Lemon Poppyseed Sweet Rolls with Strawberry Glaze

Ever since I found The Pioneer Woman's sweet roll recipes in college, I've been hooked. I had previously been of the "yeah, cinnamon buns are pretty delicious I guess" camp, and now I am fully converted to "holy cow I never want to stop eating these forever." And it's all thanks to The Pioneer Woman.

I used her dough base and wanted to do something fresh and summery, a contrast to the Red Velvet Sweet Rolls I made earlier. Lemons always taste bright and like summer to me, and strawberries are juuust reaching the tail end of the season, so I knew I had to act quickly. (Even though I happened to use frozen strawberries. It just felt better to do it now, okay?) This recipe makes an astronomical amount of sweet rolls, so unless you're planning on sharing (and substantially increasing your popularity by doing so), half the recipe should be more than adequate. Foil pie pans are a great vehicle for baking these if you are planning on gifting some to friends/family/neighbours. If time is of a bit more concern, the dough can be made the night before and left to rise in the fridge.

Lemon Poppyseed Sweet Rolls with Strawberry Glaze
Author: Amanda, adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Difficulty: easy (though time consuming)
Makes: 2-3+ dozen sweet rolls

Ingredients
Dough:

• 4 cups milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons/2 packages yeast
• 8+1 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 heaping tablespoon salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
• 1 scant teaspoon baking soda

Filling:

• 1/2 + 1/4 cup melted butter, for rolls and pans
• zest of 2 lemons
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 heaping tablespoons poppyseeds

Glaze:

• 600g package frozen strawberries, thawed (or around 2 cups fresh strawberries)
• 1 cup white sugar
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup water

Directions:
Combine milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large pot or Dutch oven. Scald the milk and allow to cool until just a little warmer than lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast over milk and stir in, and allow to bloom for approximately 5 minutes. Stir in 8 cups of flour until combined, and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm, draft-free location. Add additional cup of flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Divide in half, and roll out dough to 10x30 inches. Zest lemons and use your fingers to mix with sugar. Pour approximately 1/4 cup melted butter on dough and use a pastry brush to smooth out. Sprinkle half the lemon sugar over the rolled out dough, and sprinkle one heaping tablespoon of poppyseeds on dough. Roll the dough towards you, tucking it as it goes along to ensure a snug roll, and pinch the final edge into the roll. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter into pans, using a pastry brush if necessary to spread the butter evenly. Using a serrated knife, make ~1/2 inch slices along the roll and place into pans, being careful to not crowd so as to allow the rolls to rise. Repeat above steps with remaining half of dough. Allow rolls to rise for an additional 15-20 minutes, and then bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 18-20 minutes, until golden. While the rolls are baking, bring strawberries, sugar, honey, water, and lemon juice to a simmer in a pot on the stove. Simmer for 2 minutes then use an immersion blender (or carefully transfer to a regular blender), and blend into a syrup. Simmer to reduce the strawberry puree for ten minutes. As the rolls come out of the oven, ladle with strawberry glaze. It will bubble up the sides of the pan and sink in between the rolls. Allow the rolls to cool in pans, and serve.

Step-by-Step Photos

First, combine milk, sugar, and vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or a large pot. Bring it to a scald, also known as just before boiling but no bubbles have appeared yet. Turn off the heat and let cool until just-a-little-warmer-than-lukewarm. This is probably the hardest part for me. I'm bad at waiting.

Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the milk mixture. Don't just dump it in and hope for the best, because that's how you get yeast lumps in your sweet rolls. Nope, not the voice of experience at all here. If you like, you can stir or whisk in the yeast to dissolve.

Wait about five minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.

Add in the first eight cups of flour, and stir until all combined. Set in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in size for about an hour. Usually I will turn on my oven for a couple minutes to get it nice and warm and let my dough rise in there.

While the dough is rising, you can make a lemon sugar out of the lemon zest and white sugar. Use your fingers to combine. It will feel a little tacky against your fingers and will be delightfully lemon-y. Set aside.

Once the dough has risen, add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and one additional cup of flour. Stir until well incorporated.

Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half of the dough into a large, thin rectangle.

Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over the dough, and use a pastry brush (or your fingers!) to spread it around evenly, leaving a small edge on the long edges. Also brush melted butter into the pans.

Spread 1/2 of the lemon sugar over the rolled out dough. Also sprinkle one tablespoon of poppyseeds over the rolls evenly.

Roll the dough towards you, use tactile motions (like miming a keyboard), and tucking the roll as it goes to ensure a roll that won't fall apart when you progress. When you get to the final edge of the dough, pull it taught and pinch it against the rest of the roll.

Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into separate rolls, about 1/2 inch each. How thinly you slice the roll will greatly influence a) the size of your rolls b) how many rolls your recipe will yield. Place the rolls into buttered pans, being careful to not overcrowd the pan. Repeat above steps, and place the rolls aside to allow for a second rise of 15-20 minutes.

