Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Street Party - Sesame Street Birthday Party















As promised my dear friends - photos and fun from the "Street Party" we hosted last weekend for the little guy's 2nd birthday. Where oh where did the time go?!?!? Fun was to be had by all...with all sorts of goodies to satisfy the sweet tooths of all ages - toddlers to grandmas!


I spent days preparing all the sweet treats for the party - and had a blast doing it. There were Cookie Monster Cupcakes Minis - which was dark chocolate cake topped with Sweet Cream Vanilla Buttercream; as well as Elmo and Big Bird Cake Pops - which were a Classic White Vanila Cake mixed with a Sweet Cream Vanilla Buttercream. The joy in the littles faces to see their favorite Sesame Street characters made all the labor worth it.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Mini Cinnamon Rolls




So, my lack of posting has not been without good reason. (As you will see in a future post!) I have been crazy busy planning, preparing and partying for my little guy's 2nd birthday party, which took place last weekend. But I will share all the "Street Party" details later in the week.


My little guys have been asking for some delicious breakfast treats the last few days, and I had yet to comply. Until tomorrow that is.... They will be in for a pleasant surprise when they awaken from dreamland. I was just telling my mom how much I missed waking up to those mini cinnamon rolls that she used to make so frequently as we were kids. However, given that it was already 9 pm - there was no chance that I would be spending hours, upon hours letting my dough rise for the perfect roll. Then my mom let me in on a little secret - her cinnamon rolls had yeast, however, they didn't need to rise, and they were easy. Easy?? Easy?? Tell me more mama. One word - Bisquick. (GASP!) So, I am a homemade kind of gal - I cook homemade, I bake homemade - I don't use cake mixes or muffin mixes (but I do use bisquick for pancakes, so luckily I had some! :) ) ... everything (except for those pancakes..) is straight from scratch. Needless to say, I was skeptical, but I thought I would give it a try. Could they really be as good as they were when I was a little?? Yes. Yes they are...




Mini Cinnamon Rolls ("Jumer" Rolls for us Central Illinois-ers)




1/4 c. hot water
1 packet active dry yeast
3 c. Bisquick
1/2 c. cool water
1/2 c. melted butter
2 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 c. sugar


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 13X9 pan. Dissolve yeast in hot water and let sit for 10 minutes. Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Mix Bisquick with yeast mixture and cool water until moist, but not sticky. Knead a few times and form into a ball. Divide into four parts and roll out each part individually. Brush with melted butter and generously shake on cinnamon/sugar. Roll up into a log shape and pull to stretch. Slice into 1/4 inch thick slices and place spiral side up in the prepared pan. Repeat until all the dough has been used. Brush remaining butter on top of the rolls, and sprinkle remaining sugar. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. These are great on their own, but I sometimes like to add a powdered sugar glaze.




See....I told you how easy they are. Enjoy!