apple cinnamon rolls

Good morning wonderful friends!

Today I have an incredibly delicious (and probably borderline sinful) recipe for you!

Yesterday it was snowing and I decided it was the perfect time to try out a recipe I've been holding onto. Apple cinnamon rolls, y'all!

I adapted this recipe from here. Ready? Here we gooo! You will need:

Dough

5 cups of all-purpose flour (separated)

2 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 packet of active yeast (1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 t)

Filling

Apple Filling

3 medium apples, chopped into small cubes (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped)

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Cinnamon filling

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 cup of butter, melted (2 sticks)

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To prepare the dough, heat milk, oil, cane sugar and cinnamon for 5-8 minutes (do not boil). Pour milk into a large mixing bowl and let it reach lukewarm temperatures (to the touch) for about 10 minutes.

Once milk is lukewarm to the touch, sprinkle packet of yeast on top and let it set for one minute. After a minute has passed, pour in four and a half cups of flour and mix until incorporated nicely. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise for one hour in a relatively warm area.

After one hour, mix in last 1/2 cup of flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cover with a kitchen town again while you prepare the filling.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the filling, heat up 1 cup of butter and brown it. Be watchful not to burn the butter by looking out for the center of the boiling butter. When the center forms a caramel color quickly remove it from the stove-top and set aside. Then in a small bowl mix apples, brown sugar and cinnamon together. In another bowl mix the cinnamon sugar filling.

Place dough onto a well floured surface and begin to roll it into a thin, long rectangle. I split my dough in half, and ended up getting around 22 rolls from it all. I'd say it varies though, depending on how big and thick you want your rolls to be. 

Once filling components are ready, spoon 1/2 of melted browned butter onto rolled out dough and spread evenly with spoon or pastry brush. Then evenly sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon mixture, followed by chopped apples mixture. Take long end, closest to you, and start to tightly roll dough with filling (try to keep the roll as tight as possible). Once dough and filling has been rolled into a log, pinch the seams shut. Using a sharp knife, slice 1 1/2 inch slices and place into a greased baking pan. be careful not to overcrowd the rolls. I made 9 of mine in a 9" cake pan and the other 13 in a glass pyrex pan. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly golden.

For the frosting, melt 1/2 cup of soft room temperature butter for 20 seconds in the microwave. Remove, and add sugar. Stir well and place in the microwave for another 10 seconds. Remove, and stir vigorously. Add in the maple syrup and vanilla. Keep stirring! Once the frosting has reached a thick consistency, you're golden!

Pour frosting evenly over cinnamon rolls and serve warm.

 And now you can enjoy. These are so delicious - be warned, they may cause you to want to work out. Or not. 

Let me know if you make them - and what you think!

xoxo, Ruthanne

pumpkin cinnamon rolls

YOU GUYS.

I something amazing happened on Sunday...I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

In case you're unaware of the sheer glory I'm referring to, I'll say it again.

I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

Are we on the same page yet? I do hope so!

So here's the deal. It's like, super easy, and they're like, super delicious. And it's all thanks to the wonderful Jen over at Beantown Baker, who's recipe was adapted from a pumpkin bread recipe. I tweaked her recipe, too, a bit. So. Here it is, are you ready?

Dough:

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 Tbsp instant yeast

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt 

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree

4 Tbsp butter

Filling:

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar

3 Tbsp ground cinnamon

3 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp salt

1 Tbsp melted butter

Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, at room temp

2 cups powdered sugar

vanilla to taste

optional: butter and spices

(from Jen)

Mix the flour, yeast, spices, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. In a large measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs and whisk in the pumpkin and butter. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the liquid ingredients. Continue mixing on medium-low until the dough is elastic and supple, about 8 minutes. You may need to add a little more flour or water to get the correct consistency – soft but not sticky.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp dishtowel. Set the dough aside to rise until it has doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

Make the filling by combining the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Grease two 8" round pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough in half. 

