Cheesecake and fresh summer fruit is an amazing combination. The rich creamy custard is a perfect foil for the sweet, tangy, juicy fruits. But cheesecake has a bit of a reputation…

People, myself included, tend to think of cheesecake as a formal dessert. One that requires you to be dressed up and on your best behavior. I wonder why that is?

Does it have to do with the expense involved? Did it just become habit only to make cheesecake for special occasions? Even the casual cousin version of cheesecake in muffin cups tends only to be served at summer parties, not for a weeknight dinner dessert. How about a slice of cheesecake at the beach? UNheard of!

Well, thanks to our Pinterest pages, and our friends out there who love to share recipes, I came across the idea of baking cheesecake batter in heat-proof canning jars, individual servings that could be lidded up and taken anywhere. I was sold even before I started shopping for groceries.

I’m sure this method will be an old favorite for some of you, but I’m hoping that others like me will be thrilled with the new discovery.

I’m sure, too, that the photo above is just making you hanker for a good bite of cheesecake, so let’s not delay any further – let’s make Cheesecake in a Jar.

There’s a huge difference in temperature, not to mention texture, between cream cheese straight from the fridge and cream cheese that’s been at room temperature for an hour.

If there’s one thing you can do to ensure a smooth batter for your cheesecake, it’s taking the time to let the cream cheese warm up.

Prepare your favorite cheesecake batter according to the recipe directions. I used our Brooklyn-style cheesecake filling for its richness and perfect texture. Don’t worry about tracking it down, I’ve reprinted it in the recipe.

In a small bowl, mix 1 cup graham cracker crumbs with 1 tablespoon sugar. Place 2 tablespoons sweetened crumbs in each of seven 1/2-pint Mason jars. Press down lightly.

One of the beautiful things about this method is that you never have to turn on the oven. Even the crust bakes in the slow cooker.  If you like a richer crust you can add melted butter to the crumb mixture, but I happen to like the crumbs a little looser and crisp.

Place the jars in a  7- to 8-quart slow cooker. Can you see the messy jar I filled up in the back? Do try to be a little neater than I was.

Fill each jar 3/4 full with your cheesecake filling. I found pouring the filling from a pitcher with a spout to be a great help.

Cheesecakes bake best in a warm water bath, called a bain marie. With the temperature control of the slow cooker, the water stays at a constant temperature and the moist air keeps the cakes from forming a crust on top.

To fill the cooker with water, loosely place a lid on each jar to prevent water from splashing in. Pour warm water in until the level reaches at least halfway up the sides of the jars.

Remove the lids from the jars, cover the slow cooker, and set the cooker to high for 1 to 2 hours.

I know this seems like a very wide range of time for cooking, but slow cookers vary, cheesecake batters vary, so it’s better to have a big window.

To test the cakes for doneness, insert a knife about 1/2″ in from the outer edge. The blade should come out moist, but clean. The centers of the cakes should no longer be wiggly or jiggly.

Turn off the slow cooker and allow the cheesecakes to cool down for about 20 minutes before transferring them to a rack.

Allow the cheesecakes to rest at room temperature for an hour before sealing with lids and rings. Chill the jars in the fridge for several hours (or up to overnight) before serving. Store tightly covered in the fridge for up to a week.

I’ve never been a big fan of freezing cheesecakes, but I’m pretty sure these would survive well in the freezer for at least a month.

Pass the berries, cherries, hot fudge sauce, and whipped cream for a topping party. Each person can create his or her own favorite combination, then dig in with a long-handled spoon. Forget iced tea, this is the true reason to break out Aunt Elaine’s set of silver spoons.

Tell us about your summer picnic experiences and your cheesecake triumphs in the comments below. It truly does mean the world to me and my fellow bakers when you share your joy of baking, food and, of course, eating!

Please make, rate, and review our recipe for Cheesecake in a Jar.

Print just the recipe.

Plan the perfect picnic with these other great recipes:  Deviled Eggs; Turkey, Avocado, Strawberry Sandwiches; Pickled Red Onions.

Did you know it’s really, really easy to make a frozen coffee drink at home?

You know, like the one you pay big bucks for every morning.

Something sweet and caffeine-y, to simultaneously comfort and invigorate you while you sit in traffic on the way to work.

Did you know you can make the very freshest strawberry sorbet at home?

Frozen yogurt?

A ridiculous number of ice cream flavors, including this Mocha Madness?

Mango gelato, even?

All you need is a good recipe, some simple ingredients, and a freezer.

“Oh, right,” you’re probably thinking. “Here comes the sales pitch for an ice cream maker.”

Well, you’re partially right. You can make all of these treats (except the gelato) without one of those cute little ice cream makers. I’ve done it; it works.

But if you’re a fan of frozen treats – someone who doesn’t hesitate to order a Moose Tracks ice cream cone in December – then yeah, I confess: this IS a sales pitch for an electric ice cream maker.

But it’s a pitch based in honesty; I’m one of the world’s most savvy shoppers (read: biggest cheapskates), and even I’ve broken down and acquired an ice cream maker.

After years of cranking the heavy cast aluminum dasher of an enormous old White Mountain wooden freezer – an experience offering ice-pick puncture wounds, messy rock salt, and dribbles of freezing water over my feet and down my arms – I made the switch.

