A Pinch and a Dollop

A Journey To Health, One Bite at a Time
A Pinch and a Dollop
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  • Monthly Archives: May 2020

    • Ooey Gooey Maple Bacon Pecan Sticky Buns

      Posted at 8:50 pm by pinchdollop, on May 30, 2020

      Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like bacon? Ever? I actually know some vegetarians who sneakily eat bacon! And, while it’s fine if you don’t eat it for sure, it’s just a given that bacon makes just about anything taste better.

      That goes for these insanely delicious sticky buns! It’s not a lot, so if you are a little skeptical, just know it adds just a hint of salty umami that makes these so decadent and special. I personally love salty and sweet mixed together, and these hit that sweet spot, pun intended!

      The best part about these too, is that you don’t have excessive proofing and waiting, so you can make them all in one day, unlike a lot of tricky recipes I have seen. And, if you don’t want to do them this way, you can also switch it up and use the versatile dough for other sweet or savory recipes. I have used it for both, and it comes out incredible every time!

      Last proof before baking!

      Sometimes I split the dough and make half savory and half sweet, so I have dinner and dessert, or breakfast for the morning!
      Great for a brunch staple that is easy to make and super impressive!
      Mix and match ingredients.
      Super lovely dinner or brunch!

      Ingredients for Dough:

      • 1c warm milk
      • 1 Tbs instant dry yeast
      • 2 Tbs granulated sugar
      • 1 tsp salt
      • 3 Tbs salted butter, softened
      • 1 large egg
      • 3c all purple flour

      Ingredients for Bacon Candy:

      • 8 slices thick slab bacon
      • ~1/4c dark brown sugar (enough to sprinkle over bacon)
      • 1 T maple syrup

      Ingredients for Filling:

      • 1/2c salted butter, softened
      • 1c dark brown sugar
      • 2 Tbs ground cinnamon
      • 1-2 Tbs maple syrup
      • pinch of salt

      Ingredients for Topping:

      • 1c heavy cream or half & half
      • 3/4c brown sugar
      • 4 Tbs maple syrup
      • 2c pecans, roughly chopped or left whole

      Instructions:

      1. In a large bowl (if mixing by hand) or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. When combined, add in flour and mix on slow speed or bring together with a wooden spoon.
      2. Once the flour starts to incorporate into the dough, bring the speed up to medium in the mixer. If mixing by hand, you can use your hands and knead the dough in the bowl until the dough comes together (you might need additional flour to get there). Dough should be soft and somewhat tacky, but not stick to your hands.
      3. Once you have reached this consistency, transfer the dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl (I like to use olive oil in a misting spray or oil spray from the store for even coating). Cover bowl with dish bowl and let rise about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
      4. While the dough is rising, cook bacon in a fry pan until crispy on both sides. Drain fat from bacon (reserve to use for another dish or discard), and bring bacon back to pan. Sprinkle bacon with ~ 1/4c brown sugar (you can use less, you just want enough to cover and caramelize) and about 1T maple syrup just for flavor, and continue to cook until sugar melts and starts to bubble. Make sure to do this on both sides. Let bacon cool and form a candy. Once cool and brittle, break into small pieces and set aside. You can leave the bacon in the pan to use later and mix the topping there to save dish time and also to get all the little bits of sugar, bacon fat and flavor from the pan.
      5. At this point, you want to grease whichever baking surface you are using with either butter or cooking spray. I like to use a metal muffin tin for these to make somewhat uniform in size and for easier portioning, but you can also do all together in a baking dish as well. If you are using the muffin tin, you will get 24 sticky buns, but if you want to make the buns thicker and larger in size, you can do that when making in an open dish like a brownie pan or glass baking dish.
      6. To make filling, combine softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and 1-2 Tbs maple syrup to form a paste. Set aside.
      7. Punch down dough. If using a muffin tin, cut dough in half. If using an open baking dish, you can use full amount at once. Simply repeat the following steps for the duplicate dough for the muffin tins.
      8. Roll out your dough to 12″x18″. I like to use the back of a cookie sheet as a rough idea of size. You don’t have to be exact, but you want to be as uniform as possible and get the dough as close to the edges as possible without getting too thin. If any pieces rip, just press back together.
      9. Smear 1/2 of the filling onto the dough if using the muffin tins, or the full amount if using the open dish, evenly spreading the filling all the way to the edges of the full amount of dough. Sprinkle half of the bacon candy evenly distributed throughout the dough.
      10. Roll the dough in a pinwheel away from you, doing a little at a time in sections, and making sure to keep the rolled dough as even as possible. It really doesn’t have to be perfect.
      11. Carefully move dough to center of baking tray or floured surface, and cut in 12 even pieces. If making in muffin tray, repeat steps 8-10 until you have 24 uniform rolls.
      12. In pan with remaining bacon candy, add all of topping ingredients to pan and stir until incorporated. Do not heat, simply use fry pan as mixing dish.
      13. Spoon each muffin tin with 1-2 spoonfuls of topping mixture, enough to coat the bottom and fill the first 1/4 of the tin. If using a single pan, simply pour all ingredients onto bottom of dish.
      14. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place one roll into each tin of muffin tin or evenly spaced in baking dish, and cover with a towel to rise for 30-45 minutes.
      15. Bake the rolls for about 14 minutes, or until brown on top.
      16. Let cool on a wire wrack for 10 minutes and then place a serving dish over the baking dish and flip. You might have to gently shake, but buns should come out easily, and as you remove the baking dish, all the gooey delicious topping should ooze out and fall all over the top, dripping down each bun and creating that amazing sticky, caramelized texture.

