S'more Pie Pops!!

Uhh YUM! Okay, maybe that's not the most flattering photo of the pie pops, but I'm still learning! 

Okay, it's been about FOREVER since I've last posted. I'm transitioning between school and work and blogging so I'm trying to find a balance to this new world. 

Anyway, My two trusty baking assistance, Margaret and Kenneth, came over to help me make some pie pops a few weeks ago! I saw these at The Gunny Sack and ever since then, I've been wanting to make it for months! Finally, the time came and I took advantage of that opportunity with both hands!

Okay, maybe I'm being a little overdramatic, but how perfect is this dessert? One group of my friends are going camping right now, yet I'm stuck at home due to work. The other group of friends are going to have a bonfire tonight, which I might join them, actually. But what a great weekend to make this. In both cases, if I don't go then I will still have that celebratory s'more without actually being near a bonfire. Win win for me!

Look at my beautiful baking assistant taking her first bite of the s'more pops! In the Gunny Sack recipe, it asked to use premade pie crusts but I personally like making my own pie crust. I have a great flaky pie dough recipe that I used for these pops and they puffed up really nicely and tasted wonderful!

Some things I would change if I can... 

1. DONT put them on sticks. These are as huge as pop tarts and will fall right off! With that being said..

2. Make them smaller if you wish to put them on sticks

3. Egg wash using cream and eggs to get a nice golden look, not a flat look by just using egg whites

4. Be creative! You don't have to stick to just hershey's chocolate. I used cookies n cream and you can also opt in for the almond or dark chocolate bars too! :)

Flaky Pie Dough: (Makes about 8 3x4 pies)

1 lb All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Salt

10.5 oz Cold Cubed Butter

2/3 cup  Ice Water

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl with a paddle adjustment, combine the flour and salt

2. Add in butter and mix until it becomes a sandy texture

3. Add water and stop mixer right when dough starts to form

4. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 30 mins

Assembling the Pie Pops:

1. Knead dough and Roll out dough to 1/4" thick (it will puff up really nicely)

2. Cut out 3x4" rectangle and transfer to a baking sheet with parchment paper

3. Put chocolate and marshmallows on top (3-4 bars of chocolate and 10 marshmallows)

4. Lay another piece of rectangle on top and fold the bottom piece over the top

5. Using a fork, prick the edges 

6. Egg wash the pie and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 mins

7. Let the pie pop cool before eating. Best served with a cold glass of milk!

Sunday Funday!

2 more days left of summer class and how do I spend it? Baking of course! Haha.

So yesterday I met up with some old High School friends. We went out to Picnic Bistro for lunch. Delish! I got the Lake Tahoe sandwich.

Afterwards, I headed off to the Fremont Festival. I've never gone to one so it was a really great experience. This festival was huge! Unfortunately, I did not take any photos, I was too preoccupied by all the amazing things that were happening. Music, vendors, food. Next year I'll come back and I'll definitely bring money and a camera. 

We decided to end this hot day with some gelato at Sweet Orchid. This is my go to spot for gelato, even if it means I have to drive a ridiculous distance to get some. They have some crazy flavors but I stuck with my original favorite of Mango sorbetto and Strawberry sorbetto. Yum! Look how colorful my gelato is!

(Oh! On a side note, I recently got photoshop! Well.. the trial that is. I swear I'll buy it when the trial is over! Haha. I'm working on my photography and photo editing skills. You can tell that I definitely need a lot of work but I'm practicing whenever I can!!!)

I thought my day ended with Gelato, but it didn't. My OTHER two old high school friends wanted to come over and help me bake. Which is a good thing because I needed a reason to bake so I could blog about it. 

My friends, Margaret  and Kenneth, are my two go-to people when it comes to baking. They just love to share my passion with me. Who else is going to eat what I made? 

Margaret has been bugging me to do some cinnamon rolls lately and I figured, why not today? She chose this ridiculous recipe that included a 14 hour wait period for the dough to rise, but I showed her another recipe from A Beautiful Mess. Nutella Cinnamon Rolls? Uhh, Yes Please!!! She wanted to try this recipe from Provocative Palate, but since neither one of us wanted to wait that long, we decided to use the dough from A Beautiful Mess and make the nutella cinnamon rolls AND the fireball whiskey cinnamon rolls. Genius right? 

Total wait time, 1 hr 30 mins. I'll take that any day! 

Nutella cinnamon rolls are going to be the death of me! I was able to cut out 16 slices from the roll and I just stuck it in a 10" cake pan. I left a bit of space in between to let it rise for another 30 minutes. That is how it looks like baked! I wish I cut that strangely large roll in the middle to where it matched with the other rolls, but oh well! The more the merrier!

This is the Fireball Whiskey Cinnamon roll that we made. De-Lish!! Not too much cinnamon with a shot of the side. Just kidding, we didn't take a shot, we just used it as a prop. Doesn't that look amazing? 

Well, here is the recipe for this delicious and easy cinnamon rolls taken from A Beautiful Mess with a mix of Provocative Palate! When I get the chance to, I will upload a printable document for this recipe. Enjoy!!

Nutella/Fireball Whiskey Cinnamon Rolls, makes 12-16

3 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup milk (I used whole, but any kind is fine)
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup flour

Nutella Filling:
1 cup Nutella
3-4 teaspoons cinnamon

Fireball Whiskey Filling:
8 ounces packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

Fireball Whiskey Caramel sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
6 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

In a small bowl, stir together the yeast, water and sugar and let it sit for 5-6 minutes to activate. 

In a small pot melt the butter. Add the milk and allow it to warm up and not boil.

In the bowl of your mixer (or just a large bowl) combine the flours and salt. Pour in the yeast mixture, the milk mixture and (with the dough hook attachment) stir/knead until well-combined and dough becomes slightly elastic. Form into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl (I just sprayed a bowl with baking spray), cover and allow to rise for 1 hour. (Or until doubled in size.)

Nutella filling:

Roll dough out into a large rectangle. Spread on the Nutella! Evenly sprinkle on the cinnamon.Roll up and cut into 12-16 rolls and place in a greased 10" cake pan or any buttered pan. Cover and allow to rise for another 30-40 minutes. Bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Fireball Whiskey Filling:

Roll dough out into a large rectangle. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Brush on melted butter on dough and sprinkle on the filling. Make sure to pat it in when it is evenly distributed. Roll up and cut into 12-16 rolls and place in a greased 10" cake pan or any buttered pan. Cover and allow to rise for another 30-40 minutes. Bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Fireball Whiskey Caramel Sauce:

Combine first 4 ingredients together and let it boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add in cream. Drizzle on top of cinnamon rolls. 

xo Baker Who