I’ve moved into the 21st century.

Cool!

My Cuisinart is an older model; it’s white, instead of teal. But whatever the color, this ice cream maker represents, to ice cream aficionados, the best $59.95 you’ll spend this summer.

How easy is it to whip up a quart of fresh mango sorbet? Or Frozen Thai Iced Coffee?

Just watch me.

First step – and this is ALWAYS the first step – make sure the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker is in your freezer. For best results, it really needs to freeze for 24 hours.

I have a fridge with a commodious bottom freezer, so I keep my ice cream maker’s freezer bowl in it full-time.

In fact, I’ve just purchased an extra freezer bowl, so I’ll always be able to make something frozen at the drop of a hat (or a rise in the outdoor temperature).

Whisk together the following, in a bowl or lidded storage container:

2 cups (16 ounces) strong hot coffee
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for added kick
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy or whipping cream*
1 teaspon vanilla extract

*Substitute milk, if desired, for a lower-fat, less-rich drink.

Place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill. It has to be completely cold before you freeze it; an overnight stay in the fridge is good.

This formula – the coffee/condensed milk combo – is a very typical recipe for iced coffee in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam and Thailand.

If you ever want to make a simple iced coffee that’s noticeably richer than simply coffee stirred together with milk, just use the first three ingredients in the list above, chilling until cold.

Next day, or whenever you’re ready to make frozen iced coffee, pour the coffee mixture into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker.

Turn it on. Come back in about 10 minutes; the mixture will be slushy. Freeze for an additional 5 minutes if you like it thicker.

I like it thicker, and this looks just about right – thick enough to be qualify as frozen, yet still thin enough to slurp through a straw.

Spoon into glasses; add a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle of cocoa or cinnamon, if desired.

I desire.

This recipe serves 2 to 4, depending on appetites. It’s definitely a rich drink; I split it between two of my coffee-loving taste-testers here at King Arthur, Aime and Ben.

Both admitted being unable to resist drinking their whole serving at one sitting – but also offered that probably saving some for later would have been wise!

Love my KAF glass, but a travel mug works well, too.

Store any leftovers in the freezer.

This will be the drink’s consistency after half a day or so. Enjoy it as coffee ice cream, or let it thaw at room temperature for 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, to return it to drinkable status.

Read, make, and review (please) our recipe for Frozen Thai Iced Coffee.

Print just the recipe.

Check out all the ways you can use the ice cream maker you’re now dying to purchase: Cool! Easy Homemade Ice Cream.

And if, after my sales pitch, your response is still “No way am I buying an ice cream maker” – take a look at the following recipes, offering directions for frozen treats made both with, and without an ice cream maker:

Sorbet: strawberry; mango; peach; kiwi-pear-apple; dark chocolate
Mocha Madness ice cream

How do we come up with new recipes in the King Arthur test kitchen?

I can tell you one thing: it’s a group effort.

And a total labor of love.

Let’s start with the group effort.

Meet three of our recipe developers.

Charlotte (l) develops our Baker’s Catalogue recipes; Frank (center) helps formulate mixes, and develops recipes for our supermarket products (think self-rising flour, gluten-free flour, our new baking mix, etc.); and Gwen (r) comes up with a lot of the Baking Sheet recipes enjoyed by those of you who subscribe to our print newsletter.

There’s also Susan, our Baking Sheet editor; Andrea and Sue who, with Frank, form our flour division’s new products team; and our bloggers, MaryJane and Amy.

Oh, and me. That makes nine of us coming up with new recipes. So yes, the kitchen can get pretty crowded at times.

But that’s where the love comes in.

We love what we’re doing. We love who we’re doing it with, and we LOVE collaborating: with one another, and with our fellow employee-owners who “bite and write” – i.e., taste-test what we bake, and give us feedback.

Speaking of collaboration, it’s not just internal. We also seek and receive feedback from our fellow baking fanatics, friends, and customers – from YOU.

I develop a lot of recipes for this blog, and for our Web site. And most of the ideas I turn into recipes come from Facebook, where we regularly poll our fans around what they want to bake; and Google, where I track national baking trends on a daily basis

What’s hot on Google? Zucchini bread. Do we have a zucchini bread recipe on our site? Yes, several. But what are we missing?

I don’t see any chocolate… Well, now you do: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, take a bow.

We currently offer 2,500+ recipes on our site – and have 3,500+ recipes available via our new Baking Sheet app.

But as any foodie knows, there’s always room for another recipe – like these Artisan Breadsticks.

Charlotte created it for our catalogue. I’m expanding its reach in this blog. And maybe someday it’ll end up on the back of our bread flour bag, or as a link on Facebook.

We might feed this recipe to Twitter, or picture it on Instagram. Heck, it’s already been pinned on Pinterest and posted on Google+.

Like a stone dropped into a pond, a new recipe ripples its way across communities and cultures – from our King Arthur kitchen, to yours.

Sharing the joy of baking – that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Let’s make Artisan Breadsticks. Thanks, Charlotte!

Place the following in a mixing bowl:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons herbes de Provence, or other dried herbs
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
4 1/4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour*

*Want to use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour? Increase the flour to 4 1/3 cups (18 3/8 ounces), and reduce the water to 1 1/4 cups.

