Sweet Buns Three Ways: Cherry, Blueberry, and Cream Cheese

Every since I got my standing mixer, I've been making all kinds of yeast breads. The mixer does the kneading for me so making breads from scratch got so much easier. When I saw these delicious yeast buns on Pinterest, I couldn't wait to try them. Eric was madly in love with them. I think I only got to try one of each kind, he devoured the rest.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Buns
1 cup warm milk, (about 100 degrees F)
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
3 1/4 cup flour
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt

Fillings (each filling would make enough for a 16 buns--a full batch)
Cherry
64 black cherries, pitted (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 teaspoon per bun)

Blueberry
1 pound blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 teaspoon per bun)

Cream Cheese
8 ounces cream cheese (1 tablespoon per bun) 

Crumb Topping
2 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:
Buns
In the bowl of a standing mixer, add milk and sprinkle with yeast.  Let sit for 7 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and 2 tablespoons sugar. Using whisk attachment, whisk until combined. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest for 45 minutes.

Whisk in egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, melted butter, and salt. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Add in 2 3/4 cups flour, one cup at a time. Make sure each cupful is fully incorporated before adding the next cup. Your dough should have pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Continue to mix with the dough hook on Low for 15 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let sit for 2 hours. Dough will triple in size.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Cut dough into 16 pieces and shape each piece into a ball.

Grease a baking dish (either 2 round cake pans or one 9x13 baking dish). Place the balls in your dish. Make a well in the center of each ball. Place 4 cherries (or a healthy tablespoon of blueberries, or a tablespoon of cream cheese) in the well. Sprinkle the cherries or blueberries with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise for 45 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

Crumb Topping
In a small bowl, combine all the crumble topping ingredients until you have a texture of coarse crumbs.

Generously sprinkle the buns with the crumb topping. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the buns are golden.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Yeast Recipes:
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls 
Soft and Chewy French Bread
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 

Chocolate Covered Blueberries

Last winter I discovered chocolate covered cranberries and they quickly became one of my favorite snacks. In fact, months later I'm still craving them, but sadly cranberries are out of season. Then I saw the carton of blueberries in the fridge and thought why not? I've made yogurt covered blueberries before and they were fabulous. Why not chocolate covered blueberries? The only drawback to these is that Eric likes them too, where as I had the chocolate covered cranberries all to myself.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or any kind of chips you'd like)

Directions:
Line cookie pan with waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on high. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat as needed until chocolate is melted.

Pour the blueberries into the melted chocolate and gentle stir with a spatula until all the blueberries are covered in chocolate. With a fork, transfer the cranberries one by one to the cookie sheet. Place in the refrigerator until chocolate hardens.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Berry Recipes:
White Chocolate Filled Raspberries
Blueberry Muffins
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins 
Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce   
Blueberry Chocolate Chip Brunetties
Sugared Cranberries
Michigan Cranberry Brownies

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins, two of my favorite breakfast meals. When I saw the blueberries, all pretty and plump and blue, at the grocery store--and on sale--I had to get some. First thing I did with them was make muffin (I will soon be making blueberry pancakes and maybe even chocolate covered blueberries). I love these muffins because they aren't super sweet and they have a delicious crumble on top.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Muffin
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup blueberries*

Crumble Topping
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, but if you're using frozen blueberries, do not thaw; just toss them in frozen.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine all the crumble topping ingredients until you have a texture of coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

In a second bowl, combine egg, oil, and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir (be careful not to over mix). Fold in blueberries.

Divide equally between the 12 cups. Generously sprinkle crumble on top of the muffins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the center of the muffins set.

Strawberry and chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Strawberry chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Strawberry chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
French Toast in a Mug  
Homemade Hash Browns  
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins  
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls   
Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce 
Pumpkin Oatmeal \
Quiche in a Mug

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Brunetties

So what is a brunettie? Short story: something my husband made up.

I told Eric I was making blueberries blondies and he asked why they were called blondies. I told him because they were like brownies but without the cocoa--so blonde instead of brown. But didn't that make them cookie bars? he asked. Same difference, I told him. Well, the discussion went in circles until Eric decided he would call them brunetties (I don't think I ever quite caught on to his rationale) but the name stuck. I even found myself referring to them as brunetties.

P.S. I can't wait to make these again with black cherries and raspberries.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips,
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch pan with tin foil then grease with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and stir. Pour the flour and salt and combine, but be sure not to over mix (this will make your blondies more tough than chewy). Fold in the chocolate chips and blueberries.

Pour batter into prepared dish. Smooth surface with a spatula so it's even.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the blondies brown and the center is set.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bar/Blondie/Brownie Recipes:
Caramelitas
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (Twix Bars) 
Congo Bars, Blondies, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies with a Strawberry Sauce
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Skinny Peanut Butter Brownies 

Glazed Blueberry Donuts

Whenever I make Pillsbury biscuits or crescent rolls, I always save some of the raw dough to make into donuts. I love cooking from scratch, but I also love doing the semi-homemade thing: doctoring up cake mixes or turning biscuits into donuts. Last time at the grocery store I saw blueberry biscuits on sale for a buck and decided to try them. I love blueberry pancakes, muffins, and donuts. Now I could make my own! As biscuits, I wasn't overly impressed with them. Glad I tried them, but wouldn't buy them again. However, as glazed donuts, these things are amazing.

Ingredients:
Donuts
Pillsbury biscuits
vegetable oil

Glaze
1/8 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Donuts
Now you can make these one of two ways. If you want regular donuts, use an empty pop bottle to make a hole in the middle of each biscuit (then pop the dough out of the bottle and make donut holes!) Or if you are lazy like I was when I made this, flatten them to desired width so they're like elephant ears (I came out with a cross between a donut and elephant ear).

Pour your vegetable oil in a large sauce pan, enough so that the donuts can be submerged. Heat the oil over med-hi heat to between 360 and 375 degrees. (I don't use a candy thermometer; I just wing it.) With tongs put your biscuit into the oil and cook until the perfect golden brown on each side. Place on a plate lined with paper towel.

Glaze
In a small sauce pan, heat the milk and vanilla over low heat until warm. Sift in powdered sugar into the pan. Slowly whisk the sugar in until well combined. Remove from heat. Dunk donuts into the glaze, one at a time, and set on a rack. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. (Recipe from here.)

Every time I make donuts, Eric want me to make a glaze. I've resisted all this time because secretly I like cinnamon-sugar donuts the best so that what I usually make. But I decided to give it a whirl this time because I didn't think cinnamon-sugar or a frosting would compliment the blueberry donuts. I'm glad I glazed them and Eric was absolutely thrilled.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Yogurt-Covered Blueberries

We all know fruit and yogurt go together as symbiotically as peanut butter and jelly. Here's a different way to enjoy the delicious fruit-yogurt combo: coat the fruit (in this case blueberries) in yogurt, freeze, then enjoy as a healthy snack. These are particularly delectable on a hot summer day. I also like to add them to my Special K cereal in the morning. Despite not being packed full of sugar or fried, Eric will snack on them by the handful. They're that good.

Ingredients:
nonfat vanilla or Greek yogurt
fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper.

Skewer a blueberry on a toothpick, dip the berry into the yogurt, and then use a second toothpick to push the blueberry onto the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of your blueberries. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least 3 hours. Store the blueberries in an air-tight bag in the freezer.

Enjoy!
 

~Krissy