Christmas Breakfast: Cinnamon Pecan Rolls

I've been negligent about posting to my blog, and there's a long list of things that I want to be sure to tell you about before I forget. But above all, I absolutely have to tell you about the cinnamon pecan rolls I made for Christmas morning. I baked them while we finished opening presents, and we had hot rolls by 9 a.m. They were insanely good. We ate every roll, all 4 dozen of them, within two days.

It looks like a lot of steps, but it was actually pretty easy to make. Here's the recipe, adapted slightly from culinary genius Pioneer Woman. I added pecans and halved her recipe, but next year I may make the full batch just so we'll have some to share with friends.

Cinnamon Pecan Rolls
(makes about 3 or 4 dozen)

Ingredients

Rolls
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour

After first rise:
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1/2 scant teaspoon baking soda
1/2 heaping tablespoon salt

Filling
3/4 to 1 cups melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
generous sprinkling cinnamon
1 package chopped pecans

Maple Frosting
1/2 bag powdered sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring or 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup milk
1/8 cup melted butter
1/8 cup brewed coffee
dash of salt

Mix whole milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (so, heat it until just before it boils). Let cool until lukewarm, about 45 minutes to an hour. Sprinkle in yeast and let it sit for a minute or two. Then add 4 cups flour and stir mixture together. Cover and let sit for at least one hour.

Add 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir mixture together.
NOTE: At this point, you can cover the dough and put it in the refrigerator until you need it — overnight or even a day or two. Pioneer Woman says to just keep an eye on it, and if it starts to grow out of the pan, punch it down. (I made it the night before, after the kids were in bed, and got the dough out the next morning while the kids were having their usual first breakfast of oatmeal with chocolate chips.)

Sprinkle surface generously with flour. Take a third of the dough and form into a rough rectangle. Roll the dough thin, maintaining a rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 cup of melted butter over dough, or as much as you can fit on it. (It'll spread and spill pretty quickly.) Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon, as well as about 1/3 of the chopped pecans. Roll the dough toward you, keeping the roll as tight as possible as you roll. Pinch the seam to seal it. Repeat for all three batches of dough.

Spread remaining butter into 3 cake or pie pans. (I forgot to do this and poured the remaining melted butter over the rolls with no problems.) Cut rolls 3/4 to 1 inch thick and lay in buttered pans. Cover the rolls and let sit for 20 or 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, until light golden brown.

For the frosting, combine all frosting ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. If you don't like coffee, as Todd does not, use it anyway. You can't taste it, but it makes the flavor deeper and richer. Adjust to taste. (Mine needed more maple syrup.) Generously drizzle frosting over warm rolls after they come out of the oven.

Thea is 5 years old!

Thea turned 5 years old yesterday. It was a fun, action-packed birthday. We woke up early, had take-out breakfast from our favorite diner, played with birthday toys, went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch, came home and and had birthday eclairs, and then collapsed on the couch until dinner, after which I made horse cupcakes (her favorite: chocolate zucchini) for her to take to school today. Whew!

Over the last year, Thea has become more self-assured. Temperamentally, she is not the kind of person who will walk into a group of strangers and want to be the center of attention. Instead she'll hold back and get the lay of the land before joining the other kids. She's always been this way. But she seems to be more comfortable in groups these days. Where a year ago she wouldn't walk into a store that was too crowded and loud, now she's fine with it. She's even fine in huge crowds that make me a little claustrophobic, like the march against Proposition 8.

Some things that have not changed:

• Thea still doesn't like sweets all that much, and we never have to worry about her over-eating candy. We can pretty much let her eat as much as she wants, because she'll only eat a small amount.
  
• She can, however, eat her weight in potato chips.
• Her favorite food is pizza.
  
• Her best friend is Liam. They have a wonderful relationship.
• She's surprisingly kind, funny, smart, and emotionally intuitive.
  

New developments over the last year:

• Thea loves Wonder Woman. This makes me very happy. But I think part of it is that I told her that Wonder Woman is a princess. This makes me only a little deceitful.
  
• She also loves Barbie. But a woman I greatly admire and respect does, too, so I don't see the harm.
• She is more open to trying new foods, as long as we don't force the issue. If we put something in front of her a few times, she'll usually gamely try it.
• But she asks for water every night with dinner.
  
• She and Liam love pretending to be cheetahs and doing "gymnastics" (which means, really, jumping on the couch).
• She's learning how to swim and loves going to the pool.
  

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

See also:

• Thea is 4 years old!
• Thea is three years old today!
• Thea turns two!
• Thea turns one!