Set half of the dough aside and roll the other half into a large rectangle around 16"x12". Spread half of the filling onto the dough and roll into a log starting with the long side nearest to you. You may need to use some warm water to seal the edge of the dough. Slice the log into 8 pieces. Repeat with other piece of dough.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1.5-2 hours.

To serve now: Preheat oven to 350. Bake cinnamon rolls 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. 

To freeze and serve later: Preheat oven to 325. Bake cinnamon rolls for 15 minutes. Let the buns cool complete in the pan. When they are completely cooled, cover and freeze. 

When you are ready to serve the buns, place buns in the fridge to thaw out overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350. Bake until buns are light brown, about 20 minutes. 

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To make the frosting, cream the cream cheese with the whisk attachment of your mixer for a good 2-3 minutes. Add in powdered sugar til you get the desired consistency. Add vanilla to taste - I recommend 1/2 - 1 whole teaspoon. If you want a more buttery frosting, add in 2-3 tbs of room temperature butter with the cream cheese. You can also add some spices to it too. Whatever you feel like!

I made the rolls Sunday night. I put them in the fridge overnight, and took them out 30 minutes prior to baking to let them "warm up" a bit. I put them under our heat lamps, which I realize not everyone has - so you go with your gut on what to do. But. They turned out marvelously, and rose perfectly. 

Let me know if you make them, and let me know how much you love them! 

xoxo, Ruthanne

autumn && friendship.

liz, becca, me, rachel. october 2010.

excuse my horrible skinny jeans and plaid, but lets be honest...this picture is great. 

two of my favorite people in the world. james and I have known each other for 12 years, been close friends for 10 of them.

friends since ever, basically.

so maybe this wasn't fall...but whatever.

taylor's benefit (the whole community came together to raise money for her expenses. if you haven't read taylor's story, you can do so here)

becca, amy, me. two years ago.

I've been blessed with some awesome friends. seriously. and we always seem to have the best memories in the fall. 6 weeks of amazing times, wonderful company, and so many smiles. I know fall is still a ways away, but I was looking through these pictures on facebook, and couldn't help but smile, knowing it's coming again. it'll be different, like it is every year, but it'll be great, too. we have new friends who've opted to join in on the madness.

favorite photo friday: d.c.

This is one of my favorite photographs ever.

In the fall of 2008 my family spent an entire month in Washington D.C., and the surrounding cities/towns. My parents rented a townhouse for two weeks in D.C., and the other two weeks were spent in Williamsburg, Virginia, Gettysburg, PA, and other surrounding towns/cities. Our last week was spent with friends.

This trip was probably one of the most defining moments in my life, so far.

I learned a lot about who I am, who I wanted to be, and what I would have to do to get there. I learned that people will disappoint you in life, and that they can turn their backs on you almost instantly. I learned a lot about what I believe, and what others believe. The list goes on. I learned about my love for music, and my desire to travel the world. 

This photo was taken from the top of the Washington Monument, through one of the windows. I stood at this window for almost the whole time I was up there, just staring at this exact view. When I took the photo, I had no idea it would mean so much to me now, but lo and behold, it does.

DC  is now one of my most favorite cities ever; and each fall since that trip my heart literally aches to be back there.

gone crabbin'

As you're reading this, I'm probably in the truck, driving off to the coast for the weekend, to go crabbing with my daddy and uncle! :) There's gonna be 6 of us, and we can each get 10 crab a piece...so...we've got some potential. Dungeness crab, baby, here we come! 

So, I will not really be able to post. However, if you follow me on twitter (@KROLMEISTER) you may be able to still keep up with me :) 

But I just had to share this adorableness with you.

That is basically what she did allllllllllll day and alllllllllllll evening.

Gotta love one year olds.

