Move over cinnamon rolls!  There’s a fabulous, new breakfast treat in my kitchen!!!

Meet…….these adorable cinnamon bun pie pockets.  :)  The name pretty much describes them.  All of the cinnamon-sugar-and-cream-cheese goodness of cinnamon rolls, tucked in between some delicious (pre-made!) pie crusts, and then drizzled with a little extra glaze…DE-LISH!

Even better, they’re 100% easy and fun to make, and would be a perfect project for kids to help out with on a Saturday morning!  Check out my tip below for some yummy (fruity!) twists on the recipe as well.

Really, run out and buy the ingredients today.  I know you’ll love them!  :)

Cinnamon Bun Pie Pockets
(Adapted from Picky Palate)

Ingredients:

• 2 refrigerated 9-inch pie crusts
• 1 brick (8 oz.) softened cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (1/2 for filling, 1/2 for topping)
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp. milk or heavy cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Unroll both pie crusts and place onto a lightly floured surface.  Using a 3″ round cookie cutter, cut rounds out of crust until all crust is used.  You should get approximately 12 rounds per pie crust, re-rolling scraps one time if needed.

In a mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, brown sugar and (1/2 tsp.) cinnamon until well combined.  Place half (12) of the rounds onto a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet.  Using a small cookie scoop, scoop a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese mixture onto the centers of the 12 crusts.  Lightly brush water around outer edges of the filled dough then place remaining rounds on top of filled rounds.  Gently press edges to seal.

Place sugar and (1/2 tsp.) cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine.  Brush tops of pies with melted butter then sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tops of pies are golden brown.  Once pies are cooled, whisk powdered sugar and cream until mixed well and a desired drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over tops of pies.  Serve warm.

Ali’s Tip:

A fun variation on this would be to mix some diced/mashed fruit into the cream cheese mixture, such as:

• bananas
• apples
• apricots
• blueberries
• blackberries
• peaches

Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man?  Actually, I do!  His name is Steve.  :)

He happens to be my good friend, a brilliant physical therapy professor, and the baker of his famous “medley” muffins.

It’s true.  Every now and then, Steve posts on Facebook that he’s making another enormous batch, and inevitably he gets tons of requests (including from Yours Truly) to please save people a few!  And of course, this is why Steve is famous for his muffins — because he will!

The first time I had a delicious bite, I remember immediately asking what he’d put in them.  And I was surprised when he listed off bananas, pumpkin, and oatmeal.  And then I was even more surprised when the list went on with wheat flour, cranberries, almonds — oh my!!!

It’s definitely the r-a-r-e occasion that I ever make a recipe with more than ten ingredients.  But this week, the muffin craving hit.  And when I surveyed my pantry, realized that I surprisingly had all of the ingredients on hand.  So I pulled a “Steve” and made a massive double batch, and oh my word – heaven.  Healthy, hearty, delicious…heaven.  :)

Trust me, they’re worth it.  And in honor of Steve, please share.  Your friends will love you.

“Medley” Muffins Recipe
(From my friend, Steve)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup wheat germ or flax seed (optional)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 can pumpkin
• 1/3 cup milk (can use soy milk)
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 egg
• 1 cup oatmeal (quick or old-fashioined)
• 1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/2 cup almonds or walnuts (I used a mixture of whole and sliced almonds)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare 18-22 muffin tins with paper cups, or lightly grease.

In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking soda, and wheat germ (or flax).  Set aside.

In mixing bowl, mix together the next eight ingredients (butter through egg) until combined. Then slowly add in the flour mixture until combined.  Then stir in oatmeal, cranberries and almonds.

Pour the mixture into the baking cups, so that each is about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool for a few minutes, and serve.  These also freeze well.

Ali’s Tip:

If you want to be extra-healthy and include an extra 1/4 cup of wheat germ (or flax), feel free to just leave out 1/4 cup of the wheat flour.

To kick of a morning of meetings on Mardi Gras, I decided to bake up these delicious sticky buns for my coworkers!  YUM!

I have actually had a lovely surplus of puff pastry sitting in my freezer this month, after stocking up from a $0.99 sale at Aldi (wahoo!).  So was excited to put a box to use — especially on a Barefoot Contessa recipe!  I’m telling you — the woman is brilliant.  Still have yet to find a recipe of hers that I don’t immediately fall in love with.