Mix and knead the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle — to form a slightly soft dough.

Notice how it’s just slightly sticking to the bowl (photo, upper left) – that’s the right consistency.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 hour, until puffy.

I like to use a large measuring cup to raise my dough – notice how easy it is to see that this dough has just about doubled, going from 3 to 6 cups volume.

Lightly grease a half-sheet pan (13″ x 18″) or other large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Spread the dough into the pan, stretching it to the edges. When it shrinks back, let it rest for 10 minutes, and stretch again, repeating if necessary.

The photo at upper right shows how far I was able to stretch the dough initially; at lower left, after a 10-minute rest; and at lower right, after an additional 10-minute rest.

When yeast dough fights back – as it inevitably will, especially on a greased surface – just walk away and leave it alone. The gluten will relax, and you’ll be able to cajole it into behaving!

I remember when I was first learning to make pizza, and the more the dough shrank, the harder I whaled on it.

D’OH – big mistake. Just walking away for 10 minutes is the best (and certainly easiest) solution.

BTW, the same is true for pie pastry. Once it starts fighting you, walk away; it’ll cooperate when you come back.

Use a lightly greased bench knife or pizza wheel to cut the dough into 12 or 13 crosswise strips, 1″ wide.

Then cut the dough in half lengthwise — you’ll have 24 to 26 strips, each about 6 1/2″ long. Leave them right as they are, in the pan.

On top, breadsticks right after slicing; below, 1 hour later. As you can see, these don’t expand very much prior to baking.

Cover and let the strips rise at room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes, until slightly puffy.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F. Make an egg wash by combining 1 large egg with 1 tablespoon cold water.

Brush the strips with the egg wash, and sprinkle on about 1/4 cup seeds. I’m using our Artisan Bread Topping – a mixture of flax, toasted sesame, black caraway, midget sunflower, poppy, and anise seeds. It’s crunchy, it’s pretty, and it adds just the right flavor/texture notes to these soft breadsticks.

Bake the breadsticks for 30 to 35 minutes, until they’re light gold.

Remove the pan from the oven. Once the breadsticks are cool enough to handle, cut along their score lines.

Invite someone over. Remember, it’s all about sharing…

…and I’m sure you can find someone to share this: soft breadsticks with extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Please read, bake, and review our recipe for Artisan Breadsticks.

Print just the recipe.

Courtesy of Tiny Urban Kitchen.

As the organizer of King Arthur Flour Blog & Bake™, one of the many pleasures of the event is how it reignites my passion about the amazing baking resource that is King Arthur Flour. Sure, as a PR person I tell people day in and day out about our great classes, recipes, products, baking hotline, and more. But there’s just nothing like seeing – hearing, feeling – the excitement of a classroom full of newcomers so happy to be here and baking that they literally squeal with delight.

Courtesy of Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Even the pictures help me see our company from other perspectives, like the beautiful shots above from Jen at Tiny Urban Kitchen – how many times have I walked through that door and never noticed that view through it?! And the pizza bubbling in the wood-fired oven, oh my! It’s not every day most of us get to bake with fire, and the pizza class is definitely one of the highlights of the program.

Courtesy of Foodie with Family.

Courtesy of Foodie with Family.

But let’s step back to the beginning, because we had such a fun time together learning, baking, and eating that I can’t resist sharing it all. I mean, just look at those little piggies! We started our time together with a farm tour featuring Hogwash Farm and Killdeer Farm, both right in Norwich. As it turns out, there’s nothing like a bunch of adorable piglets to break the ice among a group of relative strangers!

Courtesy of Bake or Break.

After learning about some of the nuances of organic “dirt farming” at Killdeer Farm, we finally made our way to Camelot, where everyone had some snacks and browsed the Baker’s Store for a few minutes before heading to the classroom to get their hands into some dough. Remember that beautiful pizza we saw baking away in the wood-fired oven? The dough was started a full day before the bake – and the bloggers will attest to the amazing flavor generated by the long resting time.

Courtesy of Cooking with Books.

Once the pizza preferment (starter) was ready to rest, we headed into the café for a very informative and delicious reception with our friends from Cabot Creamery Cooperative. After learning a little bit about dairy farming in Vermont and watching Chef Jimmy Kennedy make sweet and savory crêpes using Cabot butter and Greek-style yogurt, we enjoyed a wonderful meal of cheddar-ale soup, pulled pork, and berry crêpes for dessert. And, if you can believe it, then we made room to sample an assortment of eight Cabot cheeses along with cheese grader Craig Gile as we learned about Cabot flavor profiles! (We also managed to taste a few Harpoon brews with our meal – an excellent accompaniment!)

Courtesy of The Baker Chick.

Courtesy of Healthy Seasonal Recipes.

That night, everyone went back to the Norwich Inn and went to bed full, exhausted, and early. We had another long and exciting day ahead! Since it was their first real class in the Baking Education Center, we started off with some basics: white bread and whole-grain scones. One of the most important tips we learned was about measuring flour: A cup of all-purpose flour should weigh 4 1/4 ounces. If you’re not using a scale, we advocate the “fluff, sprinkle, sweep” method – first fluff the flour to aerate it, then sprinkle it into your dry measuring cup, then level it off without packing it down. Easy, accurate, and your baked goods will be lighter and moister. We’ve converted at least one of our blogger guests!

