It is Back to School Season! I’ve put together a few recipes that will make the beginning of the school year more fun (and manageable!). These make ahead dinners, easy breakfast recipes and simple desserts will get an A+ from your kids… and will pass the parent taste test, too!
Easy breakfast!
Breakfast is tricky for all of us, right? Or maybe you’re super Mom/Wife and are flipping pancakes and making egg white omlets at 7 AM every morning. Good for you. More realistic breakfasts (for the rest of us) usually consists of cereal or something that comes out of a toaster. If you’re using my Back-to-School Guide, your family has been enjoying a healthy and fulfilling Breakfast Strata all week for breakfast… but now it is Friday. You want to make a little something special for your kids to take for breakfast… but you only have 10 minutes. If you have puff pastry in the freezer*, you’re in luck. These cinnamon roll-ups are a similar technique to my pecan cinnamon rolls, but you can make them in no time. They are buttery and flaky with cinnamon and sugar, drizzled with icing… and they are homemade. Your kids/family/husband will love them. Not only for breakfast, these are darling enough to serve along coffee at a bridal/baby shower brunch. They are inexpensive to make. For about $5 you can make 32 roll-ups. Try purchasing any treat from a bakery for $5! *As I mentioned in the Chicken Pot Pie post (say that three times fast…), I always keep puff pastry in the freezer. I use it for making quick caramelized onion and goat cheese tarts, cinnamon pecan sticky buns, and easy appetizers… it was definitely my secret weapon as a caterer and party planner.
Quick Cinnamon Roll-Ups
1 sheet of puff pastry, frozen or thawed
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/4 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of milk (+ more for thinning, if necessary)
Cut puff pastry into triangles – any size, big-small, just stay consistent. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Roll up. Place on a baking sheet. Place under a high broiler for 3-5 minutes (depending on the size of your triangles). Watch them carefully. When they’ve puffed and just begin to brown on the corners, they’re ready. Meanwhile, stir together powdered sugar and milk to make an easy icing. When you remove the roll-ups from the oven, drizzle with icing glaze.
Cut the puff pastry into triangles. They can be any size – the small ones will bake faster than larger, something to keep in mind if you’re short on time.
You can be as generous as you’d like with the toppings. This recipe is very flexible. Maybe add some pecans or raisins at this point?
Rolled and ready to go. Note that I’m using a silpat to make sure they come off without a fuss. You can also use parchment paper which is one of my everyday essentials… click here for a link to all of my must haves!
Cinnamon, sugar, butter, icing… Don’t they look delicious!