Chocolate Covered Love

This was my first attempt at making doughnuts. I am tentative about frying stuff because I'm always scared of oil flying out of the pan and burning me. Before I fried anything I did some research on the smoking points of different oils, which actually scared me to death because it made me scared of setting the oil on fire. Which of course didn't happen. I used my cast iron dutch oven and my candy thermometer to regulate the temperature of the oil.

I actually made two batches of doughnuts. The first one (the ones with the white sprinkles) I made exactly the way the recipe said to. Except I used lard to fry them, because I had heard lard would make them crispier and less greasy. Unfortunately those did not turn out very well. The lard did not work out at all. It left a thin residue on all the doughnuts which left them tasting very lard-y. 

So for my second batch I used corn oil - which worked much better. I also changed the flavor of the glaze. 

The original recipe is from A Beautiful Mess for Grapefruit Donuts. The grapefruit flavor did not come through very well, in the glaze or the donuts, so for the second batch I made the glaze chai flavored, which tasted much better in my opinion. I also made donut-holes instead of whole donuts, this was just my decision, you can make traditional donuts if you desire.

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.

These muffins could easily be eaten for breakfast or a midday snack and the addition of the cranberries makes them feel a little healthier. :) 

Enjoy.