Sure enough, they were a-ma-zing.  Thanks to the wonder of puff pastry, the total time from the pastry start to that ooey gooey finish was just 40 minutes.  Love it!  But the best part, of course, was that classic cinnamon, butter, pecan, (and now) soft, flaky puff pastry goodness.  Absolutely irresistible.  :)

Definitely a perfect (and appropriately extra-buttery) way to celebrate Mardi Gras!  But I’m pretty sure these will be gracing my kitchen many more times this year.  Thank you…..Ina!

Easy Sticky Buns Recipe
(Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa – Back To Basics)

Ingredients:

• 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped in very large pieces
• 1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (to catch any butter that may ooze over!).

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful – they’re hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Ali’s Tip:

Don’t worry at all if your little unbaked rolls are lopsided, or if the pastry is at all cracked in places.  Once they bake, any “imperfections” will turn into delicious perfection. :)

Once upon a time, there were two friends who moved in together as roommates just after college.  One was continuing on with a master’s degree in therapy.  One was beginning a new job at a church (the size of a small town) leading a vocal ministry.

Exciting times.  Fun times.  But often, overwhelming, frustrating, and stressssssful times.

So when the going got rough, or when it was time for a celebration (or…just when the craving hit :-)), these two friends hopped in the car and drove across town to “The Lobster” for the best of all indulgences…

Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

If you have ever tried these heavenly little delights, you understand why they always brought a smile to the two friends’ faces.  And why they always asked for seconds.  And why they were worth every calorie.  :)

So even though these two friends now live hours apart, the memories of great times at “The Lobster” forever live on.  And thankfully, the recipe for the biscuits do as well.

The end.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
(Adapted from Joyful Abode)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buttermilk biscuit mix (such as Bisquick or Jiffy)
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together biscuit mix, cheese and garlic powder.  Add in milk, and stir until well mixed.  (Heads up – the dough will get very sticky!)

With a spoon or with your fingers, shape the dough into biscuit-sized clumps, and drop onto the baking sheet.  (Note that the dough will pretty much hold its shape when baked, so feel free to pat down random peaks in the dough if you’d like them to look more uniform!)

Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until biscuits begin to brown slightly around the edges.

While the biscuits bake, prepare the warm butter mixture by mixing together the melted butter, oregano and garlic salt in a small bowl.  As soon as the biscuits are removed from the oven, brush the biscuits (while they are still on the baking sheet) with the mixture until they are well-coated.

Serve warm.

(*This recipe usually makes about 15 biscuits for me.*)

Ali’s Tip:

If you’d like to actually see more of the grated cheddar in the finished biscuits, opt for the more thickly grated cheddar (rather than the super-fine stuff!).  Both of course taste exactly the same, but I love seeing the little whisps of cheddar when enjoying these guys.  :)

A few winters ago, I had a craving for Panera’s chicken noodle soup.  I remember the day — it had just practically blizzarded (is that a word?) in KC, everyone was home from work and school, and my car was frozen shut with a few inches of snow and ice.  It clearly was not going to be my day to drive over to Panera…

However, realized that I actually had all of the ingredients for the classic soup at home.  But somehow, those flimsy, thin little egg noodles in the pantry just didn’t seem like they would cut it.  So I took advantage of the extra time indoors and tried my first batch of homemade noodles.  For some reason, the idea had always totally intimidated me.  (Visions of professional pasta chefs in Italy seemed to dance through my head…)

But I gave them a try, and L-O-V-E-D them!!!  Holy cow!  Not only does the recipe call for five common ingredients, and take less than 5 minutes to pull together — they were totally fun to make!  You can of course roll them out and cut them however thick/thin you’d like, but for soup I love going Panera-style — nice and thick.  :)

So get out your flour, salt, eggs, milk and butter (I told you common ingredients), grab your pizza slicer, and have oodles of fun with these noodles!  (Plus, this recipe makes a double batch — so feel free to use half and freeze half for the next soup or noodles day!)

Homemade Egg Noodles Recipe
(Adapted from AllRecipes)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 Tbsp. butter, softened
• Optional: 1-2 tsp. Italian seasonings

Method:

With mixer: Mix eggs, milk and butter together on low speed until combined.  Then add in salt and flour.  Mix on medium speed until combined.

By hand: In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the beaten egg, milk, and butter. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Let rest in a covered bowl for 10 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8″ or 1/4″ thickness. Cut into desired lengths and shapes with a pizza slicer (or a knife). Allow to air dry (ideally at least an hour) before cooking.

