Recipe Friday!

Welcome to all of my new followers, and welcome back to my regulars.  I hope you all had a splendid week.

First I'll share with you the "Heart Shaped Bread Bowls" I made for Valentine's Day (although they didn't quite turn out the way I wanted), then I'll give you an easy cinnamon bun recipe.


Bread Bowls
Thaw a loaf of frozen bread dough.  I let mine rise in a ziplock (gallon size) bag over night.  Pull the dough into 3 (or 4) sections and shape into a heart (or a circle) and place on a greased sheet pan.  Grease the outside of 3 (or 4) ramekins and push into the center of each dough shape. Let rise for about 15-30 minutes. [Here is where I made my mistake. I should have let the dough rise a bit more, but I didn't.  That, and I pushed too hard with my ramekins and broke through the bottom of the dough.]  Bake for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven (or until browned as you like).  Remove from oven and remove ramekins.  Fill with stew or chili.  Enjoy!


Cinnamon Buns
Frozen bread dough
1 stick Butter, softened
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar
Raisins (optional)

Thaw two loaves of frozen bread in a gallon ziplock.  Mush down and spread on a greased sheet pan.  (You want to make a long, thin rectangle, but not too thin.  [If you are using raisins, place in a bowl, cover with water, and put in the microwave for about 30 seconds to plump them up.]  Brush all the butter over the bread dough, leaving about 1/4-1/2 inch border all the way around.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and spread on a layer of brown sugar.  Add raisins, then roll up (from the narrowest side is how I usually do it).  Cut into sections and set upright on the sheet pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes (or until browned as you like).

In a bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 Tablespoon of water.  You can add a few drops of lemon juice and cream cheese to make it more like frosting.  Pour (or spread) over the baked cinnamon buns.  Enjoy!