Monday 24 January 2011

January's Round-up and Jam Rolls

Sweet Rolls that Rock - mini jam rolls

Brooke McLay at Cheeky Kitchen made Meyer Lemon Sweet Rolls last week. I know they must be good - because I had baked a Lemon variety last year as one of my first posts ever on SWtR. And they were good!

Photo credit: Cheeky Kitchen
Her's look divine with and without the glaze - seriously, check out her blog - it's a must see!!!
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Next up we have srlacy's of The Curvy Carrot with her take on Raspberry Swirl Sweet Rolls. Those look so tasty!! 


Photo credit: The Curvy Carrot
I know those must have been good, too... because this month I baked my own similar:
mini jam rolls. Okay, this is genius. If you go down the isle in the grocery store with the fruit preserves, jellies and jams... there are like 50 different kinds or more - depending on your grocery store. I say bake your basic dough mix, spread with your favorite jam, top with your favorite frosting - and whalaa! Jam Rolls... and they really do rock!

For mine, I used the Clone of a Cinnabon dough mix - but instead of filling them with cinnamon, I filled them with my favorite raspberry jam. Then I topped them off with the cream cheese glaze also of that recipe. They were very delicious and easy to make.

But instead of having 12 large rolls - as you get with that recipe, I divided the dough into thirds, giving myself 36 mini-  jam rolls. I baked the recipe twice actually, and the first time I had 36 mini cini-clones and the second time 36 mini jam rolls.

This was a great way for packaging them up and sharing them... or for freezing them... and baking them up later.


mini-cini clones :)



Mini jam rolls -baked right in the give away container - ready to give!



Mini cini-clones - eat some - share some ;)

Saturday 1 January 2011

One Lovely Blog Award :)

I thought a good way to start the new year would be to say Thanks and pay it forward!

Lisa of Sweet as Sugar Cookies blog awarded me the "One Lovely Blog Award" back in November 2010. It's my first award ever - ever. Well, I got an award in 8th grade for having the most improved grades in English class - and the prize I got for that was a set of reference books: dictionary, thesaurus, and spelling dictionary - which I still have sitting on my desk - and I still use them. I used them all through college, too. (Thanks Mrs. Hudson - I bet you didn't think I would still be using them - and go on to major in English in college!)

Anyway, Lisa - you are also my very first public follower - and you leave comments and suggestions - and I like our Internet/foodie friendship. It's great to have a friend like you :)

Now, I'm going to pay it forward...



1) Elissa of 17 and Baking - the first food blog that I really started following. I'm just so impressed not only by her amazing baking and photography skills - but her story telling skills... she's got skills!

2) Kristan of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen - the second blog I ever really followed. I love her yummy desserts - usually very easy to make - and she is funny. She also likes cotton candy and fruit roll ups - so she's cool :)

3) Jessica of How Sweet it Is - she bakes a lot - blogs a lot - like almost every day. She has really interesting ideas - like yellow cake batter bark and pumpkin pie quinoa parfait.

4) Angela of Oh She Glows - she writes vegan recipes - test recipes and in general inspires me - makes me want to glow from the inside out... one of these days, i'm going to drink those Green Monsters, too.

5) Kay of The Church Cook - she caters for a church - and she bakes some incredible treats - you've gotta check out her chocolate buttercream frosting or the peanut brittle ice cream pie - plus I just love that she's Christian - we church going bloggers gotta stick together ;)

6) Ashley and Stephen of (never home) maker - they write some awesome recipes - almost healthy - but still good enough to eat - and they run. Some day I'm going to run too... but for now I just read about them running and being healthy and wearing those funny shoes and that's good for now.

7) Stephcookie of Rasberri Cupcakes - she bakes yummy things and then photographs them and the photos are yummy enough to eat - so yummy that I see them all the time on foodgawker and tastespotting... my photos are rarely good enough for those sites.

8) Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen - the first thing that really drew me to this blog was the design - bright and cheerful. That may seem like a lame reason to follow - but that's what I really like - easy on the eyes kind of blog. Plus she does have some awesome recipes - not just baked goodies - home made poptarts!!!! but regular food - like how to use up lots of potatoes... and i'll never forget that blogpost about the scientist baking cookies with talc powder... too funny!

9) Emily of The Daily Garnish - Like Ashley and Stephen of (never home) maker - Emily is a runner. I don't know, I just like the idea of running. Some day I'm really gonna do it. I've really only been following Emily for a short time, I bumped into her blog while she competed in that foodbuzz blog contest. She made this pumpkin cake with pomegranate seeds - it looked amazing. I've tried her apple-pear and cinnamon brussels sprouts - they rock - you really gotta try 'em!

10) Katrina of Warm Vanilla Sugar - she bakes a lot with peanut butter... I love peanut butter - I'd say about 90 percent of her posts include peanut butter - so I'm all over that!

11) Angie of Bakerella - in case you haven't seen that book all over the web - Cake Pops - it's by Bakerella... but she also has awesome ideas for cookies and all kinds of chocolate treats. I just got my Cake Pops book in the mail - it's full of many wonderful ideas. This one will make a great gift, too.

12) Michelle of Brown Eyed Baker - have you seen her recipe archive - it's to die for... sweet and sinful - yessiree ;)

13) Amy of Amy Atlas Sweet Designs - visually - this is one of the best blogs out there - I love the ideas - the colors, the treats, the candy, the flowers, the dessert tables - all of them are awesome... even the vegetable tables are great!

14) Aran of Canelle et Vanille - she makes beautiful food and photography - enough said!

15) Glory of Glorious Treats - not just recipes but beautiful crafts and awesome dessert displays - similar to Amy Atlas sweet designs - which I also love.

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So, here is the idea behind the One Lovely Blog Award:


1. Accept the award and post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you love.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I hope you'll all get the chance to visit these wonderful blogs and enjoy everything that they have to offer. They'll make your life delicious too.