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Everything Bagel Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls

You HAVE to make these: Everything Bagel Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls

If you were forced (yes FORCED) to rank all Thansgiving foods by how much you want to binge eat them, where would rolls rank? And why would turkey not even make the top 5?

Rolls easily rank #1 for me (beer doesn’t count, it’s the free space in the middle of this bingo board). Then mashed potatoes, followed by pie. Turkey still doesn’t crack the top 3, even when I beer brine it and confit it, which is my absolute favorite way to make it. 



These potato and beer infused rolls are my go-to when it comes to holiday carb fueled food celebrations. Soft, pillowy, and perfect for the next day leftover-sliders-food-fest. Call me crazy, but I vastly prefer leftovers to the actual meal, especially since it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll eat them in your pajamas and that just makes everything taste better. 

Everything Bagel Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls

5 from 1 vote

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup (114g) butter
  • ½ cup (114g) whole milk
  • ½ cup (114g) wheat beer
  • 1 tablespoon (21g) honey
  • 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 packet 2 ¼ teaspoons Rapid Rise yeast
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • cup (40g) potato flakes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • Egg wash 1 egg, 1 tablespoon water, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning mix

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add the milk, beer and honey. Heat until 120°-130°F (if your yeast packet mentions a different temperature, use that temperature instead).
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and potato flakes.
  • Add the beer mixture, stirring on medium speed until most of the flour has been moistened. Add the salt and egg, stir until well combined and the dough gathers around the blade.
  • Oil a large bowl. Using wet hands, move the dough to the bowl. The dough will be very soft and sticky.
  • Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • On a well-floured surface add the dough. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces.
  • Roll into tight balls, add to a 9x13 baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Cover and allow to rest until doubled in size.
  • Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with seasoning mix.
  • Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
  • Serve warm.

Beer Butter Garlic Knots

Beer Butter Garlic Knots, one hour and so delicious! 

You know how the word "slather" is really gross but we say it anyway? And how it’s really unfortunate that it goes so well with a phrase as gorgeous as "garlic butter"? I just have to apologize because both of those words are important to this recipe. But the end result is very close to the ravishing feeling of saying "garlic butter" and nowhere near "slather." 

Did you know that garlic knots were once used as a form of currency in lower Manhattan during the Great Depression? They weren’t, I lied. This is my reminder not to believe everything you read on the internet. You should do your own research. As in, don’t believe me when I say these are delicious, I could totally be lying. Just make them and eat them all in one sitting, maybe with a little marinara dip, and then you’ll know the real truth. 

Beer Butter Garlic Knots

5 from 2 votes

Ingredients
  

For the dough:

  • 4 cups (520g) bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 envelope 2 ¼ teaspoons rapid rise yeast
  • 1 ½ cups (1, 12-ounce bottle) wheat beer
  • 2 tablespoons butter room temperature
  • 1 teaspoons salt

For the butter top:

  • 1 cup (228g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 6 cloves garlic grated with a microplane
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ¼ cup (22g) Parmesan cheese freshly grated
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Add the flour, sugar, and yeast to a stand mixer. Mix until just combined. Heat the beer to 120°F (always defer to the liquid temperature listed on the package of yeast, regardless of what the recipe says. Your yeast package says 105°F? Heat the liquid to that temperature) add the beer to the stand mixer, mixing until all the flour has been moistened.
  • Add the salt and butter, beat until the dough comes together and gathers around the blade. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size.
  • Stir together the butter, garlic, garlic powder, salt, and parmesan.
  • Add the dough to a lightly floured surface, cut into 16 equal-sized portions.
  • Roll each portion into an 8-inch log.
  • Brush with butter.
  • Tie each strip of dough into a knot, add to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Allow dough to rise for about 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
  • Brush knots with butter, sprinkle with black pepper.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, brush with remaining butter. Serve warm

Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls

Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls, using potato flakes instead of mashed potatoes make these super easy, light and fluff! My favorite dinner rolls! 

THESE! They are new favorite dinner rolls ever. So super soft, melt in your mouth, you HAVE to make these. And this year is the perfect year since it’ll be smaller than normal. Which means more for you, and I promise you’re gonna be glad you don’t have to share too many. 

I have to admit that I resist making potato rolls because I’m kinda lazy. This is a fact. Unless I already have leftover mashed potatoes on hand, I don’t want to take that extra step. So my laziness has brought us all the idea of using potato flakes, which is not only easier, it’s more consistent. Mashed potatoes have varying levels of moisture and dairy, flakes are always consistent (as long as you always buy the same brand). See, look at how good I am at justifying my laziness and finding legitimate reasons to continue to indulge it, if you need any help with this I am at your service. Just don’t expect me to get back to you right away. 

Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup (114g) butter
  • ½ cup (114g) whole milk
  • ½ cup (114g) wheat beer
  • 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 packet 2 ¼ teaspoonsRapid Rise yeast
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • cup (40g) potato flakes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • Egg wash 1 egg, 1 tablespoon water, beaten
  • Flakey sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add the milk and beer. Heat until 120°-130°F (if your yeast packet mentions a different temperature, use that temperature instead).
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar and potato flakes.
  • Add the beer mixture, stirring on medium speed until most of the flour has been moistened. Add the salt and egg, stir until well combined and the dough gathers around the blade.
  • Oil a large bowl. Using wet hands, move the dough to the bowl. The dough will be very soft and sticky.
  • Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • On a well-floured surface add the dough. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces.
  • Roll into tight balls, add to a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Cover and allow to rest until doubled in size.
  • Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with salt.
  • Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
  • Serve warm.

 

Beer Soft Pretzels with Guinness Cheese Sauce

Beer Soft Pretzels with Guinness Cheese Sauce

I miss pubs. I miss dive bars in strange cities, strangers in crowded bars, crowds at beer festivals. But until the world is back to normal, and until my pint doesn’t come with a side of deadly virus threats, I’ll begrudgingly stay home. And do my best to pub-food from home. 

Guinness was one of the first beers I ever had at a bar, in an Irish pub in Los Angeles. I’ve been to Ireland, back when air travel felt safe, and Guinness will always have a place in the most nostalgic part of my beer heart. Soft pretzels and beer cheese sauce are right there with it, it’s always a good day when I have Guinness, soft pretzels, and cheese sauce. Until I can bump up against strangers in a bar, making friends and asking them if they want to try my beer, I’ll be doing this from home. It’s a great way to pass the time until the day we are out of the woods. 

Beer Soft Pretzels with Guinness Cheese Sauce

5 from 3 votes

Ingredients
  

For the Pretzels:

  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons) rapid rise yeast
  • 1 cup Guinness beer
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
  • 10 cups water
  • ¼ cup baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

For the Cheese Sauce:

  • 2 ½ cups (300g) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
  • ½ cup (4oz) Guinness beer

Instructions
 

Make the pretzels:

  • Add the flour, sugar and yeast to a stand mixer. Mix until just combined. Heat the beer to 120°F (always defer to the liquid temperature listed on the package of yeast, regardless of what the recipe says. Your yeast package says 105°F? Heat the liquid to that temperature) add the beer to the stand mixer, mixing until all the flour has been moistened.
  • Add the salt and 1 tablespoon softened butter, beat until the dough comes together and gathers around the blade. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size.
  • Add the dough to a lightly floured surface, cut into 8 equal sized portions.
  • Roll each portion into an 8-inch log, shape into a pretzel, add to a baking sheet.
  • Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  • Add the water to a large pot, bring to a boil. Stir in the baking soda.
  • A few at a time carefully add the pretzels to the boiling water for 30 seconds, place back onto the baking sheet.
  • Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until dark golden brown.

Make the cheese sauce:

  • Add all ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth.
  • Add to a saucepan over medium heat, heat to the desired temperature.
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use, heat to serve. Can be made up to 3 days in advance.
  • Serve the pretzels with the cheese sauce.

Breakfast Beer Focaccia

Breakfast Beer Focaccia

Do you have a favorite meal? Is it breakfast? Say it’s breakfast so that we can be the same. I like it when we agree. My love for breakfast really doesn’t have as much to do with the food as it does with the Breakfast People. 

These are always your favorite people, the ones you’ve made breakfast for. These are the ride-or-die-friends, the 5-am-airport-pick-up-friends, the help-them-move-a-couch -or-bury-a-body-friends. Because you can have lunch with anyone, but breakfast is special. 

I don’t even think you can list someone as a favorite until you’ve had breakfast with them, I will file a formal decree on this because that’s how strongly I feel about it. All of my favorite people are ones with whom I’ve shared a pre-noon meal. And most of those are ones I would actually wake up early to cook for, and I am not a "wake up early" sort of person. But I’ll do it for my Breakfast People. I might even make breakfast for you, but you’ll have to tell me why you want me to help you bury a body. I’m not saying no, I’m just saying I need some details. 

