Croissants

Over the holiday break, I tackled my Mount Everest: homemade croissants. I can say with full confidence that there is no recipe that has ever intimidated as much or that I’ve wanted to try more than a batch of fresh from the oven croissants. The amount of time and precision they demand, the careful laminating process, and that insane butter block you have to create…those were just the reasons at the top of my list for always pushing them aside—"I’ll try them eventually,” I always said. Well, that moment came over the holidays when I found myself alone in my apartment, ready for some kind of project or week-long task to entertain myself with. I was debating whether to settle down on the couch with a new book or new TV show (which I’m now trying to figure out how to incorporate in my regular, real-world schedule), when the idea of climbing and conquering Mt. Everest came to me. It was the perfect opportunity—I was in my own kitchen and didn’t have to contend with anyone telling me that preparing a whole batch of croissants was a delicious, yet frivolous decision; I had all the time in the world; and I was bored out of my mind. And so, I set about planning my croissant adventure. 

A few weeks prior, I received an email from Sur La Table about signing up for their two-hour croissant workshop. I actually considered signing up for one of the classes over my break, thinking it would be a good use of my time. Of course, I ended up not signing up (it must have been a combination of my forgetfulness and lack of desire to actually spend $80 on a two-hour workshop). So it was a little funny that I was fully immersing myself in baking up a batch of croissants at home, as if I had any idea what I was doing, instead of a class. I mean, I had read about the process many, many times before, so I knew exactly what I was supposed to do—create a giant block of butter, encase it in a fluffy yeasted dough, pound it out to an even layer, fold it up like a letter, and repeat two more times. I felt like I was ready. I read Thomas Keller's recipe over and over the night before I was going to start, but when it was game time, I found myself so nervous about getting every little step just right. I referred back to the recipe dozens of times, even though I knew what to do. 

Chocolate Babka

For the past few years, my sister has taken it upon herself to request an unconventional birthday treat.  A regular birthday cake is never good enough for her. She's requested homemade Chocolate-Glazed Yeast Doughnuts, a sky high New York Style Cheesecake, and last year, she wanted an entire week dedicated to breakfast treats.  This year, however, I beat my sister to the punch.  I thought "birthday babka" had a nice ring to it, and she immediately agreed.  I'd been wanting to make a babka for years, but I was never brave enough to go through with it. The yeast, and the folding, and the swirls! It all seemed like too much.  I had already opened my mouth though, and she was set on her birthday babka, with lots of chocolate swirls. There was no turning back now.  

I went straight to Smitten Kitchen, because I knew Deb had simplified Yotam Ottolenghi's chocolate krantz cake recipe into one that was foolproof. If I've learned anything from working closely with Clarkson Potter over the past few months, it's that Ottolenghi is a brilliant, brilliant man. I figured that if Deb had worked her magic on an Ottolenghi recipe to improve it, the final result had to be spectacular.  Her recipe seemed completely doable, and as I was reading it through, I wondered why I hadn't ever given myself chance to actually make a babka.  It didn't seem that hard. 

Brioche

If I had the chance to bottle up a scent and keep it in my pocket to smell whenever I need a little mood boost, I would hands down pick the smell of freshly baked bread.  There would be no hesitation or thinking twice, or internal contemplation; there is nothing better than the smell of a beautiful loaf of bread that’s just been taken out of the oven.  The only thing that can possibly come even close to that is the smell of bread as it bakes, but it’s not close enough.  I just love opening a hot oven and getting an enormous whiff of that delicious smell all at once.  Eating this freshly baked bread while it’s still warm with a slather of butter would have to be my favorite taste.  As much as I love cake and cookies, there is no comparison to freshly baked bread.  In a nutshell, I’m pretty much obsessed. 

