Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Cake

Hello All and Happy Monday! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Ours was full of baseball, softball, gardening and sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing. Perfect.

The other day I was having a serious craving for chocolate and peanut butter. I mean, it was weird. I mentioned a while ago we were planning on expanding our family and so I was secretly hoping it was some pregnancy craving. No baby yet, but that didn't stop me from eating every chocolate and peanut butter combination I could get my hands on.

I had a peanut butter chocolate chip granola bar, a Reeses peanut butter Easter egg cup, skinny cow chocolate clusters dipped in...you guessed it...peanut butter. But it still wasn't enough. I needed MORE! So I opened up my cabinets and started digging until I found everything I needed to make a Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Cake!

This thing is amazing! I can't stop eating it. It has melted peanut butter, melted semi sweet chocolate and a combination of melted chocolate and peanut butter drizzled over the top. It gave me three super shiny pretty colors to top this great cake off with. 

All I did was turn over a bundt cake pan, made my normal rice crispy recipe, let it set, and topped it with the melted sweet goodness. Boom. Done. 

Next time you need to make a fast cake for a party, try this out. The beauty of the cake takes away from just how darn easy it it :)

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter
4-5 cups mini marshmallows
1 Tbsp vanilla
6 cups rice crispies cereal


3 Tbsp peanut butter, divided
1/2 cup chocolate chips, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp shortening, divided

Directions:

Grease a bundt pan really well and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot on low heat.

Add in the marshmallows and vanilla and stir with a non stick spatula until all the mallows are melted.

Stir in the cereal until evenly coated. Pour into the bundt pan and press it down with buttered fingers or buttered wax paper. 

Let it set for about an hour.

Turn bundt pan over and the cake should slide out. If it doesn't, try running a knife along the edges.

In a small bowl melt the chocolate chips (except for 1 Tbsp) with 1/2 Tbsp shortening. In another small bowl melt the peanut butter (except for 1 Tbsp) with 1/2 Tbsp shortening. Then add the remaining chocolate chips, peanut butter and shortening together and melt together in another small bowl. Each one took about a minute, stirring halfway through.

Drizzle each one over the cake until you have as much as you want. Do not place in the fridge to harden the chocolate. This will be served "wet" as in the topping won't harden. My experience is if I put rice crispies in the fridge they harden up and aren't enjoyable to eat.

Slice it up and enjoy!

I am going to have to do this next time I am asked to make a cake and don't have a lot of time. So did you all have a great weekend? Anyone do anything new and fun? Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to the scoop, simple supper tuesday, titus 2 tuesday, create link inspire, too cute tuesday, tutorial tuesday, creative muster party, whats cookin wednesday, wicked awesome wednesday, inspire me wednesday, whatever goes wednesday, full plate thursday, pin it thursday, bloom designs, the homeacre hop, thursday style, friday flash, kitchen fun and crafty friday, friday link party, creativity unleashed, weekend potluck, weekend bloggy reading, much ado about monday, frugal crafty home

Show Stopper Saturday Link Party

Hey Hey and Happy Saturday! I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! Hub and I are heading out for a (minor league) baseball game with some good friends tonight, but first I need to get my party on!

I'm so excited to be a co-host for the Show Stopper Saturday Link Party! If you are a fellow blogger, thank you so much for stopping by and feel free to add any of your favorite recipes. If you don't have a blog, still thank you so much for coming and I hope you enjoy all the yummy amazing recipes that are linked up. Now let's party!

Here's what we've been up to lately:

Steak & Onion Grilled Cheese from Will Cook For Smiles

Raspberry Pound Cake from Organizer By Day

Rockslide Brownie Cookies from Simply Gloria

Parmesan Polenta with Lemon Thyme Wild Mushrooms from Joyful Healthy Eats

 And the most viewed was: 

Creamy Chicken Casserole by Luv A Bargain

Now show us what you've been up to!

An InLinkz Link-up

Breakfast Crescent Roll Ups

Hey All! Happy Thursday to ya! Do you have a house full of picky eaters like us?! Hub and I hate tomatoes. I hate onions. He hates ranch. I hate super spicy stuff. He hates sugary things. Seriously?! How do I have this blog and make all my sweet stuff and not have someone to help me eat it all!? Good thing I teach Zumba :)

So today I have an easy breakfast recipe that can satisfy every person in your family. I got this idea Sunday morning when Hub was dying for some bacon and I wanted sausage and bacon. I opened the fridge, looked around and saw my inspiration. Crescent Sheets. I love these things. And I love what I made with them! These are individualized Breakfast Crescent Roll Ups:

These were absolutely delicious! And the best part was Hub got his bacon loaded, hot sauce filled roll up and I got mine exactly how I wanted it, too! Win Win!

