Quick and Easy Cinnamon Rolls

I experimented yesterday with some Rhodes Rolls.  I was craving cinnamon rolls, but didn't have 6 hours to devote to my regular recipe.  My experiment turned out Delicious!  Now, I will say they weren't as amazing as my regular recipe, but when you don't have all day, these are a great alternative!  

Ingredients

12 Rhodes Rolls

Brown Sugar

1 Cube Butter, melted

Sugar

Cinnamon Flour

Directions
Let your rolls thaw until they are pliable.  Squish 2 together and pat them in flour. Melt your butter in a bowl.

On a floured surface, roll 2 of the rolls into a disk.  I make mine about 6in in diameter.

With a pastry brush, brush on the melted butter to the disk.  Pat on brown sugar to cover the butter.  Get every inch of the disk on one side.  Then sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on top of the brown sugar, and top with a tiny pinch of cinnamon sprinkled over the whole thing.

Roll up the disk and squish together a bit so it stands about 2 inches in height.  Brush some melted butter on top and then sprinkle brown sugar on top of that.

Place the rolls in a greased 9x13 baking dish, and cover with a paper towel.  You will have 6 rolls in total.  Let stand until they double, or triple in size.  I like my rolls to completely cover the bottom of the baking dish.

When they have risen, heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown.  Remove and let cool before frosting, or frost immediately.  Enjoy! 

Old Fashioned Dots

Picture by Living

I love Halloween!  I love having the little kids come knock at my door and trick o treat.  I love to see their costumes, and their faces as they dig through my bowl for candy.  It is one of my most favorite nights of the year.  I like to have something extra special for my treater's that I know personally.  This is one of my go-to recipes for the special little kids that I love and adore. This treat was one of my favorite's growing up, and it never seems to fail to be my little kids favorite too!

Ingredients
1lb. Powdered Sugar
5 Tbs. Meringue Powder
1/2 cup Water
Yellow and Red Food Coloring, for Halloween colors. You can use any that you like though.

Directions
Line a baking sheet with 10x13 inch freezer paper strips.  I like to tape mine onto the baking sheet so they don't slip.

Beat together sugar, meringue powder, and water, with a mixer.  (Test a little bit with a toothpick on the freezer paper to make sure that the icing forms a domed dot, and doesn't spread.  If it forms a peak it's too thick and you need to add a tiny bit more water 1/2 tsp. at a time.  If it's too runny you need to ass more sugar 1 tsp. at a time.)

Divide icing into 3 bowls.  Mix your red and yellow to get orange, then do one yellow, and one white. (Like I said in the ingredients though, you can do any colors you like.)
Put the icing into piping bags and squeeze into the corner (I just use Ziploc baggies and cut off the corner of one side).

Pipe dots 3 to a line onto your freezer paper.  (I normally draw straight lines horizontally all the way down the freezer paper so I know how to line up the dots.  Then I just erase after the dots have dried. You can also find templates for this online.)  Alternate the colors all the way down so you have equal Yellow, Orange, and White.  (I like to make mine look like the candy corn).

Let stand uncovered until the dots are firm and hard.  It normally will take anywhere from 24-48 hours, so do this in advance before Halloween.  Then pop off and enjoy!!

Banana Cream Cake with Brown Butter, Brown Sugar Icing

If you like Texas chocolate sheet cake, you are going to DIE over this cake!  If you like bananas, you're going to die and go to heaven!

Ingredients

3 1/2 Bananas, mashed

3/4 C. Sour Cream

2 eggs

1/2 C. Butter, softened

1 C. Sugar

2 C. Flour

2 tsp. Vanilla

3/4 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

Icing

1 C. Brown Sugar

3 C. Powdered Sugar

1/2 C. Melted butter slightly browned in pan

3 Tbs. Milk

2 tsp. Vanilla

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375

In a mixer mash bananas.  Add the sugar, vanilla, butter and eggs.  Mix well.  Slowly add the remaining ingredients until smooth.

Grease a 10x15 jelly roll pan, and pour the mixture into the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until slightly browned.

Set aside while you make the icing.

In a pan heat butter on the stove until melted and it gets slightly brown.  Turn off heat and add the brown sugar, stir for 30 seconds.

In a mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar mixture to the remaining icing ingredients and mix until smooth.

Take a straw and poke holes in your cake all over.  Then spread your warm icing over your warm cake and let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting into.

AMAZING!  I hope you enjoy!