What I’ve never been obsessed with, however, is actually making bread myself.  The main reason for this, I think, is that there’s no room for spontaneity with bread making.  You can’t really just decide to make a loaf a bread right now the way you can with a batch of cookies or a simple cake.  Breads take time and careful planning, and sticking to the correct proofing/rising schedule is essential in ensuring that a bread comes out the way it’s supposed to.  Rushing through any of the steps could lead to a bread that’s less than it should be, and it’s one of my biggest problems.  I’m not the best at planning things to bake in advance, as I typically like to let whatever is in my kitchen and whatever I’m craving at the moment guide me in making my decisions.  I hope to change this this year and really learn more about bread.

Apple Walnut Raisin Cinnamon Rolls

Today's Breakfast Week recipe is an extra special one.  As if Apple Walnut Raisin Cinnamon Rolls don't sound good enough on their own (and they definitely are, believe me), today also happens to be my little sister's birthday!  Breakfast Week, like I mentioned on Monday, was a sort of collaborative venture between the two of us, and the reason for that is simple.  My sister is literally obsessed with breakfast and brunch foods.  Brunch is her favorite meal of the day, and if it were possible to have brunch during the week instead of just during the weekends, I'm sure she would go for that without hesitation.  I'm pretty sure I would do the same, and honestly, who wouldn't?  What's not to love about brunch and special weekend breakfasts?  They help break away from the monotony of the work week and our normal hectic schedules.  I love nothing more than whipping up a stack of huge fluffy pancakes on a Saturday morning, and not just because I love pancakes, but because I can actually sit down and enjoy them, rather than scarfing down some eggs and juice in five minutes like I normally do during the week.  So, in honor of my sister's birthday, this week has been an extended celebration of breakfast and brunch and easy, carefree weekends.

While I love more elaborate weekend breakfasts, I typically gravitate towards easy things to prepare like pancakes and waffles, because they're usually pretty quick to assemble and don't require much planning.  Every now and then though, I crave something more.  Lately, I've found myself craving homemade cinnamon rolls, something I haven't made in way too long.  I'm pretty sure this craving came about simply from waiting for my train in Penn Station every night after work.  I usually get to Penn about ten minutes or so before my train is scheduled to depart, which means that I need to stand in the station in front of a giant switchboard until the platform for my train is announced.  The giant switchboard is conveniently located in front of a Cinnabon, so I can't help but get enormous whiffs of cinnamon roll deliciousness as I wait for the platform to be announced.  It's true, there are other switchboards I could wait by, but those are also conveniently located by other Cinnabons or Auntie Anne's pretzel shops, so it seems that escaping the cinnamon sugar aroma is completely impossible, a coincidence that I'm sure was planned on purpose.

English Muffins

It's day two of Breakfast Week, and today we have English muffins on the blog!  English muffins are a breakfast item that I definitely ate as a kid (my mom loved them), and then all of the sudden, for reasons that I don't still don't quite understand, I stopped liking.  Out of nowhere.  I went from an English muffin person to a non-English muffin person overnight.  The thought of English muffins just seemed to bore me, and I never really wanted to eat them.  This weird phase of mine actually lasted a few years, until one random day in college.  I was in the dining hall figuring out what I wanted to eat for breakfast, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a package of English muffins sitting there on the counter next to a toaster.  My body kind of went on autopilot, and before I even realized it, I had a toasted English muffin on my plate.  I wasn't about to put the toasted English muffin back (because that would have been awkward) and I wasn't about to throw it out (because I hate throwing food away for no reason), so I was left with no choice but to eat the toasted English muffin.  I put a little butter and strawberry jam on it, and all of the sudden, my mind had been changed.  These little things were actually so good...what had I been thinking all those years!? 

Once I re-discovered just how great English muffins were, they became a regular item in my breakfast rotation while at school.  I just loved the way those nooks and crannies captured every bit of butter and jam!  I remember when I was younger I never understand just what a "nook and cranny" was.  I sort of knew that they meant some kind of place, like a hiding or holding place, but it just didn't make sense in terms of an English muffin.  I kept thinking of big hiding places to hide stuff in, like big stuff, so I was completely clueless as to what all the fuss about nooks and crannies was anyway.  As an older and wiser individual, I started understanding.  Those nooks and crannies are what hold all that butter and jam and bring it into the English muffin!  

