Kouign Amann

Who doesn't enjoy watching The Great British Baking Show? All those super nice, happy contestants just baking away under a little tent in the English countryside. No backstabbing. No drama. Just a group of people who legitimately enjoy baking trying to do the very best they can with the challenges thrown at them. It's a nice relaxing change of pace from most American cooking competitions, like Hell's Kitchen (which is ironically run by a Brit who couldn't be more different than Mary Berry).

For those of you who love the GBBS as much as I do, I wanted to tell you about the exciting new project that my recently married sister has undertaken. She has started a blog where she will be tackling each of the technical baking challenges on the Great British Baking Show and providing honest feedback about the difficulty of each recipe. So far, she has made Mini Pear Pies, Princess Cake, Ciabatta, Tiramisu Cake, Florentines, Cherry Cake, and an interesting pastry called Kouign Amann (pronounced "queen- a-mawn").

Sophie texted me while she was making these weird little pastries that are made from a laminated dough and then baked in a muffin tin. I had never once heard of them and neither had she, but after having a rough week making the detested Princess Cake recipe, she was thrilled to report that this recipe actually was turning out perfectly as it was supposed to. Basically, they have a soft, croissant-like texture on the inside and a crunchy, caramelized crunch on the outside. I did a quick little internet search on them and found that the New York Times dubbed it "the fattiest pastry in all of Europe." Wow, that's saying something.

When Paul heard that review, he wanted me to make it. Butter is his first love. Cheese is his second. I'm his third. It's ok, I've come to terms with that.

After Sophie raved about how breezy and relaxing the recipe was to follow, I tackled it one gloomy Sunday afternoon while I was not exactly feeling very well but thought some therapeutic baking might lift me out of my doldrums. The recipe was a breeze to put together. There is lot of waiting between steps and none of the steps are overly complicated. While I was waiting between turning my dough, I actually went back and watched the episode of the GBBS where these were featured as I couldn't imagine they were all that troublesome to the contestants. On the show, a few individuals had some minor issues, but overall I think they were all pretty successful attempts. This is a simple pastry as long as you have the patience to wait between steps.

Well, the Kouign Amann baked up beautifully. Brown, puffy, and piping hot when I grabbed them from the oven, I nearly burnt my fingers trying to pry them out of the muffin tin. Paul and I bit into one while it was still warm and swooned at the rich, buttery flavor. However, I tried one the next morning alongside my cup of coffee and thought they tasted even better at room temperature. My kids were all over these as well. The recipe only made 12 and they all vanished by the time my kids discovered them. My only complaint about these pastries is the mess they created when eaten by my angelic children - the pastries were so flaky that little bits of buttery crumb littered the floor where my children sat stuffing their faces full of buttery dough.

I shall be making these weird little things again! They were a different, interesting, and delicious new pastry that I had never before heard of and am now happy to welcome into my recipe archive. Thank you, Sophie for introducing me to this treat!

You should head over to Sophie's blog to read about her experiences attacking all the technical challenges from The Great British Baking Show. Her blog name is Piece of Cake and can be found here.

Also, try your hand at Kouign Amann! It's a great recipe to start with if you have never before worked with a laminated dough before (like croissant dough). Guarantee you'll be able to produce a treat even Paul Hollywood would be happy to eat!

Kouign Amann
from Paul Hollywood of The Great British Baking Show

Note: I am presenting this recipe exactly as written on the BBC Food website. You will need a food scale to complete this recipe.

300g/10½oz strong plain flour, plus extra for dusting
5g fast-action yeast
1 tsp salt
200ml/7fl oz warm water
25g/1oz unsalted butter, melted
250g/9oz cold unsalted butter, in a block
100g/3½oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

Put the flour into the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the other. Add the water and melted butter and mix on a slow speed for two minutes, then on a medium speed for six minutes.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball. Put into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rise for one hour.

Sandwich the butter between two sheets of parchment paper and bash with a rolling pin, then roll out to a 14cm/5½in square. Place in the fridge to keep chilled.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 20cm/8in square. Place the butter in the centre of the dough diagonally, so that each side of butter faces a corner of the dough. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter to enclose like an envelope.

Roll the dough into a 45x15cm/18x6in rectangle. Fold the bottom third of dough up over the middle, then fold the top third of the dough over. You will now have a sandwich of three layers of butter and three layers of dough. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. This completes one turn.

Repeat this process twice more, so you have completed a total of three turns, chilling the dough for 30 minutes between turns.

Roll the dough into a rectangle as before. Sprinkle the dough with the caster sugar and fold into thirds again. Working quickly, roll the dough into a large 40x30cm/16x12in rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with caster sugar and cut the dough into 12 squares.

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin well with oil. Gather the dough squares up by their four corners and place in the muffin tins, pulling the four corners towards the centre of the muffin tin, so that it gathers up like a four-leaf clover. Sprinkle with caster sugar and leave to rise, covered with a clean tea towel, for 30 minutes until slightly puffed up.

Preheat oven to 220C/200C(fan)/425F/Gas 7. Bake the pastries for 30-40 minutes, or until golden-brown. Cover with foil halfway through if beginning to brown too much. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Be careful not to burn yourself on the caramelized sugar, but don’t leave them to cool for too long, or the caramelized sugar will harden and they will be stuck in the tin.

Serve warm or cold.

White Chocolate and Blueberry Panettone

Christmas baking was a challenge once again this year. The holidays normally take me surprise, but the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed like a few days rather than weeks! I did manage to crank out the normal favorites for the kids - the sugar cookies, the seven layer bars, the gingerbread. However, the holiday breads are normally what i crave this time of year - Babka, Stollen, Walnut Twist, and Panettone.

I used to make Panettone every single Advent and Paul would look forward to enjoying it for breakfast with jam and coffee in the days leading up to Christmas Day. Of all the Christmas breads, it was his absolute favorite. It was certainly a labor of love - the recipe I used at the time was a very traditional one that involved a couple days devoted to the project, some tricky steps, and prolonged rising times for the very sticky dough. So, when we kept adding crazy kid after crazy kid to our tribe, the need to make Panettone around Christmastime took a back burner to making sure everyone had clothes on and stayed alive, but not necessarily in that order.

This year was no exception. I did not make Panettone for Christmas and frankly I didn't really regret that I didn't get around to it, although I had every intention of doing so. But then, once the kids headed back to school and I frankly had a tiny bit more time on my hands, I thought why not make it now? We had finished off all our other Christmas sweets and certainly had not enjoyed enough sugar over the past month, so naturally it was the perfect time to concoct a white chocolate and blueberry laced Italian cake. 

