TWD: Delicious Pecan Sticky Buns

Honey I love! Diluted in butter atop a dessert that might as well be fried dough.

I was unimpressed with my first bite of Pecan Honey Sticky Buns. I immediately tasted sourdough brioche and thought it was the wrong flavor for sticky buns. I wonder if I'm the only one who ended up with a sourdough taste at first. I was disappointed, but couldn't help taking several consecutive bites, and noticed the sourdough taste less and less with each return to the dessert platter. By its second or third day, I was in love with it all--the brioche, the honey-butter, the pecans, the crystalized sugar. Perhaps the sour taste added more depth and helped the buns come together later. Dorie's not kidding. They really ARE the best Sticky Buns ever.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

Makes 15 buns
For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces1/4 cup honey1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)
For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar1 tablespoon ground cinnamon3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the Buns:
1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)
Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).
To make the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissovle the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out asbest you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinle over the pecans.
To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.
To shape the buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glae recipe accordingly).
With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.
Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns ahve doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.
Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.
The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mate or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.
What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough (this recipe makes enough for two brioche loaves. If you divide the dough in half, you would use half for the sticky buns, and you can freeze the other half for a later date, or make a brioche loaf out of it!):
2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons salt3 large eggs, at room temperature1/4 cup sugar3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm
What You'll Need for the Glaze (you would brush this on brioche loaves, but not on the sticky buns):
1 large egg1 tablespoon water
To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.
Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.
Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)
Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.
Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Mother's Guilt

Elizabeth had her first big crash yesterday. It was so heartbreaking, and I felt so irresponsible. The truth is that this trip to the clinic was a long time coming. Elizabeth's nickname should be crash. She's constantly putting herself in precarious situations. Yesterday we were outside enjoying the sunshine, and I was digging up a flower bed. I saw her with her little bike on the porch and thought 'Bad idea.' And kept pulling weeds. A second later, and she was laying in a pile of dirt with blood everywhere. Bad mom. She's on a popcicle diet right now to help with the swelling.

Sometimes I find myself trying to do too much. I feel like I'm running to use the bathroom, running to get a drink of water, picking up dishes or clothes along the way since there's no time to clean up the house, and just not eating. But I insist on baking and cooking everything from scratch (right down to the mayo) and calling that my outlet, or finding tedious household chores to do that are unimportant. I periodically give myself a lecture: just calm down. Get out a puzzle or a book and hang out with the kids. Don't cook dinner tonight. Find the least important tasks on my mental to-do list and let them go. My husband found a stack of linen napkins sitting on the table the other day and asked what they were doing there. I needed to iron them before I put them away. I think I realized how riculous I sounded only after he put them away (without ironing them) and I felt like something had been crossed off my to-do list. Put that under my 'Waste of Time. Play with Kids Instead' list. I can garden some other time (like when Elizabeth is interested), I can blog some other time (another life, maybe), I'll iron my linen when I'm sixty (or never), and we can order out for dinner tonight (any ideas? Where can we order a soft dinner for a little girl with a cut up mouth?)

TWD: Madeleines

This week's chosen recipe out of the Baking book was Madeleines. I had to buy a brand new pan for this activity (I'm a sucker for new equipment that I don't need), but it wasn't too expensive, and I think I'll bake a lot of Madeleines. They are a pretty tasty, easy cookie. It took a few minutes to make, and the recipe only makes 12 cookies, which means no extra cookies I have to eat all by myself. I think they'll be a great compliment for 'game night' (often talked-about, yet rarely occuring). They are like mini cakes. Delicious.

TWD: Florida Pie

I'm on a losing streak.

Boo-hooo!

They look like toasted marshmallow mini pies. But no, that's just my merengue.

Maybe my heart wasn't in it. But that can't explain my losing streak. I also made flan out of my Baking book last weekend and failed at that as well. The custard-bath setup was too much for me. Boo-hoo! Karma's against me this week.

TWD: Peanut Butter Torte

Now THIS is why I joined Tuesdays With Dorie!



It's also the reason I might have to quit it.

Oh, how I love dessert. The richer, the better. When it's as rich as Dorie's PB Torte, one can only eat a small portion, and remember it fondly. I think I read something about 80+ grams per serving (oh, my!)

So delicious, but best kept as a memory. Desserts like this shouldn't become a habit.

Peanut Butter Torte

1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; I use Skippy)
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.
Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.
Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.

Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.
When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The Education of My Little Ones

Ever try taking a two year old out for an educational trip with a five month old in tow? Remember that recent report about how the first and last child tend to have the highest IQs, and that the only hope for your children is, essentially, treat them like an only child--don't have them too close together. Sorry kids. Think maybe this is why I'm content with baking from home right now.
This is Elizabeth and John at the Imaginarium for their duckling display.


Elizabeth wasn't into it for some reason...Think that was just a bad day. We went out for hot dogs in downtown Anchorage, which is more our speed for now.


It must look bad, she's always eating junk food. I promise this isn't really the case! It's for the camera! That root beer in the photo was NOT Elizabeth's! OK, I admit she gets SOME sugar, and maybe, just maybe, that's why educational trips are a bomb. We're working on that.