everyday food made simple

Hey guys! Guess what?

Today we’re celebrating a special day that’s coming up tomorrow and I’m quite excited about it.

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I’ll give you a few hints:

  1. It’s going to be a two-year celebration
  2. It involves something that started out as an idea, which turned out to be a hobby
  3. It involves food (lots and lots of food), lots of time in the kitchen, hours of time spent on learning photography and techie things, and a little space I own here on the internet

That’s right, you guessed it! Tomorrow will be Simple Everyday Food’s 2nd blogiversary! Can I get a whoop whoop?!

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This little site of mine started out as an idea, and after a few encouragements from the mister, I bit the bullet two years ago, signed up for my own domain name, and BOOM! SEF was born. Fast forward throughout the years, this little corner of mine here on the world wide web has slowly became my happy place where I get to temporarily run away from everyday stresses, let loose, and be creative. I still have so much to learn in regards to the food blogging business, but SEF wouldn’t be able to continue to grow without all my supporters and those that I constantly learn from every single day.

So it’s only appropriate that we celebrate this special occasion with sprinkles. Lots and lots and looooots of sprinkles. And instead of a cake, we’re celebrating with some soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls. Homemade cinnamon rolls dotted with plenty of sprinkles baked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection, generously drizzled with a sweet and creamy cream cheese frosting with sprinkles, to be exact.

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A big thank you to all of you who have been part of this journey – I wouldn’t be here without you guys! xoxo

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overnight funfetti cake batter cinnamon rolls
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For the rolls
  1. 2 and 1/2 cups water
  2. 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  3. 1 teaspoon salt
  4. 1 box funfetti cake mix (I used Pillsbury)
  5. 5-6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the filling
  1. 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  2. 2 and 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
  3. 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the glaze
  1. 2 and 1/2 oz light cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  2. 3 tablespoons milk
  3. A splash of vanilla extract
  4. 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  5. rainbow sprinkles for garnish, if desired
Instructions
  1. Heat water in a microwave safe bowl until it reaches ~120-125 degrees F. Sprinkle in the yeast and salt and give it a good stir. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix and the 5 cups of flour, stir to combine. Using a dough hook attachment, slowly add in the yeast mixture and vanilla extract. Turn on the mixer and mix on low, gradually increasing the speed to medium-low. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until the dough is elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is still too sticky, add in additional flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it no longer sticks to you hand (I only used about 1/2 cup of extra flour). Remove dough and place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until it doubles in size, about 1-2 hours.
  3. In the meantime, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside. Grease two 9x13" baking pans and set those aside as well.*
  4. Once the dough has risen, divide the dough into two portions so it's easier to work with. Turn half of the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle, approximately 11x15" (or in my case, my dough always turns out to be a large blob instead). Brush half of the melted butter onto the dough, covering every single inch if possible. Then generously sprinkle half of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture evenly on top.
  5. Starting on the long end, tightly roll up the dough and cut dough into 10-11 slices, about 1.5-2" thick each. Place into prepared baking pan. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
  6. Cover baking pans and let rise overnight on your kitchen counter.
  7. The next morning, bake rolls in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown (mine took exactly 15 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool.
  8. While the rolls are cooling, make the glaze: beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the milk and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Drizzle over rolls and sprinkle with additional rainbow sprinkles, if desired. Rolls taste best the same day, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days**.
  9. Makes 20-22 rolls
Notes
  1. * If you only have one 9x13" baking pan like me, you can always use a 9" pie plate along with the baking pan.
  2. ** You can always freeze one pan of the rolls after they've cooled from the oven, then wrap well and freeze. Thaw out in the refrigerator or at room temperature, make the glaze, and heat rolls in microwave until warm.
Adapted from Something Swanky
Adapted from Something Swanky
Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/
Recipe adapted from Something Swanky; glaze recipe adapted from Well Plated

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th that was celebrated by spending time with family, nice weather, and plenty of good food! It’s funny that in our family, we (and by “we”, I mean “I”) usually plan an excessively long list of things I want to make for the holidays despite the fact that it’s usually the two of us. It’s not one of those “oh these are the things I want to make, but I probably won’t make everything”.  Noooooo siree! I’m the one who plans and executes. If I want to make it, I will make it.