Breakfast Beer Focaccia

5 from 1 vote

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups (590g) All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons or 7g) rapid rise yeast
  • 1 ½ (12 oz) cups beer (pale ale, pilsner, wheat beer)
  • ¼ cup (57g) olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 slices of bacon cooked and chopped
  • ½ cup (3oz) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 6 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon flakey sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • Chopped chives optional

Instructions
 

  • In a bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a dough hook, stir together half the flour, sugar, rosemary, garlic powder, and yeast.
  • Heat the beer to 120°F to 125°F degrees (check the temperature guidelines on your yeast, always default to that).
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer, turn the mixer to medium, mix until combined.
  • Add the remaining flour, ¼ cup olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt.
  • Turn the mixer to medium-high, beat for 5 to 6 minutes.
  • Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm room until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Lightly oil a 9x13 pan. Transfer the dough to the pan, pulling to cover the entire pan. Press your fingers into the dough making holes across the entire loaf (if the dough is sticky, oil your hands or get them wet).
  • Oil the bottom 6 small oven-safe round prep bowls or ramekins (you can also use balls of aluminum foil just larger than golf balls), press them into the dough to form wells (this will be where the eggs go).
  • Cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Bake until light brown, about 11-15 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven. Remove the bowls (the dough will not be cooked through, this is OK) add the eggs to the wells left by the bowls.
  • Sprinkle with cheese, bacon, salt, and pepper.
  • Put back in the oven and bake until the egg whites have set but the yolks are still soft, about another 15 minutes (if bread browns too quickly and eggs need more time, cover with foil and cook until whites are done to your likeness). 
  • Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with chives before serving (optional). 

Sourdough Beer Biscuits

Sourdough Beer Biscuits

I know I told you that it would be DAYS before I posted this recipe, and in reality, it’s been like 30 hours, but that’s the nature of our existance right now, right? 30 quarantine hours seem like days. Quarantine days are like dog years, each one is equal to seven regular days, I think this is a scientific fact.

But this is a recipe that doesn’t need an overnight proof like the Sourdough Beer Waffles (but those waffles are SO worth the wait), so you don’t have to wait days to get these biscuits into your face,  just minutes. And we also need to normalize biscuits at every meal because dinner needs them and breakfast shouldn’t have all the fun. It’s my pandemic mission. 

Sourdough Beer Biscuits

5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Total Time 24 minutes
Servings 8 biscuits

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ¼ cups (280g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cold
  • ½ cup (114g) sourdough starter, active
  • ¼ cup (57g) heavy cream
  • ½ cup (114g) pale ale beer
  • melted butter and Kosher Salt for top

Instructions
 

  • Add the butter to the freezer for 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • Grate the butter with the small holes of a cheese grater into the flour mixture. Press into the flour with your fingers until it’s well combined.
  • Stir in the sourdough, cream, and beer with a fork.
  • Add to a well-floured surface, pat into a rectangle. 
  • Fold into thirds like a letter about to go into an envelope. 
  • Roll or pat the dough until it’s about an inch thick, then repeat (this will give you flakey layers).
  • Using a biscuit cutter, cut into 8 biscuits.
  • Add to a buttered or greased baking dish.
  • Add to the freezer for ten minutes while your oven preheats.
  • Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  • Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with kosher salt.
  • Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the biscuits have puffed and are golden brown on top.

Pilsner Sandwich Loaf (makes 2)

Pilsner Sandwich Loaf (makes 2)

Do you remember the days when it was easier to go to the store than to bake bread? Those were good times. We will get back there soon, I promise. For now, we will be baking bread in our pajamas and failing to social distance from carbs because the store is a war zone and sort of scary in a way we can’t really identify. 

It’s in the way that people jump back when you get too close to them. Maybe it’s the virus or maybe it’s the more casual approach to hygiene we’ve all taken in the past few weeks. Either way, it’s a reminder than social interaction is not what it used to be. And I miss it. I miss bars and restaurants and crowds and traffic and airplanes and humans. 

For now, we will see each other and wave from behind a screen to keep each other safe from our germs. Let’s bake bread and drink carbs and remember that this is not the new normal, this is a phase and it will pass. Some day we will tell the tale of the time we lived through the virus and we won’t mention how much we ate or drank because it won’t be important to our story of survival. But for now, it’s a very important part of our survival. 