      These can be enjoyed hot out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of whip cream, or just by themselves. They work great room temperature as well, and even freeze great to enjoy later. Simply pop into the microwave for 30 seconds and they are just as good as when you first made them!

      For savory buns, I simply baste the dough with butter and spices, sprinkle with cheese, and use an array of fillings, from provolone and olives, to ham and cheddar, to sautéed greens and parmesan. There are endless possibilities!

      To add to your Yummly Recipe Box, click the Yum Below:

      Yum

      Posted in Breakfast, Desserts | 0 Comments
    • Whole Grain Flat Bread

      Posted at 5:33 pm by pinchdollop, on May 29, 2020

      There is literally nothing better than the smell of fresh bread: baking, frying, even just the yeast of the dough when it’s rising in the kitchen smells delicious! And, since the stay-at-home order started here in NYC I have been making a wide variety of breads and pastries that I have been too scared to try. Knowing how easy they are now, I’m a little disappointed I waited so long to try my hand at them, as I am having a blast coming up with these recipes and tasting everything!

      I hate buying bread that has all kind of weird ingredients- stabilizers, dough conditioners, all kinds of sugars and unpronounceable names, so being able to control what goes into the bread, and making it fresh, I know it will always be delicious, even if I mess up sometimes. And, when making it for other people, I feel good knowing what is in what I am making and we’re all eating!

      For this flat bread, I started with a basic recipe and adjusted it. I’ve been eating lots of plain white breads lately and have become a little bored, and was looking to add something more interesting to the everyday, and also sneak a little more nutrition in!

      I’m working on remembering to take more pictures as I go, but I started halfway through on this one. Bear with me, I’ll start to get the hang of it!

      Ingredients

      • 1c warm water
      • 1 Tbs sugar
      • 1 Tbs active dry yeast
      • 1 tsp salt
      • 3 Tbs olive oil
      • 1c oat flour
      • 1 1/2c all purpose flour (will need more for dusting)
      • 1/3c 7 grain seed mix