You should’ve seen the list I made for Thanksgiving last year – it was ridiculous. I think I had 8-9 things on the menu just to feed the two of us, from appetizers to side dishes to dessert – we were covered in the event of a zombie apocalypse and we couldn’t leave the house for 3 weeks. There was so much food that we barely had enough counter space to put everything!

The big holiday itself usually gets a lot of attention and planning ahead, but not everyone plans for breakfast the morning after when everyone wakes up from the food coma. In case you’re still looking for a easy breakfast option for tomorrow, I’ve got you covered!

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These cinnamon rolls can be easily made the night before, so when you wake up and want breakfast, you only have to wait less than 30 minutes for a piping hot, fresh out-of-the-oven, mouth-watering, gooey, sweet cinnamon roll! And let me tell you, it’s totally worth the wait, because these are deeeelish!

Chocolate + cookie butter + maple glaze + fluffy rolls = it’s practically heaven! I could eat this every weekend.

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I’m personally a big fan of overnight cinnamon roll recipes, simply because I my stomach doesn’t have the patience to wait long for food in the morning. All the hard work is put in the night before, so all you have to do is throw it in the oven, make the glaze, wait, and enjoy the next morning – pretty easy, eh?

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[loosely coil the strips to allow room for the dough to rise overnight]

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This giant spiral cinnamon roll is so pretty to look at, and even more fun to eat. You can either cut it into wedges and serve it like you would cake, or you can do what we did, and peel off the strips as you go. I highly recommend the latter, simply because it’s always fun when you get to eat with you hands, and eating it this way kind of reminds me of tearing off little pieces of bubble tape gum from when I was little (remember those? The gum whose flavor only lasts 5 seconds?).

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giant spiral cinnamon roll with vanilla maple glaze
Print
For the roll
  1. 2 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  2. 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon salt
  4. 1 package instant yeast
  5. 1/2 cup water
  6. 1/4 cup skim milk
  7. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  8. 1 egg, at room temperature
For the filling
  1. 2/3 cup chocolate cookie butter (I used Speculoos chocolate cookie butter from Trader Joe's), softened slightly by microwaving it for 10-15 seconds
  2. 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the glaze
  1. 1 cup powdered sugar
  2. 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  3. 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  4. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. To make the dough, set aside 1/2 cup flour. In a large electric mixer bowl, combine the remainder of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Set aside.
  2. In a microwavable bowl, heat the water, milk, and butter together until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot to touch. Stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture over medium-low speed. Increase the speed to medium, add in the egg and just enough of the reserved flour until the dough is soft, pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is no longer sticky (I used the entire 1/2 cup, but you may not have to use it all).
  3. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes. In the meantime, spray a 9" pie pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  4. After 30 minutes, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15x12" rectangle. Spread the slightly softened cookie butter over the top, then sprinkle the ground cinnamon.
  5. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into six 2" wide strips (cut the the long way). Loosely roll up one strip (kind of like a fruit roll-up) and place in the center of the pan. Wrap the remaining 5 strips loosely around the center one, starting each strip at the end of the previous one so the end product looks like a giant spiraled cake.
  6. Loosely cover the roll with aluminum foil and let rise in a warm, draft-free area overnight.
  7. The next morning, bake cinnamon roll at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. I covered the top with aluminum foil 15 minutes into baking to prevent excessive browning on top.
  8. Remove the cake and let cool for 10 minutes. In the meantime, make the glaze by whisking all the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over the rolls prior to serving.
  9. Serve immediately, or cover it tightly with foil and store up at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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After close to a two-month hiatus from SEF, I’m glad to announce that I’ll start posting more on a regular basis! In the past few months, I’ve successfully passed my boards, settled into a nice routine on the new job, read a few books, and finally had some time to relax and not stress about anything. It was nice, but I’m excited to be back – SEF has been a little neglected and could really use a little TLC…

Last year, I conquered my fear of baking with yeast, and successfully made my first ever homemade cinnamon rolls! Ever since, I’ve made several different renditions of some sort of breakfast “rolls” on weekends both Brian and I have off together. These blueberry sweet rolls are perhaps one of my favorite ones I’ve made so far!

