"Cinnamon and Sugar Pull-Apart Bread"

Simply put, this stuff is really good. Just the smell of it going throughout the house, will get you to start salivating. Once it's out of the oven and cool enough to eat however it's hard to stop pawing at it. Then again, I am pretty hungry.

The bread itself is great, really sweet and thick like all good homemade bread is. The top of it is sugary, and overwhelmed by the taste of cinnamon. I love sugar and sweets, but this is a little too much. This is not the kind of bread that I would want to have a sandwich with, or put a slab of butter on. However, it does go pretty well with the Dundee Stout I am drinking, and is great finger good. The beer is very creamy and sweet as well. It's a pretty decent pairing.

I'd recommend the bread for sure, a really good start. 4.5 Stars (out of 5)
Dundee Stout: 4 Stars.

"Cinnamon And Sugar Pull-Apart Bread"

"Cinnamon And Sugar Pull-Apart Bread" 

Ingredients to make Dough: 

2 3/4 cup plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour (strange I know, but it will make sense in a moment)

1/4 cup of sugar

1 packet of active dry yeast

1/2 tsp. of salt

4 TBS butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup water

2 eggs 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Ingredients to make delicious Cinnamon and sugar:

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp nutmeg

4 TBS butter, melted

Directions:

To make dough:

Step 1: In a large (greased) mixing bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set it aside

Step 2: Melt butter in a small sauce pan with milk. Once melted take off the burner and add water and vanilla let it cool for 5 min. 

Step 3: Pour the milk mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients (from step 1), mix well. 

Step 4: whisk together the 2 eggs, add to the mixture. Add 3/4 cups of flour and mix. 

          NOTE: your mixture should be super sticky

Step 5: Cover the bowl with wrap and let it rise in a nice warm place for 30-45 min. 

Step 6: Once the dough has doubled its size add 2 TBS of flour to the dough and knead it in

Step 7: Cover again (please re-use the same wrap as before, lets be green here!) and let sit for 5-10 min.                       While this is sitting lets start on the Cinnamon and sugar mix!

To make cinnamon and sugar mix

Step 1: Mix cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl, set it aside 

                          (pretty easy)

Now to put it all together: 

Step 1: Put flour down on the counter and roll out dough. (While rolling out dough melt 4 TBS of butter)

Step 2: Brush (or use a spoon) melted butter onto the dough. You can do only one side, or only both    sides, both work. 

Step 3: Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mix onto the dough (dont be stingy)

Step 4: Using a pizza cutter or a shape knife, cut the dough into equal strips. Then cut those strips into equal squares

Step 5: Stack the squares into about 4-5 piles and place them into the (greased) bread pan. If you have any cinnamon sugar mix left sprinkle it on top. 

Step 6: Cover the dough for another 10-15 min to allow it to rise some more 

Step 7: While dough is rising (again) pre-heat your oven to 350. 

Step 8: Place a cookie sheet under your bread pan and bake for about 30-35 min, the outside of your bread should be golden brown. (take the wrap off the bread before you put it in!)

Allow to cool and enjoy!! 

(Stay tuned for Fatman's critique) 

Welcome to Tree Hugger In The Kitchen

Welcome to Tree Hugger In The Kitchen! 
Let me start out by stating, this is not a vegan website or a vegetarian website, I am just a plain old tree hugger. 
Second I would like to make a little disclaimer: all of these recipes i have found on the internet so i did not invent them myself, however there will be small changes made to the recipe so in a way they are slightly original. 
Dont know how to be a fancy pants cook? Don't worry I dont know how to either, if i come across something that is particularly difficult or needs further instruction, ill give it to you. 
Finally, I think that cooking is an adventure and should be fun! So don't be afraid to dive in and try something you have never tried before! The worst that can happen is that your kitchen explodes or something like that...no big deal right? 




So I'd like to introduce you to the cast, and as I add people I will introduce them:


Me: (Meghan) AKA the Chef: I am a full time graduate student studying to be a mental health counselor. Part time sales associate at the gap and a full time tree hugger. I was originally born and raised in the beautiful Adirondack mountains however moved to the big city of Rochester to go to graduate school. Cooking, (among knitting, hiking, DIY crafts, and the occasional artsy stick figure) is one of the things I do to keep sane. 


Andrew: AKA Fatman: Andrew is my full time boyfriend (and let me tell you its a full time job). We met at undergraduate school at the lovely SUNY Plattsburgh and have been inseparable ever since. He moved to Rochester with me for reasons unbeknownst to me, but here he is! He is currently working on getting his bearings in the political world, and works a real job on the side. (So any political people that read this: call him!). Andrew is my personal taste tester, and I think he supports this blog so much because he just likes to eat food. He is a beer connoisseur as well and will recommend some great beer to go along with what I make. 




Feel free to dig in, try this stuff and post how it goes for you as well as your own ratings and variations on food!