Risotto for Baby

As promised, this is a recipe that calls for Baby's stock, and it's definitely been a hit at our house. So very gourmet for your little one! Jules adored this Risotto cold because it clumped up and she could feed herself. I added asparagus puree and it was a fantastic mix-in... add any veggie your baby loves!

Makes about 2 cups

1/2 cup Arborio Rice

1 cup Baby's Stock

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil or unsalted butter

2 tsp fresh herbs (your baby's preference - tarragon, dill, oregano, etc!)

Put rice, stock, and oil in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring once, until liquid has been absorbed and rice is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in herbs and cover for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with fork, stir in puree and serve lukewarm or cooled.

Cinnamon Sticky Buns

So by now you've noticed that most (ok, all) of my recipes are super simple and don't take a lot of time. Working full time and being a mom with an infant (and 3 dogs!) doesn't exactly give me a lot of time to dedicate to baking. That's why I even shocked myself with these sticky buns. They are definitely a lot more labor intensive than I normally have time for...seriously, look at these steps! I was quite impressed with myself. :)

P.S. I omitted the pecans, that is why they are not pictured in the filling.

Makes 3 batches of 9

For the dough:

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water

1 cup milk, room temp

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp, cut into small pieces

3 large eggs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

For the topping:

1 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups firmly packed light-brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

Filling:

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup pecans, toasted, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl, let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, mix milk, butter, eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add yeast mixture, mix 1 minute. Add 4 cups of flour, mix until smooth.

Switch to dough hook, continue mixing and add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time until dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for about 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large buttered bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Make topping: melt butter in a saucepan, stir in sugars and corn syrup. Cook, stirring, over low heat until sugars dissolve. Set aside.

Punch down dough, then turn out to a floured surface. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces; roll each into a ball (refridgerate or freeze what you are not using).

Assemble buns: Roll out dough ball in a 10x13 rectangle. Brush dough with melted butter. Top with filling, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Starting on one long side, roll into a log. Pinch dough edge on the log. Cut into nine slices, approximately 1 1/4 inch thick.

Divide 1 cup of topping into the nine cups of a large muffin tin (1 cup capacity) or cover the bottom of a 8 inch square baking pan. Place the buns in the tin or pan.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack on the lower level. Let sticky buns rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes until doubled in size. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until golden brown and bubbling, 30-35 minutes. Immediately turn out buns onto rack. Serve warm.