The hustle and bustle of the holidays are finally over. And if your holidays were anything like mine, the only time you had to sit down was to either a.) wrap presents, b.) put on your socks/shoes, c.) go to the bathroom, d.) travel somewhere in the car or e.) eat a meal with family/friends (though I'm sure some of you were still too busy to even do this!). Although I must admit that I put the "busyness" upon myself. :) Anyway. Back to my actual topic at hand...
Being on break from school, naturally I spend most of my time in the kitchen. And most of that time is spent baking. With lots of sugar. Now one thing I should add is: the hubs is diabetic. Has been since I've known him. And for almost ten years before that. Some might say that it's ironic that I'm married to a diabetic because I love baking. With lots of sugar. So I should add that he rarely eats anything that comes out of my oven. Unless it's chicken. And I've yet to make a chicken cupcake. The thought weirds me out a little.
Anyhoot. The hubs and I have been together for ten years. Married for three and a half. Some of you may think, 'pish posh, that's nothing!' But still, it's a good amount of time. However, within those ten years, we haven't been able to continue any holiday traditions that we've attempted to establish.
The first few years that we were dating, we would watch the specially IMAX-released Disney movie on New Year's Day. Then they stopped releasing them. They all get released on blu-ray now. No one cares to see a previously viewed Disney movie in the theater these days. As for other traditions, of course we've got the family dinners here and there, but no real traditions to call our own.
SO! Holiday traditions. And baking for a diabetic.
The only thing that makes sense here would be sticky buns on Christmas morning. Of course! This sounds like a fantastic idea! Unless you're up until 2 a.m. (technically on Christmas morning), wrapping gifts and finishing the chocolate chip date cookies you swear your sisters will love. The problem with planning on making sticky buns in the morning is waking up with only an hour before Christmas mass starts. Then we have to pack up the car, pick up my nephew, and head over to my sister's (a couple hours away) for Christmas dinner.
No Christmas morning sticky bun tradition for us.The day after the day after the day after Christmas morning sticky buns just doesn't have the same ring to it. Ah, perhaps I'll plan better next year.
We finally had a sliver of a lull in our plans, and decided to have the sticky buns then. I prepped the buns and sauce and found a good, warm place for the buns to rise. Naturally that would be on top of our washing machine in the same room where the furnace is. So we waited. And waited. Until the buns finally rose. And they finally did. And twenty minutes later, we had these:
a perfectly delicious, diabetic-friendly sticky bun tradition. (though I'll work on the tradition part.)
Caramel-Pecan Walnut Sticky Buns
(adapted from splenda.com)
Ingredients:
Rolls:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 envelope active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 large eggs
1/4cup Splenda Sugar Blend (I used 1/4 c. of regular Splenda minus 1-1/2 tbs, 1-1/2 tbs sugar)
1-1/4 tsp (I used kosher) salt
5 cups all-purpose flour (I used 4 cups a.p. flour, 1 cup whole wheat a.p. flour)
1 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
1/4 butter, melted
1 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I used 1-1/2 tsp China Tung Hing Cinnamon)
Caramel Sauce:
1/3 cup butter
3 tbs 2% reduced-fat milk (I used 1%)
2 tbs light corn syrup
3/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
Directions: Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, remove from heat and add butter. Stir until butter melts. Let cool about 20 minutes. Combine yeast and warm water in a glass measuring cup. Let sit about 5 minutes. Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl; add Splenda and salt until combined. Add yeast mixture and butter mixture; beat on low until blended. Gradually add flour; mix until combined. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a well-greased bowl (I used vegetable oil), turning to grease top. Cover and chill dough for 8-72 hours
.
Note: Splenda's directions tell you to make the caramel sauce and pour into pans, then prepare the buns. I think my sauce sat too long and made them more 'chewy' than 'sticky'. So when I make these again, I will prepare the buns and then make the sauce. I'll make note if there is a difference. :)
Prepare caramel sauce: Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat. Stir constantly until blend dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 1 minute. Immediately pour sauce into 3 lightly greased 8-inch cake pans. Sprinkle 1/3 cup walnuts/pecans in each pan.
Punch down dough and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll one part into a 12x10 inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Combine Splenda Brown Sugar Blend and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/3 cup over each rectangle. Roll up dough starting on the long side and pinch edges to seal. Cut into 9 pieces and arrange on caramel sauce (I left about an inch between each piece to leave room for the dough to rise and bake). Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto serving plate.
Devour.
Now you must be questioning me...yes, my hubs eats a *lot*. But I couldn't possibly let him eat two and a half pans of sticky buns. Could I? I mean, he could definitely put it away. But seriously...of course not. So what did I do with the other two pans of sticky buns, you ask? Well, I purposely prepared two disposable pans so I could freeze them. I love freezing meals. I just wish my freezer was bigger. Hmm. Anyway. One pan is for a family friend. The other is for consumption at a later date. A sweet Valentine's Day breakfast perhaps. I've never really had any problems with freezing dishes, so I can't imagine this won't work; however, I've never frozen anything with Splenda in it. I'll let you know if freezing them was a success or not.
Happy [Belated] New Year everyone!!
I hope your resolutions don't keep you from eating sweets -- remember: it's fine in moderation! ;)
Caramel Sauce:
1/3 cup butter
3 tbs 2% reduced-fat milk (I used 1%)
2 tbs light corn syrup
3/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
Directions: Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, remove from heat and add butter. Stir until butter melts. Let cool about 20 minutes. Combine yeast and warm water in a glass measuring cup. Let sit about 5 minutes. Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl; add Splenda and salt until combined. Add yeast mixture and butter mixture; beat on low until blended. Gradually add flour; mix until combined. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a well-greased bowl (I used vegetable oil), turning to grease top. Cover and chill dough for 8-72 hours
.
Note: Splenda's directions tell you to make the caramel sauce and pour into pans, then prepare the buns. I think my sauce sat too long and made them more 'chewy' than 'sticky'. So when I make these again, I will prepare the buns and then make the sauce. I'll make note if there is a difference. :)
Prepare caramel sauce: Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat. Stir constantly until blend dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 1 minute. Immediately pour sauce into 3 lightly greased 8-inch cake pans. Sprinkle 1/3 cup walnuts/pecans in each pan.
Punch down dough and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll one part into a 12x10 inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Combine Splenda Brown Sugar Blend and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/3 cup over each rectangle. Roll up dough starting on the long side and pinch edges to seal. Cut into 9 pieces and arrange on caramel sauce (I left about an inch between each piece to leave room for the dough to rise and bake). Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto serving plate.
Devour.
Now you must be questioning me...yes, my hubs eats a *lot*. But I couldn't possibly let him eat two and a half pans of sticky buns. Could I? I mean, he could definitely put it away. But seriously...of course not. So what did I do with the other two pans of sticky buns, you ask? Well, I purposely prepared two disposable pans so I could freeze them. I love freezing meals. I just wish my freezer was bigger. Hmm. Anyway. One pan is for a family friend. The other is for consumption at a later date. A sweet Valentine's Day breakfast perhaps. I've never really had any problems with freezing dishes, so I can't imagine this won't work; however, I've never frozen anything with Splenda in it. I'll let you know if freezing them was a success or not.
Happy [Belated] New Year everyone!!
I hope your resolutions don't keep you from eating sweets -- remember: it's fine in moderation! ;)
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