Yep, you’ve heard me correctly – juicy blueberries bursting with flavor, combined with a sweet tangy lemon glaze.. it’s practically heaven!

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Just like the cinnamon rolls I’ve previously made, these are also overnight sweet rolls, meaning you won’t have to get up extra early for any type of prep work.

Now, onto a few technical things before you dive on in to make these this weekend:

  • When you toss the blueberries into the sugar/cornstarch mixture, it’ll seem like you’ll have a lot of sugar left on the bottom. Don’t panic! The blueberries will slowly absorb the sugar and cornstarch while you’re making the dough.
  • After you spread out the blueberries onto your dough, you’ll feel like there’s really not a lot of blueberry filling. The blueberry mixture will not completely cover the entire surface of the dough, and that’s totally okay. It’ll be plenty as you try to roll up the dough tightly – this really was the hardest part for me! They were harder to roll because the blueberries will seem like they have a mind of their own and would be rolling all over the place.
  • If you’re the impatient kind and can’t help but peek at how much your rolls have risen every two hours (ahem), don’t be alarmed if they don’t seem like they’re doing much after 4-6 hours. Because we’re using frozen blueberries in the filling, it’ll make the dough colder in temperature, therefore it’ll take a little bit longer for it to rise.

As the dough rises overnight, something magical happens: the frozen blueberries release their juices, and you get a delicious pool of blueberry juice on the bottom of the pan as a result. When you check on the rolls in the morning, you may notice the juices are practically half-overflowing to the top of the pan – this is okay! Because the juices will thicken as they bake, which is perfect if you like a little extra blueberry goo to go with your sweet rolls :)

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overnight blueberry sweet rolls with lemon glaze
Print
For the rolls
  1. 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  2. 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon salt
  4. 1 package dry active yeast
  5. 1/2 cup water
  6. 1/4 cup milk
  7. 2.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  8. 1 large egg, at room temperature
For the filling
  1. 1 and 1/3 cups frozen blueberries
  2. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the glaze
  1. Juice from half a lemon
  2. 1 cup powdered sugar
  3. 1-2 tablespoons milk
Make the filling
  1. Combine the frozen blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl. Toss to coat and set aside. There might seem to be a lot of sugar on the bottom - don't worry!
Make the dough
  1. Set aside 1/2 cup flour. In the bowl for an electric mixer, combine the remaining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Stir until combined. Attach the dough hook attachment onto your mixer.
  2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the mixture is hot to touch and the butter is melted. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir on medium speed. Then add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make the dough. I used the entire 1/2 cup, but you may not use it all. You'll know you've added enough when the dough is soft, pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is no longer sticky.
  3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl, making sure all surfaces of the dough ball is lightly greased. Let sit for 10 minutes.
  4. While your dough rises, make the filling by tossing the ground cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
  5. After the 10 minutes, roll out your dough into roughly a 14"x8" rectangle. Give the blueberry mixture a final toss, and spread them evenly across the dough. Roll up the dough tightly and cut into 9-10 even pieces, about 1.5" each. Place into a lightly greased 9" pie pan, making sure you leave enough room between each roll for it to rise.
  6. Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil and let it sit overnight, up to 12 hours, at room temperature. The rolls should have doubled in size when you check on them the next morning.
  7. When you're ready to bake them the next morning, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 25-27 minutes, covering the top with aluminum foil 15 minutes into baking to prevent excessive browning on top.
  8. While the rolls are baking, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add more milk if the glaze is too thick.
  9. When the rolls are done baking, remove from oven and drizzle them generously with the glaze. Rolls are best served warm and on the same day, even though they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
  10. Makes 9-10 rolls
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/
My oh my were these good! Sweet, fluffy rolls with blueberries that are just bursting in flavor, combined with a tangy, sweet, tart lemony glaze – I can’t think of a more perfect way to start a morning!