Pilsner Sandwich Loaf (makes 2)

Ingredients
  

  • 6 cups (720g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (60g) brown sugar
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons (one packet) rapid rise dry yeast
  • ¾ cups (6oz) beer (pale ale, pilsner, wheat beer, lager, nothing too hoppy)
  • 6 tablespoons (84g) butter
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (270g) whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • egg wash 1 egg plus 2 tablespoons milk, beaten
  • Coarse salt

Instructions
 

  • In a stand mixer stir together the flour, brown sugar, and yeast.
  • Combine the beer, butter, and milk, heat to 120°F (always defer to the liquid temperature listed on the package of yeast, regardless of what the recipe says. Your yeast package says 105°F? Heat the liquid to that temperature.)
  • Add the warmed liquid to the stand mixer, mix with a dough hook until combined, add the salt. Mix for 6 to 8 minutes or until the dough comes together and starts to gather around the blade (dough will still be soft and slightly sticky).
  • Oil a large bowl, add the dough to the bowl (this works best with wet or oiled hands). Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Grease two (8x4) loaf pans.
  • Cut the dough in half
  • Gently form into rectangles, do not use a rolling pin, just pull and shape with your hands to preserve the air bubbles.
  • Roll the rectangle into a log. Place each log into a prepared pan, seam side down.
  • Cover the pan, and let the dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes, or until it starts to rise just over the top of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Brush the top with egg wash, sprinkle with salt.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Stout Brownie Bread

Chocolate Stout Brownie Bread, one bowl and just a few minutes!

I’ve been inundation you with posts lately, please give me a pass. You’re my therapy, truly. Cooking you things, and baking you a loaf cake that I call "bread" because it doesn’t sound as bad calling it a cake, is the way I’m coping with all of this. 

I’m sitting here in Seattle, the hotbed of uncertainty, and all I can think about is keeping busy while not leaving my house. So this equals cooking and baking. Baking all the things, and spoiling myself with a beerified-chocolate cake that’s masquerading as bread. 

 

But this is what we have to do. We have to spoil ourselves and those sheltered in place with us with things we wouldn’t normally let ourselves indulge in. Everything is suspended: events, concerts, office life, diets, low self-esteem. 

Indulging in chocolate is not suspended, it’s back on the air and bigger than ever. This bread-not-cake-I-swear is super easy, it takes about 5 minutes to get it into your oven and about an hour to get it into your face. And you have earned yourself a loaf of this stuff, and you are not allowed to feel guilty about it because that has been suspended, too. 

Chocolate Stout Brownie Bread

4.67 from 3 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (50g) cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (150g) sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup (120g) full-fat sour cream
  • ¼ cup (60g) vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup (6oz) stout beer
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, salt and sugar to a bowl, stir to combine. Add the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, vegetable oil, beer, and chocolate chips. Stir to combine.
  • Pour into an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan.
  • Bake until the top has puffed and is hard, about 40-50 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, allow to cool to room temperature. Cut into slices to serve.

Rosemary Olive Oil Beer Biscuits with Tomato Garlic Confit

Rosemary Olive Oil Beer Biscuits with Tomato Garlic Confit (dairy and egg-free)

I have a theory. I really believe that breakfast being touted as the most important meal of the day has nothing to do with nutrition. It’s because we cook breakfast for the most important people in our lives. We’ll have a mid-day coffee, or a quick lunch, with just about anyone. But if you’ve earned the "let me cook you breakfast" spot in the day, it’s because you’re the most important. 

Sure, waffles and eggs benedict are awesome, but I also like having recipes for all the humans in my life, like the ones who don’t eat eggs or dairy. One of my go-to substitutions when replacing butter is olive oil, but like beer, it isn’t all the same. Good olive oil has nuances of flavor that other olive oils don’t. 

The beautiful flavors of both the beer and the olive oil come through in these biscuits, so use an olive oil you really like. I used my favorite olive oil on the planet, and it’s owned by some of my favorite people on the planet. The space it comes from in the world is so gorgeous, you’ll want to keep a piece of it in your kitchen. It’s called Rastrello, and it’s not just a small craft olive oil producer, it’s also a gorgeous boutique hotel, just 8 rooms on the edge of an olive grove in a small town in Italy owned by a family I adore. If you’re looking for an unforgettable Italian getaway, add this small boutique hotel to the top of your list.  

Until we can all jump on a plane to Italy, let’s sublimate our wanderlust with some confit tomatoes. Don’t let the word "confit" intimidate you, it just means to cook something at a low temperature in a fat, like olive oil. It’s nearly impossible to screw up, and it’s very forgiving. Forget it for a few hours and when you come back, it’ll be warm and bursting with flavor. 

These biscuits are the quickest and easiest biscuits I’ve ever made, with a texture that’s soft and light and a flavor that’s almost buttery. They’re ready to go in the oven before your oven has finished heating up, perfect for last-minute breakfast guests and lazy Sunday mornings. 

Just spread the tomatoes and garlic on the biscuits like jam and don’t forget to share with your favorite person as you convince them to run away to Italy with you this summer. I’ll be there, you should be too. 

