Oh man, and boy does she ever ACT her age! lol. We had a really great time. My sister and her family came over on Saturday night and we had pizza. Eleora got lots of new books, hat and gloves, and a cool new easel chalkboard. She had a really fun time having her cousins over - there are 4 of them and we don't usually have them here, we generally go to their house but I think it was fun for her to have them here on her turf :)
Eleora never has particularly liked cake so I decided to make cinnamon rolls instead. They turned out fabulously - one of my tricks is to use bread flour, not regular all-purpose flour. Also, when making the filling, I melt the butter and mix it with cinnamon and brown sugar. I also add milk sometimes and then thicken it back up with more cinnamon and brown sugar. This makes a filling that you can spread on the dough with a spatula and it stays put. Another trick is to pour milk (or eggnog during the holidays) over the unbaked rolls right before you put them into the oven. It makes them bake up super soft and gooey. Here's my recipe:1 cup warm milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs yeast
Proof the yeast in the warm milk and a bit of the sugar until frothy. Add the eggs, beaten, and the butter. In a mixer bowl, combine the flour, salt, and remaining sugar. Make a well in the center and add the liquid ingredients. Knead with the mixer well until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let it rise until double, then punch it down. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out on a floured cutting board or counter. Roll it out into a large rectangle and spread with the filling. Roll them up and cut them into 12 rolls. Place into a greased 9x13 pan and let them rise again. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-30 minutes depending on your oven and if you poured milk over them before baking. Cool a bit, then spread with frosting and enjoy your decadent treat!
Filling:
1/3 cup melted butter
3 Tbs cinnamon
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
Mix well and spread on dough. Measurements are approximate - I generally just add a good splosh of milk and then mix in more cinnamon & sugar until it's a nice spreadable consistency, not too thin or thick.
Icing:
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
Blend the cream cheese in a mixer by itself until soft and creamy. Add the butter and mix well. Once well combined, add the sugar, vanilla and salt, mixing well. Spread over rolls :)
She's having lots of help from Tyler, her "Helpy Helper" when it comes to presents ;) He also enthusiastically declared it the "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!" :)
Her new books, thanks to Grammy
She sure likes to read!
And coloring is her other favorite. Tommy is great at picking out presents for her.
