Duchess of Forkcinnamon

Morning Fuel

Duchess of Fork — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:37:56 +0000

Is it Monday already? I hate how the weekends always fly by. Oh, well. The Duke and I took full advantage of our gorgeous Florida weather and had a wonderful weekend. We even hosted an impromptu dinner party Saturday night with some dear friends.

Have you heard of the website Eat Better America? I discovered it last summer and I just adore it. It’s got tons of great tips for living a healthy life and hundreds of wonderfully healthy (and more importantly, tasty) recipes. I subscribe to their E-newsletter, and last week a recipe for a breakfast cookie popped up in my inbox.

One of my friends had asked if I knew a recipe for a breakfast cookie a while back, so this was just perfect. It’s a very wholesome recipe, packed with honey, peanut butter, bananas, dried fruit and nuts. They’re quite moist and very filling…the perfect morning fuel!

I chose to stir in dried cranberries and pecans, but the cookie would be great with any dried fruit and nuts. I’m thinking of trying dried apricots and maybe even toasted coconut next time.

Cranberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Adapted from Eat Better America

Ingredients

2 medium bananas, mashed
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup non fat dry milk powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup toasted pecan pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat two baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine bananas, peanut butter, honey and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, milk powder, cinnamon and soda.
Combine wet and dry ingredients, and then fold in cranberries and pecans.
Using a ¼ cup measure, drop dough onto prepared sheets, about three inches apart. Use the back of a spatula to flatten dough mounds into 2 ¾ inch rounds.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until browned. Cool completely before serving.

Makes 12 cookies

I like eating these cookies straight out of the fridge with a dollop of honey Oikos on top. The creamy yogurt and hearty cookie really get me going for the day.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Only two weeks until Spring Break! Woohoo!!! The Duchess

Share and Save

Sunny Saturday

Duchess of Fork — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:22:36 +0000

Happy Saturday, friends! I’m on cloud nine because it’s FINALLY starting to feel like Spring around here. I could stand for it to be a bit warmer, but I’m certainly not complaining about the sun and the 60-degree temps we’re enjoying this weekend. I want to get out and about today to soak it all up! I think a little shopping will do the trick.

Last weekend, for the Duke’s birthday, I made cinnamon rolls-not from scratch, though. I love making breads from scratch, but I’m not about to get up before the crack of dawn to make a dough that has to rise for an hour or two before breakfast. No way, jose. So, what’s a girl to do? Use frozen bread dough, of course! You thaw the bread loaf, roll it out and fill with butter and cinnamon sugar, roll it up, and you can even let it thaw over night in the fridge. The results are pretty great, if I do say so, myself.

I’d say they look pretty much like the real thing. And they tasted just great. In fact, if I hadn’t told the entire blogosphere that I used frozen dough, you’d probably all think I made them myself. I’m just an honest person, though, and would never want to mislead you.

Cinnful Breakfast Rolls

Ingredients

1 loaf of frozen bread dough, brought to room temperature
1 stick butter, melted
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 ½ cups chopped pecans, divided

Instructions

The night before you want to serve rolls, roll out bread dough on a floured surface. Roll dough into a long rectangle, about a ¼ inch thick. Spread melted butter over dough, and then sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and 1 cup of pecans. Roll the dough up jellyroll style into a long tube. Slice the dough into ¾-inch thick rolls.
Spray a 9×13-baking pan with cooking spray, then sprinkle with remaining ½ cup pecans. Arrange rolls in pan about ½ inch apart. Lightly smash down dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
About an hour before breakfast, remove rolls from fridge and allow to come to room temperature (they may also rise a bit more at this point).
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Turn hot rolls out so that pecans are on top. ENJOY!

*For a quick glaze, combine 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar with 1 tbsp. milk, ½ tsp. vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon and salt. Drizzle over rolls.

Oh, yum. I would eat these everyday for breakfast if it didn’t mean I’d gain 300 lbs. There’s just something so perfect about a hot and sticky cinnamon pecan-y breakfast roll.