Courtesy of Bake or Break.

After bread, scones, and a lunchtime discussion about food blogging and social media, we headed to the test kitchen to learn all about different types of flour from Baking Sheet Editor Susan Reid. See all those muffins above? Same recipe, different flour. It’s a really neat way to show how different flours behave in terms of everything from rise and color to texture.

Courtesy of Foodie with Family.

And then, on to our pizza party! See that peel Jen’s wielding? It’s long. Really long, because it has to reach all the way to the back of the wood-fired oven. Fortunately, we were able to safely load all of these amazing pizzas thanks to strict adherence to a simple rule: The peel has the right of way. (Or, as I like to say, stand back so you don’t get whacked!)

I’ll admit, the last day was my personal favorite. We started the morning with a “Chopped”-type pie class. The group was broken into three teams, each of which had a basket of Vermont ingredients to use in developing a pie recipe on the spot. After writing and baking their recipes, the teams swapped and each had to bake another’s recipe and offer feedback on how well the recipe was written. Everyone had a fun time working together and getting creative, but, as you can see above, the discussion and voting were serious business.

Courtesy of The Baker Chick.

After lunch, one of my favorite sessions: blitz puff pastry. These spicy cheese straws were so buttery, flaky, cheesy, and crisp. Beyond being delicious and relatively fast to make, blitz puff pastry is wonderful in both sweet and savory applications – it’s one of those things you can really get creative with, letting your taste buds lead the way. Audra The Baker Chick shared a sweet version with detailed directions, in case you’re feeling inspired right now!

Courtesy of Foodie with Family.

Last but far from least, we were treated to a very engaging demonstration from Chef Jerod Rockwell of Simon Pearce Restaurant in Quechee, Vermont. After cleaning up from the day of baking, we all went to the restaurant to enjoy a most amazing menu of Parmesan Gnocchi and Poached Shrimp with Maitake and Oyster Mushrooms and Tarragon Shellfish Nage; Misty Knoll Chicken Breast with Herb Spaetzle, Asparagus, Sour Cabbage, and Mustard Sauce; and Valrhona Bittersweet Chocolate Terrine with Crème Anglaise, Candied Pecans and Orange Poached Cherries. Are you drooling yet?

Part of King Arthur Flour’s mission is to build community through baking. This power of baking to bring people together is evident through Blog & Bake, where more than a dozen people come together strangers and leave a few days later friends, bonded through the courageous and creative act of baking together.

We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to bake, learn, and play with this year’s group of bloggers. We encourage you to get to know them, too – we think you’ll like them as much as we do!

Eva – Adventures in Cooking

Audra – The Baker Chick

David – Spiced

Rebecca – Foodie with Family

Erika – In Erika’s Kitchen

Brandy – Nutmeg Nanny

Carole – Heirloom Meals

Jennifer – Bake or Break

Marnely – Cooking with Books

Kate – Food Babbles

Jen – Tiny Urban Kitchen

Katie – Healthy Seasonal Recipes

Tara Bench – Food & Entertaining Director at Ladies’ Home Journal

As many of you know, when you taste test samples here at the King Arthur test kitchen, you’re required to “Bite and Write.” Sure, everyone loves to bite into cakes, cookies, and ice cream. When the email pops up saying “warm brownies in the kitchen” our hallway can resemble that stampede scene from Jurassic Park.

Every once in awhile we have to send out a reminder with such wording as, “I know someone has been biting, but no one is writing. My test cookies are half gone, and I only have one comment!” Most of the time, though, the comments are great and very helpful.

If your comment jar is full of yabuts, you know you still have a little work to do on the recipe.

What’s a yabut?  It’s when you ask a question and get “Yeah, but…” for an answer.

“Son, did you wreck the car?” “Yeah, but… there was this cat in the road.”

“Child of mine, did you shave the dog?” “Yeah, but… he looked hot.”

In the recipe world, if you get comments such as “I liked the flavor, yeah, but… it was dry,” it’s time to keep working on the recipe. Every now and then, though, the planets and stars align just right and there isn’t a yabut in sight. In fact, every now and then, you get a comment for the ages. One that sticks out and stays with you forever.

Wanna see one?

There tucked in the jar with the other positive comments was a genuine winner. Yep, I’d been proposed to.

OK, before you start breaking out the champagne and throwing rice, you have to know I’ve been happily married for 21 years. So has the proposal writer. Not to each other, we both love our husbands to death, but this was our Web guru Tracy’s way of telling me that she loved the recipe and loved me for making it. You can’t ask for much more than that, now can you?

I keep the paper taped to my computer monitor. I use it as a reminder to strive for excellence in my work and as a reminder that baking brings joy.

Let’s bring some joy to your table. Let’s make Banana Fudge Cookies.

In the bowl of your mixer place:

1/2 cup butter, very soft
1 cup sugar

Beat the butter and sugar for two minutes, to fluff and combine. Beat in 1 large room-temperature egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until you have a smooth mixture.

