Not everything requires a bowl, a mixer, whisk, and measuring spoons.

Sometimes the most delicious comforts come out of milk, spice, and heat.

I’ve been keeping it pretty simple in the kitchen lately.  You know… trying to treat my body right, and such.  I’m also trying to stay far far away from the Winter cold that’s ruining the world as of late (that was totally dramatic).

Here’s the plan:

Heat about 2 cups of almond milk in a small saucepan.  If it’s unsweetened almond milk… you might want to add a touch of honey.  If it’s already sweetened… no need.

Add about 1/8 teaspoon of ground cardamom and a good sprinkling of fresh ground nutmeg to the heating milk.  Also add the scrapings of half a vanilla bean… heck, throw the pod in too.  If you don’t have vanilla beans on hand, no worries (!) just throw in a dash of pure vanilla extract.  If you want to add a bit of bourbon… I won’t tell a soul.

Heat until steaming hot.

Serve hot with cookies from your favorite bakery.  Enjoy while reading a cookbook studded with Polaroids of your friends as bookmarks.  (Suggestions… no biggie.)

I can cook.  I mean… I can really cook.  I can walk around in a pair of heels without looking like a weirdo…. and I know how to apply lip liner if the occasion requires.

I am not, however, a domestic goddess.  Not at all.  Nope.

I’m not one of those ladies who has Christmas ornaments in the basement.  I don’t have a shelving system dedicated to wrapping paper and corresponding ribbons.  I don’t even know what a holiday wreath is.  Stockings by the fire?  Shut it.  Yule logs burning?  What are you even talking about?  Beautifully decorated Christmas tree?  No… I just.. I just… I don’t have that.

It’s cool.  I can’t be everything.  I don’t even want to be everything.  You know what I do want to be…?  I want to be like Nigella Lawson covered in caramel… because then Christmas trees don’t really matter at all.

Oh, and just to be safe… I’ll put a mini Santa hat on my cat and call it a day.

My house smells like Orange Pomanders… I gotta go.  The caramel is boiling.

If you’re a spazzzzz like me… here’s a little lesson on properly securing the ribbon.

It’s not a Christmas bow, but I love it all the same.

Persimmons are like cartoon fruit.

They’re so bulbous, sweet and juicy that… I dunno… I have a hard time believing that they’re a real life fruit.

Every year around this time, my mom shoves giant bag of super ripe oozing persimmons in my hands and I’m left to figure out what to do with them.

Soup?  Gross.  Candy?  Weird.  Softballs?  Possibly.  Inside of the refrigerator decorator?  Yes.

Bread?  Why the heck not?

Persimmons taste like… sugar.  That’s the best way I can describe them.

I used the rounder Hachiya Persimmon for this recipe.  Fuyu persimmons are more squat and firm.  They’re not for baking.  They’re for eating like an apple or putting on salads.

This bread is delicious.  It’s got just a hint of spice from ginger.  It’s moist and sweet… and it has large, baked in chunks of persimmon fruit.  Perfectly seasonal.

I’m ready to put two more blankets on my bed.

I’m ready to invest in some fuzzy slippers.

I’m ready to sport tight turtlenecks from now until March.

I’m ready for turkey chili, broccoli soup and warm apples.

Autumn.  It’s almost here.  Heck yea.

These Fried Apple Cakes work along the same lines as Potato Pancakes.

Apples are peeled and shredded and mixed with eggs, sugar and spices.  They’re then fried up like pancakes and topped with sour cream and maple syrup.

Satisfying, delicious, and they smell like heaven.  Heaven smells like warm apples… I’m sure of it.

Kid Table.  Can we talk about the Kid Table?  The Kid Table was something that I had to endure every holiday from the age of three to um…. present.  You know what the Kid Table is, right?

The integral family socialization tool.  The foundation of society.   The folding table and chairs circa 1943 that your Grandma busts out every every every Christmas.  Who sits at this pint sized table?  Certainly not Grandpa, Grandma, or any other high ranking family members.

It’s called the Kid Table for a reason.  It’s where you dump all the kids.  In the adult mind, I think it’s the “sit down, eat your Christmas dinner, and if you’re going to throw your Jello salad at each other, I prefer to ignore it” table.

The Kid Table still exists in my family.  One small catch:  there are no more kids in my family.

Let me just say that Christmas dinner at the Kid Table is now…. more awesome than ever!  Kid Table got cool.  Kid Table is now the place to be.  Boom… youth success!

There’s nothing like wine, family smack talk with your cool uncles, and stealing all of the thunder from the main table.  They would sooooo like to think they’re the main event.  False.  Kid Table… cooler than ever!

And now… Pear Spice Cake.

SpicySweet.

This recipe is adapted from an old school Gourmet Magazine recipe.  By ‘old school’, I’m talking early 1990′s.  Way back in the day, right?

The pears add a delicate flavor and lots of moisture, but the cake doesn’t exactly scream pear right in your face.  It’s more of an awesomely spice cake with an out of the world praline topping.  If you wanted to experiment with fruits like apricots, apples, raisins, I don’t think you could go wrong.

What is going on in the world?  Is Al Gore messing with the global temperature again?  We’re sneaking into mid October and here I am in Los Angeles trying to talk myself out of using my air conditioner.  It’s as hot here as it was in July.  We’re talking 90′s people.  90′s!  That’s just not normal.

All I want to do is get the cider going, maybe curl up with some pear upside down cake or anything filled with pumpkin flavor.  What’s stopping me?  All this blasted sunshine and heat.  I know… I know… I shouldn’t let a little sunshine get in the way of my dreams.

Incidentally, just as I’m writing this, I have my neighbors glorious barbecue smells wafting through my window.  I suppose I can’t be all that grumpy about a little sunshine.

