"DOLLYWOOD" CINNAMON BREAD

 "DOLLYWOOD" CINNAMON BREAD

This time, the recipe grew out of my son's Thanksgiving 'challenge' for me. We had been talking about gathering at their house in Asheville for Thanksgiving as a family, and were deciding who was going to bring what. My older son suggested that I should see if I could make some Dollywood Cinnamon Bread...the kind, apparently, that they make at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN. 

I had never heard of this phenomenon, but anything with cinnamon will always get my attention! So, I began my research online, as always. It seems there are probably as many varied recipes for this stuff as there are for southern mac and cheese. GEEEEZ! So, it was going to be one of those read-as-many-as-possible-and-make-up-something-to-the-best-of-your-ability days. Below is where I landed. I was in a time crunch, so I used a frozen bread dough by Rhodes, that I've used before to make things like pepperoni rolls, garlic bread, and bread sticks. It is really good, and it's very easy to work with.  As a springboard when you're in a time crunch, it's invaluable. I didn't have a lot of time, and I realized I was going to have to throw all this together and bake it at my son's home in their kitchen, and while they were prepping and cooking Thanksgiving dinner! Frozen bread dough was perfect, because, packed in a cooler with ice, and then transferred to their refrigerator, it thawed without any rising at all.

INGREDIENTS:

2 one-lb loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed (Rhodes brand is great!)

8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted

1c sugar

3 Tbsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Grease 2 8x4-inch loaf pans liberally. (I used spray coconut oil)

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish or plate

Make several crosswise slits in each piece, taking care NOT to cut all the way through. (Basically, I cut one slit from end to end, then four slits crossways. It really helps to pull the loaf apart for eating!)

Carefully roll the loaves in the melted butter, making sure to cover all four sides and the inside of the slits.

Transfer each and roll each loaf in the cinnamon mixture, packing the cinnamon in the the creases with your fingers.

Place the loaves in the greased pans, cover with oiled plastic wrap or waxed paper, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (I had some of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and melted butter left...which I poured and sprinkled over the top of the bread just before baking!)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Bake the bread, turning the pans around once, for approximately 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and a tap on the top of the bread yields a hollow sound.

Rest and slightly cool for about five minutes. Turn the bread out onto a rack while it's still warm.

Some notes:

•  Many of the recipes I found called for a powdered sugar/water glaze. Trust me…it doesn’t NEED a glaze!

• Any white bread dough would do, so if you have a tried and true recipe, make your own dough, and add the butter and cinnamon mixture before the final rise.

• This same recipe can be adapted to individual dinner-type rolls, to what some folks call monkey bread or pull-apart bread. I also made these like conventional cinnamon rolls, with cream cheese frosting. I simply rolled out the dough to about a quarter-inch, spread the butter and cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the buttered dough, and rolled it up. Once rolled, it’s easy to cut into equal slices with a sharp knife or bench scraper, and lay the rolls flat in a 10 inch round backing pan or stoneware pan, with some space in between to allow for rising.

Caramel Apple Sangria

Caramel Apple Sangria

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Recently, I had a choir board meeting at a local restaurant. I got there a little early, and on the way in the door, I noticed their blackboard with all the daily specials. The drink list for that day included Caramel Apple Sangria, and that sounded really good to me on a cold dreary night, when I was going to have to face the board with some controversial questions and proposals. Since I WAS early, I had time to hit the bar before our reserved room was ready, so I ordered a glass of this lusciousness! It did not disappoint! 

As usual, I decided I needed to be able to reproduce this at home, both for myself, and to wow dinner guests, given the opportunity. I set about, first, doing lots of research online, comparing recipes, and then making sure I had the necessary  ingredients to test this out. Our dinner guest Monday was apparently not disappointed either, nor were my wife and myself! 

I had a few requests for the recipe, so here it is. I hope you try it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Ingredients

• 2 firm, ripe apples, cored and diced
• 1 bottle dry white wine (I used a good Pinto Grigio)
• 2 cups caramel flavored vodka
• 2 cups apple cider (I like using clear apple juice)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Prepared caramel dip or ice cream topping
• A tablespoon or two of organic raw sugar crystals (on a flat saucer)

Instructions

1. Place the diced apples in the bottom of a large pitcher. Pour the wine, juice, and vodka over the top and stir well to combine. Drop in the two cinnamon sticks.
2. Refrigerate overnight, or until chilled.
3. Rim the glasses lightly with caramel dip and roll that rim in the crystal sugar
4. Serve the sangria poured over ice.

Plum Upside-Down Cake

Plum Upside-Down  Cake

I am a basic cook and baker, for the most part. I love doing both. I love learning about flavors that go together well, and I love the creativity of layering compatible flavors to make something beautiful and tasty! 

This, like many of my creations, was an experiment...one that, happily, turned out really well! Using a boxed cake mix (we love Trader Joe's brands!) makes it really simple! Mixing it up took me about 10-12 minutes probably. The hard part, as always, is smelling the deliciousness and waiting for it to be done so one can EAT it!

I hope you try this one, and I hope you like it as much as we do! The topping is just tart enough to balance with the sweetness of the cake. A little ice cream or whipped cream would also compliment this cake well.


 

Topping Ingredients:

½ sticks butter, cut into smaller pieces for melting

¼ cup sugar (more or less to taste)

½ tsp. vanilla

½  tsp. almond extract
8-10 small to medium plums (I used yellow flesh plums), sliced in wedges

Cake Ingredients: 
1 box Trader Joe’s Vanilla Cake and Baking Mix

1 stick butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 cup cold milk

½ tsp. vanilla

½  tsp. almond extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a 9-inch square or a 10-inch round baking dish, place the half-stick of butter, the sugar, and the two flavorings, and set the dish in the oven as it’s preheating. Set your timer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the stick of melted butter (not hot), the two eggs, and the milk in a large bowl. This can be beaten or whisked, but mix until the batter is smooth. Mix in the two flavorings thoroughly. Add the baking mix and stir or whisk until smooth.

At the 5-minute mark, remove the melted butter mixture from the oven and stir until mixed will. Arrange the plum slices in the bottom of the dish directly in the butter mixture, in whatever design you like. Carefully pour the batter over the plum arrangement so as not to move them around.

Bake in the 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven when golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool a bit before slicing.

ENJOY!