The Best Cinnamon Rolls

Are you tired of the snow wherever you are? We've only gotten a tiny bit of snow/ice once last week and once this week, but it sure is pretty to see it fall! The first time it started icing I was already at home with the day off, and I was in the middle of making these cinnamon rolls. It was the perfect snow day (sort of) activity: the snow was falling outside and I was inside all warm and cozy with my dough rising. These cinnamon rolls are the best homemade cinnamon rolls I've ever had, no lie. They rose beautifully (I'm very picky about that) and had just the right amount of filling and icing for each cinnamon roll. This has become my go-to cinnamon roll recipe. I hope you have a warm and cozy weekend, complete with fresh cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Icing
for the dough
1 cup whole milk
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
4 cups flour, plus more for rolling
1 tsp salt
1 egg

for the filling
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

for the icing
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 Tbsp whole milk

Prepare the dough:
Heat milk and butter in a small heatproof bowl in the microwave until warm. Stir in sugar. Transfer milk mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Sprinkle yeast on top of warm milk mixture and let rest for 2 minutes. Gently stir together. (Temperature of liquid should be between 100-110 degrees when using Fleischmann's and between 120-130 degrees for Red Star active yeast.)

Add 3 cups of flour, salt, and egg and mix on low until combined. Switch to the mixer's dough hook. Add remaining cup of flour and knead dough for a few minutes until it pulls away from the bowl. If needed, add another tablespoon of flour to help all the dough completely pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Spray a medium bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Remove dough from mixing bowl. Knead dough a couple of times by hand and then shape into a ball. Place in coated bowl and turn over to coat each side. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise in a warm spot for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until dough doubles in size. If dough reaches top of the bowl, punch down.

Prepare the filling:
Butter two 8x8-inch pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Keep extra flour handy to coat your rolling pin, hands, and work surface if needed. Roll into a roughly 14 x 24 inch rectangular shape with the longest side closest to you. Roll so that the dough is almost 1/4 inch thick.

Drizzle melted butter on dough, spread around to coat, leaving about a 1/2 inch uncoated along the edges. Sprinkle both sugars and cinnamon all over surface of the dough.

Starting from the side opposite you, roll dough tightly towards you to form a long cylinder of dough. At the end, pinch the seams together and turn so that the long seam side is down. If needed, gently squeeze or shape the dough to help form more equal sized cinnamon rolls. Cut dough shape into 18 1-1/2 inch sections with a serrated knife and place nine cinnamon rolls in each pan. There will be a little space between each roll.

Let rolls rise a second time in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees and then bake rolls for 15-17 minutes.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the vanilla topping. Sift confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl. Whisk in melted butter, vanilla, and milk until completely smooth. Remove rolls from the oven and pour topping evenly over cinnamon rolls while warm. Makes 18 cinnamon rolls.

source: bakerella

House Tour: Laundry Room

Today I'm excited to share another little piece of our house tour! Next up is our laundry room. Here's a little side-by-side before & after:

When we first looked at the house, I had issues with the laundry room. The biggest problem was that the door opened right into the washing machine, meaning you had to squeeze through the half-opened door, then shut the door behind you to finally be able to access the washer. I also didn't like the lack of cabinets and the one lone shelf around the entire room. I'm not a big yellow fan, but this shade especially was too dark, making a small room look even smaller and darker.

To fix the problem, Caleb took the laundry room door off the hinges and cut it in half to make double doors that opened into the kitchen. He cut the door right down the middle and hung new hinges. Since we didn't know what color of paint the door was, we took a kitchen drawer of the same color to Lowe's and they matched it exactly for us. Caleb painted the double doors and added new dummy door knobs to the front. He also put a little magnetic strip at the top of the door frame to keep the door closed tight.

Caleb removed the shelf that was in the laundry room to begin with. Then he painted the whole laundry room with a couple of coats of white paint. The walls and ceiling are the same white, since I just wanted a fresh, bright room. He built a cabinet with two interior shelves, and then built and mounted L-shaped shelves to go around the rest of the laundry room. There is a TON more storage now, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

All I had to do was get a little rug and find cute baskets to store all of my cleaning supplies. And actually when it came time to do that, I realized I had SO many extra cleaning products stored under my kitchen sink. I would just buy extra cleaning supplies thinking I needed them, since I couldn't really see what all I had shoved under there. This resulted in my finding 8 tubs of Lysol wipes - whoops! I'm glad that I now have a clear view of what I have on hand, so that I can replace only what we need.

I am so pleased with how our little laundry room turned out! Cutting the door and making it into double doors made the biggest difference! It was so much cheaper than buying new doors, and I love the way the double doors look. Like usual, Caleb did all of the hard work to make this laundry room a happier, more efficient space, and I'm so thankful for all his efforts!

sources: paint: Valspar Signature Paint + Primer in One in "White" | 

cabinet + shelves: designed + built by Caleb | 

rug: Target | wire baskets: Target 

Mini Fruit Tarts

On Saturday I had the best time with one of my oldest and dearest friends. She made the trip to come down for the day, and we sat and had lunch and just talked for several hours. There's something that just feels so good about spending time with a friend you've known for most of your life (in this case, about 23 years). We had a simple lunch of quiche and Caesar salad, and we finished it off with these mini fruit tarts. These are relatively simple to make and are a great, lighter dessert option for any brunch or lunch.

Mini Fruit Tarts
for the crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp cold water

for the custard:
2 cups milk
1 1/2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 Tbsp unsalted butter

to top:
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh raspberries

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

For the crust, add flour, powdered sugar, and salt to a food processor and process to blend. Add 1/2 cup cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cold water and process just until the dough starts to stick together. Add more water by teaspoonfuls if the dough is dry.

Scoop about a tablespoon of dough into the cups of a mini muffin pan and press onto bottom and partially up sides. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pans 5 minutes. Use a knife to pop out the crust cups and cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, for the custard, put milk and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Spoon into the cool crust cups and let sit at room temperature about 20 minutes. Top with berries and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 48 mini tarts (but I easily halved the recipe).

source: recipe from i heart naptime

If I'm Being Honest, I Feel Weary

I have been feeling incredibly weary lately. Physically, yes, I am exhausted and uncomfortable a lot of the day due to pregnancy. But my weariness extends beyond just that: I am weary because my mind is racing with all of the things that I'm not staying on top of or the things that I'm forgetting to do or the decisions I have to make but feel too tired to make. I'm essentially not living up to the standards I've set for myself, and it both frustrating and wearying. Sometimes I even feel guilty that I'm not doing the things that I want to do/think I'm supposed to do.

All of this has made me think about this book Good News for Weary Women. I read this back in September but have recently been flipping through it and re-reading the parts I had marked. The bottom line is that I have created all of these rules and standards for things that I think I should do or would like to have accomplished. I'm a perfectionist, so having high standards is in my nature. I want to have a really productive day at work, get in a good workout, make a healthy dinner, have a relaxing evening at home with my husband, have meaningful devotions, stay on top of all of the chores around the house, keep in touch with family and friends out of town, spend quality time with friends in town, be actively involved in ministry at church, go to Bible study, get to know our neighbors, blog, research new recipes and make lots of delicious food from scratch, finish decorating our house, and the list goes on and on. None of these things are bad (which is exactly why I strive and wish I could do all of them all of the time), but as the book says, "the trouble comes in when those things start to define us if we do them or guilt-trip us if we don't."

That's exactly how I've been feeling lately: like who is this girl that has clothes piled in the corner of the bedroom and forgets to send birthday cards? Who is this girl that gets exhausted from cooking all day in preparation for having people over? I can barely recognize myself because I feel so frazzled most of the time, and I feel guilty for not doing the things I think I should be doing. The physical exhaustion of this pregnancy has forced me to realize how much pressure I put on myself to do things that in all reality are not the end-all. I am allowing myself to get caught up in the here and now instead of focusing on things of eternal worth. Yes, I want to take care of my home and be a good wife and friend, etc., but at the cost of what? Feeling stressed when everything on my to-do list isn't crossed off? Feeling guilty because my house isn't spotless and we don't have fresh muffins and homemade granola for breakfast? My favorite line from this entire book is this:

"Our highest calling is to believe in and love the gospel and then to live our lives in the light of all Jesus has already done for us."

