Sixty Minute Cinnamon Buns

On Monday and Wednesday mornings we provide a breakfast-y snack for the Seminary students.  This morning I awoke at 4:29 and decided cinnamon buns were the order of the day.

Sixty Minute Cinnamon Buns, ready to eat, though still a little hot!

 Sixty Minute Cinnamon Buns

4-5 cups flour
2 packages dry yeast (a scant 2 Tablespoons if using loose yeast)
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter

Topping
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter

Combine 3 cups flour, sugar, salt, and dissolved yeast in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer.  Attach bowl and dough hook, mix for one minute.  Combine milk, water and butter in a small saucepan.  Heat over low heat until quite warm--110-115 degrees F.  Butter does not need to melt all the way.  Turn mixer on to medium speed and slowly drip the milk/water/butter into the flour mixture then continue mixing for one more minute to be sure all the flour is absorbed into the wet ingredients.  Slowly add in the remaining flour until the dough leaves the side of the bowl, then knead for an additional 5-7 minutes and the dough is smooth and elastic, though still soft.  Not all the flour may need to be used, depending on the humidity of the house and the flour....

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place dough in  a greased bowl, turn over so all sides are greased, then cover the bowl and set into a sink half-filled with warm water for 15 minutes.  The dough should have nearly doubled in bulk by now.  Put dough onto a lightly floured board and roll out into a large rectangle.  Brush melted topping butter over entire top surface of dough rectangle.  Mix white sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over top of dough, covering the whole surface.  Sprinkle the brown sugar over top then roll up rather tightly from the long side.  Cut into 1 1/2 inch rolls and place on parchment lined half-sheet pan.  Cover with a clean towel and let sit for 15-20 minutes, until at least a little bit puffy, though not doubled in bulk.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Check at 12 minutes to see if they are cooked.  If not done, let cook another 2-3 minutes.

Place on a rack to cool completely before eating.  Eating when hot will burn your lips, a most unpleasant situation.

Yield: 14-or 15 buns

Sixty Minute Cinnamon Buns still on pan, not burned.

These are very popular with the Seminary students.  What is not to love about yeasted dough, butter, sugar, and cinnamon?!

Kale Chips are a Delight!

Last year A shared some kale chips with me that she had made at a place where she was volunteering.  I loved them.  I tried to make them and turned out solid black ash with some salt, garlic and onion on them.

This year I found some kale chips at Morning Glory in Brunswick, Maine.  They were $6.99 for a small box!  I am sure they were delicious but I did not have the money for them.

SO....I made more and this time they worked.

What you need:

Fresh kale ( I used curly kale)
Granulated garlic
Granulated onion
Kosher salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Oil a baking sheet, or put a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet.  Wash kale and pat dry.  Pull pieces off the stem (about 2 to 4 inches square-ish) and place in a large plastic bag. 

Drizzle about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over kale pieces.  Close bag and shake until all sides of kale are coated with oil.  Mix together garlic, onion, pepper, and some salt...no more than one-half teaspoon of salt or it will be way too salty.  Open bag and sprinkle mixed flavoring over the top them close bag and shake again until kale is well coated. 

Kale Chips...going fast!

By now the oven will be ready.  Spread kale pieces onto baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 10 minutes...NO MORE.  When your oven timer goes off, pull out the baking sheet.  You can let the kale sit a moment but it is really ready to eat immediately.  Enjoy these chips!  Way better than potato chips....

It seems to me that the Morning Glory kale chips had a peanut butter coating.  That might be interesting to try.  It did look rather sludgy but if you like peanut butter, or maybe almond or cashew butter...it might be worth trying it.