First, roll out a crescent sheet:

Lay your cheese on top. I used sliced cheese instead of shredded because I knew it'd stay in the wrap easier:

Then add the eggs: 

These roll ups make it so easy to give everyone what they want. Hub likes his eggs scrambled ahead of time with hot sauce, salt and pepper. I like mine cracked in the pan with a pinch of dill and garlic powder.

Then top with your meat and/or veggies:

Roll up the crescent roll as tight as you can:

Slice and place on a baking sheet:

Bake em up and devour!

Ingredients:

Crescent roll sheets (one tube feeds 2-4 people)

Favorite cheese slices

Eggs

Breakfast meat

Veggies

Seasonings you love

Directions:

Roll out your crescent sheet and cut it in half width wise. Grease a large baking sheet and pre heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook your breakfast meat of choice and let cool while you cook the eggs. I would suggest scrambling your eggs, but feel free to try another way.

While your eggs are cooking, lay your favorite cheese slices onto your crescent sheet. Add whatever seasonings you like to your eggs.

Add your eggs on top of the cheese and let the eggs cool for about a minute. While they cool, cut up your meat. This makes the roll easier to slice.

Add the cooled meat to the cooled eggs and top with any veggies you want. 

Roll up the crescent sheet as tight as you can without tearing it. This is why you let the eggs and meat cool. If they were still piping hot they would rip the sheet.

Slice into 5-6 pieces and lay open side up on a baking sheet. Cook for about 11-13 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove and enjoy!!

So is your house full of picky eaters, too? I hope this recipe helps solve some breakfast arguments for y'all! I know it helped us :)

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to anything goes party, weekend potluck, weekend bloggy reading, creativity unleashed, best of the weekend, frugal crafty home, sunday soiree, the scoop. simple supper tuesday, titus 2 tuesday, create link inspire, too cute tuesday, tutorial tuesday, creative muster party, whats cookin wednesday, wicked awesome wednesday, inspire me wednesday, whatever goes wednesday, full plate thursday, pin it thursday, bloom designs, the homeacre hop

Raspberry Pound Cake

Hey All and Happy Monday! Hope everyone had an amazing weekend! I know we did! Saturday I went to a Bridal Shower for my little cousin and got to see most of my aunts, several cousins, several sisters (I have a lot) and my mom! It was great catching up.

Next day was Easter, and it was probably the best Easter I've ever had! I woke up, worked out, had a wonderful church service, went out to brunch with just me and the hub, took a quick nap with hub, tinkered around in my work-in-progress garden, and binge watched our new total obsession favorite show Game Of Thrones (we know, we're dorks) all while eating a ton of my Raspberry Pound Cake!

The fresh raspberries are really what make this recipe. They're so sweet and juicy and I just can't get enough! Plus it's incredibly moist. 

If only the Lannisters and Starks had something this sweet to eat, maybe they wouldn't be fighting all the time :) Go Team Stark!

Ingredients:
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup butter, softened
3 eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup sour cream
1 1/2 Cups fresh raspberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a bundt pan and set aside.

In a mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until smooth. 

Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg until fully incorporated. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the mixer. Then add the lemon juice and vanilla and stir.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture.

Add in the sour cream and beat until just mixed. Don't over mix. 

Fold in the raspberries with a spatula and pour the mixture into the bundt pan. The mix will be very thick.

Bake for about 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the pan sit for another 10 minutes before trying to remove it from the pan.

Cool, slice up and enjoy!

Side note: 

I made this awesome sauce to go over the top. I used lemon juice, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, but I didn't make an icing. I used very little sugar versus everything else. In the end it was a darker sauce, but poured over the top it was amazing. If I figure out the measurements, I'll come back and put them up.

Did you have a wonderful Easter? Did the kids find their baskets right away? Did they love everything the Easter Bunny sent them?! I know Easter has nothing to do with candy and everything to do with the Lord sacrificing himself for us. But he sacrificed himself so we can all have a wonderful life. I hope you all had as wonderful of a day as we did :)

Need a Bundt Pan?

Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Original Bundt Pan

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to the scoop, titus 2 tuesday, tasty tuesday, flusters creative muster, wicked awesome wednesday, whats cookin wednesday, create it thursday, full plate thursday, pin in thursday, bloom designs, the homeacre hop, anything goes party, weekend potluck, weekend bloggy reading, creativity unleashed, best of the weekend, frugal crafty home, sunday soiree

The Good...The Bad...The Cake Pops

So there have been a few times in my blog career that I've had some major MAJOR baking failures that I've chosen not to share with the world, because well they stunk. Like the time I tried to recreate that mini caramel apple pin everyone fell in love with before realizing it was a patched together pin and it doesn't really work! This is what mine looked like:

Fail with a capital F! But they still tasted good! So instead of sharing them with you, I shared them with friends :) And today I am going to give you a behind-the-scenes look at one of my recent epic fails. My Cake Pops:

I seriously had the ingredients for these for weeks and couldn't muster up the "courage" to make them until now. I tried them several times way before I started this blog and never once had success. They always fell apart in the assembly process.

This time I had an adorable idea to make bunny pops where there'd be a big ball on bottom and a little ball on top of that and little chocolate ears on top of that. I even made a ton of chocolate ears, again thinking this was easy peasy.

Get it, big ball on bottom, small ball on top, adorable chocolate ears on top of that. Are you picturing it?! Sounds adorable right?! Well, this is what I got:

HA! Hahaha! I have to laugh at them. They're just no where near what I was imagining but life is too short and I have to laugh at myself. When I tried to push the skewer all the way through the big ball to add the small cake ball, it just fell apart every.single.time. So instead of cursing aloud and tossing everything in the trash while throwing my hands up in the air, I decided to start small and work on mastering an actual cake pop before trying a harder version.

They don't look that terrible. And they taste amazing, which is really what all cooks are striving for, right? Good tasting food that makes people happy! At least, that's my goal :)

Here's a few tips I've picked up over my past few attempts that I want to share with you:

1. Don't feel bad using a box cake mix. These already take forever and the people enjoying them could care less if it's a box mix or homemade.
2. Don't over-frost. This has been my downfall in the past. I added too much frosting and this made the cake pops too heavy. They wouldn't stay on the sticks and got stuck in the chocolate over and over again.
3. Use your hands to mix this up. This goes with #2. If you use your hands you'll be able to tell quickly when you have enough frosting. Once the batter starts to stick together with an easy squeeze, you know you have enough.
4. Make sure you use a narrow, deep container to melt your chocolate and dip your cake balls in. I used a small Ball jar and it worked perfectly!
5. Don't feel like you have to freeze these over and over again. I froze them once and that was plenty. 
6. Go spend the $1.07 on a Styrofoam block. This is something I haven't had before this time around. It made such a difference. After I dipped and twirled and tapped the heck out of the cake balls, it was so much easier sticking them in styrofoam to help the chocolate harden and keep its form.

So...here we go!

Ingredients:

• 1 13x9 cake, cooked and cooled (I used a box of funfetti cake, but feel free to use your favorite cake recipe)
• Favorite frosting (amount depends on the cake; see details above. I used about a 1/2 cup)
• Cake pop sticks
• 1 package White chocolate chips
• 1 package Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Sprinkles

Directions:
Put your cooked cake into a large bowl and crumble with your hands until it becomes fine crumbs.

Add in the frosting, a small amount at a time, and use your hands to work the frosting into the cake mix. Keep adding until the cake mix will hold a ball shape but is still slightly crumbly.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of cake dough and use your hands to squish them into balls. Set each ball on a plate.

Melt a handful of each kind of chocolate chip into a small bowl. Dip a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate, then push the stick into the cake ball until it's about halfway through. Alternate between chocolates. 

Set them on a plate and place them in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

While they are freezing, pour your remaining chocolate chips into deep narrow cups, or mason jars like I did. Microwave until the chocolate is smooth.

Remove the cake balls and dip each one into the melted chocolate, making sure to fully submerge the ball. 

Pull the cake ball out of the chocolate and start spinning the cake ball on its side, allowing the excess to drip back into the jar. Continue spinning until all the excess is off. You might have to give the stick a few taps to get it all off.

Push the cake pop into the styrofoam brick, cake pop side up, and allow to dry there. If you are adding sprinkles be sure to add right away. They won't stick to a dried cake pop. 

If you need to, put the pops back in the freezer to dry quickly. Mine dried just fine out in the open, though. Enjoy!!

