This one goes out to every kid who has ever loved a funfetti cake. To every kid who has ever loved a cinnamon roll. To every kid who just wanted the two of those things together. It is a good idea.

RAINBOW ROLLS

4 t. active dry yeast

1 cup 110 degree milk (dairy or non-dairy)

1 flax egg (or chicken egg)

1/4 c. melted butter (dairy or non-dairy)

3/4 c. sugar

4 c. flour

Filling:

1/4 c. melted butter (dairy or non-dairy)

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

2 t. cinnamon

1/4 c. rainbow sprinkles

Put yeast in a big bowl (big enough to accomodate rising dough). Add the milk, making sure it is not too hot. You should be able to dip a finger in and the temp should not be uncomfortable. Stir briefly and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Add sugar, flax egg, melted (and slightly cooled) butter and stir. Add flour one cup at a time. Stirring after each addition. You can begin the knead in the bowl to incorporate the last of the flour if it feels too stiff for a spoon. Don’t break your spoon. Someone probably worked really hard on it. Once the mix holds together, transfer to a lightly floured surface and begin the knead. Work until elastic. Transfer back to bowl and put a damp kitchen cloth on top and move to a warm and draft free location until about doubled in size. Should take about an hour+ depending on weather and your kitchen environment.

Once the dough has increased in volume and holds your finger imprint, dump onto lightly floured surface. Roll out into a roughly 15”x10”x.5” thick rectanglelipse.

Make the filling by combining the cinnamon and sugars in a bowl. Melt the butter needed for filling. Spread melted butter on the dough. Add the cinnamon sugar mixture across entire surface followed by sprinkles.

Begin at one end of the slab and begin to roll up as you move horizontally across the surface. Once it is all rolled up, use a serrated knife to cut into 10-12 slices and add to a prepared pan or baking sheet.

From here, you may choose to cover and refrigerate it in order to impress your family or co-habitants with warm rainbow rolls upon their awakening. Or you proof the lot one more time in their prepared pans. Either way, lightly cover. If you plan on baking today, let the cut rolls rise another hour. If you are baking tomorrow morning, just cover and put in the fridge. Be sure to pull out of fridge at least a half hour in advance if baking tomorrow.

Turn oven on to 400 degrees f. Add a quick milk wash to rolls before you put in oven. Bake until golden brown and studded with ROYGBIV, about 10 minutes.

Danish puffy ball pancakes with apples. Is there anything even better than that? Maybe Danish puffy ball pancakes with huckleberries.

It is true that aebelskivers take a special pan, but it is also true that this recipe also makes great normal old pancakes. If you want to go full skiver mode, you can get your own pan here.

AEBELSKIVERS

3/4 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1 T. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. non-dairy milk

1 t. apple cider vinegar

1/2 T. ground flax seed

1/4 c. water

1/8 c. canola oil

1/2 c. fruit

Combine milk and cider vinegar in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Add flax seeds and mix with a fork to add some air into the mix. This is the binder of the recipe, so it is important that it is incorporated and bubbly. Add your oil and water and mix again by hand. Add remaining ingredients (except for fruit) and gently mix until most of the bumps are gone in batter. Fold in the fruit.

Warm up the pan while the batter rests for 5-10 minutes. It should froth up a bit and appear to increase in volume. Thank you, chemistry.

Use butter or cooking spray to get pan ready. If you are using the aebelskiver pan, add your batter to fill about 3/4 of each cell. Once the batter appears to bubble, you can flip by using a non-marking utensil (like one of my really great smorknivs). You can continue to move each skiver around to cook evenly.

Serve by sprinkling powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar on the tasty little Danish dumplings. Syrup is also invited. Or jam. Or honey. They are pretty good with anything, really.

Inspired to recreate one more item from one of the bakeries I worked at, I bring you these pockets. Filled with anything you typically would eat with a fork at breakfast time. But wrapped in dough and totally portable.

BREAKFAST POCKETS

Filling (pre-cooked, scrambled, sautéed, fried, baked etc. Bacon, eggs, cheese, potatoes, sausage, ham, veggies)

Pizza dough (store bought is great and usually is enough for two)

Prepare your fillings. This can even be done the night before allowing for plenty of baking and eating time in the morning. Roll your dough into rectangles. Fill them up. Roll them up. Slather with some olive oil, salt and herbs. Bake at 400 until it looks like a pizza crust color you’d eat.

This recipe is written down in my little journal of test recipes as “Mom’s Coffee Cake” and was added as one of my first officially adult recipes when I moved out. So it is old. And it is good. It works veganized, but the original recipe was with dairy and egg. If you don’t have access to huckleberries, they taste great with other berries, apples or even just on their own. I say they because I tend to bake off the batter in muffin form since it takes way less time than a loaf or actual cake. And I am not very patient for my baked goods in the morning.

HUCKLEBERRY COFFEE CAKE

Batter:

1 1/2 C. flour

1/4 C. granulated sugar

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 C. canola oil

1/3 C. milk (dairy or non-dairy)

1 T. ground flaxseed mixed with 3 T. water (or one egg)

1/3 C. huckleberries

Streusel:

1 T. canola oil

1/4 C. flour

1/4 C. brown sugar

1 t. cinnamon

Batter:

Add flour, sugar and baking powder to a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add your wet ingredients and mix with a fork or wooden spoon until almost blended. Add your fruit. Gently fold until incorporated.

Streusel:

Add dry ingredients to a smaller bowl and then drizzle oil on top. Mix with a fork until it starts to take on a crumbled appearance.

Add half of your batter to prepared muffin cups or baking pan. Layer with half of your streusel and then the rest of the batter. Top it off with the remaining streusel. And now you know the life-changing secret that streusel leads two lives.

Bake at 375 for about 15-20 (muffins) and 30ish minutes for proper cake.

Because sometimes you need a cinnamon roll and because all of the times you don’t want to wait.

CINNAMON BISCUIT ROLLS

2 1/3 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1/3 c. cold vegan butter (Miyoko’s and Melt make some good stuff)

2/3c. oat milk (put 1/2 t apple cider vinegar into a liquid measuring pitcher and then add the milk to it…this is how you make vegan buttermilk)

2 T. melted vegan butter

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/8 c. granulated sugar

1 t. cinnamon

Some raisins or apple slices

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine first three ingredients in a bowl and mix with a pastry blender or forks to get the butter cut into the flour. Slowly add milk and mix to get a workable dough. Do not overmix here because you will end up with tough rolls and no one wants that.

Melt down the 2 T. butter on the stove and prepare the sugars and cinnamon by mixing them together in a small bowl.

Roll out the dough into a thin rectangle on a well floured surface. Add the melted butter on top then the sugar and then the raisins or apple slices. Roll up lengthwise and cut into pieces. Put on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.

Sure it creates some dishes, but think of all the time you will save not waiting around for dough to rise! Stupid yeast.

Adapted from Homemade by Yvette Van Boven

A preface that these don’t have to be enjoyed in doughnut form. They work equally well as a cupcake, bundt, madeleine, loaf, spring form or anything else you have to put batter in and bake off.

It is true that there are three things to make to get these little dears, but I think it is worth it. Let’s get to it.

ROSE SUGAR

1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. dried rose petals (make sure that no herbicides or pesticides were used on the roses if you source/dry yourself)

Pulse the sugar and rose petals in a food processor until the sugar begins to take on a rose tint. Or the rose petals begin to take on a sugary appearance. Store in a glass jar. It will make more than you need for this recipe. Pro tip: good in iced tea.

GLAZE

1 c. powdered sugar

1/8 c. milk (dairy or non)

Mix in a bowl that will be good for dunking yo’ doughnuts in.

DOUGHNUTS

1 c. oat or almond milk

1 t. apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 T. cornstarch

1/4 c. canola oil

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine milk and cider vinegar in a bowl or mixing glass and let sit for a few to thicken. Blending all of this by hand rather than with an electric mixer is good because it does not make it too chewy. Plus, my mixer lives in the basement and I don’t want to go and get it. Pour in mixing bowl and add cornstarch. Mix until the cornstarch is not throwing any lumps into the mix. Add your oil and sugar and mix until relatively smooth. Add your remaining ingredients and mix until mostly combined. A few bumps here and there will be fine. Scoop into prepared tins, trays, molds etc. Bake for about 10-15 minutes if in small molds like doughnut or muffin forms and longer for cakes or loaves.

When cool enough to remove from molds do so because the glaze is best added so a sort of warm confection. After glazing the masterpiece, sprinkle on the rose sugar and behold the wondrous spectacle you are about to put in your face. Mmmm. Gluten.

Another favorite from one of the bakeries I worked at were cinnamon oat scones. Light and buttery and never over worked, these were great right out of the oven before I would hop in the old Volvo to run deliveries. These nuggets are easy to make and are a true baking recipe. The units of measurement are in weights because baking is all about ratios.

They are also very versatile. Think of the recipe as a base recipe that can be altered to suit your tastes. These have been a great platform to explore the age old lemon blueberry relationship, orange currant and apple rose.

3 oz unsalted butter

2.5 oz sugar

pinch salt

1 egg yolk

12 oz flour (all purpose works, but pastry flour is best)

3/4 oz baking powder

7 oz milk

sprinkle of oats and cinnamon/sugar to top

Cream the first three ingredients until light and lemon yellow. Add the yolk and mix in. Add your dry ingredients alternating with milk being careful not to overmix. Use an ice cream scoop to drop scones onto parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle each scone with oats and cinnamon/sugar. Place in oven set to 425 degrees F. 15-20 minutes should do it, they should be light golden darlings.

Cool or not…slice in half and smother with jam or not.

Share your scones! #VHWWrecipes

We made the best sourdough blueberry muffins at one of the bakeries I worked at. Not overpowering or too sour, a little toothsome in the texture and studded with berries. I have been trying to recreate this muffin ever since. This recipe is great because it helps to use up any surplus starter you may want to get rid of (thanks, quarantine). You can even use the discard. Cool.

I think the recipe is as close as I will get it and here it is:

Muffins:

1/4 c butter

1/2 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 c all purpose flour

1/4 c whole wheat flour

2 T cornmeal

1 t baking soda

1/4 t cinnamon

pinch of salt

2/3 c sourdough starter (fresh or discard)

3 oz yogurt

2 T milk

1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Streusel:

1/4 c flour

1/4 c brown sugar

2 T granulated sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

2 T butter

Streusel: Add all streusel ingredients to a bowl and cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until the butter becomes the size of small peas.

Muffins: Cream butter and sugar in a mixer with paddle attachment until it forms a creamy and almost fluffy layer on bottom of bowl that warrants a scrape down. Scrape down aforementioned sugar and fat mixture. Add the egg and blend for a few seconds.

Alternate dry and wet ingredients being careful not to overmix. Fold in berries at very end by hand with a wooden spoon, of course.

Scoop out into prepared tins with or without liners. Distribute the streusel on top of all the lovelies. Bake at around 400 degrees for 20ish minutes until the streusel has gone golden and the muffins are firm to touch.

Some notes I have taken:

• All ovens are different…so you may need to go above or below 400

• If you have a convection option, it is best used in the last 5 minutes or so of baking these to really goldenize the streusel.

• If you really want to, coating the berries in flour before folding into mix will help them stay afloat and evenly distributed in the muffins. This really matters to some people. I get it. I am not that patient though.

• Really watch the mixing once you add the starter and whole wheat flour. Something about the gluten in WW flour that makes it prone to overmixing. Someone on the internet probably has done the science and you can nerd out with them.

• Seems overkill to fold in berries by hand…but it is worth it. It won’t dye the batter and remember what I said about overmixing in the above bullet point? Were you even paying attention?

I am still tinkering with the recipe and would love to know how they go for you. I have a rye sourdough starter and would love to know how they get on with a traditional sourdough starter. I have also wondered if they would even be better if the yogurt was subbed with sour cream. Seems like it would work…If you make them, post it on IG and tag it with #VHWWrecipes so we can keep track of the progress and edits.