ABC - Classic Dutch Apple Pie

I baked this October ABC recipe a couple months ago. The Classic Dutch Apple Pie recipe from the Weekend Bakery was amazing! Just the way I remember this childhood favorite dessert :)

There's a big difference between your traditional American apple pie and a Dutch one. Instead of a flaky crust, the crust is more like a sweet cookie crust. The filling has a minimal amount of sugar, allowing the apples to really shine.

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information.

ABC - Dutch speculaas gingerbread cake

This month's challenge, Dutch speculaas gingerbread cake, is one of my favorite things to eat when I was growing up. I had a lot of fun baking this recipe. The batter came together really quickly and only took about 25 min to bake. It smelled amazing. The flavor reminded me of that childhood snack :)

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information.

ABC - Deluxe Cinnamon Buns

Something I've wanted to try for a long time: custard filled cinnamon buns. So when I came across this recipe called Deluxe Cinnamon Buns on the Weekend Bakery blog, I knew I had to select it for one of our monthly ABC projects.

The other interesting thing about this recipe is the usage of low protein flour. Pastry flour to be exact. It's supposed to make the buns super light and fluffy. I was a bit skeptical but gave it a try anyway. I didn't have pastry flour, so I made my own using 2/3 all-purpose flour and 1/3 cake flour, by weight.

Deluxe Cinnamon Buns. Hubb's half had pecans on them :)

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information.

ABC - Spiced Apple Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This month's ABC recipe is perfect for the fall season. Warm spices like cinnamon and cloves are very appropriate for this time of year. This recipe for Spiced Apple Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, represents a cake, a cheesecake and caramelized apples, all in one. I really loved it and so did my coworkers. I did make a few changes (such as changing the name) which I've posted at the bottom of this post.

Apple Cheesecake Bars with Caramel Drizzle

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information.

TBB - Caramel Buns

Due to allergies, I would normally omit pecans from a recipe, if possible, and continue my merry way. But since my husband LOVES sticky buns, and he hadn't had any since before we got married, AND because it was our anniversary last week, I decided to put the pecans on one half of the dough, and make these Caramel Buns our anniversary treat.

Caramel Bun Fondue, anyone?

Fully dressed Caramel Bun for hubby. Look at that fluffy texture!

This will be a short and quick post. I've been really busy and additionally I'm participating in a club-level Toastmasters speech contest tomorrow (for which I have to practice just a little bit more tonight).

ABC - Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread

Whether we like it or not, summer is over and fall is here. I love baking in the fall. Apples and pumpkin everywhere. The smell of warm spices wafting through the air in the kitchen. While perusing through King Arthur Flour's recipes, I came to a screeching halt when I saw this recipe and knew it would have to be a Fall recipe choice for us ABC bakers.

So this month's ABC recipe for Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread is like one big braided cinnamon roll with the addition of apples. It looks so beautiful when it comes out of the oven, trumped only by the wonderful taste. For me, and others who tasted it, it was love at first bite :o)

Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread slices (loaf #2). Yum!

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information.

ABC - 100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Bread? Love that stuff. 100% whole wheat? Even better! That's how this month's ABC recipe came about. Of course, the recipe is from the King Arthur Flour recipe database.

This recipe is made with a starter. I made my starter but didn't have time to bake the next day, I refrigerated it until the next day.

I made two small loaves.

The taste was great, however, I wasn't too fond of the texture. It was a bit heavy but that's my fault. I think I added too much water (about 3.5 oz total for the whole recipe).

Don't forget to check out the results of other ABC bakers. Their loaves turned out much better than mine. I will definitely redo this recipe in a few weeks.

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information.

ABC - Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls

I love cinnamon rolls. Homemade cinnamon rolls, that is (don't care much for the mass-produced ones you get at that famous Cinnamon Roll chain). When I came across a pumpkin version on the King Arthur Flour website, I knew I had to try it. I actually made these back in April of this year and after the first bite, I decided that these needed to be a recipe for our ABC club. And here we are making the Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls :o)

Soft and fluffy Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information.

ABC - Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

The ABC bakers are tackling their second recipe from "The Weekend Baker" by Abby Dodge. This time it's a yeast recipe that's a favorite for many: Glazed Cinnamon Rolls. I love cinnamon rolls, BUT... they have to be homemade. Our mall has one of those famous cinnamon roll shops but I have no trouble walking past them and not buying a cinnamon roll that's the size of my head. And with this month's ABC recipe, making cinnamon rolls at home couldn't be easier. They're made with ingredients that anybody can pronounce and they're finger-licking good, especially warm from your oven. Ok, I'll get off my soap box now :o) Let's bake!!

Homemade cinnamon roll with sliced almonds (no glaze) - look at that fluffy interior :o)

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers, please email me at HanaasKitchen [at] live [dot] com. The rules for the ABC baking group can be found here.