Thea's horse-themed birthday cupcakes

Thea asked for horse cupcakes to take to school tomorrow for her birthday. The best I could do was green sugar for grass, flower-shaped sprinkles, and plastic horses (plus one zebra). I think they still turned out pretty well.

Finishing touches

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on one of the bears I made. This one was for the son of a friend I work with, and I wanted to be sure to get it to her before she left for the holidays. It only needed a new nose, so I did it while meeting with another colleague/friend about a project.

Sign FAIL

Um, my company surpassed its CFC donations goal. We're REALLY excited about it.



Ahem. Yaaaay?

We made Xmas pictures yesterday

They did those all by themselves. Well done!

GUEST POST: Take this $%#@! job and shove it [cat sitting]

Have you ever had a rant that you really, really wanted to write on your blog, but you couldn't because the person it is about reads your blog? Steve at The Hygiene Chronicles has hosted guest posts a time or two, the most memorable one being from a friend who had recently had a medical procedure and the resulting ickiness.

And now one of my blog friends needs a home for a cranky post. I'm happy to help out, especially since the subject is relevant to thoughts floating around in my head. I've been on a year-long campaign to get my husband to agree to getting a cat. His reluctance, which is not unreasonable, stems from the fact that he's always the one who ends up changing the litter box.

Anyway, enough about me! On with the guest post.

*************************

My rant, now on Craigslist:

Last time I effing do this.

So I'm doing a favor for a friend's friend's friend and will be feeding their cats while they go on vacation. Somehow I forgot that this included scooping feces. I know what goes in must come out but we're extraordinarily lucky and only need to scoop our own cat box once a week so somehow I neglected to imagine this as a part of the responsibilities when I said yes.

"So here are the two litter boxes. Drag these over to the toilets and empty the litter right there."

I have to touch them? The scoop is bad enough. Heave them awkwardly out of the closet and across the floor through multiple narrow doorways as they swing and bang into my legs, spilling litter on the way? Hmmm... not so sure about this.

"Now one of the cats doesn't like the litter box. He goes on the floor next to the toilet. So we'll just leave you paper towels and here's where we keep the spray cleaner."

(Nodding while hatching escape plan.) I have to clean crap off the floor? THEY clean crap off the floor? Who puts up with this? Hello? There are shelters for this kind of animal. When the ratio of ass care outweighs the endorphin release, it's bye-bye.

"And here's where you give them treats. They take their treats right here, on these little toy platforms. Four of these and eight of these. Every day."

They freaking *measure* out their treats?? Twelve a day? Plus the heaping bowls of food? No wonder both cats are fat as fuck.

"And the water bowl upstairs! There's a bowl upstairs and a bowl downstairs but make sure both are full. The one upstairs seems to dry up more quickly so check it often."

Um, you're making life more difficult than it needs to be. Cats will drink wherever the water is. Why do people cater to their cats like this?

"Oh! And we like to fill the tub up with food, just in case there's an emergency. So this upstairs tub will be filled. Our last petsitter thought we didn't trust her but it wasn't that, we just like to play it safe. Oh we're so glad you understand."

Wha-? Were you saying something? Look, I checked out 20 minutes ago. I'm just nodding to get you to hurry the frak up so I can get home and write about this. Do what you want but don't expect me to deal with your subsequent insect (and rodent, since the cats are too fat to hunt) infestation.

"And can you play with them?"

That's about the only thing I was hoping to do, actually. At least until one of them just scratched the hell outta my hand.

"And! Please text us every day. Let us know how they are doing!"

Oh god. I am going to hang myself now. You just spent 49 minutes telling me how to take care of your cats while you're away for 6 days. If it takes that long to detail their care plan, you're doing TOO FREAKING MUCH! They're cats. Feed, water, play. Enough!!

So, anyone want a catsitting job?

Gingerbread boy and girl

Honey-Chipotle Pecans

At one of the many holiday parties at my work yesterday, I had the most amazing spiced pecans. They were sweet and salty, with just a little heat that you don't notice at first. Seriously addictive. Here's the recipe:

Honey-Chipotle Pecans

2 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Warm the honey with the chipotle powder and cinnamon in a non-stick skillet; add the pecans, stirring to coat evenly. Spread the pecans in a single layer on a rimmed backing sheet lined with waxed paper. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool slightly.

Stir the sugar and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add the warm pecans and toss to coat evenly. Spread the pecans out on a fresh sheet of waxed paper to dry completely. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Highlights from the Between Party: I get by with a little help from my friends

As I mentioned before, we decided to throw a joint birthday party between the kids' birthdays. We plan to make it a yearly event, with us devoting our resources to one party and having small family events on the day of their births. It was my clever Thea who started calling it "The Between Party," a label that seems both more appropriate and less illegal than "joint birthday party."