But I wanted to finish the Panettone in an afternoon. No more ridiculous rise times, or hanging upside down papered loaves after baking (for real, it's a thing with traditional Panettone). This time, I was going to use a non-traditional recipe and bake it in a non-traditional mold, and finish it in a non-traditional period of time. And you know what? I did. And it turned out awesome.

I had bookmarked a recipe from Cook's Country months ago that promised a quicker, easier way to Panettone. It involved an easy mixing stage, a shorter rise phase, and promised that the bread would bake up into the traditional dome shape perfectly in a standard round cake pan. I gave it a shot and couldn't have been more pleased with the results.

The original recipe called for chocolate and orange to be the flavor additions to the dough. I really like a fruity panettone, so I went with chopped white chocolate and a combination of dried blueberries and cranberries - but mostly dried blueberries. Blueberry and white chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations. But really, you could put anything into this bread/cake/thing. 

As promised, the recipe was simple and I was able to complete the majority of it while Daniel happily played on the kitchen rug next to me. He's been doing this thing lately where he will "summon" whomever's attention he desires by pointing at them. Then, the person, usually me, must point back at him and walk towards him until his fingertip is touching their fingertip. We call it the "tractor beam finger" and it delights him to no end when we respond to his summons. However, when we don't, as is usually the case when I am cooking, he gets very upset, very quickly. However, that was not the case while mixing this dough - not once did he employ his "tractor beam finger" demanding my attention, so it was a very non-stressful experience!

If you have been dying to try Panettone - and really, you should because it's delicious - then I highly reccomend this recipe as a starting point. The flavor was wonderful, soft and delicious but not quite as deeply developed as a traditional recipe. No surprise there given how much shorter the rise times were, but it was delicious none-the-less. Unfortunately for Paul, he still did not get to enjoy a piece since he was traveling for work at the time and this loaf was devoured by my ravenous school-age children for a snack within 12 hours of its removal from the oven. Matthew ate 1/2 the loaf by himself while practicing multiplication. Sorry, Paul. At least this easy-peasy recipe is so simple that I can make it all year long. But then, it wouldn't really be all that special of a treat anymore, would it?

White Chocolate and Blueberry Panettone

adapted from Cook's Country

3/4 cup warm whole milk

2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups (13 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened

1 tablespoon orange zest plus 1/4 cup white sugar

1 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips

1 cup dried blueberries

Whisk milk, 1 egg, egg yolks, corn syrup, and vanilla in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup until combined. Using a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, yeast, and salt on medium-low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. With mixer running, slowly add milk mixture and knead until cohesive dough forms and no dry flour remains, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down bowl and hook as needed.

Use your fingers to rub the orange zest into the 1/4 cup of white sugar until softened and fragrant. Set aside. 

With mixer running, add butter 1 piece at a time until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and knead until dough pulls away from sides of bowl but still sticks to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add the white chocolate, orange sugar, and dried blueberries, and knead until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Form dough into tight ball and transfer to greased large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Grease 8-inch cake pan. Pat dough into 12-inch disk on lightly floured counter. Working around circumference of dough, fold edges of dough toward center to form rough square. Flip dough over and applying gentle pressure, move your hands in small circular motions to form dough into smooth, taut ball. Transfer ball, seam side down, to prepared pan. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise at room temperature until center is about 2 inches above lip of pan, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly beat remaining egg and brush over dough. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Rotate pan, tent with aluminum foil, and continue to bake until center of loaf registers 190 degrees, 30-40 minutes longer. Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours. Serve.

Cranberry-Orange Breakfast Buns

Next to Christmas and their birthdays, our kids look forward to their Feast Days more than any other day of the year. For those who are not Catholic and unfamiliar with the concept of feast days, each of our children is named after a saint of the church who functions as their patron. In our case, we have Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Saint Emma of Lesum, Saint Lucy, and Daniel the Prophet. When a person is declared a saint, a certain day during the calendar year is designated to function as the "Feast Day" of that saint, or a special day designated to acknowledge, commemorate, and remember them. Typically, a saint's feast day is the day of their death as it is the day in which they joined God in heaven. Saint Matthew's feast day is in September and Daniel's is at the end of July. Lucy and Emma's saints both have their feast days in December.

On their feast day, our children have the privilege of selecting their favorite meal for dinner as well as a dessert of their choice. Typically, without fail, every single one of our kids chooses not to have their loving mother who is actually a decent chef prepare dinner by requesting takeout pizza. I actually make pretty dang good pizza but they always explicitly request that the pizza must arrive at the dinner table packaged in a greasy cardboard box. Maybe their tastes will evolve one of these days.

But Lucy's feast day, which falls on the 13th of December, gets an extra-special event each year because hers is a particularly important feast day in both the eyes of the church and my family. Since I was a little girl, we always celebrated the feast of Saint Lucy, one of the greatest female martyrs, with a special candlelit breakfast. While I was growing up, usually the youngest girl helped Mom serve the rest of the household a breakfast in bed, but that slowly evolved into everyone awakening for a candlelit breakfast complete with a fully set table, some type of sweet bread or coffee cake. My protein loving husband required that I add in an egg dish of some sort because apparently we cannot survive on bread and sugar alone.

I typically change up what sweet we serve for Saint Lucy day. My Mom always made this Cherry Almond Coffee Cake growing up which still has my heart but I can't help but try new sweets when given the opportunity. So, this year I made these Cranberry-Orange Breakfast Buns that I spied on the Smitten Kitchen website. I love the combination of cranberry and orange and still had half a bag of frozen cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving that I knew I had to use up before someone accidentally spilled them all over the bottom of the freezer.

I loved how easy these, like any cinnamon roll, were to prepare and bake the next morning. Paul and I are typically up before 5:30 most mornings, so this did not require me to skimp on my sleep to ensure they were ready in time. The scent of orange zest and butter wafting through the house was a calming way for the children to awaken. Matthew was the first to wander downstairs: "OOOooooh! Mom! What are you making? It smells so good!"

When it came time for feasting, the girl of the day - Miss Lucy - felt very special indeed and loved her breakfast. Along with the Cranberry-Orange Buns, we served scrambled eggs, thick cut bacon, and hot cocoa. Everyone left the breakfast table filled to the brim. Except Matthew, who begged me for another one of these buns to eat. I can't blame him for trying to have another, these rich little sweets were certainly delicious and we all loved them. It was a nice change from the typical cinnamon roll and, in my opinion, possibly even better tasting. A very special treat indeed to be enjoyed on a special feast day!

