Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas my Splendid Kitchen loves! I just wanted to take a quick moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope that yall have a wonderful time with loved ones and just enjoy time off from work, school or whatever it may be. I also wanted to briefly tell yall about the Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls which are to die for. After talking about making these for a year (literally) my amazing, wonderful friend whom I call Simo (its short for her last name :) and I finally made them this past saturday. Let me say people these cinnamon rolls are worth every ounce or pound ;) of butter. Enjoy the pics and make these asap... even better is that it makes multiple pans, so if you happened to run out of time during the holiday rush to give someone something, trust me these will make up for it!!! Or you could say they are special New Years cinnamon rolls. :) Remembering what Christmas is truly about...HE is the reason for the season. From the Splendid Kitchen Merry Christmas!

Bliss


I can smell the maple icing as im typing this...


Link to the recipe:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

Special Notes on the cinnamon rolls:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/notes-on-cinnamon-rolls/

Claire's Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

Hello all! Yes, I know it has been a while but I am finally on break which means I can update yall on some delicious things for yall to bake over the holidays. What I am sharing with yall today is a recipe that a friend of mine named Claire made for me and her family while we were in Colorado this summer. Let me just say she is a GREAT baker and she is a third grader...very impressive. Anyway let's just say that these were made and gone in the same morning. Instead of typing out the recipe I simply took a picture straight from the cookbook which will make it very easy. Oh and these would be so good to whip up on Christmas morning and an even greater deal is that this is a kid recipe from a kid cookbook, so you can get the whole family involved! Just a thought....I hope sugar plums dance in your head this Christmas. From the Splendid Kitchen enjoy!



Begin by spraying your muffin tins and pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees.

Next up add the first 1/2 cup sugar, milk, and vegetable oil in a medium sized bowl. Then proceed to add the one egg. Whisk together.



Now add the nutmeg, flour, baking powder and salt to the sugar mixture. Mix fairly well, making sure everything is incorporated; however, the batter should be a tad clumpy. You do not want it to be smooth.
and whala! The batter is done! Time to scoop it into the muffin tins, filling only about 2/3 full. Place in oven and bake for about 20-25 min.


While they are baking take the rest of your sugar and mix it in a bowl with the cinnamon. Also place your butter in the microwave until melted.
When the muffins are ready they should look like this and be sure and kind of pop them out so that they begin to cool.


Now for the best part! You are going to dunk the muffin in the butter (oh yes) and then roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture.


And there you have it. So these are delicious and definitely a hit whether children or adults are eating them.

Remembering that HE is the reason for the Christmas season. I pray that you have a sweet time with family and friends and that your cup will runeth over with blessings! Merry Christmas from the Splendid Kitchen.

P.S. Here is a picture of the directions

Delicious, Rich layered Brownies

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Whew! Life has been hectic but in a good way! I unfortunately have not gotten to cook or post for that matter as much but I do have a recipe that I made this past summer (I know it was awhile ago). I saw these brownies on the adorable blog www.whatmegansmaking.com. I saw them and immediately knew I had to try them and boy were they worth it. My friend Shannon happened to be over the day that I made them and was happy to lick the bowl :) Lets just say she did not get to taste the final product but loved the batter! So if your looking for a yummy holiday treat you have found it! From the Splendid Kitchen Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

Brownie:
1 c butter, melted
2 c sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 lb powdered sugar
1 stick butter/margarine at room temperature
1 package cream cheese (8 oz) at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted
2-4 Tbsp evaporated milk
1 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted

First off pre-heat your oven to 325-350 degrees and grease a 13X9 baking pan.
Combine butter, sugar, and vanilla.



Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly.



Time to add the most important ingredient: cocoa! oh and flour, baking powder, and salt. I went ahead and combined the last 3 so that it would be easy to slowly add to the cocoa mixture.



When completely combined it should look like this...my mouth is watering just looking at it.


Pour into pan and cook for about 30-35 min. or until you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. When done let cool completely.



And the licking of the bowl begins.....


She's so happy :)


While the brownies are baking you can go ahead and make your icing.
Mix together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla.