Are you having more cozy, spice friendly  weather?  Here are some of the deliciously spiced recipes I’ve played with here on Joy the Baker.  No doubt this Fall (as soon as it kicks in)  I’ll share some new goodies with you.

Now I’m going to go see if I can snatch some barbecue scraps from my neighbor…..

Gingerbread Pancakes with Homemade Pancake Syrup Yes.  More pancakes.  Don’t act like you’re the least bit surprised.

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread This is one of my Dad’s favorite breads.  A grated raw sweet potato adds amazing moisture and flavor to this bread.  Also throw in nuts and dried fruit as you see fit.  It’s totally customizable.

Super Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies These are easily one of my favorite cookies of all time.  They fall somewhere in between cake and cookie.  Perfect.  And the combination of pumpkin and chocolate is just so dear to my heart.

Cranberry Orange Almond Oatmeal  This breakfast oatmeal is so good you might not mind dragging yourself out of bed ten minutes early to make it.  Between the oats, dried fruit and almonds, this is one delicious balanced breakfast that would keep any normal person full well into the lunch hour.  I’m a maniac though, so no matter what I eat for breakfast, by 10:30 in the morning I’m ready for second breakfast…. yes… second breakfast.

What spiced goodies are you baking up for Fall (or Spring, if you’re on the other side of the planet) ?

I have a confession to make.  It’s about cinnamon rolls.  I love these gooey little treats to pieces, but I only eat the center. That’s it, just the center coil.  Why?  That’s where all the goodness is!  I see the rest of the cinnamon roll as protection for the precious, beyond delicious center.  I always feel wasteful, but someone always comes along and gladly eat the shamelessly discarded scraps.

Recently McDonalds came out with a dessert that tries to simulate the center cinnamon roll euphoria.  Without openly admitting that I’ve actually enjoyed something from McDonalds, I will say that this dessert (which I think only costs a dollar) is served warm, and full of cinnamon and tenderness… and lots of sweet white frosting type stuff.  I won’t say it’s delicious, but I will say this: warm, cinnamon, sweet, 2:30am, 24 hour drive through, plastic fork, disposable container, no dishes, no evidence.

But if you have the time and inclination, these cinnamon rolls are a dream. 

 These cinnamon rolls were adapted from a recipe for a Norwegian Coffee Cake.  The yeasted bread has cinnamon, cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg.  The bread, in its original form is a beautiful braided creation, that even rivals the picturesque yumminess of these cinnamon rolls.  

Cinnamon Rolls- Sugar and Spice

Sponge:

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/2 cup bread flour

2/3 cup whole milk, cold

4 teaspoons honey

Final dough:

1 cup bread flour

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons butter, cold

1/3 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs, room temperature

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

Icing:

2/3 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons milk

1/8 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:

1.  Mix the sponge: In a medium bowl combine all of the dry ingredients followed lastly by the milk.  Stir together for 2 minutes, then cover with the flours, then the salt from the final dough.  The flours are used on top of the sponge like a covering of plastic wrap.  Allow to ferment at room temperature for 20 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile combine all of the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar filling and set aside.  Grease and flour a cupcake baking pan and set aside.  

3.  Begin the final dough:  While the sponge is fermenting, in a 4-qt mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter of medium speed until smooth and pale.  Add the sugar, lemon zest and spices and continue creaming at the same speed for 5 minutes.  It should be light, fluffy and fragrant.  Add the eggs in 4 additions, mix until combine.  The mixture will look very wet, and curdled.  This is a lot of eggs, for the amount of butter, it won’t be completely incorporated.  Don’t worry!

4.  Add the flour covered sponge to the butter mixture.  Mix on low speed until evenly combined.  On medium speed, continue to mix with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes.  Switch to the dough hook and mix on low speed until smooth and satiny.  If the dough is sticking a lot to the sides of the bowl, add all purpose flour 1 Tablespoon at a time.  Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the dough off the bottom of the bowl.  Mixing with the dough hook takes about 5 minutes.  You can finish with a minute or two of hand kneading if you like.  

5.  Place the dough in a lightly greased and floured bowl.  Next, tuck greased plastic wrap around the dough so that no air can enter. Place a clean dish towel over the bowl.  Bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

 6.  Flip the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface to fold the dough and redistribute the yeast.  With a floured hand, pat the dough roughly into a rectangle.  Lift the left side of the dough and fold it over almost to the right side of the dough, leaving about 2 inches of room.  Lift the right side and fold it all the way over to the left.  Lift the bottom of the dough, the side closest to you, and fold it almost to the top of the dough, leaving about an inch.  Lastly, fold the top of the dough all the way down towards you.  Return the dough to the bowl and cover as before, leaving it for 30 minutes.  

7. On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, degas and roll the dough out to a rectangle 15 inches high and 12 inches long.

8. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar filling.  Beginning with the long edge, roll up the dough and cinnamon sugar filling.  Brush the edge of the seam with water and pinch closed.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

9. Using a bench knife, or sharp kitchen knife, slice the dough into 1 inch cinnamon rolls.  Place cinnamon rolls into the cupcake pan for baking.  At the point, sliced cinnamon rolls can also be placed on a cookie sheet to freeze for later baking.  Either way, cover the sliced cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap and allow to rest and almost double in size, about 50 minutes.  If the room is very warm from the oven, they will proof in as little as 35 minutes.

10.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on them after 10 minutes, until they are a lovely golden brown.  If you’re freezing some, place the entire cookie sheet in the freezer, after the final rise, until rolls are frozen.  One frozen you can stack them for storage.  I let them mostly thaw before I bake them.

11.  Remove from the oven and cool in pan on rack for about 20 minutes.  Carefully remove form pan, and when completely cool, drizzle with glaze.  These are  best eaten the day that are made!