Cranberry-Orange Breakfast Buns
from Smitten Kitchen

For the Dough:
4 large egg yolks
1 large whole egg
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter, melted, plus additional to grease pan
3/4 cup (175 ml) buttermilk
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated (to be used in dough and filling, below)
3 3/4 cups (470 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting counter
1 packet (7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon oil for bowl

For the Filling:
1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) butter
1 cup (190 grams) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (115 grams) fresh cranberries
Orange zest leftover from above

For the Icing:
3 1/2 tablespoons (55 ml) orange juice
2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
Zest of 1/2 an orange

In the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, buttermilk and 3/4 of the orange zest together (saving the rest for the filling). Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; stir until evenly moistened. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour and let the dough hook knead the mixture on low speed for 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should be soft and moist, but not overly sticky. Scrape the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl (I usually scrape my dough briefly onto the counter, oil the mixing bowl, and scrape the dough back into it) and cover it with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled, which will take between 2 and 2 1/2 hours.

Melt the butter and set it aside. In a food processor, pulse the whole cranberries until they’re ground to a coarse rubble, but not fully pureed. You’ll need to scrape the machine down once or twice. Set them aside.

Assemble the buns: Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish, a heavier ceramic or glass dish is ideal here. Turn the risen dough out onto a floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle that is 18 inches wide (the side nearest to you) and 12 or so inches long. Just estimate. If it is a little longer and thinner, it'll be just fine! Brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle it with the brown sugar. Scatter the ground cranberries over it, then the remaining orange zest.

Roll the dough into a tight, 18-inch long spiral. Using a sharp serrated knife, very gently cut into 12 pieces. Arrange the buns evenly spread out in your baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 16 hours.

The next morning, take your buns out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking and allow them to sit on the countertop to warm a bit.. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake your buns until they’re puffed and golden (or read 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer), approximately 30 minutes.

Transfer pan to a cooling rack and let cool slightly. Make the icing by whisking the orange juice and powdered sugar together. Spread a little on each bun, or drizzle it over the whole pan. Serve immediately.

Honey-Butter Dinner Rolls

Paul has his favorite dinner rolls which I shared on here a long time ago. Those are wonderful - soft, fluffy, quick, and easy! BUT now it's time to share MY personal favorite go-to roll recipe. I like my rolls sweetened with honey and glazed with rich honey-butter, making for a soft, slightly sticky treat that pairs wonderfully with ham, chicken, or just about anything. Having one of these rolls leftover to eat as a snack the next day is pure bliss. Last time I made these, Lucy and I adored splitting them open and spreading some huckleberry jam on the halves. I've also made these rolls extra large to use for ham and swiss sandwiches.

Admittedly, the problem with these rolls is that when I serve them alongside a lentil soup or something, inevitably my kids will ONLY eat them for their dinner. As much as I hate to admit it, man truly cannot survive on carbs alone but my kids sure do try. I should probably stop serving so many delicious breads at dinnertime so they actually try to eat the main course.

Up next...a recipe to serve with these rolls that my kids actually ate with gusto! Stay tuned!

Honey-Butter Dinner Rolls

2¼ tsp. instant yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115˚ F)
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons canola oil
1¼ tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water.  Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well.  Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass.  Switch to the dough hook and, with the mixer on low speed, incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour.  Continue kneading on low speed for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 30 seconds.  Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.  Punch the dough down and divide into 10-12 equal size pieces.  Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place into a round, lightly greased 9- or 10-inch round baking dish, spacing evenly.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 40-45 minutes. I've let them go as long as an hour. Just make sure they double!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture (sometimes I wait to brush them on until midway through baking time as the glaze does cause darken quite a bit in the oven!).  Bake for 22-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the rolls are baked through.  Let cool slightly before serving.

Crusty Gruyere-Stuffed Loaves

One issue that I was very concerned with when we decided to move to the mile-high city was how the transition to a higher altitude would affect my baking. Our new home is at 6000 feet and at that elevation wonky things can happen to baked goods. The lower air pressure causes baked goods to rise more quickly and lose moisture at a quicker rate. This can lead to instability in the structure of the cake, bread, muffin, cookies, or what have you, causing overly dense and dry results. I was terrified that all my tried and true recipes would no longer work and I would be in a constant state of experimentation, never able to just make a recipe as written but always having to consider the factors the lower air pressure in my kitchen may impart on the final results. It sounded like way too much work.

After doing a bit more research, the adjustments I have to make haven't been as annoying as I expected them to be and, so far, I have had no disasters and everything has turned out pretty delicious!

Thankfully, yeasted breads are the easiest items to adjust when baking at altitude. Since yeasted goods rise quicker at a higher elevation, I simply cut back on the yeast in order to lengthen the rise times so that the overall flavor of the final product is fully developed. I'm also careful about the hydration levels of my doughs, usually working with a higher liquid to flour ratio than before. When I pulled my first batch of bread out of the oven after the move, I was relieved to find that these slight adjustments produced loaves that were just as flavorful, chewy, and airy as my bread back in Pennsylvania.

Waiting for the yeast to rise

So my girls are obsessed with cheese and bread. Matthew loves bread, but cheese not so much. However, they all could agree that these small loaves of crusty bread overflowing with molten gruyere cheese are pretty incredible. This was a King Arthur Challenge for the month of March and I'm so happy that I decided to bake along because it gave me the perfect excuse to make these. I had been eyeing the recipe for quite some time! The results were as delicious as I expected and the kids kept walking past the spot where they were cooling on the kitchen counter asking me when they would be able to try them. These make a perfect accompaniment to chili or lentil soup, but really I don't think you need an excuse to sink your teeth into a fresh loaf of bread!

The recipe published below is without the altitude adjustments. Also, I used the Rocky Mountain spice blend from Penzey's but the pizza seasoning suggested in the original recipe would also be fabulous. If you don't have pizza seasoning, feel free to leave it out!

Crusty Gruyere-Stuffed Loaves
from King Arthur Flour

For the Starter:
1 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup cool water

For the Dough:
all of the starter
1 cup + 2 tablespoons to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 tablespoon Pizza Dough Flavor (optional)
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

*Use the greater amount of water in winter, when conditions are dry; and the lesser amount in summer, when the weather is humid.