So please tell me I'm not alone when it comes to totally failing at these yummy treats! I'm sure there's a magical formula somewhere...I just haven't found it yet. :) But for now, I'm pretty happy with how this batch turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to frugal crafty home, much ado about monday, sunday soiree, amaze me monday, weekend bloggy reading, creativity unleashed, weekend potluck, friday link party, kitchen fun and crafty friday, tidy mom, thursday style, friday flash blog, the scoop, titus 2 tuesday, tasty tuesday, flusters creative muster, wicked awesome wednesday, whats cookin wednesday, full plate thursday, pin in thursday, bloom designs, the homeacre hop

Perfect Pasta Salad

Hey All and Happy Monday to ya! My birthday celebration just keeps going and it's wonderful! This weekend we had some of our close friends and family over to have a cook out, enjoy the amazing weather and celebrate me getting older more fabulous!

We had hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, fruit...

chips, my apple cinnamon cupcakes, and my favorite dish that I make a million times every spring/summer: my Perfect Pasta Salad!

Why is it perfect? Because it's fast, simple, inexpensive and can easily be changed up anyway you want! Just cut up a block of your favorite cheese and your favorite peppers, throw in your favorite pasta and add some Italian dressing. Boom. Done. Let's eat!!

My college roomy showed me this salad a while back and I love her so much for it! Thanks Barton!

Ingredients:

3-4 Cups rainbow twist pasta
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 8oz block colby jack cheese
1/2 bottle Italian dressing

Directions:

Cook the pasta as directed on the box. Drain and set aside to cool. 

Cut up all three peppers and the block of cheese into small squares.

Check to make sure the pasta is no longer hot. If it is, run some cold water over it. Once cooled, pour pasta into a large bowl. Add the peppers, cheese and Italian dressing and stir until everything is covered in dressing.

Refrigerate over night, or serve immediately.

That's it. See I told you it's easy. And there are so many things I've added over the years, but it always tastes great. One time I added chopped up pepperoni and black olives. I also once did this with a little bit of chopped red onion for a work pitch in. No matter what I do this recipe never fails me! 

So what fun things did you get into this weekend? Anyone have a birthday this time of year? If so, I hope it is wonderful!

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to frugal crafty home, much ado about monday, sunday soiree, amaze me monday, weekend bloggy reading, creativity unleashed, creativity unleashed, weekend potluck, friday link party, kitchen fun and crafty friday, tidy mom, thursday style, friday flash blog, the homeacre hop, bloom designs, all things thursday, full plate thursday, create it thursday, work it wednesday, buns in my oven, wicked awesome wednesday, flusters creative muster, create link inspire, simple supper tuesday, titus 2 tuesday, tasty tuesday, the scoop

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

It's my Birthday!!! 

Well, it was three days ago anyway. This one was a little different for me because it was the first one I wasn't really that excited about. Usually I'm screaming it from the rooftops that it's my birthday, but not this year. You see, it's my last year in my 20's (even typing that was hard) and I'm not walking into this year as gracefully as I usually do. But I'm slowly getting over the fact that my 20's are slipping away. You get better with age, right?! And since it's my birthday I get my birthday week!

What does a birthday week entail you ask? Well it's basically a week where you get whatever you want, no questions asked. So for me, instead of cooking every night, it was Hub's job. Instead of cleaning out the cat litter, it was Hub's job. Instead of Hub playing his video games, he had to watch my terrible tv shows with me. If I wanted a back rub all I had to do was ask instead of begging for one. It's a pretty awesome week. 

So for my birthday week I a) took a break from blogging, b) ate anything I wanted and c) made my own birthday cupcakes. I received this wonderful gift from one of my many sisters and just had to use it right away. 

The Ultimate Cupcake Kit

I decided to break these in with my Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing!

And there's a surprise in the middle! They're filled with apple butter! These cupcakes are so moist and bursting with flavor. The sweetness of the apple is dulled by the bitterness of the lemon. And since I had my new "coring" tool, I was able to scoop out the middle of the cupcakes easily. 

It's a birthday party!!

Whether you have a birthday coming up, or just want to make something sweet, these are a must try!

Ingredients:
1 Can Apple Cinnamon pie filling
1 1/2 Cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 Cup vegetable oil
1/2 Cup milk
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
1 jar Apple Butter

Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
12 oz cream cheese (1 1/2 blocks), softened
1 Cup powdered sugar
1 lemon, squeezed (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.