Rosemary Olive Oil Beer Biscuits with Tomato Garlic Confit

5 from 1 vote
Servings 12 biscuits

Ingredients
  

For the confit:

  • 2 cups (16oz) cherry tomatoes
  • 2 large heads garlic cloves remove from the head
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • Olive oil

For the Biscuits:

  • 2 ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • ½ cup (114g) beer pale ale, pilsner, wheat beer
  • ½ cup (114g) extra-virgin olive oil (plus additional for brushing)
  • Flakey sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 275°F.
  • Add the tomatoes, garlic cloves, salt, pepper and rosemary to a small dish (ideally, you want the tomatoes and garlic to be in a tight layer.Drizzle with olive oil until the tomatoes are about 2/3 of the way covered.
  • Bake until the tomatoes have shriveled and the garlic has browned, about 1 ½ hours. Remove from the oven. The confit can be covered and stored in the fridge for several weeks until ready to use. Make sure to heat prior to serving.
  • Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and rosemary. Gently stir in the beer and olive oil until just combined. Don't over-mix.
  • Drop mounds of dough (slightly larger than golf balls) on prepared baking sheet (for smaller sized biscuits use a cookie scoop, for larger an ice cream scoop works well). Brush the top with olive oil, sprinkle with flakey sea salt.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through and starting to turn brown on the tops.

Notes

Anything beer that's really hoppy, like an IPA, will be too intense for this recipe. 

Beer Bread Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Beer Bread Cinnamon Roll Muffins, just twenty minutes to get these in your oven!

Do you get really uncomfortable when you have to open gifts in front of the gifter or is it just me? Should I smile more? Am I appropriately excited or should I be louder? Was "wow" enough or should it have been an "oh my god!" what was the expectation?!

The last time I hosted a baby shower for a friend my only rule was "don’t make her open presents, it’s so uncomfortable!" Does that make me almost the worst or just sort of a little terrible? Because I sorta hate it.

I would literally (no, not figuratively actual literally) rather cook you breakfast than open a gift you gave me. Even if I love it. Especially if I love it. So these are the "Instead of opening presents, can I make you breakfast? Quick way to get yourself out of opening gifts in front of people" dish.

 

Also, you need to know that you have to un-think these. It’s batter, not dough. it will not behave like dough. It will not stretch. You have to pat it into shape, slowly roll (or pile it) and then cut. If you need to scoop the rolls into the muffin tin, that is FINE. they will taste great. And then your friend will be the one wondering if WOW is enough or if maybe these called for an OH, MY GOD.

HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED!!

Beer Bread Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 12 rolls

Ingredients
  

Muffins:

  • 4 (540g) cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons (9g) baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons (9g) baking powder
  • 1/3 cup (75g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
  • 12 ounces beer*

For the filling:

  • ½ cup (114g) butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons (14g) cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon (0.5g) nutmeg
  • ¼ cup (50g) brown sugar
  • ½ cup (100g) white sugar

Icing:

  • 4 tablespoons (57g) butter, softened
  • 4 tablespoons (2oz) cream cheese
  • 2 cups (220g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon whole milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, and beer until a ball of dough forms.
  •  Add to a very well-floured surface. Gently press or roll into a large rectangle. It won’t be like regular dough, it will be soft. Just push it into shape.  (Don’t overwork the dough, it’s OK if it has to be pushed into shape)
  • In a small bowl stir together the butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown and white sugar until a paste forms.
  • Spread the paste in an even layer on top of the dough rectangle. Gently roll along the long edge to form a long log, it won’t be perfect, that’s OK.
  • Cut into 10-12 rings. Place cut side up in a muffin tin that has been lightly greased or sprayed.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
  • In a small bowl beat together the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, beat until well combined.
  • Pour the icing over the cinnamon rolls in an even layer, serve immediately.

Notes

The beer can make a big impact in this recipe. For a big beer flavor use a barleywine, holiday ale, or winter ale. Stay away from super hoppy beers. For a lower beer flavor use a pale lager, Mexican lager, pilsner or wheat beer. 

Apricot Streusel Beer Loaf Cake

Apricot Streusel Beer Loaf Cake (vegan)

I do this every time. I see an ingredient and I can’t let it go like a normal person. Most people would arrive at house flanked with apricot trees and think that sampling a couple right off the tree sounds like a good idea. I don’t let the barrels of ripe apricots lie after that, I become just so slightly obsessed that I feel as if making something with them is an actual need.

Cake? Pie? Homemade Poptarts?! I can’t just be normal and eat them.  I also don’t want to spend the entire day making my typical disastrous cooking mess in a kitchen that isn’t mine so I have to keep this obsession in check. So I made this Apricot Streusel Beer Loaf Cake, because everyone loves a loaf cake since we can just pretend it’s bread and eat it without guilt. It’s apricot bread! 

