Quick and Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Happy Saturday, everyone! Now that Fall is underway (maybe not in NY, where we've had some freakishly spring-like weather for the past few days), all I want to do is bake anything that feels warm and cozy. Rolling my sleeves up, making a mess of flour and spices, and putting something in a hot oven to make my house smell amazing is just about all I want to do. Now that I'm baking on a more regular basis, this is happening much more often, and it's pretty awesome. Of course, just as I start to get back on the baking and blogging grind, my posting and time spent in the kitchen are going to be a little thrown off once again, but at least it's for a good (and exciting!) reason: I'm moving on out! 

The timing is finally right for my long-time boyfriend (C.) and I to finally leave the nest and start a new adventure together. The apartment search went incredibly fast--we went from having no apartment to scheduling the lease signing in a matter of two days, and before we know it we'll be packing up the U-Haul and making the drive to Astoria. To say that we're incredibly excited would be the biggest understatement in the world; this move has been in the works since we graduated from college, and the fact that we're moving to a beautiful pre-war apartment in a prime location of a neighborhood as rich and diverse as Astoria has me completely giddy with excitement. 

Since we're furniture shopping and packing every spare second we have, the time I can actually spend in the kitchen over the next few weeks has to be spent as efficiently as possible, so get ready for a bunch of short, fuss-free (but still amazingly delicious) recipe posts!  All I want are comforting treats now that I'm leaving home and entering a crazy few weeks, and since it's time to bake all things warm and cozy, cinnamon rolls needed to come out of my oven (they're C.'s favorite and Fall=cinnamon roll season, in case you didn't know).  They need to be easy, quick cinnamon rolls though, because I definitely do not have time for sit and wait for yeast rolls to rise. As much as I love traditional, fluffy yeast rolls, right now I just need some immediate gratification. These cinnamon rolls, from Claire Ptak's gorgeous Violet Bakery Cookbook, are exactly the type of cinnamon roll I need. They're definitely different from yeast rolls--they're almost like biscuits--so if you're after a soft, pillowy roll then this might not be the recipe for you  (but this one may be up your alley!).  Warm from the oven, this quick cinnamon roll was comforting, delicious and better than I could have imagined, since I went from having no cinnamon rolls to having a dozen in just under an hour. 

Gluten-Free Honey Cornbread

Cornbread is one of those things that for some reason, I just always seem to forget about.  I have no real reason why, because I actually really love cornbread and corn muffins, and all things with corn, but they just doesn't cross my mind as often as they should. When I think of quick breads, I typically think of banana bread first, or even better, some kind of yogurt cake.  Over the weekend though, I was flipping through cookbooks deciding on what I wanted to bake (because planning ahead is overrated), and I decided to flip through my newest gluten-free bake book, Sweet Cravings, by Kyra Bussanich. I saw this gluten-free cornbread recipe and I thought to myself that it was just what I needed.  My mom also happens to love cornbread, so this was the perfect recipe to make, since she could enjoy it too!

This cornbread recipe is the first recipe I made from Sweet Cravings, but I knew that it would be a winner.  The book is written by the first gluten-free baker to win Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, so that says a lot.  I think that was really solidified my decision to go ahead and make this particular version of gluten-free cornbread was that I finally had some proof (a little, at least) that gluten-free baking really can be just as delicious as traditional baking.  I've made muffins and apple crisps, and my mom has been making Skinnytaste's banana bread every week, and all of these treats have been huge successes.  My opinions on the complexities of gluten-free baking are certainly changing, slowly but surely. 

Carrot-Cider Loaf Cake

My obsession with simple, everyday style cakes has been very well documented on this blog already, so I'll spare everyone the lengthy discussion.  I'll shorten it at least.  I LOVE simple cakes.  Loaf cakes, easy Bundt cakes, yogurt cakes, even plain layer cake scraps. Those are without a doubt my most favorite baked good to snack on. They're just simple and comforting, and there's nothing much better than getting to nibble on an everyday cake all day long.  Wait, you mean you have the self control to serve yourself a slice and be done?  

Anywho.  If you have more self control than me, that's pretty great, because I tend not to have any when it comes to everyday cakes.  Carrot cakes too.  I've been obsessed with finding good carrot cake recipes for as long as I can remember.  I find that most carrot cakes tend to be on the oily side, and it's just a very off-putting taste and texture. Whenever I find a carrot cake that doesn't happen to have an oily texture, I make sure to write the recipe down and keep it in a safe place, because it's really one of my favorite flavors.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chunk Scones

I usually try to have some kind of interesting story to write about in every blog post, and for the most part, I'm typically able to come up with something that I hope is worth reading.  And then, I'll try to somehow connect that interesting little story to whatever recipe it is that I'm posting.  Sometimes the two flow together seamlessly, like when I'm sharing a favorite family recipe.  It's like the words just come out and I breathe a sigh of relief when I hit publish.  Other times I'll finish writing my post in a stream of consciousness kind of situation, get to the end, and think to myself, "well...I guess that kind of makes sense?"  When that happens I usually hope that the pretty photos in the post make up for the iffy written content in the post.  And then, there are also times like these. Times when I just really wanted a scone, so I made them, and here they are.

