Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

I love a good sweet roll, especially one that is cinnamony. Throw in a little cream cheese and I'm in heaven. These cinnamon rolls are just right. They're moist, but not gummy or soggy in the middle. They have a great ratio of bread to filling. And even though the long directions may sound complicated, they're really very easy. You can even do all the work the night before and bake them the next day (perfect for Christmas morning). I already made these again this morning for New Year's Day (no wonder my stomach looks like a cinnamon roll).

 CREAM CHEESE CINNAMON ROLLS

Yield: 8 large rolls

Dough:
1 (¼-oz.) package active dry yeast
½ teaspoon plus ¼ cup sugar
½ cup milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 ¾ cups flour, sifted, plus more for kneading
¾ teaspoon fine salt
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature), plus more for the pan

Filling:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup finely chopped pecans
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
¼ cup raisins
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
¼ cup buttermilk

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1.      Make the dough: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a hook, combine yeast, ½ tsp. of the sugar, and ¼ cup water heated to 115° F. Stir to combine and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add remaining sugar, milk, light brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined, 1 minute. Turn mixer off and add the flour and salt. Mix on medium speed until the dough just comes together. Turn mixer speed to high and knead dough for 4 minutes. Add the butter and continue kneading until dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 1 ½–2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

2.      Meanwhile, make the filling: Combine sugar, dark brown sugar, pecans, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, salt, and cloves in a large bowl; stir to combine. Stir in maple syrup. Set aside.

3.      Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a heavily floured surface. Gently knead the dough until it's no longer sticky, adding more flour as necessary, about 1 minute. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10" x 10" square. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese with a rubber spatula until it's smooth and spreadable. Spread the cream cheese evenly over the dough square; then fold square into thirds as you would fold a letter to fit it into an envelope. Take the open ends of the resulting rectangle and fold into thirds again, to make a smaller dough square. Invert the dough so that the seam is face down and, using the rolling pin, gently roll into a 10" x 20" rectangle.

4.      Turn the dough so that the short sides are parallel to you. Brush the top of the dough with half of the melted butter. Drizzle the reserved filling over the dough, leaving a 1" border at the edge farthest away from you. Lightly press the filling into the dough. Using your hands, lift up the bottom edge of the dough and roll it forward into a tight cylinder. Place dough cylinder, seam side down, on a cutting board and, using a thin, sharp knife, trim off the ends; cut cylinder crosswise into 8 equal-size slices. Nestle the slices, cut sides up and evenly spaced from one another, into a buttered 9" x 13" light-colored metal baking pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to let rise for 2 hours. (Alternatively, the rolls may be refrigerated overnight.)

5.      Heat oven to 375° F. Uncover the rolls. (If refrigerated, let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.) Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the rolls comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

6.      Make the icing: While the rolls are baking, whisk together the sugar and buttermilk in a small bowl until smooth.

7.      Transfer the pan of cinnamon rolls to a cooling rack; brush with remaining melted butter. Let cool for 5 minutes. Dip the tines of a fork into the icing and drizzle all over the rolls. Serve immediately.

from saveur.com

yeast, sugar and water

yeast foamy; adding remaining sugar,
milk, brown sugar, vanilla and egg

adding flour and salt

adding butter

The dough never really pulled away from the sides
and it looked so soft to me, I was a little worried
I'd done something wrong - but as you can see,
it all worked out. Adding lots of flour as you
knead and roll helps get the right consistency.

all the filling ingredients mixed
(I used golden raisins, so they're hard to spot.)

dough risen

kneading the punched down dough (or more
accurately, trying to knead the dough with my right
hand while I take a photo with my shaky left hand)

dough rolled into a 10" x10" square (roughly);
starting to spread the cream cheese

cream cheese spread

first fold

second fold

third fold

fourth fold

dough rolled into a 10" x 20" rectangle
(again, roughly)

dough brushed with butter
and topped with filling

rolling

rolled

sliced into 8 pieces

placed in the pan

rolls after rising

I made mine the night before and put them in the fridge
right away because I was going out. And even though
the recipe says to take out and leave at room temperature
for only 15 minutes, it was chilly in the house, so I let
them sit out for about 2 hours so they would rise enough.

baked cinnamon rolls

brushing with butter

drizzling with icing

I didn't use all the icing, it seemed like a little too much.

cream cheese cinnamon rolls

cinnamon roll cross section

In case you're wondering why my kitchen looks so different...I didn't move;
I was at my in-laws' house (these were baked on Christmas morning).

