Caramel Rolls- A breakfast treat, dessert or indulgent snack

WARNING! Proceed with caution and continue reading at your own risk. If you are an individual who has chosen to sacrifice something for lent such as sweets, sugary substances, pastries, junk food, dessert, over indulgences or carbohydrates-- discontinue reading now and come back April 12th or later. In the event that you do choose to continue reading, note that Art and Aioli and all associated with this blog are in no way responsible in any way, shape or form for you breaking any resolutions, diets or promises to yourself or anyone else. I am in no way to be held liable for what you may or may not do with this recipe and the final product.

Are you still reading? I owe this recipe to Kristen over at Dine and Dish. And at this point I don't know whether to thank her with the biggest hug ever or to be very angry as these things are so addicting and delicious, I could not stop eating them. And the thing is they are so easy to make. Aside from needing just a little patience for the rising time, it came together in minutes! It was so much easier than when I made these cinnamon rolls! Do you remember them? Oh yes. They were great! But a little time consuming. And you know what? These are ALMOST as good if not just as good and so very very simple. I couldn't believe it. I've got to hand it to Kristen for always finding simple and utterly scrumptious recipes. Go check out her site!

Mom’s Caramel Rolls (from Sidd on Recipezaar)

Like Kristen did, I halved this recipe since it was just for my family and it yielded PLENTY. 12 very decent sized rolls! Kristen used her bread maker for much of the beginning but I just used my hands. Sometimes it is soothing and really, it was just so simple.

Actually I halved MOST of the recipe. I did go ahead and make ALL of the topping and felt it was the right amount. We love that gooey, drippy, luscious stuff and if you are going to be this bad, you might as well go all the way! I also added nuts to the topping of one pan of rolls. I just love nuts with this kind of thing. But my kids prefer it without. Next time I think I will roll some nuts up inside the rolls when I sprinkle the cinnamon sugar onto the dough.

2½ hours | 2 hours prep

SERVES 18

• 2 cups warm water (not hot)
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast (2 T bulk)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons butter (let sit out until soft)
• 1 egg
• 6 1/2 cups flour
• cinnamon-sugar mixture

Topping

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons water

1. Mix water and yeast and wait 5 minutes.
2. Stir in sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour.
3. Add egg and butter and mix.
4. Stir in rest of flour by hand, if dough is still sticky add just enough to make it not sticky anymore.
5. Let raise until dough is double in size.
6. Sprinkle flour on surface and roll dough out until is approx 18 X 12 inches.
7. Spread a very thin layer of soft butter on dough and sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on it.
8. Roll dough from the long side, it should look like a log.
9. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
10. Should be 18 pieces.
11. Place brown sugar and butter into microwave dish and heat until butter is just melted; stir well.
12. Stir in 3 T water.
13. Divide mixture into 3 pans (8-inch cake pans).
14. Place 6 pieces in each pan.
15. Let raise for about 45 minutes.
16. Bake for 20 minutes in a 325°F oven.
17. When you take out of oven, turn each pan of rolls over on a plate, otherwise you will have a hard time getting them out when they cool.
18. If you can, let them cool slightly and enjoy them when they are still warm.

It is killing me to even write this post. I want one so bad. Perhaps I should make these for Easter Sunday! YUM! My extended family would love them.

Thanks Kristen!

Don't forget to RSVP to my virtual Open House! Just email a recipe to missNnick [at] gmail [dot] com and include your name, blog address, permalink to the entry and a link back to me! Can't wait to see you there! (Note: There are TWO "N"s in the email address.)

I love you! I love blogging!

I still feel I am very new to the whole world of blogging. It has been less than three months since I started and at that time I hadn't even been familiar with this virtual world at all. When I heard the term blog, I thought it was for celebrities or kids on my space or something.

Now I feel different. I love my blog. I love visiting other blogs. I love the people I am getting to know. I love all your recipes, ideas, poems, advice, designs and suggestions. This whole new world is open to me now. I can be in Paris one moment and New York the next. I have seen glimpses of the deep south and rural roads I might never have seen before. It is so much fun. And I owe it all to all of you.

Amy at Family Bencomo had been gracious enough to tag me with an "I love you this much" award. I feel so fortunate and very well loved. Amy is so warm and has a beautiful blog chock full of great recipes and beautiful photos. I wish I could go right ahead and tag you back, Amy.

As is the rule, I am to tag 10 other blogs that I love. I am just getting to know a lot of you and it is hard to narrow down to only 10 but these are some of blogs I keep my eye on all the time.

1. Zen Chef - Chefs Gone Wild - Yes, this man does have a wild and witty sense of humor and a mean ability in the kitchen. You will salivate at the photos and choke with laughter.

2. Kristen - Dine and Dish - Kristen has a ton of recipes and a beautiful blog design with little snippets of family life dished in. She also started featuring some fun give-aways! Check it out.

3. Betty - La France Profonde- A beautiful blog about Betty's life in a rural part of France. Her writing and photos are amazing.

4. Dela - Not Your Mother's Southern Cooking - Dela is a delight to read. This girl has wonderful creativity and imagination in the kitchen. She has no fear and her recipes look great.

5. Kate - Paved with Good Intentions - Another deft writer, Kate relays her kitchen adventures from the foibles to the grand masterpieces with a witty voice. There is always something good on her blog.