I hadn't made scones in a really long time, and over the weekend, I just had this inexplicable craving for them.  I hardly ever eat scones (shame on me), but last weekend, I couldn't let my craving for them just pass by.  I needed to remedy the situation, and it needed to be done in a manner that was simple and effortless.  Scones are simple on their own, but for the mix-ins, the rule was the same as always.  I was not going to the supermarket, and I could only use things already in my pantry.  I've gotten into the (good) habit of always having a big bar of dark chocolate on hand, and I was excited to see that I still had a decent amount of mini cinnamon chips from sister (previously used in these snickerdoodle cheesecake muffins).  Cinnamon chocolate chunk scones were happening!

Buttermilk Biscuits with Salty Honey Butter

Here's an example of a recipe that started out with certain intentions and is being posted as something else.  I decided that my blog was lacking in the shortcake department, and I of course needed to fix that.  I have a Strawberry Shortcake in cake form, which happens to be one of my favorite cakes EVER, but I wanted to make some classic shortcakes.  I needed some buttery biscuit, whipped cream, and fruit action, so I set off to find a good biscuit recipe.  I found one, had them in the oven in about 20 minutes (they're so easy), and before I knew it, I had a tray of warm biscuits cooling on my kitchen counter.

I was about to start making the whipped cream for the shortcakes when temptation struck and I just had to have a biscuit while it was still warm from the oven. I mean, I figured it wouldn't hurt to make sure that these biscuits were shortcake-worthy, and I would only take one bite. Just one, so I did...and that's when it happened. The first bite of warm biscuit made me question why I was making strawberry shortcakes.  The second bite of warm biscuit made me think I was crazy.  At the third bite of warm biscuit, I knew that that I was crazy.  The fourth and final bite of warm biscuit made me change my mind about the urgency of posting a strawberry shortcake recipe. These buttermilk biscuits on their own were worthy of a post of their own, and that was a much more urgent matter.

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Crumb Muffins

November has always felt like the shortest month for me.  Time really just seems to fly once we hit November, and I can't explain why.  It's crazy to think that Thanksgiving is just two weeks away!  I always begin the month planning out an array of perfectly schemed Thanksgiving desserts, but somehow, every single year, without fail, the time just seems to disappear right before my eyes, and all of the sudden, we're just two weeks away from my favorite holiday.  Maybe this means I need to spend a little more time in the scheduling portion of my Thanksgiving scheming, rather than spending the overwhelming majority of it with my head buried in cookbooks and food magazines.  I just can't help myself, though.  I want to try so many recipes, that I am always getting a bit over my head and completely overestimate how much I can actually accomplish in the time that I have. Sadly, I've gotten used to this mild disappointment that seems to inevitably strike with the coming of every holiday season.  Sigh.  That's what I get for having so many foodie magazine subscriptions...

Today's recipe is not a Thanksgiving dessert recipe, despite the frustrations I just described about running out of time to try all the things I want to try.  While not a Thanksgiving dessert, these little cranberry chip muffins with a buttery crumb topping are something that I had put on my list of things to make a long time ago, so at least it's a sign that I was able to actually make one of the things that had caught my eye accomplished!  As for Thanksgiving desserts, don't worry.  Pies are coming.  Trust me.  I may even throw in some extra desserts. I've got the end of your Thanksgiving feast covered, so fear not!

Apple Cheddar Scones

Well, to say that I'm late on this post is a bit of an understatement.  I share a photo of these ridiculous apple cheddar scones on Sunday, and I don't publish the photos and recipe until FRIDAY?  Jeez, what is wrong with me. I'll be honest and say that this week I've been suffering from a bit of writer's block, some heavy congestion, and an extra heavy case of the sleepies, so just bear with me a bit if this post isn't quite up to my normal standards.  My writing may be falling a bit on the flat end today, but these scones sure are anything but flat (corny line #1).  It's true though.  These scones are perhaps my new favorite recipe, and while I'm a few days late in posting it, I'm just in time for you to add these amazing scones to your list of weekend baking endeavors.  Seriously, these scones are just begging to be made ASAP.

I remember that there used to be a time during which I didn't really know what a scone was.  I mean, I sort of knew what they were, and I knew that things called "scones" existed, but aside from that, I was clueless.  I wasn't sure if they were a type of bread or a biscuit, and it didn't help that scones often came in different shapes, so it was tough to assume which was a "real" scone.  Is a round scone less sconey than a trianglular, wedge shaped scone?  I'd like to think not.  But in any case, while I don't remember what kind of scone I had as my first "real"/"official" scone, I do know that since then, scones have easily become one of my most favorite treats to enjoy.  The fact that making scones from scratch is so simple only adds to their awesomeness.  If you've never made a batch of scones yourself, what are you waiting for?!  You've been missing out if you haven't attempted to make scones yet.  Trust me. 