Mash the apple cinnamon filling with a pastry cutter until it's a smooth consistency. 

Combine the apple mix with the sugar, eggs, oil and milk in a large bowl until smooth.

In a small bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry mix to the apple mix using a spatula. Stir until fully combined.

Pour the cupcake mix into the Batter Bottle and pour into the cupcake liners. If you don't have a batter bottle, just spoon the mix into the pan. The bottle just makes it a little easier :)

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place them on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Don't core them until you can touch the bottom and the cupcake is cool. 

Place the corer in the center of the cupcake and slightly press down while turning the corer. Stop once the plastic disk hits the cupcake. Throw out the middle or eat most of them like I did. 

Fill each cupcake with as much apple butter as you want.

For the frosting:

Combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice in your mixer on high speed for about 3-4 minutes or until the frosting is smooth and doesn't have lumps. 

Scoop frosting into your decorating bottle with whatever tip you want to use and pile it on the cupcakes! If you don't have a decorating bottle, just use a knife. Refrigerate until serving and enjoy!

Are you an April baby, too?! Best month to be born in! Can I get some love from my Aries people!? Probably not, because we're stubborn firey people :)

Thanks for stopping by! 

** I linked up to weekend potluck, kitchen fun and crafty friday, tidy mom, thursday style, the homeacre hop, bloom designs, all things thursday, full plate thursday, work it wednesday, buns in my oven, wicked awesome wednesday, flusters creative muster, create link inspire, simple supper tuesday, titus 2 tuesday, tasty tuesday, the scoop, showlicious saturday, best of the weekend

Cheesy Chicken Bacon Pasta

Happy Hump Day everyone! Hope your week is going fabulously. To all you spring breakers out there somewhere warm...please bring me some heat!! The Midwest is trying so hard to get to spring temperatures, but it is very slow moving. 

We have been lucky to have a few warm days here and there, and I've been taking full advantage! This Monday was one of those days. I took the pup on a super long walk, I cleaned out the back of my car, and I finally dug through the garage and found all of our outdoor furniture and set it back up. I love how warm weather gets me motivated to clean and organize!

Another thing I love about warm weather is I can use my grill! Yes my Hub knows how to use the grill, but he thinks it's a hassle. I think "Woot one more dish I don't have to clean! And Woot fire grilled food tastes awesome!" So I fired up the grill and got some chicken cooked up and ready to go for my Cheesy Chicken Bacon Pasta.

It's so creamy and cheesy. And you don't have to make the chicken on the grill if you don't want to. I did because it was nice out and I think everything cooked on the grill tastes amazing...and I didn't feel like scrubbing a pan.

 

This recipe is delicious and the best part is you probably already have all the ingredients. I served this with green beans, but you could easily add broccoli to yours and have everything together in one dish! Boom! Dinner rocked!

Ingredients:
(This meal serves two)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
2 Cups elbow macaroni, cooked
1 Cup mozzarella (or more if you love cheese like me), divided
1 jar alfredo, divided
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt and pepper

Directions:

Make your bacon and macaroni while you grill your chicken breast. Let the chicken cool until its easy to handle and cut it into bite size pieces.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Stir together the Alfredo, garlic, salt and pepper and set aside.

Now you can either layer this dish like I did, or get out a large bowl and mix everything together before pouring it in the casserole dish. If you want to layer it, I did this order:

-Macaroni
-Half the Alfredo
-Half the mozzarella 
-Grilled chicken
-Bacon
-Remaining mozzarella
-Remaining Alfredo

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until it starts to bubble. Enjoy!

I chose to layer this dish because it ended up leaving some macaroni not entirely saturated in the Alfredo and I like it like that. Feel free to mix everything together instead and bake for the same amount of time. 

Hopefully we'll be saying good bye to winter weather soon enough so I can get back to grilling all the time. I never thought I'd look forward to April showers so much :)

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to wake up wednesday, flusters creative muster, tutorial tuesday, titus 2 tuesday, the scoop, show me what you got, make it pretty monday, nifty thrifty tuesday, meal planning monday,  the diyers, made by you monday, metamorphosis monday, frugal crafty home, much ado about monday, clever chicks blog hop, the sunday soiree, amaze me monday, think pink sunday, simple living eating, im lovin it, kitchen fun and crafty friday, thursday style, bloom designs, all things thursday, full plate thursday, create it thursday

Pull Apart Easter Bread

Happy April Fools Day everyone!! This day is soo under appreciated! My roommates in college had the great joy unfortunateness of being my friend on this day. I got them so good our first year of college, that they now remember this day every year and I'm actually not even allowed to call them on today because they won't answer. I am ruthless. I go waaay too far and then some. It's only once a year, and it's totally worth it to freak someone out!