Bake rolls in a preheated 375F oven, switching between top and bottom oven racks half-way through if necessary.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Allow frozen strawberries, sugar, honey, water, and lemon juice to come to a simmer on low-medium heat in a pot on the stove. Stir often.

As the strawberries cook, they lose their shape. Simmer for two minutes, then remove from heat temporarily and carefully puree mixture with an immersion blender. (You can use a regular blender, too. Just be careful to not burn yourself by overfilling the blender.)

Return to a simmer and continue to stir often and reduce for an additional ten minutes or so. I reduced mine until the rolls were baked completely.

As the rolls come out of the oven, ladle or pour the strawberry glaze over the rolls. It will bubble up the sides and sink into the rolls, creating a delicious layer of sticky strawberry sweetness.

Allow to cool, then serve. Rolls will stay fresh for 1-2 days, but are best enjoyed the day they're made. I don't see why they wouldn't keep in the freezer, although I've never done it myself. Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

When I first met my boyfriend, I quickly learned that he has two favourite ingredients: cheese and Franks red hot sauce. Years later, this is still applicable to his life. This week, I pushed his comfort zone with some unrelated (though successful!) food experiments, so I wanted to thank him with this rich, cheesey, gooey, spicy rendition of quesadillas.

I started this recipe with raw chicken thighs, because that's what I already had on hand. If you had some leftover roasted/rotisserie/already shredded chicken, or a couple of chicken breasts to subsitute instead, it would still definitely be delicious. If you don't have a slow cooker, I would recommend poaching the chicken in a saucepan with a little bit of water and adding the seasonings afterwards. Also, feel free to use buffalo chicken sauce rather than making your own like I did. I already have an issue with condiments taking over my fridge (gotta catch 'em all!) so when an opportunity presents itself to help streamline my condiment collection, it's a wise decision to do so.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas
Author: Amanda
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4 quesadillas

Ingredients

• 3 chicken thighs (or 2 chicken breasts, or ~2 cups shredded cooked chicken)
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup vinegar-based hot sauce, such as Franks
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3-4 green onions
• 4 ten inch tortillas

Directions
Cook chicken in slow cooker with melted butter and hot sauce on low for approximately three hours, or until done and sauce is not burnt up the sides of the slow cooker. Shred chicken with two forks, and add cheeses and garlic powder. Ensure cheese is melted and well incorporated. Remove from slow cooker and allow to chill to improve texture. Spoon 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture onto one half of a tortilla and fold over. Fry in an ungreased skillet on low-medium heat, moving frequently on the pan to avoid sticking, and flip once to dry fry the other side. Remove from heat, cut into wedges, and serve.


Step-by-Step Photos

Place chicken in slow cooker and add melted butter and hot sauce. Cook on low for approximately 3 hours or 1 1/2 hours on high.

Keep an eye on the chicken as some slow cookers may differ from others. This is how mine looked after about three hours. The chicken is cooked but the sauce has not started burning on the sides of the vessel.

Shred the cooked chicken with two forks. If you are already working with shredded and cooked chicken, simply add the chicken to the hot sauce mixture and warm up in a saucepan.

Add the cream cheese and crumbled bleu cheese to the shredded chicken. Also add the garlic powder. Break up the cream cheese so that it melts easier. I left the slow cooker on for 10-15 minutes to allow everything to melt sufficiently.

Ensure the cheese is mixed well into the chicken and hot sauce. At this point, if you wanted to call it quits and have buffalo chicken dip instead, I doubt anyone would fault you. The chicken mixture was a little too saucy at this stage for me to comfortably turn it into a quesadilla - I was afraid it would all spill out into the skillet and all of my hard work would be for naught. So, I did the logical thing and transferred it to another bowl to chill in the fridge.

I chilled it for about 45 minutes, enough to give it a bit of texture again. Of course, allowing the chicken mixture to chill separately and mixing it with softened cream cheese would also work in a pinch, but I wanted an even distribution of both cheeses throughout. Slice green onions and stir them in.

Spoon 2 tablespoons onto one half of a tortilla and spread evenly, leaving a one-inch border around the edges to help limit spill-over. Fold the tortilla in half and gently press down to secure.

On an ungreased skillet on low-medium heat, place the quesadilla and frequently rotate it around so it doesn't stick to the pan. Occasionally lift to check for doneness, and flip once to cook the other side.

Remove from heat and use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into wedges.

Serve! My boyfriend dipped his in some sour cream, but I found them perfectly rich on their own.

Blueberry Bagels

I love bagels. Especially when they are toasted. Crispy, dense, chewy, and a valid excuse to consume my mass in cream cheese. As it turns out, they are super fun to make, and require significantly less rising-time than most yeast-based breads. Plus they taste way fresher than the bagels you pick up at the grocery store or at your local chain coffee shop. Now that it's getting warmer out, I probably won't be baking until the temperature is cool enough that I won't hate myself for turning on the oven. Luckily I stashed a few of these in the freezer, so I can have them whenever the mood hits.