This one also has fruit so it’s totally healthy(ish). Just trust me 😉. Also, you should have a beer, you deserve a beer.  

Apricot Streusel Beer Loaf Cake (vegan)

Ingredients
  

Cake:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup pilsner or pale lager beer
  • ½ cup coconut oil melted
  • 1 ½ cups chopped apricots
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 coconut oil melted

Instructions
 

  • Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar to a mixing bowl, stir to combine. Add the beer, coconut oil, apricots and vanilla, stir to combine.
  • Pour into a 1.5 quart loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • In a small bowl stir together all the streusel ingredients. Add the streusel to the top of the loaf in an even layer.
  • Bake for 60 -70 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed.
  • Allow to cool before removing from the pan, slicing and serving.

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Beer and Peanut Butter Bread

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Beer and Peanut Butter Bread

I like that we do this. We make a loaf cake, slice it, serve it with coffee and call it bread. But we both know it’s cake. We call it bread, nod along as we both agree to call it that, and happily devour it with our morning latte as if we didn’t just eat frosting-less cake for breakfast. We like to try to trick ourselves, and we are both ok with this.

But THIS not-cake-its-bread-promise is also full of protein because of the peanut butter. So it’s kinda not as bad for you, which makes it good in my book. It’s also perfect for an afternoon snack with a beer, which you totally deserve for having such a good-for-you breakfast.

It also makes a really easy bake-and-take offering if you have to go somewhere to eat food in a social setting. It’s like a peanut butter cup and beer but in bread form. You can’t go wrong, it’s a crowd pleaser. Just like your ability to convince people to eat cake for breakfast, everyone likes that about you.

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Beer and Peanut Butter Bread

Ingredients
  

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (100g) sugar
  • 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (120g) chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup (180g) half and half
  • ¾ cup (6oz) stout or porter beer
  • ½ cup (128g) creamy peanut butter, slightly heated

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • In a large bowl stir together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and flour.
  • Add the remaining ingredients, stir until combined.
  • Spray an 8x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray, add the batter in an even layer.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched.

Beer Cornbread Biscuits

 

Beer Cornbread Biscuits

This was really born out of necessity, at least the first time I made it. I’m not very organized, open any of my cabinets and you’ll see it (you’ll be horrified). My house is more or less clean but my life is messy. Anything that I can put in a closet, out of site, gets the shove allowing me to continue to pretend like my house is clean.

This quality extends far past my pantry and into all parts of my grown-up life where it becomes startlingly apparent that I’m not very good at adulting. And even though I go to the grocery store nearly every day, I still found myself without eggs, bread, and any other breakfast-related items early one morning. I need breakfast, this isn’t negotiable.

Instead of just going to the store I decided to make biscuits. It was just easier to write a recipe than it was to get out of my pajamas and head to the store. I’m not a "pajamas at the store" kind of girl, I can’t look as messy as I feel. I like to put on a good show, and trick people into believing that I’ve got my shit together. Spoiler alert: I don’t.

This hatched my Beer Cornbread Biscuits recipe, so tender and melt-in-your-mouth I obviously had to make them again, and then share it with you.

I also think I need to make them one more time, but add some cheddar cheese. And maybe some bacon.

Beer Cornbread Biscuits

Servings 6 -8 biscuits

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ 300g cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ½ cup 96g brown sugar
  • 1 ½ cups 240g cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 10 tablespoons 142g cup butter cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2/3 cup 160 heavy cream
  • ½ cup 116g beer (pale ale, pilsner, wheat beer)
  • 1 tablespoon 14g melted butter
  • ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Add the flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl, stir to combine.
  • Add about half of the mixture to a food processor along with the butter, process until the butter is well combined with the dry mixture. Return the mixture to the mixing bowl, stir into the remaining dry ingredients.
  • Add the heavy cream and beer, mix with a fork until just combined.
  • Add to a lightly floured surface, press into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.
  • Cut into 6-8 circles with a biscuit cutter.
  • Add to a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sea salt.
  • Bake until the tops are golden brown, 18-20 minutes.
  • Allow to cool before removing from the baking dish.

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Beer Bread

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Beer Bread, in your oven in five minutes, in your face in one hour!

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Beer Bread

Fall baking isn’t as much about the food as it is about the fact that we can turn the oven on again. Just days ago, it seems, we were all googling "no-cook dinners" and hoping the triple-digit heat would pass soon.

Then, as if overnight, the weather calmed, we awoke to rain on a garden that still held the last gasps of summer produce, and we’re again free to wear sweaters and pull on the wellies.