Add:

1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup King Arthur All-Purpose Baking Cocoa
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Normally I’d mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl first, to combine them well and remove any lumps, but I’m guessing this batch was made prior to morning coffee.

Beat the dry and wet ingredients together until you have a fairly stiff but not dry dough.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out walnut-sized balls of dough and shape them into rounds with the palms of your hands. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this job a breeze.

Place each ball of dough on the parchment paper with about 2″ in between. With your thumb, make a depression in the center, like a bird’s nest. Repeat with each ball of dough.

Set the sheets aside while you make the fudge topping.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk.

Heat the chocolate chips and condensed milk for 40 to 60 seconds. Stir until smooth. Avoid over-heating or the topping will dry out.

A beautiful chocolate swirled galaxy.

Scoop out some of the fudge topping, about 2 teaspoons’ worth. Roll into a ball, then flatten between your palms. This is the fudge “cap” that will cover your cookies.

Into the center of each “nest” place a 1/4″ slice of fresh peeled banana.* Top with a fudge cap.

Press and mold into place. Don’t worry about the small cracks, those are normal. If the fudge topping won’t roll smoothly or has large cracks, add a touch more condensed milk.

Not really into banana? Try pecans, walnuts, cashews, or cherries. Anything you’d pair with chocolate would go well with these cookies. These cookies have pecans inside and out.

Bake the fudge-topped cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. The centers will sink in a bit, creating a little ring of fudge.  I love nibbling off the extra cookie edge before diving into a big center bite.

Do you take this cookie to be your lawfully-wedded cookie? To have and to hold from this day forward? Well, maybe for just a few minutes, while you pour a big glass of cold milk!

Please bake, rate, and review our recipe for Banana Fudge Cookies.

Print just the recipe.

SHARE your favorite proposal/engagement/wedding stories in the comments below. After all, ’tis wedding season.

What would you do for a warm, gooey cinnamon roll with sweet icing melting down the sides?

Before you were gluten-free, this may have been an easy fix: head to your local bakery, run to grandma’s house, or pop open the can, right? C’mon, nothing to be ashamed of, many of us have done it. No judgement here.

Waking up to a house filled with a cinnamon-sugar sweet dough aroma is rewarding in itself and is almost enough to satisfy the craving. ALMOST enough, but who are we kidding? Wafting aroma alone is just NOT going to cut it!

What? A gluten-free cinnamon roll, too daunting a task? Intimidated? Overwhelmed?

Naah! If I can do it, there are NO excuses for you. Sorry!

Having grown a little tired of working with the typical gluten-free batter, one specific goal for this recipe was to have a dough that could be rolled, shaped, and cut. Should we start the betting on whether or not I succeeded? Whaddaya think?

Cheer me on as we tour a fantastic photo voyage to sweet cinnamon nirvana!

To make the dough you will need to start with:

• 2 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Combine all the dry ingredients in your mixer bowl.

Add 4 tablespoons soft butter, blending on low speed until you have coarse crumbs.

Whisk the following ingredients together:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup warm milk, plus extra for brushing on dough
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor

and add to the crumb mixture, mixing to combine at first and then

increasing the speed to medium for about 1 minute, in order to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients.

You should end up with a soft, sticky dough that will need to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until visibly puffy.

While the dough rests and rises, combine the following ingredients to make the filling:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons soft butter

When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly greased piece of parchment paper, and press it gently into an 8″ x 16″ rectangle. I made the mistake of using plastic wrap here, thinking it would be easier to roll, but it was a wrinkly nightmare, so go with the parchment paper for sure!

You have the advantage of learning from my boo-boos instead of making them. I’ll make plenty of mistakes so you won’t have to!

Brush milk over the surface of the dough to prevent the rolls from gaping and separating from the filling when they bake. Then, spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 1/2″ to 1″ border of filling-free dough around the edges.

Speaking of errors, can you tell where I almost screwed up in the above photo? What fun it would have been to scrape all the cinnamon filling from the dough so that I could apply the milk? I caught myself JUST in time! A little sprinkle of filling, and no harm done.

The actual recipe you are seeing makes double this amount of filling, but what you see pictured here is only a single batch. Cinnamon roll filling is ONE situation where less is NOT more!

With the long edge of the parchment (or in my unfortunate case, plastic) closest to you, roll the dough forward allowing the paper to do the work for you.

The dough should release from the paper as you roll …

and be ever so cooperative.

When the rolling is completed, cut the log into 8 equal rolls using a sharp serrated knife or dental floss.

To use the floss, draw it under the dough and pull each end simultaneously across the top to cut the rolls.

Again, no need to weep at the sight of this shy helping of cinnamon goodness – remember, yours will generously be doubled!

This cross-section of dough reveals a successful rise, as you can see the holes and bubbles throughout the roll – EXACTLY what we want!

For best results, place each roll into the well of a lightly greased muffin pan – the rolls will rise higher with the support of the pan.

Allow the rolls to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Toward the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. While the rolls are baking, make the icing by mixing the following with an electric mixer until smooth:

• 6 tablespoons soft cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Ice the rolls immediately and serve warm!

This smaller batch recipe will hopefully encourage these rolls to be eaten up quickly, as they won’t hold up for long at room temperature. If you plan to rewarm them for later use, keep them icing-free until you do so.