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If you happen to have a few extra leftovers, place it in the microwave and heat it up for 10-20 seconds* until warm. The congealed blueberry juice on the bottom will liquefy again and the rolls will taste just as good as they were when they came out of the oven!

*the amount of time the rolls need to be microwaved may depend on the model and type of the microwave you have

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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A few weeks ago, the temperature here in the Twin Cities Metro area dropped all the way down to -20 degrees (-35 with the windchill factor). If you follow me on Instagram, you were probably sick of seeing me post pictures of how cold it was.

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(note the -61 degree F wind chill factor)

Needless to say, I was not at all thrilled.

All I craved were something sweet and decadent for breakfast, hot steaming coffees throughout the day, and hearty soups and warm comforting casseroles for dinner. That’s when I decided cinnamon rolls sounded like the perfect breakfast idea for a cold snowy morning.

These cinnamon rolls can easily be make the night before. You let it sit on the counter to rise overnight, place it in the oven for 30 minutes the next morning, and voila! Warm steamy gooey cinnamon rolls drenched in a sweet sticky glaze, ready to be devoured. You can also make these the morning of, but let’s face it – why get up early to make breakfast when you can get it ready the night before and spend an extra hour or two curled up in warm blankets the next morning?!

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I know a lot of people are afraid of working with yeast – I’ll admit it, I was too… until now. I’ve always felt like yeast is a tricky little thing to bake with. It just seemed like a very sensitive ingredient… if you don’t pay enough attention to it, your whole plan might fail. However, these cinnamon rolls are suuuuuper easy! Even I, a making-anything-with-yeast-rookie was able to successfully execute this recipe – which means that there’s not excuse you won’t be able to!

I think my favorite part of my first-ever-cinnamon-roll-making-experience was the smell of these rolls before and during the baking process. I absolutely loved waking up to the sweet smell of rising yeasty dough, and the fact that it made my house smell like a Cinnabon factory while they cooked in the oven.

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Hot, gooey, pillowy, soft, melt-in-your-mouth goodness, complete with a sweet vanilla glaze that will have you licking every single one of your fingers afterwards!

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homemade overnight cinnamon rolls
Print
For the rolls
  1. 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  2. 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon salt
  4. 1 package of active dry yeast
  5. 1/2 cup water
  6. 1/4 cup milk
  7. 2 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  8. 1 egg, at room temperature
For the filling
  1. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  2. 1 and 1/2 heaping tablespoons ground cinnamon
  3. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
For the glaze
  1. 1 cup powdered sugar
  2. 1-2 tablespoons milk
  3. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Set aside 1/2 cup flour. In the bowl for an electric mixer, combine the remaining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Stir until combined. Attach the dough hook attachment onto your mixer.
  2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the mixture is hot to touch and the butter is melted. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir on medium speed. Then add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make the dough. I used the entire 1/2 cup, but you may not use it all. You'll know you've added enough when the dough is soft, pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is no longer sticky.
  3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl, making sure all surfaces of the dough ball is lightly greased. Let sit for 10 minutes.
  4. While your dough rises, make the filling by tossing the ground cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
  5. After the 10 minutes, roll out your dough into roughly a 14"x8" rectangle. Spread the softened butter all over. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top - be generous! Add more if needed.
  6. Roll up the dough tightly and cut into 10 even pieces, about 1.5" each. Place into a lightly greased 9" pie pan, making sure you leave enough room between each roll for it to rise.
  7. Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil and let it sit overnight, up to 12 hours, at room temperature. The rolls should have doubled in size when you check on them the next morning.
  8. When you're ready to bake them the next morning, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 25-27 minutes, covering the top with aluminum foil 15 minutes into baking to prevent excessive browning on top.
  9. While the rolls are baking, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add more milk if the glaze is too thick.
  10. When the rolls are done baking, remove from oven and drizzle them generously with the glaze. Rolls are best served warm and on the same day, even though they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
  11. Makes 10 rolls
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/
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Now that I have conquered my fear of baking with yeast, don’t be surprised if you see more bread, pizza dough, and sweet rolls recipes on here in the future :)

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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