Hope your thanksgiving was fantastic and that your weekend is too! :)

xoxo,

-Ruthanne

p.s. 

no, my mother is not beating my sister..she's just moving the hair from her face. typical mom move :) 

p.p.s.

remember how I said I was gonna show you the stuff I bought last weekend with my cousin? still gonna do that. just when I get home....this week was so busy! I promise I'll get em up before next Saturday! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends!

I have so much to be thankful for; so much to praise God for. He is good.

Hope you all have a wonderful day, and remember to be thankful not only today but every day :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

p.s.

I know these post cards seem kinda random but they were too too cute to resist! Had to share them as well :)

pumpkinny. monday. rant. you know, the norm.

So.....not to make this awkward or anything, but the last three days I have had the worst cramps of my life. True story. Today they're gone...so that's good...but still. Worst. Cramps. Ever. And I basically never get cramps...so I don't know what the deal was with that....lame. But the activities I participated in this weekend were not so lame...more to come on that tomorrow...muahahaha. And the only reason I'm doing it tomorrow is cause I have a ton of photos to edit...and I hate tuesday, so the awesomness from the photos will override the un-awesomeness of the weekend. okay? good. Glad we got that covered.

Anyway. I'm feeling pumpkinny again. {I just built a new word. Oh yeah, baby. Pumpkinny.}

P U M P K I N N Y.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnyway.

I decided to do something about it......

Again.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Martha Stewart

This is what I decided to do today...after I take a biology test...and write two essays, and then do more algebra...and laundry...and all that. Oh yeah and then there's worship practice at 4....but yeah. It's happening today. Even if it happens at midnight....or something like that.

Yeah.

That's my monday rant...I feel better now.

What did you do this weekend?

Happy monday! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend, doing whatever it is you did! xoxo

weekday wanderings: october closure.

This week's pictures aren't spectacular, there isn't much to see here right now. It's freezing - literally, lows in the low teens every night, highs barely above 32, Fahrenheit, that is. And it's just that weird transition into winter. I'm glad that it's here though - I love summer, I do, but winter clothes are so much more fun! I mean really. :)

xoxo,

Ruthanne

weekday wanderings: pumpkin pictures

So I missed last week's weekday wandering again...I do apologize. October is just such a weird month - so very busy! I am so happy today is the last day!

A lot of these pictures aren't from this year, but I have so many pumpkin pictures, I couldn't help but have to do a post about them :) I love pumpkins, have you figured that out yet? *wink*

I only picked 8 pictures as not to overwhelm you ;) I take a lot of pumpkin pictures...I think it's probably a disease. I would love to tell you happy halloween - but I don't celebrate it, so happy last day of october!

sunday best

 love this. so very me! dramatic, simple, and a little bit rough around the edges.

I don't even know what's going through my head...haha

 tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.

 yes, I know. I'm short.

 so, I wanted to just do a quickie post on my outfit today. even though the photos are kind of lame..haha. My sister knows how to use a camera she just doesn't know how to really USE a camera...haha. Anyway. I am in love with this lip color from AVON...man. It's awesome. So perfect!!!  

Top: Old Navy

Jeans: American Eagle

Necklaces: Bass (for the colorful one) & a little shop in New Mexico when I was 8..

Bangles: Fossil - gift

Belt & Buckle: thrifted

And yes, I did wear this to church today. What can I say, we're a mountain town...it's kind of the norm.

xo, ruthanne

apple hill: part one

Oh, lovely autumn days! This weekend we went to Apple Hill - a place we've been going since I was 2 and I can't imagine my fall being complete without it. It is a place about two hours away from me, where you can pick apples, and participate in the wonderful joys of fall! The drive is one of the best parts though. I'll post pictures of that later, I just wanted to get these pretties up :) 

Unfortunately, the crowds were worse than we had anticipated, so it wasn't quite the same as it used to be, but it was still a beautiful day. Normally we get to pick our own apples - this year it was funky, however. Anyway, hope you enjoy these pictures :)

xo,

Ruthanne