Irish Soda Bread

There's a funny story behind this Irish soda bread recipe.  Actually, it's probably not funny at all...at least not any of you guys.  It's probably only silly to me. Basically, this is what happened.  Years ago, when my sister was in kindergarten or something like that, her class had a "heritage day" or something of sorts.  Every kid was supposed to bring in something that described their culture, and if possible, some type of food specific to their culture for everyone to try (and hopefully like!).  For this event, my parents took obleas (these are reallllyyyy thin big, round wafer-type cookies that are sandwiched with a thick layer of dulce de leche.  This is actually my favorite dessert EVER), and envueltos (I'd describe these as a type of corn cake, although they don't really have a cake-like texture at all, but they're delicious).  One of my sister's classmates brought in Irish soda bread as his culturally-relevant food, and my parents got to try it.  Ever since that day, they have not been able to stop raving about that Irish soda bread and just how amazing it is.  Eventually, a class cookbook was conceived, with each student bringing in a favorite family recipe to add to the cookbook.  The recipe for the ever-famous Irish soda bread was submitted, and my parents couldn't have been more thrilled.  They made the soda bread several times, and yes, that soda bread was pretty damn good. 

This recipe I'm sharing with you today is NOT that recipe from my sister's elementary school class. 

I like to share my baking plans for the blog with my parents and my sister, just to get some feedback and suggestions.  As soon as I mentioned that I wanted to make Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day, my parents were ALL over the idea.  They thought it was great!  The only condition was that I HAD to post the infamous Irish soda bread recipe from my sister's childhood cookbook. Knowing that the recipe was, in fact, quite delicious, I agreed, except that there was one tiny problem: the cookbook had mysteriously disappeared.  My parents were in denial that it was missing, and both of them claimed to have, "just seen it, right there on the kitchen counter!"  I was positive that we had lost the cookbook in the general shuffle of events that is life, but there was no convincing my parents that that had been the case.  Nope. My mother promptly stopped whatever she was doing at the moment, and took out literally EVERYTHING she saved from her children's elementary school years, and sat on the floor going through every last article of both me and my sister's childhood.  My dad did the same, only he looked in other random places, convinced that the cookbook was still in our possession.  Yup, this cookbook was just that important. Both turned up empty handed, so I decided to just use the powers of the Internet to find a new recipe, because, well there had to be other good versions of Irish soda bread in this world.  My parents, very reluctantly, accepted the fact that the cookbook no longer existed in our household, and that they would have to settle for a potentially inferior quality Irish soda bread.  I told them, in as nice a way as I possibly could, to get over it.  This new Irish soda bread would still be delicious!

And delicious it was, indeed...or at least I thought so.  

Two-Bite Cheddar Bacon Scones

I'm currently back at school. I've attended all my classes for the week, and have gone back to my internship. I've also been freezing my butt off while at school because for some reason, my dorm building has no heat and the weather in NYC is like 15 degrees F or something like that.  The 20-minute walk to work the other day was horrible.  Womp.  I'm happy to be back at school, don't get me wrong.  My classes this semester are really interesting (I'm taking a seminar/workshop called "Darkness and Architecture," how cool does that sound???), and my schedule works out so nicely (my earliest class when I don't have work is at 1!).  My last semester at Columbia seems like it's getting off to a great start, but still...womp.  Winter break was just so nice! 

Winter break was perfectly perfect (aside from getting sick every now and then).  I did nothing, nothing, nothing (aside from the occasional baking project, of course).  It was so nice to just take a break from a crazy end to a semester, along with the fact that it is probably the last time I'll ever have four consecutive weeks of vacation again.  Sigh.  I spent my winter break mostly watching movies.  That might sound like a normal, very ordinary thing for most people, but for me, it's something completely different.  I've always had a hard time getting into movies, or just watching them in general.  I'm too restless, and I guess my attention span is too short.  My boyfriend says I'm culturally deprived when it comes to movies, and he's totally right.  I've missed out on pretty much all the movies that have made it onto "the-most-important-movies-to-see-before-you-die" lists, so his goal for this break was to help bring me up to speed.  We watched one or two movies every night, and you know what...I somehow grew to actually like watching movies! It's like I'm a member of normal society or something!  Crazy how that happened.  

Skillet Cornbread

There's something about cornbread that's been baked in a cast iron skillet that just seems really legit to me.  I don't really know why, but it just does.  I guess I like how it looks.  I'm usually all into clean lines and uniform shapes, and being neat, but there's something about the cracked top of freshly baked cornbread in a cast iron skillet that is just so great.  I just love that kind of "rustic-ness".  Sometimes, it's all I'm really after.