I heard that it is National Pie Day today, so I put together the fastest pie that I could!

Cinnamon Pie

1 graham cracker pie crust

2 boxes of vanilla pudding

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 small tub of cool whip (frozen is what I used, but it would be fine thawed as well)

1 cup milk

Mix 1 cup of milk with 2 boxes of pudding mix.  Add the cool whip.  Pour it into the pie crust and let it chill.  Top with more cool whip if you want.

This black & white treat taught me many lessons! It looks fine here, but by the time it arrived at the party, it had a noticeable slant.

So, the lessons learned for DIY tiered cakes on the move are:

1. Use proper support! I had ordered a Wilton Tailored Tiers Cake Display Set , but it didn’t arrive in time. I used cardboard and sturdy straws, but that wasn’t enough for the 3 layers of mocha ganache-filled & fondant covered tier.

2. When delivering a cake, make sure you have it sitting on a level surface. I didn’t realize it was slanted on the seat. My helpful daughter prevented it from crashing, but she didn’t know how to tilt the box enough to make it better. It’s my fault, not hers. I just wasn’t thinking about that when I should have been.

With that said, the cake should still taste great. I’ll post an easy ganache recipe soon!

Here is a simple streusel topping that you can mix up and keep in the freezer to add onto Pumpkin Bread or Muffins. I like to keep a double batch of this in my freezer since I use it so often.

Streusel
3/4 cup sugar (you can also use brown sugar or mix it half & half)
6 Tbsp. butter, cut up
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
Mix/crumble and sprinkle over muffins or breads before baking.

I make this delicious bread year round at the request of my husband & children. It’s very adaptable to suit your taste. You can add nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, or anything else you like in your pumpkin bread.

The muffins on the left are baked in paper liners. They have varying toppings. One is a streusel topping. One is a glaze with finely ground nuts mixed into it. The other is a combination of the glaze and streusel topping. You can make yours however you like it. I change it up every now and then, and it’s always a hit!

For the recipe, please visit my Recipe page or go to this "Kitchen Monki link.

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One of the best deals that I can see is this Digital Kitchen Food Scale. I’ve needed a good scale for awhile and of all that I’ve found, this is the best quality for the price right now. It’s less than $16, Free Shipping, and weighs in 0.1 gram increments. UPDATE(Prices change constantly on Amazon.) I did buy this scale, though, and have been very happy with it.

There is something special about making cinnamon rolls from scratch. It’s a bit easier than you think if you have a bread machine. This recipe makes about 24 rolls. I put them in a rectangle pan (11×15), but you can put them in any baking pan(s) you want.

YUM! Fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls!

For the dough, you need these ingredients:

1 packet of yeast (or 2.25 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (not higher than 110 degrees)
3 Tablespoons of white sugar

and

1/4 cup oil of your choice (canola, coconut, melted butter)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of self-rising flour

Directions for dough:

Put the warm water, sugar, and yeast in the bottom of the bread machine. Lightly stir. Then, let it sit for 10 minutes while the yeast foams up. If it doesn’t foam, the bread won’t rise. If it’s foamy, you are good to go!

Next, add the oil, salt, and both kinds of flour.

Set the machine for DOUGH and wait for it to be ready.

While it is rising, prepare for making the rolls.

Ingredients for the filling:

Flour for sprinkling (about 2 cups)
2 sticks of butter
2 cup of sugar
Lots of cinnamon (at least 1/4 cup, or 4 Tablespoons)

1. Let the butter sit out and soften while the dough is rising. Get out the sugar and cinnamon and set them to the side of the work area.

2. Prepare the pan(s) with butter or baking spray. I like to use Pam Baking spray, but honestly, butter is sooo delicious for these.

3. Clean off a large area of the counter or table. You will be cutting on this surface, so use something to protect the counter. I like to use a Pastry Mat.

4. Sprinkle flour where you will be rolling the dough.

(Wait for the dough to be ready…)

5. Once the dough is ready, Put it in the middle of your floured area. Roll the dough thin, keeping a mostly-rectangular shape, with the short sides on your left and right. It’s okay to cut off stray edges and fill in parts that seem too thin. The rectangle shape will help later on when you need to cut the rolls. Try to make it at least 18 inches on the longest sides so you can cut 24 rolls.

6. Spread 1/2 to 1 cup of softened butter over the dough. The more you put, the more gooey they will be. You can melt the butter if you want and just pour it. That just makes it a bit messier when you are putting them in the pans. Soft butter will help hold the sugar & cinnamon in place a bit while you are moving them from the counter to the pan.

7. Follow that with 1-2 cups of sugar sprinkled over the butter followed by a good sprinkling of cinnamon. It’s hard to get too much, so really be generous!

8. For rolling it up, start at the end away from you, begin rolling the dough inward, toward you. Try to roll it up tight as you go. When you get to the end, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

9. Now, cut the long roll into 4 equal parts. Cut each of those fourths into 6 pieces, about 3/4 inch each. Depending on how wide your roll was to start with, you may or may not get that many rolls.

10. Place the rolls into prepared pans, cover with a light towel or paper towels, AND LET THEM RISE for about 20-30 minutes, or until they have doubled in size.

HINT- Preheat the oven at this point to 350, and let the rolls sit on the stove top if you have a setup like that. The heat from the oven will keep the area warm for a good rise. If you have an oven in the wall, find a warm area for the rolls to sit for the final rise.

11. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Ovens vary, so check after 15 minutes. They are done when the rolls are a golden brown all over.

You can top these with Buttercream Icing, or try this easy glaze.

Cinnamon Roll Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla (or 1/8 tsp maple extract for a new taste!)

Mix these and drizzle/pour over hot cinnamon rolls. Enjoy one while it’s hot!

I like to offer a few choices as you can see here.
I put icing on one end, maple glaze on the other end,
and leave the center free of topping.