baking risks
Our Thanksgiving was the quiet and weird one we figured it would be. Lil Momma asked for a pajama day and we leaned into that vibe:
Don’t want to start cooking until after we watch the parade? Sure!
Having trouble timing the rolls with the turkey being done? Rolls are the appetizer course!
Apple dessert not made yet? Dessert will be dinner!
I had missed my usual “carbs are the priority” test bake weekend, so all of the baking was an “on the day” risk – but, we were ready for it!
LM had asked for “homemade Bertucci’s rolls to dip in olive oil with parmesan” as her one meal request. Now, I have made dinner rolls, but I haven’t made Italian ones before. I found this recipe and did my best to time it out. Making the “biga” 12-24 hours ahead went well (don’t ask me about the 2 forgotten bigas from the tests that never happened, haha, but please don’t), but I ran into some trouble with not knowing how long the first and second proves would be and timing those around cooking our turkey breast; usually, our kitchen is a lot warmer from baking all Thanksgiving morning, but Luke bought himself a pumpkin pie and I was making a random apple dessert later in the day. Once we realized the rises were taking significantly longer than usual, we moved to having rolls be our second appetizer course (we had a cheese plate in honor of my sweet mom as mid-morning/parade snack) and I took my time with the shaping and all that.
Amazingly, the rolls turned out really well! Luke made an herbed cheesy oil and we all had our little plates to dip to our hearts’ content. LM was super excited and it was great to make this happen for her AND have a baking win under my belt.
My birthday is right around Thanksgiving (well, Thanksgiving when it isn’t as early as this!) and I always make an apple pie (my favorite) that no one else really enjoys and that is what I have for breakfast and with candles on my day. With Thanksgiving being so early this year, that wouldn’t work. Instead, Luke had sent me this video about an apple pie + cinnamon roll streusel muffin mashup that I randomly decided to go for. The only thing I changed was that I made my own apple pie filling using this recipe and froze the leftovers (so good on pancakes, ice cream, or just as a treat!).
Now, Luke didn’t have a lot of faith in this idea (even though HE SUGGESTED IT!) and was worried I’d be without a dessert as I don’t eat pumpkin pie. Somehow, the recipe worked! It probably would have been better with the icing from the pop-tube, but ours had exploded when Luke popped the tube, so we just ate them plain. They were such a good and fun sweet treat! I’d definitely bake them again (even if LM ate around the apple pie filling, haha).
Have you taken any baking risks lately? Do you do a specific dessert or treat on your birthday?
Unbaked Cherry Cheesecake is usually what I have on my birthday (not this year, we were on vacation) and on Christmas Day for dessert! We also always have a cinnamon coffee cake for breakfast on Christmas morning.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love a cinnamon coffee cake!! We do homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, but I'm thinking of baking them for Christmas Eve morning, too, because there are only 3 of us and trying to pull them together on Christmas morning when I want to just be with my people is a bit much/rushed.
DeleteHappy birthday to you!
ReplyDeleteI have a hack for you in case you're making rolls and the kitchen isn't warm enough. Put the bowl of dough on a heating pad! It works like a charm.
I love cake so would eat any such on my birthday or anytime, but my favourite is angel food, with berries and some non-dairy whipped cream!
Thank you!! And that is SUCH A GOOD HACK!! I never thought of using a heating pad... I'll let you know how it works for me. Always such great tips from you, Nicole!
DeleteI am trying to switch from my own gluten-free flour mix to a less expensive, readymade gluten-free flour, so every recipe is an adventure right now. Turns out that my mix is superior in most recipes, so I might not make the move permanently. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteI think it's impressive that your mix is superior, but I get the ease a readymade mix would give you (once you get through the trial and error portion). Best of luck!
DeleteHappy birthday to you. All the things you baked look good.
ReplyDeleteI usually bake a strawberry pie for my birthday. For. the husband I try different ones unless he has a request.
Thank you so much! And, strawberry pie sounds delicious! I made a roasted strawberry pie last year for my team at work, but the filling looked like a melted Fruit Rollup, which was a little weird, haha!
DeleteHappy birthday! These baking projects all sound delicious, especially the apple pie/cinnamon roll mashup. Yum! I love anything with lemon curd, so I usually have something with that for my birthday.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Lil Momma is all about lemon - she is always shocked when her friends aren't wowed by the results of her lemon-flavored baking adventures; apparently, lemon isn't the typical fave of the 10-year-old crowd...
DeleteOoh, we are nearly birthday twins! When is your birthday? Mine was the 28th.
ReplyDeleteI love having cupcakes for my birthday! This year, my mom made me chocolate cupcakes with peppermint frosting and it may be the only dessert I ever need.
That dipping oil looks SO GOOD!
Birthday bookends - I’m the 29th! Hope you had the best day last week; those cupcakes sound delicious! Just the right minty balance to the chocolate.
DeleteOh, the oil was controversial, haha! I loved it (all garlicky and herby and cheesy), but my daughter called foul because Bertucci’s oil is “clear”. Such high standards!
Happy Belated Birthday! Those rolls sound DELICIOUS. I'm going to try them this weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! They could have done with some icing - I don't even like icing on rolls and I'm saying that!!
DeleteBoth the rolls and muffins look/sound delicious. Happy belated birthday. I always bake marble pound cake for my birthday (it's what my mom used to bake for me and my sister a lot growing up).
ReplyDelete