To cook fresh pasta, in a large pot with boiling salted water cook until al dente.

Ali’s Tip:

Remember that fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta!  So keep a close eye on these guys as they cook.  They’ll be al dente before you know it!  :)

To kick off the Christmas baking season on the blog, allow me to introduce you to….my favorite biscotti.  EVER.

That’s right – no exaggeration here.  :D  In my opinion, and in the enthusiastic reactions of friends and family, this stuff is truly in a league of its own!

First of all, who can go wrong with the cherries+almonds+white+chocolate combo??  The flavors and textures perfectly complement one another, and are enhanced even moreso by the delicious almond extract mixed into the dough.  Yum.

Secondly, since I seem to be on a kick this week with recipes that are often made with unnecessary fats, I’m happy to point out that this recipe only calls for 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Once more, it just amazes me how many people throw 1 or 2 sticks of butter into biscotti recipes!  Completely unnecessary, and these still taste great.  (Of course, I completely negate this by drizzling white chocolate all over them, but I’ll vote for extra chocolate calories any day over butter!  ;))

And finally, the texture is exactly what I love in biscotti.  It seems that so much of the biscotti I’ve tried over the years is either rock hard, or super-soft and chewy like scones.  This recipe thankfully strikes the perfect balance — crunchy and crisp on the outsides, but still soft and slightly chewy on the inside.  Perfect for enjoying on its own, or dipping in some coffee or hot cocoa.

So if you’re looking for some fun baked goods to give as gifts to friends and family this year, or if you’re just looking to cozy up with some deliciousness, I cannot recommend this recipe enough!  Oh.  So.  Good.  :)

Cherry, Almond & White Chocolate Biscotti
(Adapted from MyRecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup dried berries (cherries or cranberries)
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds
• white chocolate baking squares or chips (optional)

Method:

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.  Set aside.

Mix eggs, oil, and extracts in a bowl with an electric mixer.  Then add in dry ingredients and mix together until combined.  Then add in berries, chocolate and almonds – and either mix by hand with a wooden spoon, or very briefly with the electric mixer.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface.  Knead lightly a few times to be sure that berries, chocolate and almonds are well-distributed.  (Dough will be sticky, so you may need to lightly re-flouring your surface once or twice.)  Divide dough in half.

Shape each half into long logs, and flatten to 1″ thickness.  Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Remove rolls from baking sheet and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Then cut each roll diagonally into 1/2″ slices.

Place the slices cut-sides down on a baking sheet.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove, and turn each slice over, and bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove and cool on wire racks.

To add white chocolate, simply melt your desired amount in a double boiler or (carefully!) in the microwave.  Use a fork to drizzle it over the biscotti slices.  Or you can dip each slice in a bowl of the melted white chocolate.

Ali’s Tip:

I often use this recipe as a base for making many other different flavors of biscotti.  So feel free to experiment around with it — subbing out the cherries, white chocolate, and almonds for whatever deliciousness you have on hand!

Every time we throw a party, it seems that leftover beer is always left as a little thank-you gift in our kitchen.  Which would be a delightful little surprise — except that (as I’ve mentioned before), my roomie and I are not beer-drinkers.  I’ve just never gotten into the taste+carbonation, and she’s an uber-serious runner and pretty much always sticks to water.  So day after day this month, we’ve walked by this nice little 6-pack from a favorite local brewery, wondering what will become of it.

And then one day, we were both in the kitchen talking about what we were planning to cook the next day, and the answer was the same (surprise!) — beer bread!  :)  Ah, the fun of living with another baker.  So sure enough, our house has been filled with the unbelievable smell of freshly-baked bread this month.  Maybe not what our friends intended…but I’m all for it!

We all ended up loving this recipe as well.  The buttery, honey-wheat goodness is absolutely delicious — especially fresh from the oven.  And the batter literally takes less than 5 minutes to prepare.  What could be more simple??

So to all of you beer-drinkers and/or beer-bakers out there, I say….bring on the bread!!!  :)

Honey Beer Bread Recipe
(Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
• 4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (**You can double this if you’d like**)

Method:

(Makes 1 loaf)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed.  (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter.  (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you’d like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Ali’s Tip:

If you’re a big fan of beer-cheese bread, add a cup or so of cheddar (or your favorite cheese) into the batter to give it the queso-kick.  :)

Now that my pantry is happily restocked with pumpkin (after weeks of empty store shelves because of this year’s shortage), it was finally time to make my first batch of pumpkin bread for the season!  Suffice it to say, I’m obsessed with the stuff.  Love baking it.  Love gifting it to friends.  Love how perfect it is for breakfast, lunch, dinner…and everything in between.  :)  Pretty sure I even have an enormous pumpkin spice candle for the days when fresh bread is not gracing my oven!!!