Rose's Crescents

Jenn and I both own a copy of Rose's Christmas Cookies. Neither one of us had baked from it much so we decided to pick a couple recipes and bake them together. The first recipe is Rose's Crescents: butter, almonds, and cinnamon sugar. Need I say more? :o)

Rose's Crescents dipped in cinnamon sugar

I don't think I've ever made cookie dough this fast. Everything goes in the food processor and the butter can be used cold. Let the dough firm up in the fridge for a couple hours, or do as I did and put it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.

HCB - Apple-Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake

Wow, it's been a while since I baked along with the Heavenly Cake Bakers, but I'm glad to be back. This week the HCB-ers had Individual Pineapple Upside Down Cake on the menu. I vividly remember these little cakes. Especially the wonderful crumb of the cake. So for this week, I decided to bake something else. With my apples ready for picking (we have a Honeycrisp and a McIntosh tree), the choice was easy: Apple-Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake. The picture in the book has captured my attention since the very first time I browsed through the book at a Barnes and Nobles. I have no idea why it took me so long to bake it :o)

Look at those big chunks of buttery crumb topping. Yum!

Bon appetit!

Final thoughts/tips:

• This cake was a big hit. We ate it at room temperature and slightly warm, and preferred the latter. All it needs is a 10 second zap in the microwave. Hubby gave it a 9 out of 10.
• I loved the different flavors and textures that this cake offers. The cake is buttery, tender and moist. The filling has a great apple and cinnamon flavor and the topping is nutty and crunchy which was a wonderful contrast. Using melted butter definitely makes the crumb topping crispy. I increased the amount of flour in the topping by 25% to ensure a great crunch that lasts for a few days.
• The cake part could have been a little "fluffier" but that might be my own fault. I used Argo's Double Acting Alu Free baking powder because that's all I had. Has anyone had any issues with this baking powder? I might go back to Rumford.

ABC - Butterscotch Spiral Coffee Cake

Yeasted coffee cake. I no longer fear you. Bring it on! :o) Two years ago, or even a year ago, I would have been really intimidated by the prospect of making anything with yeast in it. They say "practice makes perfect", but after many tries and failures, I figured "they" must have excluded yeasted baked goods. Now I can honestly say, practice DOES make perfect. You just have to keep trying, keep making them, and learn from your mistakes. I can't believe I'm at a point now where I can touch the dough-in-the-making and know that it needs a bit more water, even though I used the required amount in the recipe. I used to keep adding flour to sticky doughs until it became the total opposite of "sticky", and guess what? The end result would be heavy and dense. You could seriously injure somebody with my baked [bread, rolls, you name it]. So if you recognize any or all of this, I say to you my friend, don't despair. If I can do it, you can too :o)

Let's get back to business here, after that little detour :o) The ABC bakers tackled the Butterscotch Spiral Coffee Cake this month. As I'm writing this, three ABC-ers (Monica, Raymond, and Chelly) as well as this month's guest blogger, Jenn of Knitty Baker, have already blogged about it and loved it. You guys rock! It's basically a giant cinnamon roll with lots of spices (and in my case, orange zest too), and a fabulous butterscotch glaze. What's not to love!

ABC - Overnight Cinnamon Buns

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted anything. I'm writing today's post from a sunny but very windy part of Holland. Yep, I'm across the pond, enjoying a nice vacation, visiting relatives :o)

This month's recipe for the Avid Baker's Challenge are the Overnight Cinnamon Buns. I had the pleasure of baking these rolls with my friend and talented baker & blogger, Karen of Bake My Day. We baked these buns together (without the "overnight" step) and she also brought a starter for a Garlic Bread she had blogged about recently. You can find her post (+ recipe) on the Garlic Bread here (be prepared to drool if you like caramelized garlic - I know I did) :o)

Overnight Cinnamon Buns

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers and bake along with us from Flo Braker's book, Baking for all 
Occasions, please email me. My email address can be found in my blog profile. Thanks! :o)

ABC - Cinnamon Bubble Buns

It's the first Tuesday of the month. Guess what that means? You got it! Time for another ABC of the Month. This month's recipe from Flo Braker's Baking for All Occasions is: Cinnamon Bubble Buns. Doesn't that name make you giggle? :o) When I read through the recipe the first time I envisioned muffin-style cinnamon rolls. Who can resist that? As you continue browsing through the book, you'll find a picture of these scrumptious treats. If that doesn't convince you to make them right away, maybe my picture will :o)

One dough, 4 different styles of cinnamon buns

As a side note, there have been some changes in the ABC group. Wafae and Chaya have left the group. However, two of my other friends have recently joined (welcome ladies!!):

• Shandy of Pastry Heaven
• Joy of Hot Oven Warm Heart

Open invitation - if you're a Flo Braker fan or you just like to bake, and you own or have easy access to "Baking for All Occasions", please feel free to join me and others in our monthly baking group. Just send me an email and let me know you'd like to join us (HanaasKitchen [at] live [dot] com). Click HERE for more details on the ABC of the Month baking group.