I was nervous about how this might turn out, in part because we invited everyone from their daycare classes, along with some of our closest friends and even some people without kids who are the mellow, kid-friendly sort and whom I just really like to be around. My greatest fear: what if everyone showed up? My second greatest fear: what if NO ONE showed up?

At least I knew the cakes would be great, thanks to my friend Tara, who showed up at my office two days before the party with a book on how to make kids' cakes. I was planning to wing it, and I'm so glad I didn't. They turned out great. This was Thea's, a Barbie with a cake dress made from two bundt cakes piled on top of each other.







I made a whale for Aquaman to stand on.



The pictures don't quite show how awesome it was. Best part (to me) was that it was a red velvet cake, so it looked like you were cutting into an actual fish. The worst part was that I cut the cake from two sheet cakes I put next to each other, so the jagged edge made for a ton of crumbs in the icing. Not that Liam minded.



(All pictures, by the way, taken by dear friends Spleeness and Nylonthread. Thanks, guys! I owe you.)

Also, it turns out that Brent, one of my kid-free friends whom I managed to con into coming to the party, happens to know how to make balloon animals. He and his delightful wife got stuck in the kitchen performing for the kids most of the night; they were a hit with all the kids. This is adorable Zola holding a poodle that matches her shirt. On the table in the background are spare balloon dogs and swords. No, that's a sword. I don't know what you're insinuating.



A lot of their friends brought presents. Thea and Liam could not believe their luck. Friends, cakes, balloon animals, AND presents?!! Best. Birthday. Ever.



Other ways my friends made the party wonderful: Alanna came early and helped me get organized, Aaron and Heather helped me put ribbons on balloons, Don cut the pizza and served it, Holly and Alanna made guests who didn't know anyone feel welcome, and my new friend Susan, a parent of a daycare friend who lives only six blocks from us (!!), was the first guest to start drinking the mulled wine, ensuring that I would not have a repeat of a past party that, to my horror, ended up being virtually dry because none of the parents would drink in front of each other. I was up to my eyeballs in sangria for a month, and each sip tasted bitter.

The first annual Between Party was a success

Oh my word, look at these cuties. That's Sachi and Thalia (wearing socks as dress-up gloves) from Thea's class in school, and long-time friends Lila and Daniel on the right. These kids have all known each other almost since birth.

Seamus and I throw gang signs

Seamus stopped by to see his son (also a Liam) at the holiday party where I work with his gorgeous, smarty-pants wife, Tara.

This picture cracks me up, because I've deleted hundreds in which I'm making the exact same face. If you take 50 photographs of me, I'll be making a weird expression or have my eyes closed in 49 of them.

(Photo by friend and colleague Spleen.)

Invitation to the party

The kids helped us make the invitations to their party on Sunday. Thea drew a picture of her and Curtis, the sweetest boy at school and the kid whom she calls her boyfriend:



(Reminder to self: GET A PICTURE OF CURTIS!!) Liam drew a picture of Thea:



Honestly, it's all so sweet I could cry. Heather commented this past weekend that becoming a parent seems to turn you into a big marshmallow. So true.

NOT a flotation device

I'm having a joint birthday party for Thea and Liam next Sunday, for a few reasons. (1) Both kids have birthdays near major holidays (Thanksgiving for Liam, and between Christmas and New Year's for Thea), so I thought splitting the difference between their birthdays would give them a chance at better parties. (2) I'm a twin, and I always loved sharing my birthday with Heather. I should point out, though, that she sometimes just wanted a day about her, not us. (3) We can afford to be a little more extravagant if we're only having one party instead of two.

The extravagance for "Joint Birthday Party: Year One" will be elaborate cakes. After making a big deal about a Thomas cake when Liam turned three and having the bakery call me the morning I was supposed to pick it up to cancel, I thought I'd make them myself. I couldn't do worse than the big pile of disappointment Shopper's Food Warehouse served me.

Thea requested a barbie cake, so a bundt cake will form the dress for the newly purchased doll and there will be a ridiculous amount of floofy flowers. Liam is currently obsessed with Aquaman, one of the less popular super heroes, so that will be the theme of his cake. (Incidentally, he and Thea have been playing Aquaman and Wonder Woman for days now, and I would have been stumped if Thea had asked for an infinitely harder Wonder Woman cake.) There are tons of Spiderman, Batman, and Superman action figures to be had, but this is the only Aquaman I could find:



It comes with a cool "Aqua Sub" vehicle, but the best part of it is the warning label, which starts out

WARNING! This is not a life-saving device.

In the same way one's rubber ducky is not a flotation device, I suppose?