Decided to make these lovely Cardamom Swirl Muffins (are they a cinnamon bun? are they a muffin?) to share with fellow tenants after the weekend snowfall, and the respective digging out of the cars and clearing of the snow. For once, almost everyone pitched in. These are a cross between a muffin and cinnamon roll — definitely bigger than a usual muffin though. I used my hamburger bun pan, with homemade parchment paper liners, because the big liners are too high and the normal sized liners too small. Because of the butter and sugar, it’s best to go with liners even in a nonstick pan, lest they stick. Recipe makes 12 swirls so I had to bake in two batches. At any rate, these are fantastic straight out of the oven.
Breads
I had actually intended to make this bread sweeter than it turned out, and use it more like a breakfast bread, but turns out, it is a pretty perfect “all-purpose” sourdough loaf. Nice nuttiness from the almond meal gives it a great flavor, but also lends it to being a bit lower in gluten, so soft and moist as well. Very pleased with these results!
“Cheater” Puff Pastry Croissants
Here’s a quick and easy brunch recipe: “Cheater” Puff Pastry Croissants. Lot’s of ways to dress them up too: almond, chocolate, savory with ham and cheese. I had these ready in under 15 minutes and ready to eat 30 minutes after that, so a great option — remember to thaw your puff pastry the night before!
I’ve called these Milleswirli — a play on millefiori or a “thousand flowers” in art or jewelry — not because I think that my food is artworthy, but because I rolled up the layers in these cinnamon swirls really tightly after rolling out the dough as thin as I could. This gives the “standard old cinnamon swirls” a “thousand layers” kind of look. It’s actually just my usual sourdough swirl recipe, but I think the detailed swirls makes them a little special looking. There is actually quite a bit less filling (just a bit of melted butter and cinnamon sugar) but I think that makes them all the more delicious too.
In my never ending quest to make all the things sourdough, I have now added Sourdough Nutella Swirls to the repertoire! It helps that it is soon World Nutella Day as well, but that was just the excuse that I needed. These are nutella-y and gooey and delicious, and surprisingly, not overly sweet (I made the dough a little less sweet than I naturally would). Definitely a repeat recipe. They are best the first day, but I’ve been eating them now for 3 days and they are still great!