Our model above is laced with the icing drizzle, a bit dainty and still showing off the swirl of dark, spicy cinnamon; but by all means, slather the stuff on any way you like it – there will surely be plenty!

You’ve waited long enough – now indulge!

Please rate, bake, and review our recipe for Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls.

Print just the recipe.

Growing up, I was an inveterate chocolate lover.

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Oreos. Chocolate cream pie. And, of course, chocolate ice cream.

My brother, on the other hand, was Mr. Vanilla. White-on-white cupcakes. Vienna Fingers. Twinkies. Vanilla ice cream.

On hot summer nights after Little League games, our parents would treat us to a cone at the Kenwood Farms ice cream stand, just over the river from our home in in Glastonbury, CT. Dad would have peach; Mom, butter-almond. My sister, Meagan, was an orange sherbet type gal. No question at all about my choice: chocolate, with chocolate jimmies.

And Mike?

Vanilla. B-O-R-I-N-G.

Well, times have changed. Dad and Meagan are gone (and hopefully enjoying towering ice cream cones in Heaven). Mom has lost her taste for ice cream. Mike, true-blue guy that he is, has stuck with vanilla.

And me? Well, I still love chocolate, in all its guises.

But a scoop of top-notch vanilla ice cream (or frozen yogurt), drizzled with the merest bit of vanilla-bean extract, has me reaching for a spoon just as fast a dish of dark chocolate sorbet would.

And vanilla whoopie pies stuffed with vanilla marshmallow-cream filling?

My own little piece of Heaven.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets (three, if you have them), or line them with parchment.

Beat the following together until well combined:

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup (11 tablespoons) butter

Beat in the following:

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Much like espresso powder heightens the flavor of chocolate, we feel almond emphasizes the taste of vanilla. Unless you really dislike almond flavor, we urge you to add the suggested almond extract in both cakes, and filling; while you probably won’t taste any almond, the vanilla will really shine.

Add 2 large eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each.

Add 3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour alternately with 2/3 cup milk, beginning with about 1 cup of the flour and 1/3 cup of the milk. Beat well after each addition. The final batter should be thick and fluffy.

Scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets in heaping tablespoonfuls; a slightly heaped tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Try to make each scoop as round as possible; the rounder the ball of dough, the rounder the cake. And it’s easier to match the tops and bottoms of your whoopie pies when they’re round, rather than irregularly oval.

Leave about 2″ between each scoop; the cakes will spread.

Bake the cakes for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they’re springy to the touch and feel set. They won’t be browned at all.

Remove them from the oven, and let them cool right on the pan; or transfer them to a rack to cool.

The cakes’ bottoms may be ever so slightly browned; but their tops will remain cream-colored.

Fill the cakes when they’re completely cool.

Place the cooled cakes, in a single layer, on a couple of baking sheets lined with parchment, foil, or waxed paper. Tent loosely with plastic wrap or foil; don’t seal them shut, as they’ll become soggy.

Next: the filling. Since it needs to chill, preferably overnight, you might want to make it the day before you make the cakes.

To make the filling, combine the following in a heavy saucepan, or in a microwave-safe bowl:

2 cups (1 pint) heavy or whipping cream
1 bag (10 to 10 1/2 ounces) marshmallows; mini-marshmallows are easiest to use
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Heat gently (in the microwave, or over a burner), stirring frequently, until the marshmallows melt completely. Remove from the heat, and stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1/8 teaspoon almond extract.

Pour the filling into the bowl of your stand mixer or another mixing bowl, and refrigerate overnight, or until thoroughly chilled.

Remove the filling from the refrigerator. It will have stiffened considerably (photo, bottom left).

Beat at high speed, using your stand mixer or an electric hand mixer; it’s impossible to beat thoroughly enough by hand, so please use a machine. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure you’re incorporating everything.

Beat only until the filling is smooth and glossy; this will probably take less than a minute.

The filing will thin out and become almost sauce-like as you beat. DON’T PANIC. Set it aside to rest at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes; it’ll stiffen as it sits, bringing it back to spreadable consistency.

Note: There seems to be a continuous controversy around whoopie pie filling. Some claim only the original shortening/sugar version is “right;” others like marshmallow; still others prefer a cream-cheese based filling. If you’re not a fan of this marshmallow filling, feel free to exchange it for your own favorite.

Spread the flat side of half the completely cooled cakes with the filling; very slightly heaping a tablespoon cookie scoop (about 5 measuring teaspoons) is the right amount.

Top with the remaining cakes, flat side towards the filling.

Serve whoopie pies immediately; or cover lightly with plastic wrap, and enjoy within a couple of days. For longer storage, wrap individually, and freeze.

Whoopie!

Here’s another iteration – strawberry cream whoopie pies. Add a layer of strawberry preserves atop the filling; I used fresh homemade preserves, quickly prepared in the microwave, as follows –

Combine 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped or sliced fresh strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a small pinch of salt. Place in a large microwave-safe bowl.

Heat berries in the microwave for 5 minutes, uncovered. Remove, stir, and heat for an additional 5 minutes. Stir again, and refrigerate; the preserves will thicken as they chill. Yield: about 3/4 cup preserves.