Here's an example of some of the things I've done in the past. One year I called my sister; she was driving so I made her pull over. I told her I was dying of some extremely rare disease, there was no cure, and Dad and I were moving to Australia because that's where I wanted to spend my last few months. She started bawling and said she was moving with us. I started cracking up and yelled April Fools!! She hung up and wouldn't answer my calls for a week!!! That's a long time for us seeing as we talk almost every day. 

This year I waited until Hub was in the shower to enact my plan. I ran downstairs and grabbed the ketchup bottle and squirted it all over my hand. Then I busted into the bathroom, while he was in the shower (knowing he didn't have his contacts in and therefore wouldn't be able to see well), and started screaming I had cut off my finger. He.flipped.out. I'm not kidding when I say he almost fell out of the shower he was shaking so hard at the sight of (what he thought was) blood. Oh yeah, did I mention my Hub passes out at the sight of blood? I'm a bad person. But I immediately shouted April Fools and he eventually recovered. He was a little paler than usual when he left for work, but I had made his whole staff some Pull Apart Easter Bread, so all was forgiven...I hope!

This bread is a little complex, but so worth all the steps. Really for the most part this recipe is all about waiting. You just have to wait until the dough rises so you get a nice fluffy bread in the end. 

So first you roll out the dough. Then cut it into fourths. Then cut each fourth four more times. Roll two strips together a few times and twist those into a bun. Do that nine more times, until they are all rolled up. Let it rise, bake and you're done!

Make this recipe your own. Instead of strawberries and cream cheese, try butter and cinnamon. Or almonds. Or fresh berries. Possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

6 Cups Flour
1 package rapid rise yeast
1/2 Cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 eggs
1 3/4 Cup milk
1/2 Cup butter
1 tsp almond extract

1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp water

2 Cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Lemon juice from above
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Cup strawberry jam

Directions:


In a large bowl whisk together 4 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and the salt. Set aside. Grease another large bowl and set that aside, too.

Zest and juice your lemon and set aside. Whisk the three eggs into a small bowl.

Melt the butter and milk together in a small sauce pan on low heat until warm (about 110 degrees). Scoop out 2/3 cup of the buttermilk and whisk it into the eggs.

Dump that whole egg mix back into the sauce pan and add the lemon zest and almond extract. Save lemon juice for later.

Slowly whisk in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until fully combined. Add in the rest of the flour a cup at a time and knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Make sure it comes together easily. If the dough is still too sticky, add more flour. 

Turn the dough around in the greased bowl to coat it with a light layer of oil. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Remove the dough and split into two halves. Roll one half out onto a floured surface to make a 12-15 inch circle. Place a clean drinking glass upside down in the middle. This will keep you from cutting in too far. 

Cut the circle into fourths, then cut each fourth four more times. This will leave you with 20 strips. Remove the glass.

Preheat the oven for 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.

Grab two strips and twist them together 4-8 times. Pinch the ends together. Twist those pieces into a bun shape and place the rolled up dough onto the center where the glass was. 

Continue this with the remaining strips until all are rolled up. There will be nine buns surrounding the middle one (so ten altogether). Transfer the breads to the baking sheets and correct any buns that came apart in the transfer.

Place a clean kitchen towel over the breads and allow to rise again for another 45 minutes.

Combine the egg yolk and water together in a small bowl and spread the egg mix over both breads. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until nice and brown on top. Let cool. Using your thumb, push an indention into the middle of the little buns to allow room for the strawberry jam and cream cheese filling.

For the icing:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla together until it forms a shiny white icing. Add more powdered sugar if you need to. Set aside about a 1/4 cup of the icing and drizzle the rest over both breads. 

Add the cream cheese to the remaining 1/4 cup and scoop into half the buns in each bread. Add the strawberry jam to the ones you didn't put the cream cheese in. 

Serve immediately, or place in the fridge over night and serve the next day. This bread is amazing warm or cold. I can't stop eating it!


So are you a Fooler on today? Or were you like "Oh yeah, it's April Fool's Day"? Let me know your best tricks...maybe I'll use them next year :)

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***recipe modified from here