For the Filling:
2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese, or the grated/shredded cheese of your choice (sharp cheddar, or a mixture of provolone and mozzarella are tasty)
1 tablespoon garlic oil (optional)
1 tablespoon Pizza Seasoning (I ended up using a seasoning blend from Penzey's)


To make the starter: Mix the 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, yeast, and 1/2 cup water in a medium-sized bowl. Mix until well combined; the starter will be stiff, not soft/liquid. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature (65°F to 75°F is ideal); it'll become bubbly.

To make the dough: Combine the risen starter with the water, salt, flour, flavor (if you're using it), and yeast. Knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a smooth dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until it's nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Gently deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, or a piece of parchment. Pat and stretch it into a 3/4"-thick rectangle, about 9" x 12". Spritz with water (or brush with garlic oil), and sprinkle with the grated cheese (and Pizza Seasoning, if you're using it).

Starting with a long side, roll the dough into a log, pinching the seam and the ends to seal. The cheese will try to fall out; that's OK, just try to enclose as much as possible, then pack any errant cheese into the ends before sealing.

Place the log, seam-side down, on a lightly floured or lightly oiled surface (or leave it on the parchment and place the parchment on a baking sheet, for easiest transport).

Cover the bread and let it rise until it's puffy though not doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F. If you're baking two loaves, position a rack in the center of the oven. If you're baking four loaves, place two racks towards the center of the oven with just enough room in between to accommodate the rising loaves.

Gently cut the log into four crosswise slices, for mini-breads; or simply cut the dough in half, for two normal-sized loaves. A large sharp knife or serrated knife works well here. If for some reason you fail to cut all the way through the dough at the bottom, simply take a pair of scissors and snip through the dough.

Place the loaves on one (for two loaves) or two (for four mini-loaves) lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, cut side up. Spread them open a bit at the top, if necessary, to more fully expose the cheese. Spritz with warm water. The loaves will have deflated a bit by this point; but if you place them in the preheated oven immediately, they'll pick right up again.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (for the mini-loaves), or 35 to 40 minutes (for the full-sized loaves), or until the cheese is melted and the loaves are a deep golden brown. If you're baking four loaves on two pans, rotate the pans halfway through the baking time: top to bottom, bottom to top. Remove the pans from the oven, and cool the bread right on the pans. Bread is best served warm.

Store any leftovers, well-wrapped, for a day or so in the refrigerator; freeze for longer storage (up to 4 weeks). Reheat bread before serving; wrap in foil, and warm in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through. Bread that's been frozen can be taken right from the freezer, wrapped in foil (if it's not already), and put into a 350°F oven. It'll be nicely warmed in 45 to 50 minutes.

Amazing Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Still in search of a pumpkin-themed treat to make for breakfast, brunch, or as a midday snack? Can I entice you with a batch of Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls?

I have tried pumpkin cinnamon rolls before and have always been slightly frustrated with the recipe. The dough usually had way too much moisture due to the addition of pumpkin and I found myself adding copious amounts of extra flour just to get it to a point where I could knead it without having the entire mass adhere to my fingers. Not the case with this recipe. I found the proportion of flour, to butter, to sugar, to pumpkin to be absolutely spot on. I perhaps had to add a tablespoon of extra flour when kneading but that was it. It came together very quickly, rose beautifully, and was easy to roll out, fill, shape, and cut.

The smell of these rolls baking fills your house with sweet warm cinnamon, butter, and nutmeg better than any Yankee Candle. The kids love cinnamon rolls and were so excited for me to pull these out of the oven, but were equally disappointed when I told them they had to wait for Halloween to eat them. I always like to try to do something fun for Halloween and figured that a really yummy sugar-filled breakfast will help balance out all the sugar they will be eating the rest of the day. Makes sense, right? I promise I will feed them broccoli or something green before sending them out to trick-or-treat.

Speaking of trick-or-treating, how ironic was it that I had already planned for all three of my kids to dress up as physicians for Halloween before I wrecked my foot? Now, I get to dress up in theme with them - as their patient!

But back to the cinnamon rolls. I had originally planned on making a cookie butter glaze for them but ran out of cookie butter unknowingly. So I made a basic cream cheese frosting instead. However, I am still convinced that a cookie butter glaze would be amazing on this so someone please try it sometime. Basically, you just melt cookie butter in a saucepan and then whisk in a bit of milk to thin. Drizzle over the hot rolls - and that's pretty much it! I've made a pumpkin cake with a cookie butter glaze before and loved it so I can only imagine how fantastic it would be with these rolls. Not to take anything away from the cream cheese frosted version because they are still phenomenal. I hobbled out of the room for a second after frosting these and came back to find Lucy up at the counter, for in hand, happily eating one of the fresh rolls straight from the pan.

"Donuts very good, Mommy!" she confessed through a full, sticky mouth.

From the mouths of babes, folks, the verdict is in. Make these pumpkin cinnamon rolls before the fall season ends!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted slightly from Averie Cooks

For the Dough:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg, lightly whisked

For the Filling:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

For the Frosting:
4 ounces brick-style cream cheese (lite is okay), softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla OR maple extract
3-4 tablespoons half-and-half or cream, or as needed for consistency

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add 3 1/4 cups flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, yeast, salt. Mix together and set aside.

Melt the butter in the microwave for one minute and then immediately add the buttermilk and the pumpkin. Whisk together.

With the mixer running, add the pumpkin-buttermilk mixture to the bowl. Mix well, then add the egg. Continue kneading the dough for about 7-10 minutes on medium speed. The dough should come together into a nice, moist mass but if it is still stick at the bottom, add a bit of flour a tablespoon at a time. If it is dry and crumbly, drizzle in a bit of buttermilk until it reaches the correct consistency. Remove from the bowl and knead briefly into a round ball on the counter top.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray and then add the dough ball to the bowl. Turn to coat and then cover tightly with plastic. Set aside in a warm place to rise for about 2 1/2 hours. This dough will take a lot longer to rise because of the sugar content. If your room is cold, the dough might take even longer. Let it take as long as it needs to double!

While the dough rises, prepare the filling by mixing together 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Set aside.

When ready to shape the dough, butter a 9x13 glass baking pan. Punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured countertop. Roll out the dough to a 26x13 inch rectangle. Using your hands, spread the softened butter all over the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top, pressing lightly to adhere.

Starting on the long side of the rectangle, tightly roll the dough up. Press the seams together to stick. Turn the rolled log seam-side down and with a serrated knife or unflavored dental floss, cut the log into 12-16 rounds. Place the rounds in the prepared 13x9 pan. Cover tightly with plastic and let rise for an additional 1-2 hours, or until doubled.