Stuffed Soft Pretzel Bites

I don't know how long I've been waiting to make and share these soft pretzel bites with you, but I can assure you that it's been a while.  A really, really long while.  I first had this idea, oh I don't know, maybe way back in the day when I first made these amazing soft pretzels.  That was only like 2 and a half years ago or so.  I knew the idea for pretzel bites was a good one, I just needed time to actually sit (or stand, I guess) and make them.  I always wanted to make them around this time of year, and since the idea first popped into my head, two Super Bowl Sunday's have come and gone, and no pretzel bites were ever made.  This year, I decided, would be a year of change.  I was going to make sure I made these pretzel bites no matter what!  I took some time on Sunday to mix up a big batch of soft pretzel bites, and I can say that I have no regrets.  These pretzel bites were some seriously amazing snacking material that need to make an appearance at any and all Super Bowl/football/sports/midnight snack parties from now on. 

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to make stuffed pretzel bites, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to actually stuff them with.  I knew it had to be something easy that I already had inside my kitchen (as is the case for most of my baking predicaments).  The first thing I thought of was a jalapeño cream cheese.  I love anything with hot jalapeños, so a homemade cream cheese spread studded with spicy peppers and sharp cheddar seemed to be a perfect solution.  I also wanted to create a sweet version of these pretzel bites, to resemble my favorite mall soft pretzels.  Deciding what to fill the sweet pretzel bites with was easy, since I still had some Hershey's chocolate spread left after working doing some work with them.  I used the hazelnut flavor, and I'm so happy I chose to use chocolate in half of these pretzel bites.  The combination of the rich chocolate spread and the coarse salt on top of the pretzel bites was just too good for words.  It was the perfect sweet and salty snack!

Parker House Rolls

Can you believe we're just over a week from one of my absolute favorite holidays ever ever ever?  Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and I'm not exactly sure where the time has gone.  It seems like I barely just graduated from college and moved back home, even though that happened nearly SIX months ago!  No idea how that happened so quickly, but it did, and here we are again, on the verge of Thanksgiving and winter and Christmas and New Years.  This time-moving-at-warp-speed thing always seems to get the best of me, no matter how much mental preparation I attempt to exercise or how many really organized lists I try to create for myself of things that need to get done for this time of year.  I have thought of exactly ZERO holiday gifts, zero gift packaging ideas, my Christmas decorating scheme is still nonexistent, my holiday baking schedule is, at best, a loose jumble of ideas,  and I'm not sure when I will actually ever be able to get anything done on time. Because, you see, I spent an abnormal amount of time this past weekend baking  pies.  I must have completely lost track of time over the past three days, because before I knew it, time had managed to get the best of me, and it was three in the afternoon and the point in time where it was just a tad bit too dark to take nice photos of my beautiful pies, so photos and baking had to resume the following day.  At least it's a good thing that pies work best when the dough has been properly chilled, so I had that going in my favor (but more on that particular topic soon!).

Aside from my weekend pie extravaganza, I also managed to prepare an equally important component of Thanksgiving, or any meal really: the rolls.  What kind of Thanksgiving dinner is missing a batch of really delicious and rich, buttery dinner rolls?  No Thanksgiving dinner that I would want to be a part of, that's for sure.  Fluffy Parker House style rolls are the perfect complement to any Thanksgiving feast.  They're great for soaking up bits of gravy, slathering with a bit of salted butter, or for sneaking as soon as they come out of the oven.  Have you ever had a buttery roll straight from the oven?  It's like a warm pillow of soft delicious buttery goodness, and if you haven't had the chance to experience this, then you, my friends, are seriously missing out.  I decided to photograph these particular rolls as soon as I took them out of the oven, in an attempt to be finished with the photography sooner so that I could eat my roll while it was still warm. 

