good morning cinnamon rolls

Since he's probably eaten a bazillion cookies before hitting your house, leave one of these delicious treats for Santa. Your unexpected offering may secure your place on next year's nice list.

Yield: 16 cinnamon rolls
200 calories per roll
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 200 minutes

ingredients

the dough

2 teaspoons yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

3 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons vegetable oil (this equal to 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons)

1/4 cup sugar

1¼ teaspoons salt

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes

the filling

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons milk, to brush on dough

the glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons milk

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the yeast, lukewarm water, and a pinch of sugar. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Combine the remaining dough ingredients in your stand mixer bowl, pour in the yeast mixture, and “stir” until a shaggy dough forms.

3. Increase the stand mixer speed to 2 and knead until a smooth and shiny dough forms, about 5 minutes.

4. Shape the dough into a call, place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside double in bulk, about 2 hours.

5. Turn the dough out onto your lightly floured counter top and roll it into a large rectangle, about 16 by 12 inches.

6. Combine “the filling” ingredients in a small bowl.

7. Brush the dough with milk and evenly sprinkle over “the filling”.

8. Roll the dough into a log the long way, stretching to elongate the log and even it out.

9. Cut the roll into pieces, place them in a parchment lined or baking sprayed pan, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise until they’re noticeable puffy, about 2 hours. (You’ll want to make sure to leave plenty of space between the rolls, as they’ll spread out and crowd each other. I use large baking pans or two 9 inch pie pans to give the rolls ample room to rise.)

10. With about 30 minutes left in the final proof, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

11. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

12. While the rolls are baking, make the icing by combing all the glaze ingredients into a small bowl and stirring with a spoon until smooth.

13. Remove the rolls from the oven, turn  them out onto a wire rack, and pour over the icing.

Other modifications:

• Add nuts, chocolate chips, anything really, to the filling
• Planning to serve the rolls early in the morning and don’t want to rise at 4 am and run your stand mixer?

o   Instead of setting the rolls aside in step 9, place them in the fridge. Take them out about 3 hours before you want to bake them, allowing them to rise as outlined in step 9 before popping them in the oven

o   Freeze ‘em

Original recipe found here.

coconut chocolate chip chia bundt

The holidays are in full swing, which for many (myself included) means indulging in the delicious baked goods that we would normally politely pass on.  I mean hey, most of us join the gym on January 2 and while we may lose our resolve by January 28, you're sure to burn off the calories in this treat. And if you're not going to join the gym, Greek yogurt and chia seeds are two major ingredients that happen to be exceedingly healthy. :)

Yield: One bundt

295 calories per piece, if cut into 16 pieces

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

ingredients

2½ cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup chia seeds
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1. In your stand mixer bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and eggs.

2. Except for the chocolate chips and coconut flakes, combine the remaining ingredients in your stand mixer bowl, and stir until very well blended.

3. Pour half of the batter, which will be VERY THICK, into a parchment lined bundt pan. Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips and coconut flakes over the batter, and then pour over the remaining batter.

5. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

6. Turn the bundt out onto a wire rack to cool.

Original recipe found here.

carrot oatmeal chia muffins

I love bran muffins, but was super excited to try these this recipe that uses chia seeds (my new obsession) and Greek yogurt!

Yield: 12 muffins
130 calories per muffin
Active time 5 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

ingredients

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

4 large carrots, shredded

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chia seeds

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Line your muffin tin with liners

3. In your stand mixer bowl, add all the ingredients, stirring with the paddle attachment until well blended, about 3 minutes.

4. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill each well with batter. The batter is thick, so you may need to use a spoon to scoop the batter out and top it off.

5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 minutes.

Original recipe found here.

chile and cheddar sourdough english muffins

"Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man...?"

Yield: 12 muffins
200 calories per muffin
Active time: 60 minutes
Total time: Overnight proof required, about 27 hours

ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup lukewarm warm water

2 teaspoons yeast

1/2 cup sourdough starter, unfed

3½ cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

2 tablespoons vegetable

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon red cayene pepper

1 can (120 g) green chiles

1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese

semolina, for coating

preparation

1. Combine all of the ingredients, except the semolina, in your stand mixer bowl.

2. Knead, on a speed of 2, until a smooth, cohesive dough forms, about 5 minutes

3. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

4.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces.

5. Shape each piece into a round ball and place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet that’s been dusted with semolina.  Sprinkle each round with additional semolina.

6. Lightly flatten each round with the bottom of a glass, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rise until light and puffy, about 2 hours.

7. With about 15 minutes left in the final roof, preheat your griddle to 350 degrees.

8. Gently transfer about 6 rounds to the electric griddle and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes on each side, until a deep golden brown. (The edges may feel a bit soft.)

9. Remove the muffins from the griddle and let cool on a rack.

10. Repeat with the remaining muffins.

Original recipe found here.