Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Bread

When I saw a recipe on pinterest for cinnamon pull apart bread I was inspired, why had I never thought of cinnamon rolls in bread form? Amazing! I also saw a recipe for apple pie cinnamon rolls, so I put those two together and what resulted is Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Bread. I had to cook it a lot longer than the cinnamon roll bread recipe called for, possibly due to the liquidity of the apple filling. If I make it again I am going to try and figure out a way to decrease the runnyness of the filling. It was quite messy to cut the apple filled dough into slices, but the messiest part by far was smooshing the rolls together. I imagine this is a cooking project that kids would LOVE!

Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Bread

Smooshed together from Top With Cinnamon and Alli n Son

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 teaspoon dried active yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For cinnamon sugar filling...

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cornstarch

For apple filling...

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup peeled, cored, grated apple (1 to 2 large apples, 3-4 small apples)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup butter, melted

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, place the cornstarch, sugar, yeast, salt and 2 cups of flour. Heat the milk and butter together in a small saucepan until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and add the water. Let this cool for about a minute, then add the vanilla, and pour all the liquid into the bowl with the flour. Stir this all together until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Start the mixer on a low speed as you add the eggs one at a time until they're just incorporated.

Stop the mixer and add 1/2 cup more flour to the bowl. Mix again at low speed for about half a minute. Add 2 more tbsp of flour and mix in on medium speed until you get a smooth, slightly sticky dough (about 45 seconds). On a work surface sprinkled with about 2 tbsp of flour, knead the dough until it's not sticky (about 1 minute). Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl and cover it with cling film. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size which should take about an hour.

While the dough rises, make the fillings. In one bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch, set aside.

In another bowl, stir together the sugars, flour and spices called for in the second filling.

Mix the grated apples with the lemon juice, then add to the flour and sugar mixture. Mix well, and place in the fridge until ready to use.

Once the dough is ready, lightly flour your work surface and gently tip the dough onto it, sprinkling a little more flour on top of the dough.

Roll the dough out into roughly a 40 x 40 cm square, then brush about 2/3 of the butter over the entire surface of the dough.

Sprinkle 3/4 of the first (cinnamon sugar) filling mixture evenly on top of the butter on the dough.

Top with the apple filling then roll the dough tightly into a log. Be prepared for some oozing.

Place the log horizontally on your work surface. Take a piece of thread and place it vertically on your work surface. With the thread still vertical, place log on top of the middle of the thread. Move the thread to the left or right, so it is still under the dough, and is one centimeter in from the end of the log. Take the ends of the thread and hold them above the log. Cross them over each other once and pull them away from each other until the thread has cut through the dough completely. (you are effectively making a loop of thread around the dough and pulling on the ends to make the loop smaller so that it cuts through the dough on all sides with an even force). On a piece of parchment paper, lay the slice down, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cut another slice and place it on top of the first slice, sprinkle with cinnamon.

Continue until you have a stack about five slices high.

Smoosh the stack a bit and place horizontally in a greased 9x13 inch bread pan. Continue in this manner until you have no dough left. Be prepared for lots of leakage, I covered the entire area with a slip pat and clean up wasn't too bad.

When all of your slices are in the pan, cover pan with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise for another hour. Fifteen minutes or so before dough is done rising, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the bread for 1 hour, when it should be golden brown on top.

Let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Run a butter knife around the edge of the pan and gently tip the loaf out onto the wire rack. Put the bread the right way round again and enjoy!

Have a sweet day!

Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownie Cookie Bites

This recipe is ridiculous. Probably the most ridiculously over the top dessert I've made in awhile. It is not for dieters. It is not for sugar-phobes. It is for special occasions or really bad days. I normally stick to from scratch recipes, but in this case I didn't, yes, that's right... I used a box mix for brownies and refrigerated cookie dough. AND I'm not sorry, cause these were delicious. And easy. And everyone loved me for making them. So without further ado... I present Peanut Butter Brownie Bites. Take a delicious candy (I used PB cups and caramel filled hearts) stuff them into a brownie and surround the whole thing with peanut butter cup cookie dough. 'Nough said.

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

From Betty Crocker

1 box (1 lb 1 oz) brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

36 unwrapped mini chocolate-covered peanut butter cup candies (from 8-oz bag)

*Note, I used fun size PB cups and some caramel filled chocolate hearts. If you use fun size candy, the cookies will turn out really big.

2 rolls (16.5 oz each) refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough, at room temperature (I used a peanut butter cup studded dough that came in a square not a roll. Worked fine though).

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir brownie mix, water, oil and egg until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 33 to 36 minutes or until toothpick inserted 1 inch from edge of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely.

Cut into squares.

Flatten each square and place a PB cup or whatever candy you are using on top.

Work the edges up around the candy to completely cover it I smooshed and rolled between my palms. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. In large bowl, stir cookie dough and flour until blended. Divide dough into pieces.

Flatten each portion of dough and place 1 brownie ball in center; press dough around brownie, completely covering and reshaping to form a ball.

On cookie sheet, place balls 1 inch apart. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until set.

Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack...

Let cool completely (ya, not possible)

Fanfreakingtastic

This is one of the caramel filled ones.

Have a sweet day!

Linking to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, The Weekend Wrap Up Party, and the Sunday Showcase

Pink Cookies

Happy February! I am sharing an old family recipe this week that's perfect for Valentine's Day, my grandma's pink cookies. They are light meringue cookies topped with a chocolate drizzle. The cookies are tinted a beautiful pink. The taste is light and airy and they literally melt in your mouth. I chose not to mix in chocolate chips this time as I was topping them with the melted chocolate drizzle. I much prefer the chocolate chips for the texture they give to the cookies. If you prefer you can leave out the food coloring and they are just as delicious, just not as festive :)

Pink Cookies

Author: Grandma Morrison

2 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 drops red food coloring

Handful or two of chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 225 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or do as my grandma did and cut a brown paper bag to fit the tray, just don't use it for high temp cooking!).

Get out your mixer and beat egg whites with salt until stiff and peaky but not dry.

Slowly add sugar 1/4 cup at a time while beating continuously. The mixture will begin to get a bit stiffer.

Now mix in vanilla and food coloring and gently fold in chocolate chips (if using).

Dough will turn a pretty pink color, if you want a deeper pink or red, add more food coloring.

Place dollops of dough on lined baking sheet (or pipe them on if you want a specific shape).

Bake cookies until firm but not browning, the cookies shouldn't wiggle if you touch them, should take between 5 and 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cookies in there to dry out for six hours or overnight.

After cookies have dried out, drizzle with melted chocolate and top with sprinkles if desired.

Have a sweet day!

Linking up to rook #17, Dollars and Cents