Hot Cross Buns

It's officially spring, Easter is less than a week away, and the current weather forecast for New York states that today, Monday, we will be experiencing more wintery mix.  What. Is. Going. On. Seriously.  I had to wear my puffy winter jacket and scarf all weekend, and like most other New Yorkers', I'm so over this cold weather! There are signs of the promise of "real" spring though.  I was in midtown this weekend, and the planters that lined the sidewalk outside of Macy's actually had green things growing in them.  Yes.  GREEN THINGS WERE GROWING. I have no idea what was actually growing in the planters, but there were little green plants sprouting out of the soil all around the little evergreen trees (or bushes maybe?  I have no idea what they were). 

Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  Easter egg hunts were probably one of my favorite things about the holiday when I was little, and Easter candy is just the best thing ever, and I know that in the coming days I'm going to be getting at least three bags of Easter candy (hopefully, I won't consume all the candy by myself...). Aside from Easter candy, I can't really say that I love "Easter food."  I mean, sure it's delicious and all, and I love getting to have lighter, more "spring-like" dishes, but I just don't think any of the things I tend to eat for Easter dinner really stand out.  I always associated only Easter candy as the best Easter food, but that was only because I had never actually had a hot cross bun.  But, now that I have, and because I'm now older and wiser, I am switching things up, and hot cross buns are officially my new favorite thing about Easter.  Why did it take me nearly 22 years to try a hot cross bun?  I seriously wonder what's wrong with me at times.  

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I never learned to eat white bread when I was growing up.  My mom only bought whole wheat breads for our lunchbox sandwiches when my sister and I were in school, and I grew to just love the flavor of whole wheat. As a matter of fact, the only time I remember having regular sliced white bread was at my aunt's house in Colombia.  She always bought Bimbo brand bread, and while I loved it, I wasn't sure what I loved more, the white bread or the the cute little white bear on the packaging!  Regardless, to this day, whole wheat and multigrain breads are my breads of choice, whether it's for making a sandwich or to enjoy for breakfast with a little salted butter and fruit preserves.  Hearty whole grain breads are so satisfying and filling, not to mention delicious!

I'm still kind of new at baking with yeast.  There's a couple things that I'm pretty comfortable with making, like pretzels and cinnamon rolls, but I've always found baking bread to be a little more challenging for some reason. I can't exactly explain why, but bread is something that intimidates me just a bit.  This year, I definitely want to challenge myself some more, and really learn to work with yeast and explore bread making further.  I think it'll be fun, and bread is the one thing I know I can make in abundance that won't go to waste in my house.  I usually have to think twice before I decide to make a batch of cupcakes or cookies, because I need to figure out if I can actually distribute them to people so that they all get eaten and won't go to waste, but I don't think that I will ever have that problem with bread.  My dad is a fiend for bread, and loves trying all new kinds of breads. He would happily eat bread and coffee or hot chocolate for every meal, so at least I can know that if I decide to experiment with baking bread, it'll definitely be appreciated and eaten!

Challah Bread

I've been baking my entire life, and if there's one thing I've come to learn, is that my dad is NOT a sweets person.  Yes I've said it before, but his dislike of sweets and other baked goods really comes out during the summer months especially.  Every single time I say that I want to try out a new recipe for a fruit cobbler or pie he just shakes his head and always says the same thing.

"I don't like desserts with fruit.  Why does everything you make right now have to have cooked fruit in it?"

I tell him that I can't help it, it's just a summer thing. I mean, I gotta take advantage of all the fresh peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and other fruits that are in season when I can.  When I made my Summer Strawberry Buttermilk Cake, my mom and I LOVED it, but my dad just thought it was "alright, if you like that kinda dessert" (referring to the cooked strawberry bits).  Sigh.  Some people just can't appreciate a good fruit dessert I guess.