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Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

I like most dips. It's hard not to with all that sour cream and mayonnaise. I'd almost go so far as to say that it's difficult to make a bad dip (no need to email me about the horrendous dip you were served last week - I said almost). This is an example of good dip. In fact, it reminds me of a dip I used to make when I was in college using Knorr Tomato Basil Soup Mix (which has since been discontinued - damn I'm old). It used to taste great served with cooked cold tortellini. In fact, I wish I'd remembered that yesterday when I served this. Oh well...it wasn't too shabby with vegetables and chips.

 

SUN-DRIED TOMATO DIP

Yield: 2 cups

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (8 tomatoes)

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup good mayonnaise

10 dashes, hot red pepper sauce (like tabasco)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon salt)

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

Puree tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, hot sauce, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add scallions and pulse twice. Serve at room temperature.

from Ina Garten

sun-dried tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream,
mayonnaise, hot sauce, salt and pepper

I forgot to chop my tomatoes first, but
isn't that what the food processor is for?

pureed; adding scallions

sun-dried tomato dip

sun-dried tomato dip on a cracker

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Mascarpone Cheesecake with Berries

Thanks to the addition of mascarpone, this cheesecake is ultra smooth and creamy. Luscious is the word that comes to mind. If you make it for your Fourth of July cookout, I guarantee you that even if all the hot dogs fall in between your grill grates, one bite of this and your guests won't care. Of course once they're finished, they'll remember and start making fun of you again. But for a few glorious minutes, you'll be untouchable.

MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE

Makes 10 to 12 servings

crust:

70 vanilla wafers (8 1/2 oz), finely ground in a food processor (2 1/3 cups)

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

filling:

20 oz cream cheese (2 1/2 eight-ounce packages), softened

8 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature (about 1 cup)

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

topping:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

Make crust:

1.      Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan.

2.      Stir together cookie crumbs and butter in a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup crumb mixture for sprinkling over cheesecake, then pat remainder onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up side of springform pan (about 1 inch thick). Put pan in a shallow baking pan and bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a rack, about 25 minutes. Leave oven on.

Make filling while crust bakes:

3.      Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and mix at low speed until combined. Pour into cooled crust and bake until cake is set and puffed around edge but still trembles slightly when pan is shaken gently, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly in springform pan on rack, about 20 minutes. (Cheesecake will continue to set as it cools.) Leave oven on.

Make topping:

4.      Stir together sour cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl and spoon over cheesecake, spreading gently and evenly, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge.

5.      Bake cheesecake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge to help prevent cracking. Sprinkle top with reserved crumbs and cool completely in pan on rack, then chill, loosely covered, at least 8 hours. Cheesecake can be chilled, loosely covered, up to 3 days. Cut cake with long, thin sharp knife dipped in a tall glass of hot water.

barely adapted from Gourmet, December 2003 (from Syrah in Santa Rosa, California)

nilla wafers

nilla wafer crumbs with melted butter

mixed

crumb crust pressed into the pan

I didn't reserve any crumbs for the top because I decided
to add berries. Consequently, the sides of my crust were
a little higher than if I had used less crumbs.

mascarpone, cream cheese & sugar (evaporated cane juice)

mixed; adding the first egg

adding the third egg

adding vanilla, lemon juice and salt

filling mixed

pouring filling into baked crust

baked filling

I baked my cake in a water bath (I wrapped the bottom of the
springform pan with foil, placed the cake in a pan and filled it about
2 inches high with water). You don't have to do this. It just helps cook
the cake more evenly and avoid cracks. But since you're topping
the cake anyway, you don't need to worry about cracks.

sour cream topping ingredients

sour cream topping spread on top

baked, cooled, chilled overnight and unmolded

You gotta love a great dessert you can make the day before.

berries arranged on top

I made a glaze with Polaner all-fruit seedless raspberry jam
- warmed & thinned with a little Chambord (raspberry liquor)

You definitely don't need to add a glaze, but I like the flavor from
the liquor and the jam adds a touch of sweetness (which is especially
nice if your berries aren't as sweet as you hoped they'd be).

brushing on the warm glaze

You can add the berries & glaze the day before too.

mascarpone cheesecake topped with berries

slicing (it helps to dip the knife in a glass of
warm water and then wipe it between slices)

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