6. Lulu - Lulu Abroad - Get ready for some armchair traveling. Lulu takes you to Ireland, India or just around the corner from her in the North Eastern part of the states. She documents it all with fabulous photos.

7. Peter - Kalofagas - You want to see a man who knows what he is doing? Peter is your guy! The food he serves up is gorgeous, amazing and as tempting as his infectious smile. Be prepared to learn something new.

8. Susan - Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy - This is a one-stop shop. Her pastries look as if from the finest bakery and the savory photos could grace the cover of a magazine. To die for.

9. Laura - Pinot and Prose - Get a little food then a literary review and more tempting food again. An intelligent woman with a passion for food. How incredible is that! Here is a place to "Eat, Drink and (find something new each time)!"

10. Helen - Orange You Lucky - And you are if you have time to peruse Helen's blog. She features her amazing and whimsical illustrations with tidbits of life and fun things she finds and shares. This site is complete eye candy.

I thought you might be thirsty after all of that so have a glass of lemonade!
The photo is from "Hot Dog on a Stick". They make great lemonade there.
If you are thirsty and near one, DO try it! It comes in 3 flavors.

Amy also tagged me with the "Look What I Made" game! Thanks again, Amy. I am going to tag Emily, Lisa and Jaime with this game.

HERE ARE THE RULES to LOOK WHAT I MADE!

1. List the names of 2-5 recipes you tried from other blogs. Provide a direct link to the recipe. If not available, give the blog link and let the reader search for the recipe by name.

2. Shortly describe your experience with the recipe.

3. Tag 3-5 other bloggers or the authors of the recipes you listed to post the links to the recipes they have tried from other bloggers. Note: If you are new to the blogging world and haven’t had a chance to try any recipes from your fellow foodies, just pass the tag on to someone else.

4. Notify the tagged bloggers about the tag either by leaving a comment on their blogs or by emailing them.

Here are some recipes I have tried:

1. Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze from Orangette. The recipe is actually at Bon Appetit. These are every bit as good and mouthwatering as Molly professes. DO be prepared to spend some time making them though. It is not hard but you need time for rising and rolling and baking and glazing. But it is well worth the investment.

2. Chicken and Shrimp Won Tons with Chili Sweet & Sour Sauce from Recipe Girl. These were great! I didn't have shrimp or serrano chili on hand and they still tasted really good. Lori's original creation with the shrimp and chili would be even better, I am sure. Do not be fooled. These are very easy to make and look really impressive. The only trick is learning how to fold the won ton. After that--easy-peasy. The sauce really has a kick to it so easy on the chili garlic sauce and ginger if you can't take the heat. I love it spicy so it was perfect for me but would use less ketchup and more soy sauce or something next time.

3. Roast Chicken with Ginger and Soy-Whiskey Glaze from Chefs Gone Wild. Zen is no amateur chef and browning this bird was no easy feat. But after all was said and done, I had a magnificent dinner that was moist and juicy and packed with flavor. It was amazing! Mine wasn't quite as pretty as his and was much darker looking but it didn't suffer in taste. I highly recommend trying it.

4. Veloute of Prawns from A World in a Pan. This sauce is to die for! My guests and I just ate and ate and slurped up the extra sauce with our bread. Laura says that the curry is optional but in my opinion the curry helps make the dish. Fantastic! Mine was much yellower than Laura's photo but maybe because I used yellow curry and she used red? I don't know. I would like to try this again with red curry though.

... and for dessert...

5. Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Big Red Kitchen. Robin Sue had this notion to put her favorite cookie inside a cupcake. You know what? It WORKED! This is fun and easy and provides so much room for play and creativity. I did it with the kids too. It is the perfect treat to make with your children or to bring to a potluck or school party.

Happy Cooking and Eating!

Bloggin' on Brunch Part 2... The Cinnamon Rolls!

Since the impetus for my brunch was the platinum chef challenge, I wanted to keep that post about the items I created for the challenge itself. But I had been looking for a reason (and plenty of time for rising) to make the cinnamon rolls with cream cheese glaze from Molly Wizenberg's column in Bon Appetit. My brunch on Sunday was the perfect opportunity to try them out.

I made the dough the night before. After the two hour rising time, it was bigger but didn't really seem to have doubled in bulk. I decided to wait just another 1/2 hour or so. I looked the same and I was exhausted so I put the bowl with the ball of dough in the refrigerator. First thing in the morning, I took it out and let it get to room temperature while I busied myself prepping other food, tidying the house etc...

After a couple hours, I continued on with th recipe and baked as directed. Unfortunately just before they were due to be done, my guests arrived and I was so busy greeting etc... that I forgot to take them out on time. (Note: I am horrible about using a timer. I feel all ovens are different and usually just go by instinct and how the food looks.) Fortunately I think it was only about 6 minutes too long. I think this did dry the rolls out a bit but all in all... VERY TASTY! Everyone gobbled them up! There were only two left at the end of the brunch. I'd say it was a hit!

I will for sure make these again. But next time I will do everything but the baking and glaze the night before. I will also take them out a little early as I prefer pastries to be under-done as opposed to overdone. I might also brush the outside of each with butter and the cinnamon sugar as that is the driest portion and who are we kidding, these ARE VERY fattening and full of sugar and calories and carbs so you might as well just push it to the limit and go for full flavor in each nook and cranny!