Caramel Brioche Sticky Buns

Look out teeth, watch out gums, gird your thighs, here it comes!

I share because I care....and want you to gain as much weight as I do.
what you'll need my homies:

4 lg. egg yolks
1 lg. egg
1/4 c. sugar
6 T. butter, softened
6 oz. buttermilk

In my Kitchen Aid, I used the whisk attachment and made sure this was all blended well, then added:
2 c. flour
2 1/4 tsp. instant dry yeast (or one packet)
1 1/4 tsp. salt

blend some more, it will look like thick cake batter, swap out the whisk for the dough hook.
then add another 1 1/2 c. flour
if its sticking to the bottom of the bowl in a big way, add about 1/4 c. flour, but you shouldn't need any more than that.
remove the dough and on a lightly floured surface, knead by hand  for about 30 seconds to form a smooth ball.

Let your dough rise in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap for about 2 hours or until more than double in size and puffy.
When your dough has doubled, get out a 9 x 13 dish and add the following:

1 stick butter, melted
1 c. brown sugar

and stir to combine

to the top of that, toss in about a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans, your choice.

Now, lets get the dough ready.
Pat it out into a rectangle about 12 x 18 inches.

To the top of that, spread about 2 Tbs. melted butter, then 1 c. brown sugar with 1 Tb. cinnamon mixed in.
Spread all that around.

*whew!*  I don't think I've ever taken so many pictures of a recipe.
But, they are that good.
okay, so roll it up from the long side.

Please don't mind my craggy, quickly aging hands...*sigh*

winter kills my Irish skin =/

anyway...time to slice!

Cut the log in half, then each half into 6 pieces to end up with 12.



Place them in 4 rows of 3 (or 3 rows of 4, whatever) in the dish.

Cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place to double, about 1 hour or a little more.

mmmm...when the buns look close to doubled, preheat your oven to 350*
once its up to temp, drop em like they're hot in the oven to bake for 35 mins.
at the 15 minute mark, place a large sheet of foil over the tops of the buns.
brioche browns very quickly and can overbrown on top before the bottoms are cooked through.

nom....now, turn them out onto a dish or tray.

They are best eaten that day...so get your fork, you've got a lot of sticky buns to nosh!

once you are totally sugar sick, wrap up the rest in an air-tight container or in plastic wrap or something to keep the air out.

ugh...I need a glass of milk before the sugar coma overtakes me.

Low-work Peanut Butter Cookies

not low-carb, low-fat or low-sugar
but, hey Im throwing you a bone here.

all you'll need:

1 c. peanut butter
1 c. brown sugar

mix well, then add:
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

finally:
1/4 c. cornstarch

once mixed, roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in sugar

make some pretty forky marks on top

bake the loverly forky dough balls at 350*F for 12 minutes.

cool completely before eating them all with a glass of cold milk storing.
this recipe made 17 cookies for me, most likely I could have had 18
but, the dough was really good.

Disheveled Joseph

They just didn't seem all that sloppy to me.

Step aside Manwich, there's a new Joe in town.

what you'll need:

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground meat (I had turkey)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped

brown meat with veggies, then add:

1/3 c. brown sugar
1-2 Tbs. steak seasoning blend (I had a pepper steak blend)

stir sugar and seasonings into meat well, then add:

1 T. worchestershire
1 T. rice vinegar
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 c. BBQ sauce (your favorite is fine here)
1/4 c. ketchup

stir well and let simmer on low until mixture thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
I really love those onion/poppy seed buns.
They rock my world, but go crazy here as you'd like.
BUN CRAZY o.O

Hazelnut Biscotti

You've tried black walnut, you've had pecan, pistachio and almond, but there ain't no nut that's got anything over the hazelnut!

let's do this thing:

~1/4 c. butter, unsalted, room temp. (1/2 stick)
~3/4 c. sugar
~1/2 tsp. salt
~1 tsp. vanilla

mix well, then add:

~1 whole lg. egg
~1 lg. egg white

mix again, then add:
~2 cups flour
~1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
~3/4 cups chopped hazelnuts

mix until a dough forms
*if its really sticky, add up to a few more tablespoons of flour until the dough is slightly sticky, but handleable.  Handleable?  Is that even a word?
I didn't need any extra flour today, maybe because its so dry, humidity-wise.

Form into a long log about 3/4 inch high, 2 1/2 - 3 inches wide and probably 15 inches long.

Brush the top of the log with yet another egg white, beaten.
Bake in a preheated 350*F oven for 30 - 35 minutes.
Remove from oven and after only a couple minutes gently lift the log off the pan and onto a cutting surface.
With a large knife, cut into bars about 1/2 inch thick (mine were a little thicker, its up to you) with one swift chop down, just like you would cut through celery.

Place the bars cut side up back onto the cookie sheet and return to the oven.
Turn temp down to 325*F and bake for 20 more minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool.

These little guys are so good, crunchy and not overly sweet, no icing or chocolate drizzle required.
But, if you have to...I won't hold it against you.

*Make sure you cool them completely before storing or they won't stay crunchy.