Bready or Not Original: Super Cheesy Pull-Apart Rolls
I’m not going to lie: these Super Cheesy Pull-Apart Rolls are a LOT of work. But are they delicious? Oh goodness, yes!
They are easy to customize, too. Swamp out the cheeses for other good melters, but don’t exceed 8 ounces. The herbs can be customized, too–use what you like, and fresh, if it’s available!
Make these rolls ahead of time and freeze them, then thaw and heat to impress during a special occasion!
Bready or Not Original: Super Cheesy Pull-Apart Rolls
These are not quick-fix rolls. No, they are complex, loaded with cheese and butter, and absolutely delicious.
Servings: 12 rolls
Equipment
- instant read thermometer
- stand mixer with paddle and dough hook
- olive oil or nonstick spray
- baking spray with flour
- parchment paper
- pastry brushes
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/2 cup half & half or milk
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter cubed
- 3 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 large egg room temperature
Filling
- 8 ounces cheese cut into 1/2-inch cubes, good melters like Havarti, mozzarella, or herbed cheddar, or a mix
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Finish
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a medium saucepan, warm the half & half, water, and cubed butter until an instant thermometer reads 120-130 degrees. Immediately remove from heat. The butter should be melted.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Beat in the warm milk mixture. Beat on low to combine. Beat in egg.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add 2 more cups of flour. The shaggy dough will start to come together.
- Switch to a dough hook attachment. Continue beating dough until a soft dough forms, about 12 to 15 minutes. If it is excessively sticky, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it smooths out.
- Turns dough out on a floured surface to knead for a minute, then shape it into a round.
- Add oil or nonstick spray to a large bowl. Place dough inside and flip it around to coat. