Baked bbq chicken buns

Ah, yes...the long awaited baked bbq buns tutorial! And it only took me, what...4 months to post! LOL. I really am sorry for the delay, but I'm glad I didn't post the original recipe because this one is GOLDEN. I changed the recipe a few times because I always felt like something was missing. I also loved the fact that with the final recipe, I used the same dough used for my cinnamon rolls(w/the addition of an extra teaspoon of dough enhancer). Don't skip out on the dough enhancer...it gives the dough the softness and elasticity needed to help you mold your dough into round balls without tearing through it. Don't be discouraged when shaping your buns...it can be very frustrating at first--but if you follow my recipe and technique shown, I'm sure you'll all be experts in no time!!

-Sav

Watch the video below to learn how to make the dough first!



For the filling you will need:
2 thighs or more from a leftover cooked rotisserie chicken(I like the ones from Costco).
2 T of finely chopped shallot
1 1/2 - 2 T of red roast pork seasoning mix
2/3 cup of water
2 T of oyster sauce
1/2 T of apple cider vinegar
2 T of hoisen sauce
1 T of ketchup
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1/2 T of cornstarch mixed with 1/2 T of water
peanut oil
parchment paper
large baking sheet
spray bottle filled with water
1 extra large egg yolk mixed w/ 1 T of water

Take your leftover chicken and give it a nice chop on your cutting board. You don't want any large pieces because it will make it harder for you to fill. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Mix your water, red roast pork seasoning mix, oyster sauce, apple cider vinegar, hoisen sauce, ketchup, and black pepper in small bowl. Set aside.

Mix your cornstarch with 1/2 T of water and set aside.

Add some peanut oil into a hot pan(on medium-medium heat) and add in your chopped shallots. Once translucent, add in your marinade. Let it come to a quick rolling boil and then pour in your cornstarch mixture. Let that thicken up your sauce and then remove from heat and pour over your chopped chicken. Stir to combine and once cooled down, cover and refrigerate OVERNIGHT!

How to fill and form your buns:

Before you begin, make sure you have your large baking sheet topped with parchment paper. Don't forget to lightly spritz it with some water.

After your dough has gone through the first rise(assuming that you've gotten the recipe from my cinnamon roll tutorial) remove the saran wrap from the bowl and dump your dough onto a clean work surface. Immediately, roll your dough up into a log. Cut the log into 12 equal pieces.

Take one piece of dough(keep the others under a dish towel to avoid them drying out)and using a rolling pin, flatten it out one or two times and then continue by flattening out the edges ONLY, creating a circle. You want to leave more dough in the middle so that when you pinch to seal your buns, your filling will end up in the middle because as your pinching to seal--you're also pushing down that filling to the bottom(which will later become the top). This will also prevent any filling from breaking through the buns.

Place 1 T of filling in the middle(you can add a little bit more at a time once you get the hang of shaping and sealing them). Pick up your dough just as you would a taco and then bring up the other two remaining sides as well to join the middle and pinch to seal. Don't spend too much time pinching. Turn the dough over, place on your work surface, and give it a few quick spins to seal, and place on parchment paper. Continue with the remaining dough.

Once all filled, cover with a waste basket liner(or large dish towel) and allow to rise for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, brush the tops with an egg glaze(make sure you get the sides too) and lightly spray the tops with water. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, ROTATING ONCE FOR EVEN BROWNING. Serve immediately!! YUMMY!! :)

If you're new at making these, you will probably have a few(or a lot) of buns with not that much filling. What the hay, sometimes I don't put enough filling...but in that case, just warm up your filling, cut your baked buns in half, and fill them with more filling AFTER they've come out the oven! PROBLEM SOLVED! Of course, when you're serving these to guests, you probably want to make sure you've got the technique down first, because there is nothing like seeing a hungry person biting into a baked bun and seeing absolutely NO FILLING IN THE MIDDLE! They kind of get this "WTF" type of expression going on! Haha.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!

Hey, everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know that I will be appearing on Wheel of Fortune NEXT Tuesday, March 13th@ 7pm Pacific time!! Tune in to watch me spin the wheel!! :)

Mini Nutella and Banana Crepes

You will need:
1 1/3 cup of flour
3 T of ricotta
3 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup of cold water
4 T of melted butter(plus more for frying crepes)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 T of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt

Optional garnishes and filling:
Nutella
strawberry or raspberry jam
whipped cream
bananas
powdered sugar
*you will also need a two inch biscuit cutter(optional)

Put all of the ingredients listed above into a blender. Blend it for 30 seconds. Stop motor, scrape the sides down to make sure you have no flour sticking to the sides. Put the lid back on and puree for 30 more seconds.

Place a stainless steel skillet on your stovetop and turn heat on to medium. When it's nice and hot, add in some butter and swirl it around the skillet. Lift your skillet up OFF of the stove and quickly pour in some batter and swirl that around to evenly distribute the batter as well. Place skillet back on stove top and allow to cook until slightly browned on bottom. Once browned, flip over and cook for 15 more seconds or so.

Watch my video below on how I prepare these cute, mini, bite sized desserts!

Peaches and Cream Mousse Parfaits

Hello, my friends!! These little guys are almost too cute to eat, aren't they?? These take literally MINUTES to prepare and are so fun to make! I promise you, that no matter what kind of crowd you're serving...that your guests will be utterly IMPRESSED!! I made these at my husband's 30th bday bash and they were a hit! The only difference, was that I used mango puree instead of peach puree when I served these last November. The requests for the recipe came pouring in but I told everyone that they would have to wait until I posted the recipe on Youtube. Am I thoughtful, or what?? :)

Love,
Sav (Oh, and fyi--scroll all the way down to view the video on how to make these!)

You will need:

2 cans of peaches in light syrup(if you are using fresh fruit you will need about 3 cups of fruit puree)
1/4 of NAKED BRAND Mango Smoothie(or you may add some peach schnapps for a little kick)
1 tsp of orange extract
1 cup of caster sugar(pulse sugar in food processor for 20 seconds)
2 extra large egg whites(at room temperature)
1/2 cup of boiling water
1 package of gelatin
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 drops of GEL food coloring

For the whipped cream topping:

2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
2/3 cup of powdered sugar

You will also need:

some shooter glasses/mini dessert glasses
piping bags and a star cake tip
an egg carton(optional)

Drain out all the liquid from your canned peaches. Add in your peaches, orange extract, caster sugar, and mango smoothie(or liqueur of your choice) into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour your peach puree into a large bowl and set aside.

Add the gelatin into the boiling water and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside and allow to cool slightly and then add it into your peach puree. Stir to combine. Also add in two drops of gel food coloring. I didn't film that part, but it's important you add it in to retain that pretty peachy color.

Beat your egg whites until stiff. Set aside.

Beat your heavy whipping cream in a well chilled bowl until stiff. Using a balloon wire whisk, start off by taking some whipped cream and folding it into your peach puree. Once combined, take a little bit of your egg whites and fold it in gently as well. Interchange the two and repeat the process a few more times.

Next take your shooter glasses and place them at an angle on your egg carton. Place your egg carton on a large baking sheet...it makes transferring your mousse into the fridge a lot easier. Put your mousse into something with a spout, and then gently pour until the mousse reaches the top of the rim. Repeat with the rest of the glasses. Once all filled, move them into fridge and allow to set overnight.

Take some mini martini glasses, wet the rim very well with some water, and swirl the glasses in some orange or yellow sprinkles. Pour in your mousse half way up the glass. Once done, place into the fridge as well.

Once the mousse has set make your whipped cream topping. Add heavy cream into well chilled bowl and beat until soft peaks. Add in your vanilla extract and powdered sugar and beat until stiff. Place some whipped cream(reserve the rest) into a disposable piping bag or ziplock baggy and cut about 1/4 inch or so off of the tip. Pipe the whipped cream into the shooter glasses just until you hit the rim. Using a different piping bag, fitted with a star cake tip, pipe the tops, using a circular motion, just as you would when frosting a cupcake. Garnish with mint and refrigerate until ready to serve!

If using mini martini glasses--first add a dollop of whipped cream and then flatten it out. Then top with whipped cream using the star tip just as described above. Garnish with mint leaves. Refrigerate until ready to be served!

Notes:

If you can find ripened mangos where you are then I suggest you try that variation out too! Since I couldn't find ANY ripened mango in town I decided to try out peaches and this variation is delicious too!! Just take a few mangos, peel the outer skin, rough chop the mango, and puree in blender the same way as in the video! Add in some of your favorite fruity liqueur to make it even MORE FANTABULOUS! :)

The Ultimate Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Mmm..Cinnamon rolls!! Not just any cinnamon roll...these are super soft, HUGE, and taste HEAVENLY!! They may not be forgiving for my figure, but what the hell, I was having a terrible day and the fat girl inside of me was DYING to come out and play! Try this recipe out and you won't be disappointed!!

-Sav the savage

For the dough you will need:

1 cup of warm water
2 tsp of active dry yeast
1/4 cup of sugar
1 extra large beaten egg
3 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 T of potato flour(NOT POTATO STARCH/POTATO STARCH FLOUR)
*3 T of bakers special dry milk powder
1 T of vital wheat gluten
*1 tsp of diastatic malt powder or dough enhancer(use 2 tsp of malt powder if you are using this dough for baked bbq buns!!)
1 1/2 tsp of salt
Vegetable oil
Softened butter for pan

For the filling you will need:

1/3 cup of brown sugar
3 T of white sugar
1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
2-3 T of melted butter

For the frosting you will need:

2 pkgs of softened cream cheese
1 stick of SALTED butter
1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar(or more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
*This frosting makes enough for two batches so cut recipe in half or keep the rest in an airtight container and keep in fridge for later use).

*You can purchase the diastatic malt powder and baker's special dry milk from King Arthur's website! I wouldn't skip out on these two items because I KNOW, it's what sets my recipe apart from others. The result is a softer and fluffier cinnamon roll. Bakers dry milk powder is NOT the same as the dry milk powder found in your local grocery store! A lot of people use milk in their recipe but I find that dry milk powder works best, especially when using with yeast. If you MUST use milk, use skim milk instead of whole milk.

Here's a link to King Arthurs website: http://www.kingarthurflour.com

Take your warm water and add in your sugar. Sprinkle in your yeast and allow to proof for about 5-7 minutes or so. You know your yeast is activated when your mixture looks foamy/creamy.

While your yeast is proofing, take your all purpose flour, potato flour, vital wheat gluten, salt, diastatic malt powder, and bakers dry milk powder, and combine them in a large mixing bowl.

Take your egg and slightly beat it with a fork and set aside.

Once your yeast is activated, give it a small stir to loosen up the sugar that has sunk to the bottom. Pour it into your flour mixture along with your beaten egg. Mix it with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated.

Pour your dough into a food processor and pulse for about 1 minute and 20 seconds. Take a small handful of flour and spread it on a clean work surface. Dump out your dough onto the counter and work quickly with your hands to make a small, more manageable ball. It doesn't need to be completely smooth for this part. It'll be slightly tacky and wet, but try to refrain from adding any additional flour.

Place your dough into a slightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat to prevent a crust on the tops. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and allow to double in size, about an hour.

While your dough is rising, make your filling. Mix your cinnamon, brown sugar, and white sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

After an hour or so, remove your dough from the bowl, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Take your lightly floured rolling pin and shape your dough into a large rectangular shape, trying to make it as even as possible.

Take some melted butter and spread it over the dough but not all the way to the edges.

Take your brown sugar and cinnamon mixture and spread it on the melted butter, leaving at least 1/4 inch space along the borders.

Roll up your dough into a tight log and pinch to seal the seams. Do the same to the ends.

Take a pastry cutter or serrated knife and lightly coat it with some baking spray. Cut your log in half at first and then proceed with cutting the rest into even slices. If you want really big cinnamon rolls, cut 6 to 8 slices instead of 10-12. The bigger the slices, the faster the second rise as well!

Take some softened butter and spread it in your baking dish.

Place your rolls cut side down in your baking dish, spray some cooking spray(like pam) on a piece of saran wrap, cover your pan, and then wait till tripled in size. Don't forget to allow some room for your rolls to grow(at least 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch in between each roll). Let them rise in a warm, draft free place until tripled in size! Two hours is a good time for me but may differ for you!

Once your rolls are ready, bake them in a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes.

While your rolls are baking, take your softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until nice and creamy. Taste check and add more powdered sugar if you wish. Set aside.

Once your cinnamon rolls are done baking Take some melted butter and lightly coat each roll. This will add to the overall softness of it. Immediately, take your cream cheese frosting and slather them all over the rolls while they are still hot. Serve warm and ENJOY!!

Notes: If you wish to make these ahead of time and want to have some ready for breakfast then you can place the rolls in the fridge, overnight, during their last and final rise. In the morning, take the rolls out and allow them to come to room temp before baking. If you want to speed up the process, pre heat your oven to the LOWEST temp you can(mine is 170 degrees) place a pot of boiling water in the bottom of your oven, and then place your rolls in there and allow them to puff up for about 15 minutes or so. I must admit though, that I have NOT tried the overnight method with my recipe yet but plan on doing it soon! If there's any problem with this method, please do bring it to my attention! Thanks ahead of time! :)