I have to admit, it was difficult getting a “sexy” photo of these humble pies. White-on-cream is a tough color combo, as far as a dramatic look goes.

But if you can get past their appearance and concentrate on flavor, these pies offer layer upon layer of sweet vanilla flavor. Their plainness is truly only crust-deep.

Read, bake, and review (please) our recipe for Double-Vanilla Whoopie Pies.

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Forget the first green buds on the trees, or seeing the first robin of spring. Here in Vermont you know spring has arrived when the ice cream stands open again. Take last Saturday, the first gloriously sunny day in almost 2 weeks…

I had been heavily sidelined by a bout with pneumonia for over a week, and was finally climbing the hill back to wellness. For some reason, my biggest desire during my down time was to get a new bird feeder for the living room window. We are lucky enough to live right in the woods so song birds and feathered creatures abound.

Showered and bundled up with a hearty breakfast in my tummy, my husband took me off to the wide world for an outing. (Reading British children’s books, didn’t you always want to go on an outing? It always sounded so much better than going shopping).

Now, I don’t think either of us was really thinking ice cream stand at this point but once we arrived at our local Big Box Store which happens to share a parking lot with a huge ice cream stand, we were definitely thinking frozen treats. Lo and behold, they were open and there wasn’t even a line!

Oh, decisions, decisions! Would the chocolate make me feel best, or the strawberry cheesecake? Should I get the peppermint stick milkshake, or Caramel Caribou? Or would they have a version of my new favorite from the KAF kitchens, Cinnamon Ice Cream?

Alas, alas, no cinnamon ice cream to be found. What is a lady to do?!  My knees may still have been feeling a bit weak, but I stood firm in my resolve. I ordered strawberry cheesecake, and made my master plan to whip up a batch of Cinnamon Ice Cream at home. Ah, the best of both worlds!

Join me in taking control of the ice cream spring madness and we’ll make Cinnamon Ice Cream. It warms and cools you at the same time, and plays beautifully with the fruits of summer that will be showing up in our stores and farm stands soon.

In a small bowl, blend together

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup milk

Mix until the sugar dissolves. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and whisk again.

Add 3 cups heavy cream, 2 whole eggs, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon oil and a small dash of salt.

Yes, you’ll be adding raw whole eggs to this recipe. You can use pasteurized eggs, or liquid eggs to be on the safe side. I happen to get my eggs from the backyard coop, so I’m good to go.

Place the ice cream base in the freezer for an hour, or in the fridge for several hours to chill. Cold base freezes faster in your machine, making for a smoother finished ice cream.

Freeze the base according to your machine’s directions. Here you can see the empty machine, then the ice cream after 5, 10 , and 20 minutes. No, no I swear there is just as much in there as when I started. Honest, I didn’t sneak any tastes. Hey, why is my nose growing like that?!

The ice cream will come out of the machine at soft-serve consistency. You can eat it right away, or place it in a sturdy container and freeze for another few hours.

When I make ice cream, I try to make at least two batches at a time. I start early in the day and have them in the freezer by lunchtime. This makes for a nice choice come dessert time on the weekends.

Rich, creamy and just a little spicy. This is the only ice cream that I’ve ever had that actually warms me up as I eat it. Taste testers said it reminded them of old-fashioned cinnamon imperials. It’s amazing to serve this with apple pie, or apple dumplings. I’ve been dying to try it on my oatmeal, and in a summer apple smoothie.

I’m always on the lookout for new ice cream ideas, so fill up that comment section and tell me what to try next. You there in the back, put down the keyboard though, I’m NOT making spinach ice cream!

Please make, rate, and review our recipe for Cinnamon Ice Cream.

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The piles of gluten-free tortillas in the grocery stores are doing more than stacking up the carbohydrates in your diet; they’re also raking in the dollars at $5 to $7 per half dozen, which is a lot of investment for something so simple.

Granted, the tortilla is a true Tex-Mex team player, being able to cradle a taco, hug a burrito, and sandwich a quesadilla – versatile like no other.

But still, don’t you want to spend your precious gluten-free food dollars on something you CAN’T make yourself?

Here’s a recipe that’s so easy, you’ll never want to reach out for store-bought tortillas again! As an added bonus, they have the flavor and protein benefits of chickpeas, and are lower in carbs AND cost! That, to me, is worth some time in the kitchen – how about you?

Just throw these ingredients into your mixer and stir ‘em up!

• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Add 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and 1 large egg, and blend well.

Mix at medium-high speed for about 1 minute. The dough should be very thick.

Allow the dough to rest for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare a few sheets of half-sheet parchment paper by cutting them in half and spraying one side of each piece with vegetable oil.

Preheat your stove-top or electric griddle to medium heat. Using a  jumbo cookie scoop (two tablespoons, or 1/8 cup), scoop dough onto one piece of the parchment.

Like this.

Cover each scoop of dough with another oiled sheet.

It’s easy and efficient to do a bunch at a time and have them ready to go onto the griddle, but you’ll use less paper if you only do as many as fit on your griddle at a time; then you can reuse the same paper to do the next round.

Using a rolling pin or pastry roller, roll dough into a 6 1/2″ circle-like shape.

