Peanut Butter Paradise and Other Delights

Okay, so last night I promised recipes for some tasty treats. We love treats in our family (and unfortunately it's showing up below the waistline) and here are a couple of recent discoveries.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cinnamon Rolls
This recipe came to me from my visiting teacher. They are easy and delicious!

1/2 C sugar
1/2 C potato flakes (even the generic storebrand works great)
1/2 C dry milk
2 TBSP yeast
3 C hot water

Combine the above and let sit until yeast, milk, and potato flakes dissolve. Then add:

1 stick butter, softened or melted
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
4 C flour (all-purpose or bread flour

I think I ended up adding an additional 4 cups of flour or so as I mixed the dough in my mixer. The original 4 cups didn't do much more than make a gooey batter, so add flour until the dough pulls away easily from the side of the mixer, isn't terribly sticky to the touch, and still soft and tender. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes or so to rest. This allows it roll out more easily. Divide dough in half and roll out one half on a floured surface to about 1/2 inch or less in a rough rectangle. Spread with melted butter, and sprinkle liberally with brown sugar and cinnamon. You can add chopped nuts at this point if you wish. Roll the rectangle up along the long side. Take 10 inches of plain sewing thread to cut the dough into 1" sections (slide the middle of the thread underneath the roll, cross the ends over the top of the roll and pull the ends opposite of each other to slice through the dough). Place the buns fairly close together on a greased cookie sheet and let rise while oven heats to 400 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top. Repeat rolling out process with other half of dough.

Frosting:
8 TBSP butter (1 stick or 1/2 c butter)
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix until smooth and frost rolls while still warm.

Peanut Butter Paradise Ice Cream
I love making homemade ice cream. The basic recipe came with my Rival ice cream maker (it's a 6-quart machine...I figure if you're going to make ice cream you might as well make a big batch!), and it's a cooked recipe, so allow plenty of time for this. I'm giving you the 6-quart recipe. If you have a smaller ice cream maker and want the recipe for a 4- or a 5-quart mixer, just email me and I'll send it to you.

3 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C flour
3/4 tsp salt
7 C milk (I always use 1%)
a good book or magazine to read or cordless phone close at hand
6 eggs in a separate bowl, beaten
1 C creamy peanut butter
6 C whipping cream (3 full pints or 6 half pint containers)
3 T vanilla extract
1 1/2 C macadamia nuts, chopped (approx. 6 oz.)
1 pkg Heath toffee bits (8 oz.)

Combine dry ingredients in large stock pot and blend with a wire whisk. Add milk gradually, stirring in with whisk. Cook over medium heat approximately 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Read while you're stirring the mixture, or call a friend/sibling/mom on the phone for a chat because you're not going anywhere for a while!

Once the mixture is nice and thick, slowly stir one cup of the milk into the beaten eggs. This tempers the eggs so they stay liquid. I usually stir in two or three cups of milk, one at a time, just for good measure. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Chill 2 hours. If you're in a hurry, place stock pot in sink filled with cold water. Add some ice for good measure to the water. Stir mixture inside pot briskly until the heat dissipates out (probably 10 minutes). Be careful to not get any water inside your mixture.

Add whipping cream, vanilla, nuts, and toffee bits. Pour into your ice cream freezer and freeze as directed.

I made this for a ward party, and it would have been perfect if I had started sooner to allow more time for churning in the freezer. It would also have helped if I didn't have to go driving around the neighborhood to find my youngest child who had decided to go with some neighbor kids early to the ward party. Unfortunately, the ward party wasn't being held at the church, and when I realized I couldn't find L., the other kids all went off on THEIR bikes to find him, and then I couldn't find anybody. So I spent time driving around the neighborhood rounding people up, which meant the ice cream was on the soupy side by the time we arrived at the ward party.

Phew. This is enough for one post. I'll put the zucchini bread to die for recipe on later.