While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When ready, bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden on top and baked through. Keep an eye on them because the baking time will vary depending on your equipment and how big you sliced the rolls. Remove the rolls from the oven and let the pan cool slightly while you prepare the Cream Cheese Frosting.


To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Carefully add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat for a few minutes until very smooth, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Taste and adjust sugar/vanilla/salt as desired.

Evenly pour glaze over rolls, lightly spreading with a spatula as necessary.

Enjoy immediately or keep covered tightly in the refrigerator. Heat gently before serving any leftover rolls!

Quick and Easy New York Style Bagels

It's no secret that my kids love bagels. They inherited their carbohydrate-loving nature from their Mother and will gladly enjoy a lunch consisting of just bread and water and think it's the greatest thing in the world. They would probably enjoy prison food. One of their favorite "quick lunches" when we are in a rush is to go through the Panera drive-through and grab a bag of Asiago Cheese Bagels. The kids will just chow down on those bagels - no slicing, toasting, buttering necessary.

I'm also a huge lover of bagels, especially if they come with lox and cream cheese. Oh my word! One of the things I looked forward to the most when we planned our trip to New York City was grabbing an authentic New York Bagel with fresh lox from a Jewish deli. Thankfully, the experience totally lived up to my expectations and I have been craving another one like mad ever since!

I have made bagels many, many times before and the recipe I use is absolute perfection, albeit a bit complicated and time-consuming. The ingredients are precisely weighed and measured and then go through several risings, including an overnight rise after forming into the familiar bagel shape, before being boiled, topped, and baked. The result is a deliciously chewy, incredibly flavorful bagel that rivals the best bagels in NYC. And I say that only after trying the best bagels in NYC and my husband said he actually liked mine better. What a compliment. That recipe can be found here, deep in the archives of the blog when I only had one child, a cheap point-and-shoot camera, and a bit more time.

Nowadays, it really isn't always feasible to start a multi-day baking project because my days are filled with activity that often leaves me spinning. I wouldn't change our busy days for the world as I enjoy being on the move and having a slew of activity. But, I really want to be able to linger with my kids a bit longer at the library, at the park, or while out with friends and not be needing to keep a constant eye on my watch because I need to get home before my dough over-rises!

So, I decided to test a few bagel recipes that require less proofing and may be made start to finish in an afternoon while my youngest takes her nap. I tried a couple recipes and found one that made not only an acceptable bagel, but a very, very good bagel! In two hours flat, my kids were enjoying warm, freshly baked cheese bagels that were chewy with a well formed crust on the outside and a moist, soft interior. I also made a batch of plain, cinnamon sugar, and poppy seed bagels but of course the cheese ones were the hit.

This is a great first-time recipe if you have never made bagels at home before. They are so, so much better than anything you can buy in the store. They are not as heavy and taste completely different. Toasted, they are heavenly, but they are also great enjoyed just the way my kids prefer them - plain!

The only difficult part of this recipe is getting the dough to the right consistency. You add the water gradually because you want a dough that is moist but stiff. It is not going to be super soft and pillowy like a cinnamon roll dough, yet you want it to be completely hydrated or else you will have difficulty forming the bagels later in the process. If you have to much liquid in the dough, they might misshapen a bit during the boiling process. If you have ever made a good, homemade pizza dough, you want the dough to feel about as stiff as that, if not a little bit more stiff (if that makes any sense!). But do not fret! Whatever the results, the taste will be spot-on. The more you make bagels, the more familiar you will become with the consistency you want.

Now that I've completely freaked you out, here is the recipe. I promise you it is easy! Give them a try and I promise you will love the results. If you want a more complicated but even tastier recipe, check out my first post on bagels. That recipe still has my heart.

Quick and Easy New York Style Bagels
as seen on The Sophisticated Gourmet

Notes: You can use this base recipe and make a number of variations from it. After the boiling step, the bagels may be topped with anything you desire - dried onion, poppyseed, garlic, and salt for the "everything bagel" topping, cinnamon sugar, sesame seeds, swiss cheese and banana peppers, or jalapenos and cheddar. You can also add small, cubed pieces of cheese to the dough during the kneading step to make a more indulgent cheese bagel and then simply top the bagel with the cheese of your choice before baking. The rising times are all approximate and will vary depending on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen. For the final, quick rise after shaping, just make sure that your bagels appear "puffy" before you boil. This will ensure that they are ready for the final steps where they will hopefully bloom and rise even more in the water bath and the oven.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 ½ tablespoons (4 ½ teaspoons) granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups / 300ml warm water (you may need up to 1/4 cup more - I definitely did)
3 ½ cups (500g) bread flour or high gluten flour (bread flour is important for this recipe!)
1 ½ teaspoons salt

Dissolve the sugar and yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Without stirring, let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then gently whisk to dissolve in the water.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour and salt together. Add the yeast mixture and, using the dough hook attachment on the mixer, begin to knead together until a very scraggly dough appears. Pour in an additional 1/3 cup of warm water into the dough and continue to knead, adding additional water about a tablespoon at a time until the dough is moist, yet still firm. There should be no dry pockets of flour and the dough should be in a cohesive mass that feels moist but not at all sticky when squeezed with your hand.

Continue to the knead the dough in the mixer for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Remove from the mixing bowl, and knead it by hand on the countertop a few times. Form into a tight ball.

Lightly coat a large bowl with oil. Add the dough ball to the bowl and gently turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about one hour.

After one hour, gently punch the dough down and let it sit for about 10 minutes. While the dough rests, get a large stockpot of water and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat once boiling vigorously to a gently boil. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms. Repeat with 7 other dough rounds.

Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about ⅓ the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.

After shaping the dough rounds, cover them with a damp kitchen towel and allow them to rest for about 10 minutes, or until they begin to puff in shape. This might take a bit longer - so be patient and give it a little extra time if need be.

Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water - you may do multiple bagels at a time depending on the size of your pot. Let them boil on one side for 1 minute, and them flip them over to boil for another minute. Extend the boiling times to 2 minutes per side if you prefer a chewier bagel. Remove the boiled bagels from the water with a slotted spoon and place them back on the baking sheet. Top with any desired toppings. Repeat with all your bagels.

Once all the bagels have boiled and topped, bake them in the 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. They should sound hollow when lightly tapped with your finger.

Remove them from the baking sheet and allow to cool on a wire rack or eat them warm.