Let us bake again, slow down for a second as out lives orient to the pulse of this part of the year. Just slow down, take a day away from the obligation we force on ourselves and just be.

Just a reminder that the world will still be there when you rejoin, that it’ll be fine without you for a bit, and making something just because you want to has a way of healing the chips that the daily grind works into your soul.

A day in the kitchen, an audiobook and the smell of things baking in the oven has a way of calming a storm inside us, bringing calmer waters and even has the added bonus of warm baked goods to give as a peace offering to those in our lives that love us even when we’re difficult.

 


One Bowl Chocolate Chip Beer Bread

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 3 ½ 420g cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup 150g sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup 240g full-fat sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons 30g vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup 6oz beer (wheat beer, brown ale, nothing hoppy)
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
  • Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, oil, and beer. Stir to combine.
  • Stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Pour into a large (10x5) loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or greased with butter.
  • Bake until the top has puffed and turned golden brown, about 55 minutes.
  • Allow to cool, remove from pan, slice and serve.

How to Throw a Beer Tasting Party + Soft Pretzel Rods with Beer Mustard Recipe

 

I’ve teamed up with World Market to bring you an easy guide to throwing your own craft beer tasting party. Complete with recipes, printable beer tasting sheets, and beer recommendations. I was able to get everything I needed, from the table side cooler, to the glassware, to the meats and cheeses at my local World Market in Woodinville, Washington.

This is a sponsored post, all ideas, words, and opinions are my own.

How to Throw a Beer Tasting Party

  1. Invitations: Choose a diverse mix of people, but keep it on the small side, too many guests and the party isn’t manageable. Eight to ten people seem to work best. Don’t let the “doesn’t drink beer” designation deter you from inviting anyone. Tell all guests to keep an open mind, sample everything that’s poured and reserve judgments for after sampling, not before. Most likely, your guests will like something, and it will surprise them.

Teardrop tasting glassesWood Charcuterie Board

  1. Beer selection. Choose a theme, pick beers that correspond. There are more beer styles in the world (over 100) than are manageable in one tasting, having a variety is important but don’t try to offer every style in existence. For instance, if you have an Oktoberfest theme, choose beers that are brewed in Germany, or in a German style and try to be diverse in what you choose to serve. Try to grab at least one beer in each of these categories that fit your theme: malty, hoppy, wild fermented, barrel aged, clean (pale lagers, pilsners, cream ale, Kolsch).

Teardrop tasting glasses

  1. Glassware. A small but massively important detail that shouldn’t be overlooked, glassware can make a monumental difference when serving beer. Choose small glasses that offer just enough beer for each guest to sample the beer. Your goal is for each beer to be sipped, savored and considered, not chugged. I use these Teardrop tasting glasses from World Market, the shape is perfect for beer and the size works well for sampling.

Assorted Crackers, Cheddar Wheel , Brie Wheel, Smoked GoudaCharcuterie SamplerCheese Knives, Wood Charcuterie Board,  Blue Villa Table runner,  Appetizer Plates

  1. Food. It’s incredibly important to any party, but essential with a beer tasting. It’s a way to balance the flavors and explore pairings. More importantly, eating is essential when drinking as a way to stay in control. You want to serve a few things that pair well with a variety of beers and that can sit at room temperate for a while. Cheese, crackers, charcuterie, and pretzels are simple staples to add to your table. Instead of trying to make everything yourself, strive to just make one or two dips or dishes to serve and plan to buy everything else. It’ll ease the stress of the party considerably.

Retro CoolerBlue Villa Table runner

  1. Serve. Give each guest a glass, a notes sheet, and pour the beers one at a time. Allow the guest to sip, record notes (like with this PRINTABLE SHEET!), nibble on food and enjoy before moving on to the next beer. Have each guest pour any unfinished beer and rinse the glasses (a large bottle of water and an ice bucket will do the trick) before moving on to the next beer.

Dimpled Steins

  1. Pints. Once all the beers have been samples, pass out larger pint glasses for your guest to pour a larger amount of their favorite brew. Compare notes, linger over food, and enjoy the rest of the evening.Soft Pretzel Rods with Beer Mustard Recipe. Perfect recipe for Oktoberfest!

Weck Jar,  Charcuterie BoardLeaf Napkin

Throwing an Oktoberfest party? Check out my Oktoberfest Party Post on the World Market blog!

