Cinnamon Rolls and their friends :)

Everyone loves cinnamon rolls. But how about some new fillings in those doughs? Today we made the good old fashioned cinnamon rolls and two other variations: 

I made a half a batch of this dough recipe and it was still enough for 4 pans of rolls. 

Quark and Chocolate: 

 Mix some quark (biezpiens) aka farmer's cheese or curd cheese, with sugar and a little sour cream if it is very dry. Spread and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Roll, cut, let rise and bake. YUMMY! 

Pizza Rolls:

Roll dough, spread with a light coating of tomato sauce. Sprinkle with pizza spices (oregeno, basil), top with a good amount of grated cheese and some chopped meat (I used pepperoni sausage). Roll, and slice. Let rise and bake. A great appetizer or snack for kids. 

Other variations: 

caramelized milk and chopped nuts

quark and berries

vanilla pudding, topped with glaze and coconut

 

Donuts

 Our first girl's Bible study/cooking lessons we made these yummy donuts. They turned out far better than I had even hoped, and were so much fun to make. The girl's fancied up the recipe with all kinds of yummy decorations. But my favorite were the plain and simple ones rolled in powdered sugar. I used Alton Brown's recipe and slightly altared it as is seen below.

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 1/3 cup. oil or butter
• 2 T. dry yeast
• 1/3 c. water water
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. nutmeg
• 4 -5 cups Flour (or more depending on your dough)

Method: 

1. Proof the yeast in the warm water. 
2. Warm milk slightly so as to melt butter. 
3. Mix water with yeast and milk together, when milk is warm, NOT hot. 
4. Mix in further ingredients, stirring well. Adding enough flour to make a smooth dough- which isn't too sticky. 
5. Let rise apx. 1 hour. 
6. Roll dough to about 3/8 inch thick. Cut donuts and placed on oiled cookies sheets. 
7. Let rise apx. 30 min. 
8. Heat oil until apx. 365 degrees F. 
9. Cook 4-5 donuts at a time, apx. 1 minute on each side. Should be nice and golden. 
10. Cool and frost as desired. 

Latvian Version:

Virtuļi

 Sastāvdaļas:

• 1 1/2 glāzes piens 
• 1/3 glāzes eļļa vai sviests
• 2 ēdamkarote sausā rauga
• 1/3 glāzes ūdens 
• 2 olas
• 1/4 glāzes cukura 
• 1/2 tējkarote sāls
• 1 tējkarote muskatriekstu 
• 4-5 glāzes milti (vai vairāk, atkarībā no jūsu mīklas)

 Pagatavošana:

Izšķīdina raugu siltā ūdenī. Silda mazliet pienu tā, lai varētu izkausētu sviestu. Sajauc ūdeni ar raugu un pienu kopā, pienam jābūt siltam, nevis karstam. Pievieno pārējās sastāvdaļas, samaisa. Pievieno pietiekami daudz miltu, lai veidotos 'patīkama' mīkla, kas nav pārāk lipīga. Ļaujiet uzrūgt apm. 1 stundu. Izrullē mīklu apmēram 0,7-1cm biezu. 'Izspiež' virtuļus ar caurumu vidū un liek uz ieeļotas virsmas. Ļaujiet uzrūgt apm. 30 min. Uzsilda eļļu (var pārbaudīt- eļļa gatava, ja tajā ieliek koka karotes kātu un tā sāk burbuļot). Var gatavot vairākus virtuļus vienlaicīgi, bet katru vāra eļļā apm. 1 minūti no katras puses. Lai tie būtu patīkami zeltaini. Atdzesē un dekorē pēc vajadzības, patikas.