Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Candy Cane Iced Tea

I don't know about you, but every year the kids make me buy a box of peppermint candy canes for our Christmas tree. However, they NEVER eat them and I always wind up throwing them away. I was curious to see how and when candy canes first came about and this is what I found on Wikipedia. I thought it was pretty interesting actually.

According to a popular account, in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who paid visit to infant Jesus. In addition, he used the white colour of the converted sticks to teach children about the Christian belief in the sinless life of Jesus. From Germany, the candy canes spread to other parts of Europe, where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity. A recipe for straight peppermint candy sticks, white with colored stripes, was published in 1844. The candy cane has been mentioned in literature since 1866, was first mentioned in association with Christmas in 1874, and as early as 1882 was hung on Christmas trees. Chicago confectioners the Bunte Brothers filed the earliest patents for candy cane making machines in the early 1920s.

So this year, I decided I was going to try to make something with them. Since candy canes are simply sugar and peppermint, I decided to make some iced tea instead of making another dessert (I think we've all had our fill of that for a while!). This tea was light and refreshing.

Candy Cane Iced Tea
Candy Cane Simple Syrup
1 c. Water
1 c. Granulated Sugar
4 Peppermint Candy Canes

Add ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer. Continue to stir until the sugar and candy canes have dissolved.

Tea
10 c. Boiling Water
4 Tea Bags (I just used Lipton®

Add the water and tea bags to a 3 quart pitcher. Let steep. Then add the simple syrup and mix well. Keep refrigerated and serve over ice.

Enjoy!

Linked the recipe to Lady Behind the Curtain Cast Party Wednesday and Newlyweds Blog Linky

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Copycat Cinnabon® Cinnamon Rolls

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! We certainly did and I ate entirely too much food and cookies over this past week. I usually don't have many sweets in the house and I found myself picking on them more than I normally would, but today is the day to get back on track. And thank goodness the kids FINALLY go back to school today (YEAH!). Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my children. But there is something to be said about routine and when my kids don't have one, let's just say they become a little unruly.

I did a little cooking over this past week but mostly food for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. I also didn't take many pictures of what I made because I was a little preoccupied and forgot until after it was all over. I did manage to make a few new recipes. One of the items I made were these cinnamon rolls. I had never made them before so when the kids requested these for Christmas morning, I had to find a recipe online. These were VERY good and very similar to those at the Cinnabon ® restaurant chain. The directions were a little intimidating. So many steps! But it really wasn't that hard to follow. Most of the time was just spent waiting for the dough to rise. I prepared these the afternoon before and par cooked them so that all I had to do Christmas morning was to reheat and ice them.

Copycat Cinnabon® Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Adapted from Best Copycat Restaurant Recipes

Cinnamon Rolls

1/4 c. Warm Water

1 Package Dry Yeast

1 tbsp. Granulated Sugar

1/2 Package 3 1/2 oz. Vanilla Pudding Mix

1/4 c. Butter, melted

1 Egg

4 c. All-Purpose Flour

1/2 c. Butter, softened

1 c. Brown Sugar

2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Directions

Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Stir until dissolved then set aside.
In a separate, large bowl, prepare the pudding mix according to package directions (remember you're only using half of the package so cut the milk in half also); then mix in the melted butter and egg.
Next, add the yeast mixture and blend together. Add the flour and knead until smooth.
Place dough in a greased bowl (I just used cooking spray). Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 hour. Punch the dough down, cover again and let it rise for another hour.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is a large rectangle shape about 1/2" thick. Spread the softened butter over the surface. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle over the top of the butter.
Roll the dough towards you very tightly, forming a log. Slice the dough with a sharp knife every 2" and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet approximately 2" apart.
Using your hand, lightly press down on each roll. Cover and let rise for 1 hour until they double again.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden brown. Frost warm rolls with Cream Cheese Icing. Makes 12.

Cream Cheese Icing

8oz. Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 c. Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 c. Confectioner's Sugar

1 tbsp. Milk

Directions

Combine all ingredients with a mixer until smooth.

Enjoy!

Just linked this up to Chef in Training Tuesday's Talent Show

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Top 5 Soups and Salads from 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Here's wishing all of you a healthy year filled with love, family, friendship and good food! I don't know about you but after last night, I just want to sit around in my jammies and eat comfort food. And to me that means Soup and Salad!

Here were the Top 5 Soups from 2011: