Chocolate Covered Love

I love all things lemon. Especially lemon desserts. I love that perfect blend of sour and sweet.

So when I found this recipe on The Kitchn, I knew I had to make it.

They turned out delicious even though I made a mistake. I made the filling too liquid-y, so a lot of it just ended up in the bottom of the pan instead of inside the rolls. The recipe explained the addition of the lemon juice and zest in a kind of convoluted way and I kept forgetting to add it in, and it also depends on how juicy your lemons are. I added more sugar but it still didn't turn out how it was supposed to, instead I had caramelized lemon/sugar all over the bottom. So I changed the recipe to explain it a better way.

Lemon Sticky Rolls

recipe from here

makes 12 large rolls

Dough

- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

- 3/4 cup warm milk

- 1/2 cup (1 stick) very soft butter, plus 3 TB for roll assembly

- 1/4 cup white sugar

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 4 1/2 cups flour

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 2 large eggs

- zest from 1 lemon

for sticky lemon filling

- 1 cup sugar

- 1/4 tsp nutmeg

- 1/2 tsp ground ginger

- zest from 1 lemon

- lemon juice (from zested lemons)

Glaze

- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened

- 1 cup powdered sugar

- lemon juice (from zested lemons)

- zest from 1 lemon (for topping the glazed rolls)

So you're using 3 lemons total, using both the zest and juice from all three. The amount of juice may vary depending on how much juice your lemons have.

Make the dough

(I used my bread machine to make the dough, I just used the dough setting and it did all the work for me, but for those of you who do not have a bread machine, these are the instructions.)

In the bowl of a stand or hand mixer sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a few minutes or until foamy. With the mixer paddle, stir the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and one cup of the flour into this milk and yeast mixture. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, and the lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and pliable.

(If you do not have a stand mixer, stir together the ingredients by hand, then turn the soft dough out onto a lightly floured countertop. Knead the dough by hand for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, pliable, and stretchy.)

Lightly grease the top of the dough with vegetable oil, and turn the dough over so it is coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let the dough rise until nearly doubled — about one hour.

Make the filling
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup sugar with the nutmeg and ginger, then work in the lemon zest with the tips of your fingers until the sugar resembles soft sand. Slowly add the lemon juice  one tablespoon at a time, stirring. Stop when the sugar and lemon juice form a thick, clumpy mixture like wet sand. (This is where I messed up and added too much juice, so be careful not to add too much, it makes rolling the rolls much more difficult.)

Assemble the rolls

Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking dish with baking spray or butter. On a floured surface pat the dough out into a large yet still thick rectangle — about 10x15 inches.

Spread the dough evenly with 3 tablespoons of very soft unsalted butter, then spread the lemon-sugar mixture over top. Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the top long end. Stretch and pull the dough taut as you roll, to keep the lemon sugar firm inside. Cut the long dough roll into 12 even rolls. Pinch the bottom of each roll closed to help keep the lemon sugar inside, and place each one, open and cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled. (You can also refrigerate the rolls at this point. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap or a towel, and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake the rolls, remove the pan from the fridge, and let them rise for an hour before proceeding with baking.)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the risen rolls in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until they are golden brown on top.

I'm sorry I haven't been posting too regularly. It's not because I haven't been taking photos or making food, it's because I keep forgetting or don't have the time to post. I am about a month behind in my posts, I made these truffles about a week before Christmas, so that should tell you something... I am not the most organized person, as anyone who knows me can tell you as well.

I had truffles like these at a birthday party I went to with my daughter. Her friend Andrew was having his 2nd birthday party and his mom is a great baker and cook as well. She made a rich and delicious chocolate cake along with these truffles for dessert. I especially liked these because they taste so light and chocolate-y. Like you can keep eating them and the chocolate flavor doesn't become overwhelming.

This is probably the easiest recipe ever. Does not require a lot of skill and it has simple ingredients. Although I do not feel that the mint flavor was strong enough for my tastes, so I'm going to make them again and add some peppermint extract - I'll let you know how it goes after I make them again.

Mint Oreo Truffles

- eight ounces softened cream cheese

- one package of mint oreos

- semi-sweet chocolate chips, about a cup and a half

- white chocolate, or candy melts

- sprinkles [optional]

To start making the truffles, crumble up the oreo cookies and crumb them in either a blender or food processor. If you use a blender, like me, you may have to do it in batches. Pour the oreo crumbs into a medium sized bowl and add in the softened cream cheese, with a mixer on medium mix until well combined. 

Place the bowl in the fridge for an hour to chill.

While the oreo mixture is chilling, melt your semi-sweet chocolate chips. I used a microwave-safe bowl and put in for fifteen seconds at a time, taking it out and stirring it between each one until it was smooth.

Take out the oreo mixture after the hour is up and roll into one-inch balls.

Place them on parchment paper lined pans as you roll them. 

Put the pans in the freezer for a quick chill, about thirty minutes.

Take out the pans and dip the balls into the melted chocolate and place back onto the parchment paper.

If you want to decorate your truffles with melted white chocolate, melt a small amount in the microwave like you did with the semi-sweet chips. Scoop the melted white chocolate [or green white chocolate] into a ziploc bag and snip the tip off. I had to hold the bag with a pot holder since it was pretty hot, but squeeze zig-zags of the chocolate onto the truffles. Sprinkle with sprinkles quickly after, if the chocolate cools before you get the sprinkles on there they won't stick.

I used green and red since Christmas was coming up, but feel free to use whatever colors you want.

No reason to go to Olive Garden anymore. The only reason we went there was for my fiance's favorite dish, Zuppa Toscano. And I found a copycat recipe for it, along with the breadsticks. I tried the recipes and sure enough, tasted exactly the same. 

Zuppa Toscano Recipe and Breadsticks Recipe

I made coconut flan the other day, and although it was delicious, I will admit that it came from a box... Sometimes you don't have the time to make a homemade dessert, plus it was on sale. I did amp up the coconut flavor by using half coconut milk and half whole milk instead of all regular milk. And I topped it with coconut shreds and sliced almonds. My new favorite flavor combination is coconut and almond. Next time I'll make it from scratch.




I tried out a recipe for Carrot Cake pancakes from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs. My cousin actually bought me her new cookbook as an early Christmas present, and I'm super excited. I've already tried a recipe from it which I will post pictures of later. This recipe is just from her blog, and although the pancakes are quite small, they are delicious and not too sweet - so they can be a breakfast and not a dessert. :]