Winter Archives | The Vanilla Bean Blog

Chewy Snickerdoodle Bars

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 18:04:55 +0000

I didn’t grow up eating Snickerdoodles. In fact, the first time I ever tried one was in my twenties; a colleague had made them for a work meeting, and I was instantly smitten with their crackly, spiced tops and chewy centers. The most traditional recipes use shortening in the dough and of course, cream of tartar, which gives them their “tangy” flavor. My cookie version of the recipe (found in my cookbook 100 Cookies) is what I make every year around the holidays, but this year I decided to shake things up and bake them in bar form. I am happy to report that snickerdoodle bars are delicious, and I just might prefer them over the traditional cookie. I have tweaked my original recipe a bit – there is a little less butter, and I’ve added a pinch of nutmeg to the dough which really adds a lot of good flavor. Traditional snickerdoodle recipes call for shortening, and I’ve kept a little in the recipe to help keep the integrity of the cookie texture. The shortening helps with thickness, and helps keep the bars tender. Baking them in a square pan also saves quite a bit of time, and adds […]

The post Chewy Snickerdoodle Bars appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Mini Orange Cinnamon Rolls

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 00:25:37 +0000

Orange buns: so unassuming at first glance! But don’t let them fool you. These small buns are light and sweet throughout, with some caramelization on their bottoms from the orange-sugar filling. Then they are topped with even more orange in the form of icing that makes for a perfect, mini-sized bite. I still use my Sweet Dough recipe for mini cinnamon rolls, and after many tries, found splitting the dough into three pieces, then rolling each piece out into separate logs (which are then cut into twelve pieces each) made for the perfect dough-to-filling ratio. I like my cinnamon rolls super soft and gooey, so I put a thin layer of the icing over them while they are warm. The icing melts into the just baked rolls, eliminating any hard corners or edges. Important Tips for Making Mini Cinnamon Rolls I have found these mini buns bake best in a 10 by 15 in [25 by 38 cm] jelly roll pan, but you can see the notes below in the recipe for using a 9 by 13 in [23 by 33 cm] baking pan. Can I Make These Ahead of Time? Yes! Prepare the rolls: roll out dough, fill them, roll them up, cut […]

The post Mini Orange Cinnamon Rolls appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Double Apple Scones

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 21:18:03 +0000

I make scones for every possible occasion and in every possible flavor (like pumpkin, panettone, ginger chocolate, and sprinkle) and I especially love them around the holidays, as the can be shaped ahead of time and frozen, then pulled out and baked as needed. These apple scones are no exception, and they bake up flaky and tender. How I Make My Scones I have made many scones over the years, and have finally settled on this buttery scone base, with crème fraîche and an extra egg yolk for rich flavor and a tenderness, and gently folded layers to keep the scones flaky. This scone recipe includes folding the dough over several times to create multiple flaky layers. I take advantage of the folds: I spread a thin layer of apple butter across the surface and sprinkled the top with apples gently steamed in apple cider. The apple butter boosted flavor and helped the apples adhere, and the scones baked up tall and lofty. A drizzle of icing to the scones while still warm helps keep the scones stay tender for hours after baking. Baking with Apples Apples take a long time to break down during baking, so often I like to […]

The post Double Apple Scones appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Red Velvet Pan-Banging Cookies

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 15:46:44 +0000

These Red Velvet Pan-Banging Cookies are a variation of both the Pan-Banging Sugar Cookie and the Pan-Banging Ginger Molasses Cookie with Rum Butter Glaze, which are all also off-shoots of my Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies. These delicious cookies have buttery, rippled edges and a chewy center as a result of using the pan-banging cookie technique. They also mimic the famous red velvet cake (like my Red Velvet Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies), with both red food coloring and a little bit of cocoa powder in the dough to create the beautiful burgundy hue, and a partial dip in cream cheese icing to complete the classic “red velvet” flavor combination. These cookies are perfect for the holidays, and have made it onto my Top 24 Holiday Cookie recipes list. What Are Pan-Banging Cookies? Bakers tapping their cookie pans in the oven isn’t new, of course, but the pan-banging technique I use here is unique in that the pan is tapped in the oven every few minutes, creating ripples on the edge of the cookie. This creates two textures in the cookie: a crisp outer edge, and a soft, gooey center. I have a whole chapter of these recipes in my 100 Cookies cookbook. Just […]

The post Red Velvet Pan-Banging Cookies appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Cranberry Maple Syrup

Sarah Kieffer — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 13:07:58 +0000

Growing up, my parents would occasionally take the whole family out to dinner on Friday night. My favorite spot had breakfast for dinner on the menu, which I always made sure to order, and pancakes were usually my item of choice. To my delight, syrup was always delivered in a bundle of three: regular maple, apricot, and blueberry. I slathered my short-stack with the blueberry each and every time, and now as an adult, I find prefer the tartness of gently cooked berries mingled with my maple syrup. Raspberry Syrup is now a family favorite when we make our own breakfast-for-dinner (especially in the summer when they are fresh off our bushes), but this winter-y month was calling for cranberries, and they are also quite delicious in syrup. The beautiful red shade of the syrup is very holiday-esque, and served with some whipped cream and sugared cranberries on waffles would make for a lovely Christmas morning. But you don’t need any jingling bells to partake; a regular Wednesday night in February will also work just fine to serve this syrup. Cranberries do have a skin that takes a little longer to break down; I find pulsing them in the food […]

