King's Cake

King Cake
makes 1 large coffeecake-sized ring

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm milk (105 to 115 degrees F)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs

Cinnamon Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 red bean, pecan half, or small plastic baby figurine

Frosting
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Purple, green, and yellow paste food coloring (or other colors depending upon the occasion)

For the dough: Pour the warm water into a large warmed bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir until it dissolves. Stir in the warm milk, butter, sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Add 1 cup of the flour and blend well. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Lightly flour a flat work surface, and turn out the dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding more flour if the dough sticks. (Ed. Note: You can also do this in a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, which is what I did. I still kneaded it for about 5 minutes, though. If doing it by hand I would recommend going for at least 10 minutes.)

Put in a large greased bowl, and turn to grease the top of the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

For the filling: Punch the dough down. Transfer to the lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll into a 30-by-9-inch rectangle. Brush with the melted butter. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Beginning at the long end, roll up tightly, as for a jelly roll. Pinch the seam to seal.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll in half lengthwise, and carefully turn the halves so that cut sides face up. Join the ends, pinching them to form one ring, keeping the cut sides up so the filling is visible. Transfer the ring to a large greased baking sheet. 

If using a red bean or pecan half, push it into the underside of the dough to hide it. (A baby charm will go in after baking.) Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 20 to 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove the cake from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack. If using a plastic baby figurine, push it into the underside of the cake.

For the frosting: In a small bowl mix together the sugar, almond extract, and milk until smooth. Divide among three smaller bowls. Tint one mixture purple, the second one green, and the third one gold, mixing each one well. Drizzle each color over the top of the cake.

From The Kitchn

Cajan Jambalaya

Ingredients

• 12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
• 4 ounces chicken, diced
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 3/4 cup rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 5 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
• Salt and pepper

Directions

In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken and Creole seasoning, and work in seasoning well. In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat with onion, pepper and celery, 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces. Stir in rice and slowly add broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning.

Per Serving: Calories: 402; Fat: 16g (Saturated Fat: 4 grams); Protein: 24g; Carbohydrates: 38g; Sugar: 4g; Fiber 0g; Cholesterol: 97mg; Sodium: 800mg

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

From Food Network

Spicy Ginger Molasses Cookies

2 cups AP flour (I used whole wheat for 1/2 of it, and it worked fine)

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

Additional sugar

Yoghurt covered raisins (or just regular ones)

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Combine flour, ginger, soda, cloves, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3. Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add molasses and egg; beat until well blended.  Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed just until blended.

4. Drop dough by level 1/4 cupfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets (if you don't have parchment paper, you can just spray the pan with oil - you might need to lower oven temp. if you do this), spacing 3 inches apart.  Flatten each ball of dough until 2 inches in diameter with bottom of glass that has been dipped in additional sugar. Press 7-8 raisins into the top of each cookie.

5. Bake 11-12 minutes or until cookies are set.  Cool cookies 2 minutes on cookie sheets; slide parchment paper and cookies onto countertop.  Cool completely.

Makes about 1 dozen (4-in) cookies.

From The Great American Cookie Cookbook

Pretzel Rolls

A simple recipe found included in the instructional booklet that came with our bread maker. Very easy and made for a fun snack!

7/8 cup warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour (recipe calls for bread, but I used all purpose)
1.5 tsp active dry yeast

2 TB kosher salt OR cinnamon sugar mix
1 egg, slightly beaten

Measure all ingredients into bread pan in order, except kosher salt and egg.
Select dough setting and start.
When dough is done, preheat oven to 450F.
Divide dough into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into 8 inch rope. Form into pretzel shape or leave in stick shape. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Brush each with beaten egg, and sprinkle with salt.
Bake 12 - 15 minutes. They puffed up tons, and came out more like pretzel-ish shaped rolls, but they were still tasty.