Pecan Pie

I love to bake!  Baking is so fun for me, however, I'm used to baking cakes, cookies, brownies, and cupcakes with the occasional adventure outside that list like when I attempted to make a chocolate souffle (you won't find a post on that as it was a bit of a failure because it fell after taking it out of the oven).  This was, although, my first pie I've ever made from scratch.  And, thank heavens, it was not only edible, it was delicious!  Pretty quick and easy to make, it was definitely a great adventure outside the pastries I'm used to making.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar (if you prefer a slightly sweeter pecan pie, then add ½ instead)
• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter.  Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla and nuts.
3. Pour into an unbaked 9-in pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done. 

As always, I try to let you know where I get my recipe from so if you want to see the original page, click here, although the recipe above is the same as at the link.  I can't wait to make this again!  But, I still have one slice left... I think I'll go finish that one off!  Til next time!

Cinnamon Roll Ups

So I discovered this recipe quite a while back, and while it feels like it takes forever to do, it really is a quick and easy breakfast, brunch, or snack time meal.  They're an absolutely delicious, crispy, and sweet treat to eat.  I made these for my mom and I and we couldn't even finish the 6 I made they were so filling.  And best of all, you can make them when you don't have much in your kitchen because it needs only a whole 3 ingredients (4 if you want to count the cinnamon sugar as two separate things because you have to put it together).
I don't have pictures yet, but I'll post them the next time I make them.

Ingredients:

• 12 slices of very soft, fresh white bread
• 1/4 cup (half a stick) melted butter
• Cinnamon sugar (1/2 C sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the crust from a slice of bread and roll until very thin.  My favorite thing to use to cut the crust is the pastry cutter to the right.  I can easily stick 3 or 4 pieces of bread on top of each other and press down and get all the crust on that side at once, but if you don't have one of these, a smooth blade knife will work too.
3. Spread both sides of the bread with melted butter
4. Sprinkle (or as I prefer, smother) both sides with the cinnamon sugar, making sure to cover it well.
5. Fold each side into the middle then gently roll up and place in a buttered muffin tin.  You can use either a regular muffin tin or a mini muffin tin.  (Alternatively, you can fold the bread into a triangle, and fold into another smaller triangle and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet.)
6. Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon sugar, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are just starting to turn golden brown and a little crisp.  Remove muffin tin to cool slightly before serving.

These will freeze really well.  To reheat, place briefly in a microwave to thaw and then bake in a low oven (250 or 300 degrees) until warm and slightly crisp.  Alternatively, you can reheat them in foil in the oven.

I'm going to post this link, but I'm not sure if it'll work since the original recipe was taken down for some reason, but in case it does work, you can find the original recipe here.