Maple Bacon Bourbon Sticky Buns

A few years back, my friend Kate and I would make a regular pilgrimage to South Jersey to get haircuts. Yes, that is a long way to travel from Baltimore, and yes, there are hair stylists in this town, but we enjoyed the road trip. That, and the visit with our stylist, Karen, who, along with her husband, are personal friends.

On the way to Jersey, we'd have to make at least one pit stop, preferably at one of the rest stops in Delaware. We'd hit the Starbucks for coffee and Cinnabon for a decadent cinnamon roll. It was during these every-6-to-8-weeks road trips that I realized something.

I don't really like cinnamon rolls.

It's the cinnamon thing. While I like cinnamon just fine, especially when it's part of a blend of spices, like in pumpkin pie or chai, I'm not so fond of it when it's used by the cupful. Bagels and other pastries encrusted in a layer of gritty cinnamon isn't my thing. And neither are cinnamon rolls.

Sticky buns are another thing entirely.

Give me a brioche-style pastry coated in sticky goo and nuts, and I'm a happy girl. I love the sticky buns at Au Bon Pain, but they have over 800 calories each. Ouch. They are a rare treat, eaten on days when I don't plan to have lunch, and dinner is going to be light (that means almost never). I got it in my head recently that I wanted to try baking my own sticky buns. Not that they'd have less calories or anything. I've been getting over my fear of baked goods, and watching the Great British Baking Show on PBS made me want to try something more challenging than my usual brownies and chocolate chip cookies. So I found a recipe I thought sounded good and altered it to my tastes. Not just pecan sticky buns, my additions of maple syrup, bacon, and bourbon make them a little more savory and slightly less sweet than traditional sticky buns. They're great for breakfast or dessert, or hell--even dinner.

They do have a bit of cinnamon in the filling, but it's barely enough to notice. It just rounds out the flavor a bit.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake buns until puffed and golden, 30-40 minutes. If they brown too quickly, cover with foil. To ensure the buns are cooked, use an instant read thermometer to measure the internal temperature, which should be around 180°F. Let buns cool for a couple of minutes, then place a platter a couple of inches larger than the pan over the buns. Carefully invert the pan onto the plate. The buns should slide right out. Spoon any sauce that remains in the pan over the buns.

Maple Bacon Bourbon Sticky Buns

For the dough:
1/2 cup milk, warmed to 110°F
1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons cooled melted butter
2 whole large eggs and 1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons bacon fat
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch kosher salt

For the filling:
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 scant cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup crumbled bacon

Put the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Combine the yeast and sugar and stir into the milk. After five minutes or so, the liquid should appear foamy or thickened. Add the melted butter and eggs and stir to combine. Add the salt and flour. Turn the mixer on to low and beat until a dough forms, scraping bowl down as necessary. Turn the speed up to medium low and knead dough for 5 - 7 minutes, until it pulls away from the side of the bowl cleanly. The dough will be sticky.

Remove the dough and pat it into a ball. Dribble a little bit of oil into a bowl, and put the dough ball into it, rolling it in the oil to coat. Cover the bowl and allow dough to rise until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours.

While dough is rising, make the sauce.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until golden brown, five minutes or so. Pour sauce into 9" round baking pan, swirling the pan so the sauce also coats the sides. Put the pan in the fridge until the dough is done.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Remove the pan with cooled sauce from fridge and sprinkle with half the pecans.

Put the dough onto a floured work surface and roll into a 9" x 12" or so rectangle. Using your fingers, smear the softened butter evenly over the dough, then sprinkle on the filling, followed by the rest of the pecans and the bacon. Roll the dough into a tight loaf. Gently slice the loaf into 6 evenly sized pieces using a serrated knife. Arrange buns over the pecans and sauce in prepared pan. Cover with a tea towel and allow buns to rise at room temperature for another hour or two, until they are crowding each other in the pan. You may also refrigerate the pan at this point and bake the buns the next day. Make sure to remove the pan from the fridge an hour before you want to bake the buns.

Allow to cool a bit more before handling. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 large buns.



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Sprint for Spat

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Brunch at Nickel Taphouse

We were invited to a media brunch at Nickel Taphouse featuring Salisbury, Maryland's Evolution Craft Brewery beers. How could we turn that down?

Nickel Taphouse has a little bit of everything available at their brunch, from oysters and mussels to the usual breakfast-y and lunch-like dishes. The four of us at our table focused on breakfast-style dishes, with a couple additions.

Biscuits and sausage gravy can be served any time of day or night. Nickel Taphouse's biscuits are heartier, browner, and crisper than any other I've tried and make a nice textural foil for all that creamy gravy.

We also tried their deviled eggs topped with tomato jam. They were rich and tasty and served close to room temperature, which is my preference. (I dislike refrigerator-cold deviled eggs.)

Two of us at the table ordered the hash of braised brisket and potatoes topped with over easy eggs and smoked cheddar. It was filling and a perfect prelude to a lazy weekend afternoon. I had the "huevos enchiladas." I'm going to be nit-picky here. If you're going to call something an enchilada, it should be wrapped in a corn tortilla and covered in a chile-based sauce. That's what I expected. The menu did say flour tortillas, but I figured they'd still be made like a typical enchilada. What I received would probably more accurately be called burritos. There was a bit too much tortilla for my taste, but overall the dish was tasty and well-seasoned.

The fourth at our table had the eggs Benedict, and she praised the Hollandaise sauce. Additionally, her eggs appeared to be perfectly cooked, oozing nicely over the pork roll and grilled tomato when she cut into them.

We also had one non-breakfast dish, the very delish Buffalo brussels sprouts. Slicked in hot sauce and topped with a bleu cheese cream, they proved that the lowly brussels sprout can be served at any time of day for just about any course, except dessert.

If you're not into breakfast dishes, a handful of sandwiches like the restaurant's signature beef on weck is available at brunch, as are a lobster roll, Roseda beef, veggie, or turkey burgers, and a BLT. Salads, oysters, bagels & lox, too.

We enjoyed our food with rounds of Evolution (and other) beers, including Lot 3 and Sprung. The former is a nice hoppy IPA and the latter is a smooth and clean American blonde ale brewed with hibiscus. Both worked nicely with our breakfast dishes (as did all the other stuff we imbibed - hic).



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Smari Icelandic Yogurt

There are so many yogurt types on the market today--French, Greek, even Icelandic. Iceland is famous for their skyr, a super thick yogurt made since the 9th century. But you don't have to be a Viking to enjoy Smari yogurt. If you find it in local stores, pick some up, as it's a treat. There are other skyrs on the market, but I find them dry and chalky, whereas Smari is rich and creamy.

Smari yogurt is higher in protein than any other yogurt sold in the US. It's also loaded with calcium. The milk and fruit used in Smari--the only certified organic Icelandic yogurt available--are not treated with any hormones, pesticides, or herbicides.

Flavors include Pure, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Vanilla plus four new flavors: Peach; Coconut; Pure Whole Milk; Vanilla Whole Milk.

Not only is the yogurt really very good, but the packaging is almost completely recyclable. The labels are printed on cardboard, which zips off for easy disposal in the recycle bin, and the now naked plastic container can be rinsed and recycled, too.

We tend to eat yogurt for breakfast, but the Pure and Vanilla flavors, especially the whole milk versions, are ideal for baking as well. (I like to add some yogurt to pancake batter, so they don't turn out too spongy, but then I tend to like thin pancakes. YMMV.)

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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