Birthday Chocolate Glazed-Doughnuts

It's my little sister's birthday today!  Actually I lie.  She's turning 17, so she's not really little anymore I guess.  She's currently working with Habitat for Humanity somewhere in Tennessee, taking a well-deserved break from midterm exams, SAT prep classes, ACT prep classes, potential college list-making, etc...I definitely DON'T miss that part of my junior year of high school!  For her birthday this year, she requested nothing more than a batch of yeast doughnuts covered in chocolate glaze and rainbow sprinkles...I obviously had to oblige, because after all, let's just be honest with ourselves.  Chocolate glazed-doughnuts with rainbow sprinkles are just a tad irresistible.

I always like to make something special for my sister's birthday.  It usually ends up being a cake; last year, I made her this really adorable 3-layer yellow cake with chocolate buttercream, and I decorated the top with three chocolate butterflies.  So cute!  This year, she went with a more non-traditional approach.  I was honestly kind of bummed out about it initially, because I had been hoping/wishing/praying/crossing my fingers and toes that she would somehow magically say she wanted an ombre cake, only because I've been dying to make one for the longest time now, but alas, she did not (HINT HINT for next year...).  But then I got over it and myself, and I realized that doughnuts could just as easily be a really lovely birthday treat. 

Belgian Waffles

I take waffles very seriously.  I'm not kidding here.  I ate waffles of the frozen variety every single weekday morning for breakfast before going to school for the entire duration of my pre-college school years, aka, 12 years.  Or something like that.  I don't exactly remember when the whole frozen-waffle-for-breakfast-craze actually started, but I do remember finishing off high school with it.  Waffles and I go wayyy back.

It's a no-brainer that I love waffles, given that they were my breakfast item of choice for so long.  I had this rule when eating waffles.  I refused to eat the waffle until every square had a little bit of whatever topping I was using.  It didn't matter if it was maple syrup, a fruit compote, or a fruit jam, every single square had to have the topping before I could even consider eating it.  I don't know why really.  It was just a thing of mine.  The only exception I made to that rule centered around frozen banana waffles.  Those I liked to eat plain for some reason...again, I don't really know why, I just did.  

No-Knead Bread

Look at this bread...doesn't it look awesome? Like...its even a cracked top and flour covering the crust, so it looks super rustic and artisan-y...I'm clearly super skilled.

No, not really.  This bread is actually much more impressive in its appearance and taste than the amount of skill that is required to make it.  Seriously.  This bread is SO easy.  It takes no kneading at all!  That's the part that usually gets to me when it comes to making bread.  I never know if I've kneaded it enough or not, or if I should have not been lazy and kneaded it myself rather than have my stand mixer do it for me, and then I get all nervous and end up having to cross my fingers hoping that the bread will come out alright.  Fortunately, this recipe pretty much guarantees a successful bread every time you make it, because it's just so simple!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are pretty irresistible treats.  I mean.  Who hasn't been casually walking in a mall, or bakery, or wherever really, when you suddenly have to stop whatever it is that you're doing, so that you can sigh and breathe in that wonderful cinnamon-y smell coming from freshly baked cinnamon rolls.  Ok, maybe I'm the only one that has to stop whatever it is that I'm doing for a moment.  I'm ok with that though.  I know I have somewhat uncanny behavioral habits on occasion.  Only a couple though, promise.  

Anyway.  Let's not get sidetracked here.  Focus on the cinnamon rolls, because that's super important.  Especially when they have pumpkin in them.  That just means they're even more important.  

Soft Pretzels

Soft pretzels are without a doubt one of my favorite snacks.  It's hard to walk around in the mall and not get tempted to enjoy one!  Even walking around the streets of New York City, it's hard not to stop at any of the many food carts selling hot dogs and soft hot pretzels (I loveeeee these food carts, btw).  My parents would only let me and my sister have soft pretzels on occasion, and whenever we went to see all the Christmas window displays in New York City, we'd always get hot soft pretzels and bags of roasted peanuts.  I still do this every year.