I said circle-LIKE!

When the griddle is hot, peel one of the parchment sheets straight back to remove it from the dough and flip it, exposed side down, onto the hot griddle.

After about 10 seconds, peel back the second piece of paper by pulling it directly backwards and away from you.

Flip them immediately and cook for another 15 to 20 seconds, then pull them from the griddle.

Cool completely before wrapping. Stack with layers of parchment in between to prevent them from sticking together; you’ll be thankful you did! Freeze if desired.

OK, the dreaded gluten-free storage issue: Do these keep well?

They kept fine overnight in a plastic bag. But beyond that, prior to serving you’ll need to wrap them in a damp cloth and heat them gently in the microwave or warm oven before serving – though isn’t that what you would usually do anyway? Truth be told, after 2 to 3 days, you should surrender them to the oven and toast them up for chips to pair with artichoke dip, salsa or, my 5-year-old’s favorite, yakamole.

Please read, rate and review our recipe for Gluten-Free Tortillas.

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Simply sinful.

Now if that’s not a culinary come-on, I don’t know what is.

Considering this signature spice’s spicy/sweet, fiery nature, is it any wonder that “sin” and the first syllable of CINnamon are homonyms?

In fact, scientists have compiled data showing the aroma of cinnamon is a powerful male aphrodisiac. (I think I’ll just leave it to you to decide what to do with THAT particular bit of information…)

It’s also well-known that the cinnamon-y smell of an apple pie in the oven is a wildly effective home-sales tool; brokers often advise those having an open house to throw a pie into the oven just as prospective buyers start knocking on the door.

Bottom line: who can resist the smell and flavor of cinnamon? Particularly top-quality Vietnamese cinnamon, whose higher-than-normal oil content gives it over-the-top flavor, and the ability to thoroughly permeate anything to which it’s added.

Think apple desserts. Snickerdoodles. Coffeecake. And, of course, these tender, buttery muffins. With cinnamon in their topping; rich, thick cinnamon filling, plus cinnamon chips in the batter, they’re a veritable cinnamon-y symphony.

Want to bring every guy in the house into the kitchen? Bake up a batch of these babies, and see what happens!

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers, or grease it lightly.

Let’s start with the streusel topping and the filling.

Mix the following ingredients until crumbly:

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup diced pecans
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup (2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons soft butter

I like to put topping into a measuring cup once it’s mixed, so I can easily see how much I should sprinkle onto each muffin. Looks like just about 1 1/2 cups topping – which would be about 2 tablespoons topping per muffin.

Now, how come there’s no cinnamon in the topping, if these muffins are supposed to be all about cinnamon? Well, there can be, for sure; add 1/2 teaspoon if you’re a true cinnamon devotée. But I find the “plain” streusel is a nice counterpoint to the rest of the cinnamon-rich muffin.

You have two choices for filling.

First choice: 1/2 cup Baker’s Cinnamon Filling combined with 3 to 4 tablespoons water, enough to make a smooth paste. This makes a rich filling, heady with aromatic Vietnamese cinnamon; think the filling you find in top-quality cinnamon buns.

If you don’t have any cinnamon filling in your pantry, give it a try sometime; you’ll fall in love with it, I promise. But in the meantime, you can make an approximation by mixing 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon. That’s it; don’t add any water.

Next up: the batter.

Combine the following in a large bowl:

1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup rolled oats, old-fashioned or quick
2 tablespoons Signature Secrets culinary thickener or cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup cinnamon chips or butterscotch chips

In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the following:

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) melted butter
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 large eggs

Add the liquid mixture to the dry, stirring just until combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate any sticky residue.

Divide half the batter evenly among the muffin cups. A heaped tablespoon cookie scoop (photo, top left) is just about the right amount for each cup.

Dollop 2 teaspoons cinnamon filling onto each muffin; a teaspoon cookie scoop, filled level, works well here.

Rather than drop it onto the batter in a big lump, as I did, use the teaspoon scoop as a measure, then crumble the filling over the surface of the batter. That way, you’ll get more edge-to-edge coverage.

Top the muffins with the remaining batter, spreading it to cover the filling if necessary.

Notice the square muffin pan I’m using here; it’s slick – both literally, and figuratively. I lined some of the cups with paper liners, to see how a round liner would do in a square cup. The answer is: just fine.

Sprinkle generously with the topping, pressing it in lightly.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes…

…or until they’re golden brown. Remove the muffins from the oven, and wait 5 minutes before transferring them from the pan to a rack to cool.

OK, hold on – what’s with the other muffin pan in the oven?

Just another test I was doing. Is the capacity of this square pan the same as a standard muffin pan? Yes.

And, do paper liners make a difference? In the standard pan, liners make the muffins a little bit easier to get out of the pan; they don’t make any difference in the square pan.

And here they are, in two delicious incarnations.

You know what they say – it’s hip to be square!

While it’s totally optional, a drizzle of icing atop the cooled muffins is a felicitous final touch. Mix 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon milk, or enough to create a pourable glaze. Spoon/drizzle it over the cooled muffins.

Simply sinful? You bet!

Please read, bake, and review our recipe for Simply Sinful Cinnamon Muffins.

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