Beer Soft Pretzels Rods

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 envelope 2 ¼ teaspoons rapid rise yeast
  • 1 cup beer
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 10 cups water
  • ¼ cup baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions
 

  • Add the flour, sugar and yeast to a stand mixer. Mix until just combined. Heat the beer to 120°F (always defer to the liquid temperature listed on the package of yeast, regardless of what the recipe says. Your yeast package says 105°F? Heat the liquid to that temperature) add the beer to the stand mixer, mixing until all the flour has been moistened.
  • Add the salt and oil, beat until the dough comes together and gathers around the blade. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled in size.
  • Add the dough to a lightly floured surface, cut into 12 equal sized portions.
  • Roll each portion into an 8-inch log, add the pretzel rods to a large baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.
  • Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  • Add the water to a large pot, bring to a boil. Stir in the baking soda.
  • A few at a time carefully add the pretzels to the boiling water for 30 seconds, place back onto the baking sheet.
  • Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until dark golden brown.

I used: World Market Brown Mustard Seeds, World Market Ground MustardDe Nigris Organic Apple Cider Vinegar With Honey, Coarse Sea SaltWeihenstephanBeer

Weck Jar,  Charcuterie BoardLeaf Napkin

Beer Mustard Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup brown mustard seeds
  • ¼ cup yellow mustard seeds
  • ¼ cup yellow mustard powder
  • ½ cups apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cups malty low hop beer such as a Belgian ale or brown ale
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl stir together both types of mustard seeds, mustard powder, vinegar, and beer. Cover and set in a cool, dry place for 12 to 24 hours or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
  • Stir in the remaining ingredients. Add to a blender, pulse until blended but some whole grains are still intact.
  • Transfer to an airtight container, refrigerate until ready to use.

Shop the Post: Retro Cooler Appetizer Plates| Cheese Knives| Napkins| Leaf Napkin| Wood Basket| Wood Charcuterie Board| German Sausages| Sea Salt| Assorted Crackers| Cheddar Wheel  | Brie Wheel| Blue Villa Napkin| Smoked Gouda| Weck Jar| Honey Apple Cider| Gherkins| Teardrop tasting glasses| Mustard Seeds| Sauerkraut| Blue Villa Table runner| White serving bowl| Bottle| Charcuterie Sampler| Dimpled stein

Honey Ale Sandwich Bread

 Honey Ale Sandwich Bread

Honey Ale Sandwich Bread

The first time I tried to make bread I cried. Not in a "wow, this is so glorious and I’m moved to tears by its beauty," sort of way. I cried real tears of frustration and disappointment.

I felt like the yeast was mocking me, refusing to rise, nope-ing all over my plans for a beautiful loaf of sandwich bread. I decided that yeast hated me, and I couldn’t do. It was a science experiment that had failed, and I walked away.

A few years later I decided that I was going to win, gawddamn it, yeast! I was going to figure it out and I was going to win at bread making. That yeast was going to be my bitch this time, not the other way around.

Honey Ale Sandwich Bread

So I read. And then read some more. Then watched some videos. I figure out that it wasn’t the yeast that was the problem, it was the liquid. I was using the wrong temperature. It was that simple.

After that, bread baking became a regular occurrence in my kitchen. Even though it took me years to not be slightly surprised when I saw the yeast start to rise, secretly convinced that I would fail again.

This loaf of sandwich bread came into my kitchen because I was too lazy to go to the store. It was easier for me to bake some bread than it was for me to get in my car and go buy some. Which reminds me of how far I’ve come in my yeast taming abilities. Even though I still think of it as some sort of magic when it does start to work the way I’ve politely asked it to.

Honey Ale Sandwich Bread

Servings 1 large loaf

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup 4oz wheat beer, pilsner, pale lager (no high hop beers)
  • ¾ cup 6oz milk
  • 4 ½ cups 540g All-Purpose Flour
  • 3 tablespoon 63g honey
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons rapid rise yeast
  • 1 teaspoons 6g salt
  • 3 tablespoons 42g soft butter
  • 1 tablespoon 14g melted butter

Instructions
 

  • Combine the beer and milk, heat to 120°F (always defer to the liquid temperature listed on the package of yeast, regardless of what the recipe says. Your yeast package says 105°F? Heat the liquid to that temperature.)
  • In a stand mixer stir together the flour, honey and yeast.
  • Add the warmed liquid, mix until combined, Stir in the butter and salt. mix with a dough hook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the dough comes together and starts to gather around the blade (dough will still be soft and slightly sticky).
  • Oil a large bowl, add the dough to the bowl (this works best with wet or oiled hands). Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Spray a large (10x5) loaf pan with cooking spray. Shape the dough into a log, transfer to the prepared pan.
  • Cover the pan, and let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it starts to rise just over the top of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Brush the top with melted butter.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.