      Instructions

      1. Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl; stir, and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Yeast should bubble up and foam.
      2. While yeast is activating, combine flours in a large bowl. You may need more flour, depending on the environment conditions. You can always add more, so best to start with the 2 1/2c total and add as needed.
      3. Pour in the yeast/water mixture, add the salt and oil, and stir together with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Dough will be sticky to the touch, but should come to a general ball formation fairly quickly and come away from sides of bowl.
      4. Scrape all dough off spoon, and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead by hand, adding flour to surface and dough as needed, until the dough is slightly sticky, but somewhat elastic. It should take about 2-3 minutes.
      5. Place in an oiled bowl (I used olive oil in a misting spray) and cover with a dish towel. Make sure the bowl is at least 2-3 times the size of the dough so it has room to grow.
      6. Let rise for 1 hour.
      7. Punch down dough, and divide into 8 pieces. Some people like to make their dough into balls to roll out round, but I kind of love the look of a rustic free form shape, so that’s how I make mine.
      8. Cover dough and let rest for ten minutes.
      9. Heat griddle or heavy skillet over medium high heat. I like to use a cast iron skillet. I really like the way it heats and provides an even high temp all around, and like cooking on stone, it really helps create those beautiful little brown spots!
      10. Roll dough as thin as possible in whatever shape you like, making sure the diameter of the dough is the same size or smaller than the pan.
      11. Spray oil of choice or place a small pat of butter in the pan and gently place dough onto pan and let cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until browned. You will see small bubbles form as dough is cooking on the top; these will provide the lovely scorched bits that are so signature to flat bread. If you prefer to avoid these, you can flip when just golden brown.
      12. Once you notice dough is cooked, spray with oil and flip to cook other side.
      13. Repeat until you have finished all 8 pieces.
      Greased bowl before rising.
      Dough has at least doubled in size.
      Separating dough into portions. A dough scraper is an amazing tool!
      Cute little sections of pillowy goodness!
      Rolling out the first piece!
      Look at all those bubbles!!!!
      Golden bits of deliciousness!
      Building a stack.

      You can use these little canvases for anything you like. Pizzas, sandwiches, wraps. Savory or sweet. They can really go anyway. Nutella and bananas or hummus and veggies, really anything you can dream up!

      Today we had tuna club sandwiches. I placed a single pieces of bacon, tuna salad, and 1/4 of a sliced avocado, and wrapped it all up! So amazingly delicious, you will never buy store bought tasteless wraps again after you try these! (And, after you make them, you can freeze whatever you won’t eat now and enjoy as you are ready. Simply heat in the toaster oven and enjoy)!

      To add this to your Yummly Recipe Box, click the Yum Below:

      Yum

      Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
    • Easy Scallion Pancakes

      Posted at 7:17 pm by pinchdollop, on May 28, 2020

      Ok, so, I borrowed this recipe from CD Kitchen, and adapted it slightly. Scallion Pancakes are one of my favorite Chinese Food crave able dishes. They pop into my head at the oddest moments, and sometimes there is just no place to get them that I don’t think they will arrive as gross grease bombs that make me feel awful!

      I will never worry about that again! These pancakes are super easy to make, take the bare minimum of ingredients that almost everyone has in their pantry, and are so worth the effort! They’re really fun to do, and would be a great way to introduce kids to cooking!

      If you don’t have green onions or scallions readily available, you can use finely sliced onion, or omit them. And, you can experiment with other fillings you love, and I will do on my next go around! They’d be delicious with truffle salt and cheese added into the dough, or other herbs and veggies. You can really use anything that is thin and doesn’t require lots of cooking. Savory and sweet!

      All in this takes about 20-30 minutes, and makes 4 pancakes. Measurements for ingredients are estimates, as you might need more of less flour depending on your environment.

      Ingredients:

      1c flour

      1/4 tsp salt

      1/2 c water

      1-2 pats of butter, melted

      1c chopped scallions

      ~3-4 Tbs sesame oil

      1 Tbs sesame seeds (optional)

      Directions:

      Combine the flour, salt, and water in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. You might need more flour or water to get a firm consistency. Dough can be a little sticky.

      Divide dough into 4 pieces, no need to be exact. Place first piece onto floured work surface, and cover the remaining pieces in the bowl with a damp cloth.

      Roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin as thin as you can, in a rough circle shape. Go in small strokes, and add flour to the dough or pin if needed to make sure it does not stick. You should be able to just barely see through the dough, but make sure you don’t rip it in the process.

      Brush dough with melted butter, sprinkle some of the sesame seeds and a handful of scallions to taste, and fold dough over scallions to cover. Fold over again, and even a third time to create a few layers and trap scallions inside. Now you can begin to roll dough flat again. If scallions are coming out or holes open through dough, simply fold dough over that area to cover. You cannot really mess it up or make a mistake!

      Once you have rolled out the dough to a thin circle or square, heat a fry pay on high and use 1/2-1 Tbs of oil to lightly pan fry the dough to get lots of little brown pockets. You can use more oil if you want a really fried pancake, but I like it less fried. Flip over, repeat until browned on the other side. Dry with paper towel, cut into triangles or squares, and enjoy!

      I like to dip in soy sauce, or soy/ponzu or a little chili oil/soy sauce/ginger. Super delicious and satisfying!

      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments
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