Blueberry Bagels
Author: adapted from Joy of Cooking
Difficulty: moderate
Serves: approximately 8 bagels

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (one package)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• 1 egg white whisked with one teaspoon water

Directions
Combine warm water and 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar in a mixing bowl, and allow yeast to bloom in water for about five minutes. Stir in remaining sugar, melted butter, salt, and one cup of flour. Gradually stir in remaining flour, and knead with stand mixer with dough hook until dough is smooth and elastic, approximately five minutes. Manually knead or incorporate the blueberries. Allow dough to rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes. Then, punch dough down and separate into 8 equal pieces. Use your hands to roll each piece into a ball, and use your thumbs to push through to make a bagel shape. Allow to rest, covered, for an additional 15 minutes, where they should appear puffy. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar added. Drop bagel rings into boiling water and boil on each side for approximately 45 seconds, turning in-between. Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper dusted with cornmeal, and brush tops with egg white water mixture. Bake at 425F for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Step-by-Step Photos

Stir 2 1/2 teapoons of sugar into the warm water, and add yeast. Allow to sit and bloom, which takes about five minutes.

Add the remaining sugar, salt, and one cup of flour.

Slowly add the remaining flour and knead with a stand mixer + dough hook until dough is smooth and elastic.

Finally, add the blueberries. They are added at the end to reduce any "bleeding" that may occur into the dough.

Allow the dough to rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes. It should barely be starting to rise.

Separate the dough into 8 equal pieces (I think I ended up with 9 because I like being difficult), and make a ball with your hands, like you would with Play-Dough. Use your thumbs to press through the centre of the dough ball to make the bagel shape. Do this to all of your bagel-balls.

Cover the bagels with a tea towel and allow to rise for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil with half a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of sugar.

Drop the bagels into the boiling water, and allow to boil on each side for approximately 45 seconds. They will puff up quite a bit here, so if needed you may want to gently re-shape them after they've risen, if your bagel-hole has shrunk quite a bit. Ensure the water has returned to a boil between batches.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Lay out boiled bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cornmeal for easy clean-up. Brush the bagel tops with the egg white mixture. This is what allows the bagel tops to get all shiny and extra chewy when they are baked.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until tops are golden brown. These will keep for 1-2 days fresh, but leftovers can easily be stored in the freezer until they are ready for use.

Easy Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bread

Beer bread is one of the easiest breads you can possibly make. The only thing keeping you from delicious, fresh, homemade bread is a bottle of beer and a handful of ingredients that are already likely in your kitchen.

Beer bread works by utilizing the already-present yeast in the beer to aid in the bread rising. Because it's still much less yeast than a traditional, kneaded bread, the end result will be a denser loaf, with an almost biscuit-like texture. It's a perfectly hearty side for soups, stews, or to split as a snack with a good friend and a few more bottles of beer.

My good friend Becca re-introduced me to beer breads, and I haven't stopped since. I had a couple jalapeno peppers leftover in the fridge that were just begging to be used up, so I obliged and this was the result. It's spicy, smokey, and just a little bit cheesy. I really can't ask for more. Really, though, you can throw in whatever you have on hand - some Italian seasoning, caramelized onions with Swiss cheese cubes, or even leave it plain.

Easy Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bread
Author: Amanda
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4-6, one loaf of bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour, sifted
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 bottle beer (I typically use a lager or pale ale)
• 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• vegetable oil, for broiling

Directions

Prepare jalapeno peppers by splitting lengthwise and cutting off the tops. Remove seeds if desired (more seeds = more spicy). Line a baking sheet with tin foil, shiny side up, and lay the peppers with the cut side on the foil. Brush with vegetable oil and broil on high until heavily charred, 5-10 minutes. Once cool to touch, dice peppers small. Sift dry ingredients together and stir in shredded cheddar cheese and diced peppers. Slowly pour in bottle of beer, and stir until ingredients just combined. Grease a loaf pan and pour batter into same. Pour melted butter over the loaf and bake at 375 for one hour. Allow to cool in loaf pan for 10-15 minutes before removing to slice and serve.

Step-by-Step Photos

Start off by chopping the tops off a couple of jalapeno peppers, deseeding if desired (I deseeded one of my peppers and left the seeds in the other), and cut legthwise. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with foil, and brush with vegetable oil.

Broil on high until heavily charred, 5-10 minutes depending on your broiler settings.

Once the peppers are cool to touch, dice into small pieces.

While the peppers are cooling, you can sift together the dry ingredients. Sifting is pretty important here, because there is no kneading this bread and the sifting helps ensure there will be no lumps.

Stir in shredded cheese and chopped peppers.

Slowly pour in one bottle of beer.

Stir until just combined. I ended up having to add an extra couple teaspoons of water just to help bring everything together.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and pour melted butter over the top.

Bake at 375F for one hour, and allow to cool in loaf pan for 10-15 minutes.

Slice and serve! I had mine with some stir-fried cabbage and bacon pieces. It was delicious!