Enjoy!

Buttery Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

Today, the inevitable happened. Peyton decided to make a chew toy out of Emma's beloved baby doll Jellybell. Unfortunately, the pooch had mangled the poor baby's foot before Emma realized he had her. I heard her wails from upstairs where I was putting Lucy down for her nap. Emma was inconsolable as she cradled her doll and the tiny bits and pieces that remained of her half-eaten toes. Peyton cowered behind the couch, knowing that something very bad had just gone down.

I scolded the dog and then assured Emma that I would try to fix the doll as I carried the pieces into the office in search of the superglue. I tried to figure out how to reconstruct the foot, but it was pretty badly chewed up and practically a lost cause. A quick internet search proved that the doll was no longer available from Target, so replacing her was not an option. So, I played the part of plastic surgeon with my super glue as I tried to piece together Jellybell. Thirty minutes later, I was actually quite pleased with the progress. Her foot definitely looks amorphous but it is so much better than a giant gaping hole at her ankle. I called Emma in, excited to show her how I had "fixed" here doll. She walked in solemnly.

"What do you think of how I fixed Jellybell's foot?" I asked her.

She looked at the aberrant foot, wrinkled her nose, and declared: "It looks bad. Let's just keep socks on her feet."

So, I guess I glued the fingers of my right hand together for nothing.

I didn't think it looked too terrible after I was finished
considering how bad it looked before!

 

Unlike my daughter, I always try to be grateful when others show me kindness or assist me in some way. In fact, I often like to repay their kindness with baked goods. To me, there is no greater way of showing someone love and appreciation than a freshly baked meal or treat. I am always so grateful when someone does that for me, so I naturally try to reciprocate that feeling in others. Recently, one of my friends did a huge favor for me as part of a project I was conducting for our diocese. I promised her when she agreed to help that I would pay her in cinnamon rolls. She laughed it off, but I was being completely serious. Of course, life got in the way and it took me way too long to actually get those rolls to her, but I finally did, much to the envy of my own children who did not understand why I was giving away such tasty treats instead of letting them eat some! Luckily for them, I made an extra large batch so they could try them.

I have made cinnamon rolls a million times. I've done cinnabon copycats, the pioneer woman's recipe, and a half dozen others throughout the years and while they all have been really, really delicious, I never hesitate to try a new cinnamon roll recipe should I come across one. When I spied this recipe on Elise's blog Simply Recipes, I was immediately enticed to try them based on the fact that the dough is prepared brioche-style, meaning the softened butter is gradually kneaded into the dough after the flour. The entire dough is then beaten to submission and given an overnight chill to ensure a soft, smooth, buttery dough. I was intrigued that the dough, while firm, was quite easy to roll out, fill, and cut into the traditional cinnamon rolls shape straight from a long overnight chill. The whole process was seamless and rather effortless. The rolls then rise for an additional 90 minutes before being baked. While baking, a cream cheese and butter spread is whipped up to slather on the warm rolls before serving.

Oh my, these were wonderful! I'm so glad I made an extra batch other wise these might have never made it to my friend's home! You will love this gooey, sticky, buttery treat for breakfast or really any time of day. My girls could not stop sampling from the pan since I made the mistake of letting them try a bit as soon as they were cool enough to eat. Can't say I blame them.

Out of all the cinnamon roll recipes I have tried, I have to say I probably prefer this one. Try it and let me know if you love it!

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
from Simply Recipes

For the dough:
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter, very soft

For the filling:
1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or slightly less table salt)

For the frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 to 4 tablespoons milk, whole or 2%
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt

Warm the milk for 15 to 30 seconds in the microwave, until it's slightly warm to the touch but not steaming. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let the mixture stand until foamy, about five minutes.

Add the eggs, flour, and salt to the bowl and mix on medium speed until a sticky dough is formed. Beat in the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, waiting until the butter is incorporated before adding the next batch. The butter needs to be very soft for this to work; if the butter isn't incorporating, knead each piece in your fingers until soft before adding it to the dough.

Once all the butter is incorporated, knead the dough for 10 minutes on medium speed (or knead by hand).

Shape the dough into a ball, place in a large, lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight, at least 8 hours. It will slowly double in size.

Cut and shape the rolls: In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator. The dough will be quite stiff and firm, but should roll easily. Dust your work surface and a rolling pin lightly with flour, and roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 12x16 inches in size.

Spread the dough with butter, leaving a 1-inch border on one of the shorter edges. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the butter in an even layer.
Starting from the short edge (the one with butter all the way to the edge), roll the dough into a tight spiral. Pinch the spiral closed (the unbuttered edge should stick to the log of dough). Trim the ends if they are shaggy.

Cut the roll in half crosswise to make 2 pieces. Cut each piece in half again to make 4, and each piece again to make a total of 8 rolls. Place the rolls in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.

Cover the rolls with plastic wrap, and let them rise in a warm place for 30 to 90 minutes. Rising time will depend on the temperature in your kitchen. When ready, the rolls should be puffed and pillowy. They should be touching each other with very little space between each roll.

While the rolls look half-risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes until they are golden on top and puffy. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 minutes before frosting.

While the rolls bake, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Add half of the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Beat for 1 minute. Add the remaining sugar and vanilla, and beat for 1 additional minute. Add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is as spreadable as you like.

Frost the cinnamon rolls generously while they're still a bit warm. Serve immediately.

Overstuffed Blueberry Muffins with Sugary Tops

Emma has a history of being benevolent towards God's creature and a penchant for rescuing them from certain death. A star example of this is her rescue of the frog from the clutches of a hungry snake while on a hike last summer. She had the opportunity to rescue a few more pathetic creatures this summer only this time they were baby mice on the verge of being disposed of by her father.

Paul and I had been doing some chores in the backyard when we noticed several baby mice scattered throughout the lawn. They were extremely tiny and docile, not even attempting to flee when we came close by. Paul, harboring a fairly substantial vendetta against rodents due to the numerous tunneling by moles throughout our lawn, immediately announced that he was going to drown the baby mice and headed to the garage in search of a bucket. I balked at the idea as did Emma who had come outside to see what we were looking out. She immediately found the mice so cute and begged for Paul to spare them. I joined her, urging Paul to trap them and release them in the woods not too far from our home. Paul, who was certainly not looking forward to killing them, agreed to the idea. He scooped up the mice into the bucket and then he and Emma headed off to the woods to find the baby mice a new home.