But for some random reason, I became convinced last week that if I was going to post a pumpkin bread recipe on here, it needed to be super-healthy.  And why couldn’t it be?  There are lots of substitutions that can be made with these classic ingredients.  So I searched around online, read through a few zillion recipes and reviews (although was surprised at how very few “healthy” recipes for this are out there!), and enthusiastically decided on one to try.  It had no white flour (just wheat), no white sugar (just brown), no oil/butter (just applesauce+water), or no egg yolks.  And surprise, surprise…it was no good. Argh. Not exactly sure why I thought it would be, and not sure why I didn’t go for a recipe that just used one or two substitutions.  But unfortunately it was a 100% flop.

So to remedy the situation, I immediately returned to my favorite classic pumpkin bread recipe.  And when I say classic, I mean classic. This recipe was the very first recipe I tried when I received my first cookbook — the classic BH&G with the checkered cover (yeah!).  Loved it then, and have made it a zillion times since.  It may not be the absolute healthiest, but it’s full of all of the great flavor and texture we love.  And it makes a large batch, so bring out the big loaf pans or make a bunch of mini-loaves and share the goodness.  :)

Cheers to the recipe that saved the day!!

Classic Pumpkin Bread
(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup cooking oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves (optional)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method:

Grease two 9x5x3 inch, or three 8x4x2 inch, or four 7.5×3.5×2 inch loaf pans; set aside.

In a very large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Add eggs and beat well; set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Alternately add flour miture and water to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.  Beat in pumpkin.  Spoon batter into prepared pans.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center of the loaves comes out clean.  Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans.  Cool completely on wire racks.  Serve immediately, or wrap in plastic or aluminum foil to keep fresh.

Ali’s Tip:

If you notice that the tops of your loaves are getting too browned while baking, just gently lay a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the loaves.  Don’t tuck it in snug – just laying it there will prevent the browning but still allow the rest of the loaf to continue baking.  :)

Pumpkin pie for breakfast??  Absolutely.  :)

For the second post in my “Ode To Pumpkin Week”, wanted to pay tribute to the most important meal of the day with this yummy baked pumpkin oatmeal recipe.  Not only is it absolutely delicious, and provides all sorts of great nutrients to begin the day, but it’s a snap to throw together.  Seriously!

Just as a random example (which I may or may not have tested out this morning), one could mix up all the ingredients and pop the ramekins in the oven — then run and take a quick shower while they’re baking — return and add the nutty mixture — then blow-dry my hair for round two of baking — and return within 7 minutes to a wonderfully-smelling kitchen and a delicious little breakfast.

Voila!  A simple, satisfying, and oh-so-delicious breakfast is served.  :)

Ali’s Tip:

The topping to this is one of my favorite parts.  Feel free to sub in whatever nuts you have on hand (almonds, walnuts, etc.).  Or even double the topping if you’d like to be really “nutty”!  :)

Ah…scones.  :)  So delightful.  So delicious.  So versatile.  And more often than not…so unhealthy!!

Oh my word.  I was browsing around online for scone recipes this week, and was shocked by how much cream, butter, sugar, and all-purpose flour usually go into these seemingly nutritious little guys!  For years, I’d always assumed that since scones are often slightly bland that they were healthy.  (And a quick poll of my friends revealed similar guesses!)  But heavens, no.  It seems that most recipes pack more calories/fat than regular cookies or cupcakes.

Thus, I went on a mission to create a healthier alternative.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to look long, and randomly stumbled across this recipe for blueberry whole-wheat and olive oil scones.  Added in some lemon for extra zing (love any lemon+blueberry combination!), and then proceeded to make is slightly less healthy by adding a simple glaze.  But they were delightful!  The texture was great, they were full of flavor, and best of all — they make a deliciously healthy breakfast!

I may or may not have already made two batches…  :)

Ali’s Tip:

If you end up opting to pass on the glaze, feel free to add in an extra teaspoon or two of lemon peel to the scones to give them an extra kick of lemon.  You could also sprinkle a bit of raw (turbinado) sugar on top of the scones before baking to give them a little extra flavor if you’re going glaze-less.  :)