The post Cranberry Maple Syrup appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Pumpkin Caramel Pull-Apart Bread

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 13:47:33 +0000

A lot of you have been making my Apple Cider Pull-Apart Bread, so I decided to come up with a pumpkin flavored one since we have now moved into November. I use a Pumpkin Caramel recipe from my book, 100 Morning Treats, which is incredible paired with the fluffy, soft bread that’s also fun to eat, pulling apart each delicious slice. The sugar filling for the dough has cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg giving it warm flavor throughout. Easy Pumpkin Caramel This caramel topping for the pull-apart bread is easy to make, and there is no thermometer involved! Most of the ingredients are combined together and cooked on the stovetop, including the pumpkin (which is in the caramel, not the dough). I think this caramel tastes best with a nice splash of bourbon, but if you don’t want to use alcohol you can omit it. How To Make Pull-Apart Bread: Although this bread is a little time consuming to make, it is always worth the effort. What can I do to make this recipe ahead? For overnight Pull-Apart bread: Assemble the pull-apart bread in the Pullman pan, but do not let it rise at room temperature. Cover the pan loosely with […]

The post Pumpkin Caramel Pull-Apart Bread appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Pumpkin Doughnut Bundt Cake

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 12:39:32 +0000

I have been a fan of Bundt cakes for decades, as their elegant shape and endless flavor possibilities have always been intriguing to me. The first Bundt cake I ever made was at The Blue Heron Coffeehouse in Winona, MN; I was working an evening shift and it was painfully slow, so I bopped into the kitchen and decided to get a jump-start on the morning baking. Bundt cakes had always been a big seller in the morning hours, and the fact that they often tasted better the next day made them a good place to start. Two hours and one flip later, my Bundt cake was out of the oven, and even though part of it stuck to the pan (the fault of an inexperienced Bundt-cake-maker) I was enamored with my beautiful creation. I have been making them ever since. I often associate Bundt cakes with breakfast, as I have spent many early mornings nibbling on them (they do, of course, also taste delicious in the afternoon and evening hours.) It may be the result of working in coffeehouses for years, but a sweet treat in the morning, paired with coffee in any form, is my preferred breakfast of […]

The post Pumpkin Doughnut Bundt Cake appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Creamy Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cakes

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:59:26 +0000

After making my Creamy Jammy Coffee Cakes for quite some time, I decided to experiment with pumpkin for fall-themed miniature cakes. These little streusel cakes are made with the base of my Pumpkin Bars; they bake up moist and flavorful, and pair beautifully with the cream cheese and pecan streusel. I definitely love that combination, as I have a much loved recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Streusel, too. I must admit I do prefer them in this larger form: there is a significant cream cheese layer, and the streusel stays put much better. I use 4 inch [5 cm] springform pans to make these mini cakes, so they bake up with perfect edges, and release easily. They’re the perfect individual serving. You can also this recipe in a 9×13 inch pan if you’d like, it works great just as written. However, I’m always up for a more substantial cream cheese layer as you see in the photo below this paragraph. So for the filling I used 12 oz [340 g] cream cheese and 1/3 cup [65 g] granulated sugar, along with the 1 large egg. You’ll see the full notes for baking in this size of pan in […]

The post Creamy Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cakes appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Ginger Orange Carrot Quick Bread

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 11 May 2023 19:09:11 +0000

What I love about this recipe: This Ginger Orange Carrot Bread is a new recipe from 100 Morning Treats, my fourth cookbook that was just released. The flavors of ginger and orange are faint, but their subtleness makes this bread shine, pairing with naturally sweet fresh carrots. Orange zest and triple sec give it a lovely brightness, too. This loaf stays moist for days, and I actually prefer it on the second and third days; the flavor develops and it becomes more tender. Baking With Nordic Ware Pans Over the last decade of baking, I’ve come to rely on Nordic Ware for almost all my baking pans. Their pans are not only beautiful, but durable and well-made. For my 100 Cookies cookbook, I relied on their Naturals® baking sheets for many of my recipes, and my last two books have incorporated more of their other pans: The Naturals® muffin pans, Bundt pans, and Popover pans were all used and loved. For my Ginger Orange Carrot Bread, I used the ProCast Classic Loaf Pan, which has a 6 cup (1 lb loaf) capacity. This pan is made from heavy cast aluminum, which ensures that both quick and yeasted breads bake evenly. This pan also has […]

The post Ginger Orange Carrot Quick Bread appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Layered Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 14:22:17 +0000

These decadent Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies come from my 100 Cookies cookbook, and I couldn’t resist baking them in the shape of a heart for Valentine’s Day. Peanut butter and chocolate go together like eggs and bacon, macaroni and cheese, coffee and doughnuts; maybe even Romeo and Juliet. It’s a favorite combination, and the perfect way to celebrate any holiday. The layers are comprised of My Favorite Brownie recipe as the base, a creamy peanut butter filling with cacoa nibs for crunch, and a smooth, glossy chocolate ganache. The cacao nibs add both a bitter note that offsets the sweetness and richness of the chocolate and peanut butter, and a much-needed crunch. My favorite brownies have a deep chocolate flavor, slightly chewy texture (a nod to the boxed brownies of my youth), and beautiful shiny top. Each bite has the best brownie elements – chewy, fudgy, and chocolate heaven. They also make a great Marshmallow Swirl Brownie. How to Make Layered Peanut Butter Brownies: More Brownie Recipes:

The post Layered Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.