They found a spot that Emma thought suitable for the mice and then set the bucket on its side. Emma watched the mice slowly make their way out and began talking to them about how much they were going to like their new home. The mice didn't seem too interested in exploring their new digs and just continued to sit there sniffing the air and Paul began to grow impatient. He urged Emma to say goodbye so they could leave. She started to follow him back to the car but then asked, "Daddy, can I go say one last goodbye to the baby mice?" Paul agreed and Emma went running back to where they had left the mice.

Only she sort of forgot where they were and accidentally trampled them during her search.

Paul found her staring confusedly at the ground and came over to find that she had somehow managed to squish every single one. Fortuitously, Emma did not seem to notice what had happened and thought the mice were all sleeping. The reality would have saddened her, so Paul agreed that the mice were "just getting some rest before finding their new home." As she headed back to the car, Emma was already making plans to visit the mice at some point in the future.

When they got home, Paul whispered what had happened to me and concluded with, "Well, I guess that permanently solves the problem."

Emma would be so heartbroken if she truly knew what happened!

These blueberry muffins are guaranteed to be a bit more successful than Emma's rodent rescue attempt. I found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website. I stumbled across it really because I was not really in search of a new blueberry muffin recipe because I like the one that I have been using for years just fine. However, the amount of blueberries called for in the recipe as well as the promise for a crunchy, sugary top made me convinced to run to the kitchen and bake up a batch. I had just been back to the blueberry patch for one last visit before the season ends to gather my favorite variety of all - the sweetest, tiniest blueberries of the season! Unfortunately their tiny nature make them much more tedious to pick and gather but they are the absolute perfect size for muffins, scones, and buckle. Leave the giant berries for cobblers and pancakes!

But back to the recipe. The recipe for these muffins comes from the Boston-based department store Jordan's whose doors were shuttered after being bought out by Macy's. They used to be famous for their large blueberry muffins which they served in their dining room on the top floor of the store. I had never heard of them and was thus completely unaware of their reputation for baking up delicious blueberry muffins but after having made their recipe I completely understand why. These muffins are delicious. I love how every bite is absolutely bursting with blueberry flavor. The crunchy, sugary tops are also highly addictive. At first I was a little unsure about scattering an entire teaspoon of sugar atop each and every muffin but after having eaten approximately half a dozen of these muffins I beg and plead for you not to skip it. That bit of sugar makes these muffins sparkle and shine - literally and figuratively.

And yes, I used Halloween-themed cupcake liners because that's all I had - NOT because I'm looking forward to Halloween. Heck no. I never make cupcakes and muffins without liners because they always stick no matter how much I grease the cups.

Make these before the blueberries disappear!

Overstuffed Blueberry Muffins with Sugary Tops
from King Arthur Flour

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh preferred
1/4 cup sugar, for topping

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin; or line the tin with papers, and grease the papers.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating gently just to combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Mash 1/2 cup of the blueberries. Add the mashed and whole berries to the batter, stirring just to combine and distribute.

Scoop the batter by the heaping 1/4-cupful into the prepared muffin pan.

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon granulated sugar atop each muffin, if desired.

Bake the muffins for about 30 minutes, until they're light golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven, loosen their edges from the pan, and after about 5 minutes transfer them to a rack to cool.

Better Chocolate Babka

My children have been drowning me as of late. They are wonderful, my whole world, my pride and joy and all that but they can be so incredibly needy and demanding.

Ever since Paul and I disappeared to tour New York for a few days, Lucy has been very clingy towards me. She's always been attached at my hip, but she has definitely been taking it to a whole new level as of late. Bright and early each morning, I am woken up by Lucy butting my skull with her very hard noggin while demanding in a very groggy voice: "Want milk. Cereal! Hungryyyyy!" It's a pleasant way to wake up, I'm telling you.

In addition, I can't eat a meal, sip a cup of coffee, or fold the laundry without her climbing all over me, stroking my freshly washed hair with her sticky fingers, and kissing my cheeks a little too roughly. And the other two - supposedly at an age where they can start helping their worn out mother - are constantly bickering with one another about the dumbest things or jumping in my face trying to inform me of the most mundane, uninteresting little tidbits. Matthew in particular keeps nothing to himself. The moment he has a thought - any thought - he shares it, no matter how irrelevant it is to our current situation or activity. We could be discussing our plan for the day and he will suddenly pipe in with: "The spot on Jupiter is actually a big storm."

Great. Thanks for the info.

Or I poke my head into the living room where he is reading a book about tornadoes and ask him whether he prefers grilled cheese or peanut butter for lunch. His response might be something like, "Why is Daddy not allergic to Christmas trees?" Totally relevant.

I just have to keep reminding myself that never in my entire life will I be as needed or loved as I am now. It's difficult to enjoy all the love though, especially when it comes in the form of tiny boogers being wiped on my shirt and very little sleep at night.

I have had the pleasure of attending a women's book study over the summer at a local church that has been a really uplifting opportunity to discuss the difficulties of being a wife and mother with other women in the same season of life. One of the topics that came up today was how mothers are constantly giving of themselves in service to others - to their husband, to their children, to their friends, to their community - and how it is in our very nature to be so generous with ourselves. The danger in all this, of course, is that eventually we women become so exhausted by all this giving and just need some time to focus on ourselves - our help, our well-being, our spirituality. It struck a real chord with me because this is something I struggle with all the time. I exhaust myself in providing for my family and eventually I simply explode because I crave time away from it all, especially time to pray or simply sit in quiet somewhere. If you've ever been to my house, you know how loud my kids are. They are loud. Ridiculously so. I thought they might all be partially deaf and dragged them to the doctor but apparently their ears are perfect. They just enjoy yelling instead of speaking. Basically, I should hand out migraine medication to anyone who comes to visit because there's no way you're leaving without a headache.

Anyway, back to my original point, I need to take better care of my own needs - especially my spiritual needs - in order to better serve my family. Since two out of my three kids never nap and wake up before the sun rises because they are insane, I am basically never without children. As soon as they go to bed, I collapse in a heap on the couch and fall asleep. And then the whole thing starts all over again. It's great fun 80% of the time, but the other 20% I just want to hide in my closet and read quietly with ear plugs blocking out the noise. So, I've been trying my best to do something about that.

