I rolled it up in one long 'log' and cut it into one inch sections. It looked so pretty! I threw it in the oven later and after it cooled, I brushed on the glaze mixture (honey and melted butter). I was a tad disappointed with them as they were a little dry. Next time, MORE BUTTER!

I have seven cinnamon rolls left in the fridge. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll revise them a bit before baking. We will see how they turn out!

Day TEN: Cheese Squares

When I picked this recipe, I had now idea what I was up against. I've never made cheesecake or anything even close to it, so I was a little nervous. You always hear these HORROR stories about cheesecake recipes... it was mushy, the texture was off or the flavor wasn't right. But to my surprise, it turned out pretty fabulous! There's a layer of crust made with ground walnuts, the cheesecake filling, and then the crust again as the topping. The only thing I might change next time is replace that top layer with fresh strawberries. YUM. I took it to Starbucks this morning and Jeremy, Rob and April really enjoyed it! It always feels good when others like what you've made.

This recipe's a keeper :)

Day NINE: Applecake

Besides seeing cutouts or actual recipes from magazines, when gma hand wrote them into her notebooks, I have no way of knowing if they are really HER recipes or someone else's. All of these are 'hers' in my opinion. She made and shared them with others!

Today I made an applecake. Who doesn't love a warm apple dish? I started with the batter for the cake and then sliced apples very thin to lay over it. For the topping it was just brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. I figured, that sounds pretty great right?!

WRONG!

It was pretty much inedible. I brought it over to Sarahbeth's to try (Kim also stopped by for a slice) and we all agreed that it was not good. I can't blame myself... I just did what the recipe told me to do! But boy, this one was gross.

I ended up tossing the rest. I guess they all can't be spectacular!

Day EIGHT: Crispy Polynesian Butterscotch Cookies

I know, I know... cookies again. But I saw the ingredients and decided I HAD to take them on. They have oatmeal, corn flakes, butterscotch and walnuts in them... YUM! The recipe also calls for coconut, but I accidentally forgot it. I found this recipe in one of gma's many spiral bound notebooks. It was from the newspaper, so of course she had it taped in there. :)

The batter was a little runnier than the chocolate chip cookies, so I wasn't sure how they'd turn out in terms of consistency. They ended up pretty flat, but tasted AMAZING. I prefer my cookies a little crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, but these were a good 'crispy' consistency. I suppose that's how they should be, it's in the name! The remaining almost three dozen went to work with me and I think they really enjoyed them. One stated that they were "diabetes waiting to happen". That made me laugh, because that MUST make them good!

This is definitely a recipe I'll be repeating in the future! Thanks, Grandma!! :)

Day SEVEN: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Feeling a bit behind because of our trip, I decided to double up on the recipes last night. I was especially excited for this recipe because I have been making Sarahbeth's choc chip cookies for a while now and I was eager to compare the two. Grandma's cookies were really good! They tasted very similar, just a difference in texture. I tried taking them out early and letting them flatten on the cookie sheet, but they didn't get as flat as I would've liked. Either way, they were still a little crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. I made three dozen and Jon took them to work today. I like being the 'cool' wife who bakes for the guys... AND it spares me the calories :)

Day SIX: Lemon Bars

Lemon bars... Mmm. Need I say more?? :)

Lemon bars have always been a favorite of mine and I especially LOVE my grandma's recipe! Some are made with just two layers: a crust and a filling with powdered sugar on top. Gma's are made with three layers: a crust, filling, AND a glaze.

As I was reading her recipe, I noticed she didn't note how many bars (or what size pan) it yields. I decided to use a 2-qt oblong Pyrex because I didn't want a 9x13 pan to go to waste. When I was pouring the crust into the pan, I noticed there was a LOT there... so I cut back the amount. After it baked, it grew higher! I pat it into the pan, hoping to flatten it. Then I prepared the filling to the same thickness. I let it cool and glazed the top. The taste was spot on, but the crust ratio was still a bit much. Now I know for next time, the recipe yields a 9x13 pan. I wasn't sure if it needed to be refrigerated right away but Jon suggested I should.

Well, I took it out this morning and it didn't look very appetizing. The glaze looked a little off and the crust was chewy. I was totally disappointed and now I have to throw the rest away. Boo.

It was the first time I had ever made lemon bars and I didn't do my gma's recipe justice. I'm disappointed, to say the least. I guess I know what to do and what NOT to do next time...

- The first picture is me attempting to get a 'pretty' shot of a lemon bar.
- The second is me attempting to cut from the middle to make the 'perfect bar'. It didn't go quite the way I wanted. Oh brother...