Posts Tagged ‘baking’
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
It’s that time of year. Homemade for the holidays. These easy golden brown fluffs beg for a slathering of butter and immediate consumption. Make an extra batch if you want to allow pre-dinner sampling.
This version is based on a batch of sweet bread recipes I’ve tweaked slightly. My mom used a similar recipe, but made the dough a day ahead and let it take its first rise in the refrigerator overnight. She used it to make cinnamon rolls and coffee cakes for holidays.
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls 
The finished rolls are great for Thanksgiving dinner, but also are perfect for leftover turkey sandwiches. Or use a knife to cut a deep “X” in the top of each roll. Stuff each with a squished roasted garlic clove, some shredded cheese and a little splash of broth. Cover with foil and reheat.
Make 15 rolls
1 (1/4-oz.) package instant yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water (or a combo of milk and water)
1/4 cup melted butter
3 to 3 1/4 cups bread flour (all-purpose flour works too)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Melted butter (optional)
1. Combine all ingredients except for the optional melted butter. I like the feel of dough, so I stir as much as I can together with a wooden spoon, then knead with my hands until it becomes a soft, smooth dough. A mixer with a dough hook works, too. Put dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double. I like to put the bowl on the bottom shelf of my oven with the oven light on. (Do not heat the oven.) The oven light provides just enough warmth to hasten rising.
2. Punch down dough and divide it into 15 pieces. Shape into balls and place in a greased 9×13-inch pan.
Cover pan and let rise until almost double, about 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 325° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Broken Heart Lemon Sugar Cookies
After my mother’s funeral this week, I’ve been running on empty. No motivation. What to do during the times I always phone her to chat? What to do with the Valentine’s card I had for her? What to do on those holidays when I usually bake goodies to send to her?
Decided I’d bake anyway. For me, baking is one of those auto-pilot kinda projects. Plus there’s always butter, flour, and sugar in my house. I wanted to create a Valentine’s sugar cookie with a bit of tang and happened to have 2 lemons in the fridge. I cut the cookies on the thickish side because I like them with a bit of crispness on the outside, but plenty of softness in the center. And because I think sugar cookies are kinda boring, I added lemon peel to the cookie dough then iced the finished cookies with a lemony glaze.
Love them, but wish I could share them with my mom. She was the one who inspired my love of baking. (Mom was the baker in our family. Dad the day-to-day cook. Both were gardeners and loved being creative in the kitchen. Thank goodness I inherited the gardening, cooking, and baking genes.)
These are simple to make and just in time for Valentine’s day. You might want to change the title tho before serving them up to the love of your life!
Broken Heart Lemon Sugar Cookies
About 3 dozen 2- to 3-inch cookies
Most sugar cookies are similar. I used several basic recipes as models, then tweaked to my taste. This version is 
most like the Rich Roll Cookies from Joy of Cooking. I reduced the granulated sugar because I’m not a sugary-sweet person. I added powdered sugar because I like the lighter texture it offers. I also added lemon peel and boosted the vanilla to balance the lemony tartness, and I upped the baking powder. Not sure why!
And I topped the cookies with a lemony glaze. You can add sprinkles before baking and skip the glaze, if you like.
Beat until creamy:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (it adds a light texture)
1 to 2 tsp. lemon peel (I use a Microplane to remove the lemon peel in fine shreds)
1/4 tsp. salt
Add and beat until combined:
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Add and beat on low (or stir with a wooden spoon) until combined:
2 1/2 cups flour
Divide dough into thirds, flatten into disks, and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Using 1 part of dough at a time, roll dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use a 2- to 3-inch cutter to cut out cookies. Place on cookie sheet about 1-inch apart.
Repeat with remaining dough. Pat dough scraps together and roll and cut.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges get a hint of brown. Do not over bake. Remove to a cooling rack. When cool, frost with Lemon Glaze.
Lemon Glaze: Whisk together 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, 2 to 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. lemon peel, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.
2 Responses to “Broken Heart Lemon Sugar Cookies”
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They are very cute cookies 🙂 Grandma would have loved them! She was very proud of you!!
Thanks, Amy. Wish you were here. I’d share! Happy Valentine’s Day…