I've decided one of the areas that I need a bit more fulfillment is in my spiritual life. I really have missed attending Mass during the week. I used to attend all the time, but then both girls had a serious meltdown one time and it traumatized me from going back and it just completely fell out of my routine. I do attend sporadically and have found that when I make an effort to go, God really gives me a nice extra showering of grace to power through my day with my very loud, very high-energy children. So, even with my three little ones in tow, I've been trying to go see Him more often during the week. Most of the time we are banished to the cry room in the back because my two year old does not know how to whisper and my four-year-old cannot sit still. Also, at some point during Mass they will all inevitable fight over who gets to sit on my lap. It's great. BUT I'm there! And inevitably, even though I'm stressed at points during it, I always leave feeling a bit better than I did when I came. And, when I sit back and reflect upon my day during the twenty seconds before I completely pass out for the night, I realize that I was able to handle the meltdowns, the fights, and the mundane nature of my work with a bit more grace. I need to commit to visiting Him more often because he truly knows I need it and rewards me greatly for it.

Proud of the "ties" they gifted their Dad for Father's Day.

As a little aside to that, while at Mass this afternoon Lucy had the entire congregation in stitches as we were slowly walking up for communion. She noticed the big, tall Easter candle by the baptismal font in the front was unlit and it bugged her to no end. So, she kept proclaiming loudly for all to hear, while I tried desperately to shush her, "Uh-oh! Happy Birthday not working! The Happy Birthday not working!" She wouldn't stop. Even our priest was in stitches about it which took a little bit away from my embarrassment.

Sorry for my endless rambling, but this is just what has been on my heart as of late! If you made it through that brain dump, congratulations! You deserve a fantastic recipe for Chocolate Babka!

Obviously, one of the ways I serve my family is by baking them treats and cooking their meals. Babka is something I have made traditionally around Christmastime for the last nine years but only recently have my children developed a love for it, particularly Matthew. One of the items I looked forward trying the most while in New York City, was an authentic babka. Of course, I ended up trying a non-traditional version but it was still delicious. Matthew polished off most of the loaf when we got home and kept begging me to make more. The loaf we had in NYC was interesting because they used a chocolate paste as the filling rather than the traditional filling of loose chopped chocolate and cocoa powder. The paste idea was appealing to me because I have always found the most tedious part about making babka to be rolling and twisting the dough carefully so that the bits of chocolate does not fall out everywhere. My counter always ends up covered in chocolate by the end. So, since Matthew had been bugging me to make more, I decided to try baking a babka with a more paste-like filling akin to the one we had tried at Breads Bakery in NYC.

The result? I think I've found my new favorite babka recipe. Not only was the paste easier to work with, I thought the entire process of this recipes was much more streamlined and certainly less messy. I loved the flavor of it and thought the chocolate swirls actually distributed much better with the paste rather than the loose chocolate. This is a crazy good treat!

As I'm typing this up, Matthew is reminding me to make it again soon. I have no idea why I usually wait until Christmas! My kids will take this over cinnamon rolls and banana bread any day!

And, just an FYI, if you're a Mom in desperate need of a few minutes to yourself in a day, eating a slice of this while hiding from your children in the coat closet during a game of hide-and-seek might be the perfect part of your day. Not that I've actually done that or anything...

Better Chocolate Babka
from Smitten Kitchen

Note: I included the weight measurements because baking is so dependent on proper measurement of ingredients. I almost always weight my ingredients using a scale from chemistry lab (don't worry, it's been cleaned!). Also, the sugar syrup that is brushed on the freshly baked loaves is a must! Do not skip it!

Dough
4 1/4 cups (530 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
Grated zest of 1 small lemon or half an orange (I omit)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup water (cold is fine) and up to 1 to 2 tablespoons extra, if needed
3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter (150 grams or 5.3 ounces) at room temperature
Sunflower or other neutral oil, for greasing

Filling
4 1/2 ounces (130 grams) dark chocolate (or approximately 3/4 cup chocolate chips)
1/2 cup (120 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine
Scant 1/2 cup (50 grams) powdered sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon [optional]

Syrup
1/3 cup water
6 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated sugar

Make the dough:

Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and zest in the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer. Add eggs and 1/2 cup water, mixing with the dough hook until it comes together; this may take a couple minutes. It’s okay if it’s on the dry side, but if it doesn’t come together at all, add extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a mass. With the mixer on low, add the salt, then the butter, a spoonful at a time, mixing until it’s incorporated into the dough. Then, mix on medium speed for 10 minutes until dough is completely smooth; you’ll need to scrape the bowl down a few times. I usually found that after 10 minutes, the dough began to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t, you can add 1 tablespoon extra flour to help this along.

Coat a large bowl with oil (or scrape the dough out onto a counter and oil this one) and place dough inside, cover with plastic and refrigerate. Leave in fridge for at least half a day, preferably overnight. [Dough will not fully double]

Make the filling: 

Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar and cocoa; mixture should form a spreadable paste. Add cinnamon, if desired.

Assemble the Loaves:

Coat two loaf pans with oil or butter, and line the bottom of each with a rectangle of parchment paper. Take half of dough from fridge (leave the other half chilled). Roll out on a well-floured counter to a rectangle about 10 inches wide and 12 inches in long.

Spread half of chocolate mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush the end farthest away from you with water. Roll the dough up with the filling into a long, tight cigar. Seal the dampened end onto the log. I found that transferring the log to a lightly floured baking tray in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes made it much, much easier to cut cleanly in half. Repeat with second dough. I've made this twice now and skipped chilling the second time and I was able to slice it just fine as long as I was careful!

Trim last 1/2-inch off each end of log. Gently cut the log in half lengthwise and lay them next to each other on the counter, cut sides up. Pinch the top ends gently together. Lift one side over the next, forming a twist and trying to keep the cut sides facing out. Don’t worry if this step makes a mess, just transfer the twist as best as you can into the prepared loaf pan. During baking, the dough will rise and puff and fill any gaps in your pan.

Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise another 1 to 1 1/2 hours at room temperature. Repeat process with second loaf.

Bake the Loaves:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Remove towels, place each loaf on the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 30 minutes, but there’s no harm in checking for doneness at 25 minutes. A skewer inserted into an underbaked babka will feel stretchy/rubbery inside and may come back with dough on it. When fully baked, you’ll feel almost no resistance. If you babka needs more time, put it back, 5 minutes at a time then re-test. If it browns too quickly, you can cover it with foil.

While babkas are baking, make syrup: Bring sugar and water to a simmer until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside to cool somewhat. As soon as the babkas leave the oven, brush the syrup all over each. It will seem like too much, but will taste just right — glossy and moist. Let cool about halfway in pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way before eating although, trust me, this is pretty amazing served warm!