My highest calling isn't to take care of my home or do really well at work or be a great friend; it is to believe, rest, and rejoice in the work that Jesus did in His death on the cross, allowing that to transform every aspect of my life and motivate all that I do. He died in my place, taking on all of my sins and failures. I could never on my own live up to God's holy and perfect standard, but because Jesus took my place and I have placed my faith in Him, God now looks at me and all of my failures and is pleased - He is pleased! It's hard to believe since so often I am not even pleased with myself. But God in His grace sees me as His beloved child and fully accepts me through the blood of His Son. This truth of the Gospel is what I am reminding myself of daily as I feel frustrated when I don't feel like I'm doing enough. God's love for me is not dependent on how much I do or how well I think I'm doing at home or work, and that is the good news for those of us that feel weary.

Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake

Having company for dinner is a good excuse for me to try new recipes. Caleb has never understood why I would want to try out a new recipe on dinner guests, but I think that's half the fun. I try to stick to just one or two new recipes per meal, since I'd like to think at least half the meal will turn out as expected. We had company for dinner this past weekend, and I made this chocolate cake for dessert. It was the cover recipe on this month's Southern Living, and as soon as I got my copy in the mail I knew I had to try it. For as many ingredients as it calls for, it was a relatively simple cake to make. I let the cake cool for most of the afternoon, and whipped up the glazes right before our company arrived. For chocolate lovers like myself, this cake is definitely a winner.

Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake
for the cake:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups butter, softened at room temperature
3 cups sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tsp instant espresso
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate morsels

for the chocolate glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

for the buttermilk glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp buttermilk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Beat 1 1/2 cups butter in a medium bowl at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yolk disappears. Combine 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, instant espresso, and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed after each addition. Fold in bittersweet chocolate morsels. Pour batter into a well-greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Sharply tap pan on counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 20 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack.

Prepare chocolate glaze: combine semisweet chocolate morsels, butter, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave at medium (50% power) 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until morsels begin to melt, stirring after 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Prepare buttermilk glaze: whisk together powdered sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glazes over cooled cake. Serves 10-12.

source: Southern Living, February 2015

On Pregnancy: The First Trimester

8 1/2 weeks

People have asked me if this space is going to turn into a "mommy blog", and the answer is no. I do not plan on exclusively writing about diapers, feeding, and my baby. I will, however, write about my baby and motherhood and any of the other things that this new stage of life ushers in, just as I write about many aspects of my life now. The baby posts will just be in addition to all of the other posts. With that said, this is the first post in my pregnancy series, beginning with my first trimester. This is mostly for my sake to look back on in the future, but click through if you're interested!

Sausage & Tortellini Soup

I have a confession: I kind of hate January-March. Every year I try to rally and make the best of these three months that are stretching out ahead of us, but it's so hard for me. It gets dark so early, I miss the warm sunshine, there's not usually any holidays/time off from work, and I just long for spring and summer. Since there's nothing to be done about this wintery first quarter of the year, I try to focus on the (few) positives: cozy evenings at home, taking time to purge and organize every last closet of the house, and of course endless bowls of warm soup or chili. This soup is pretty easy to throw together, but it is quite hearty with the tortellini, sausage, and vegetables--perfect for a cold, January night.

Sausage & Tortellini Soup
1 pound mild Italian sausage links, casings removed
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (6 oz) can tomato past
1 1/2 cans of water (use the empty tomato paste can)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 cup diced carrots
1 green pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
16 oz bag of frozen cheese-filled tortellini
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot brow the sausage, crumbling it with the backside of a spoon until cooked through (no longer pink). Remove sausage from pot and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Cook onion and garlic in same pot, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add broth, tomato paste, water, seasonings, and carrots. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce head, add sausage back to the pot, and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.

Add the peppers, zucchini, and tortellini, and cook for 10 more minutes, or until tortellini are tender. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

source: recipe from Life with Truth