Add powdered sugar slowly, mixing until smooth. At this point your brownies will most likely not be completely cool so you can just pop the icing in the refrigerator.

Perfection.

Spread over cooled brownies and let chill.



And for the last step....Melt chocolate and butter in double broiler. Next, mix with powdered sugar and add milk one tbsp at a time. Be sure and make sure this glaze does not become too wet. It is definitely a science but trust me you can do it! When it is ready pour on top of cream cheese mixture and spread out. You can either chill again so that the chocolate sets or just let it stay out...it is up to you. :)


All done now just time to eat up!!!


I hope you enjoyed this post of delicious brownies. Be sure and check back as I WILL be posting recipes during the holidays and I hope to be cooking more! Thank you for continuing to follow me even though the posts have been few and far between! From the Splendid Kitchen "Give thanks with a grateful heart."

Printable Directions:
http://sites.google.com/site/megansprintablerecipes/layered-brownies?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F

III Forks Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding

Hey everyone....I know I know you probably thought I had fallen off the face of the earth but I assure you I am alive and well and ready to tell yall about one of my absolute FAVORITE desserts from a restaurant called III Forks. It is a steakhouse with incredible food but when I had this bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream I thought I was going to die. So since my Dad also loves bread pudding I thought I would make it either for Father's Day or his birthday...to tell you the truth I don't remember which one. What can I say life is extremely busy right now and everything runs together! Thankfully I was able to find this recipe online and let me tell you making it at home is just as good. Warm, soft, cinnamony (bear with me...you know what I mean), and just so so good!!!! This is all making me hungry and I just ate a piece of German Chocolate cake! Goodness...anyway wether you like bread pudding or not make it and enjoy. If you don't like it who knows maybe someone you know would love it. Thanks for coming back even if it has been a month. From the Splendid Kitchen enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 lb. Bread
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
3 cups half & half cream
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla or cinnamon ice cream

Start off by getting your french bread and a large knife.


Next you will cut it up into little half inch cubes.


Now melt the butter and cinnamon together...yum!


And mix it all together!


Once every piece is coated place on a baking sheet with wax paper and toast in a 350 degree oven for about 15 min.


When they are done they will look like mini french toasts and your kitchen will smell delicious.





Heat your stove up to a medium heat and let you cream simmer for about 5 min. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl mix eggs, sugar and vanilla.


Slowly temper in cream while stirring.






When done pour over toasted bread cubes and toss around... then seal it up and put it in the fridge for at least eight hours. In my opinion the longer the better because it really gives the bread the time to soak it all up but it is up to you. If I remember right I let mine sit over night so maybe like 24 hrs? Either way it will still be good!


So at this point I went away from the recipe and decided to make cinnamon sugared pecans. To sum it up I dont remember the exact website that I got the recipe from but if you just google it you will be able to find a very similar recipe. I took egg whites and beat them until they had stiff peaks. Took sugar, cinnamon, and salt...mixed those together and then took my pecans and coated them with the beaten egg whites and then poured the sugar mixture on top and made sure all the pecans were coated. I then put them in the oven for a bit and when they were done let them cool (ate a few) and then saved them for when I made the sauce the next day. Sorry I don't have more info on this part but you do not have to do it at all. Trust me, I just actually had extra time and thought why not.


















So it is the next day and your bread has soaked and all that is left to do is bake it in the oven and then make the sauce. So either pour the bread into a large baking pan or you can bake them in little ramekins. Just place them in a baking dish with a bit of water at the bottom for about 40 min. at 350.




Meanwhile, grab all your ingredients for your sauce.


Begin by melting the butter over medium heat and adding the heavy cream and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, constantly whisking and then let simmer for about 10-15 min.


Lastly, add in the bourbon and pecans and cook for about five more minutes.


Once the dish is done baking and you sauce is ready you can scoop it up, top it with that amazingly decadent sauce and a scoop of ice cream and you are good to go.



I hope that you enjoy this delicious dessert. Happy dessert eating from the Splendid Kitchen! Until next time eat up!

Printable Recipe:
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/palmbeachpost/food_dining/dish/pdf/pbpulse_breadpudding.pdf
PICTURE