For a balanced breakfast, serve thick-cut bacon alongside rolls. It’s all about balance, folks.

With that, I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Get out there and enjoy this gorgeous weather.The Duchess

Share and Save

Mrs. Kringles Holiday Cookie Bakeoff

Duchess of Fork — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:01:20 +0000

Happy Monday! This weekend wasn’t all that great. My number 1 Florida Gators suffered a miserable loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. The Duke went to Alabama, so it hurts even more. The Tide will compete against Texas for the National Title in Pasadena in January. I half-heartedly say Roll Tide.

Onto more important business. I stumbled upon the Mrs. Kringles Cake ‘n Crumbs Holiday Cookie Bakeoff hosted by Brooke at Tongue-N-Cheeky and I knew I had to compete. Her blog is super cute and you must pay her a visit. The theme of the contest is Santa’s Favorite Cookies. I’d been dreaming up a peanut butter snickerdoodle type cookie for a while, so I knew this was the perfect time to debut it. While at the grocery store, I decided to make a creamy, dreamy white chocolate filling for the cookies…kinda whoopie pie-esque, if you will. I was really happy with the results! So now it’s time to submit my recipe, and I have a favor to ask. Please, please, please click here and leave a comment about my cookie on Tongue-N-Cheeky blog. The contest takes into account any comments that are made on my behalf, so run, don’t walk to her site! She’s also giving away lots of goodies for those of you that leave comments, so what do you have to lose?? Please and thank you!

Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Sandwiches with Snowy Centers

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 ½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup butter, softened
12 oz. white chocolate, melted and cooled
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
In a separate bowl combine flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon.
Roll cookie dough into one-inch balls, and then roll balls in cinnamon sugar.
Place balls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
While cookies cool, combine softened butter and melted white chocolate. Beat in powdered sugar until all ingredients are combined. Filling will be thick at this point, so add milk to thin.
Pipe filling onto 25 cookies, then top with remaining 25 cookies.

Makes 25 sandwich cookies

These cookies are just as delicious as they look! Please vote for me! I’ll love you forever. Promise.
The Duchess

Share and Save

Back to School Diet Buster

Duchess of Fork — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:00:29 +0000

Hey, hey, hey! Happy Sunday to you all. I’m currently watching “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Totally Fried” on the Food Network, and I would walk 12 miles in the snow for the tempura fried bacon they just featured. OMG. Oh, and now they’re frying brussel sprouts. Lord. Help. Me. And I wonder why I can’t get rid of the five pounds that have attached themselves to my hips over the last few months. You could fry a leather belt and I think I’d eat it. My favorite fried food (I’m going to pretend I’m on the show) are the fried pickles at Buffalo’s Reef in Ft. Walton Beach. These perfectly salty little spears of fried goodness are asbolutely sinful. And just to top it off, the pickles are served with a vat of homemade (AKA really fattening) Ranch dressing. YUM! I think I gained another 5 just thinking about all this fried food.

If all the talk of fried vegetables and pig fat wasn’t enough to wet your whistle, here’s a fabulous recipe that will get you back in the groove of the school year. I’ve been wanting to make something with apples and cinnamon for a while, and these sweet and gooey bars hit the spot! They’re not for the faint of heart, however, because they’re filled with butterscotch and sweetened condensed milk. Since they start with a pre-packaged cookie mix, they’re really easy, too.

Gooey Apple Cinnamon Blondies

Ingredients

1 pouch sugar cookie mix
½ cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups butterscotch chips
1 cup diced apple (Gala or Fuji would be great)
1 cup toasted walnuts
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Heat oven to 350. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine cookie mix, butter, egg and cinnamon until soft dough forms. Press into bottom of greased pan and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with butterscotch chips, apples and nuts. Drizzle with condensed milk. Return to oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove and cool completely. Cut into 36 bars.

I hope you enjoy these decadent gems as much as I did! Paired with a glass of milk, they make the perfect after school snack. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
The Duchess

Share and Save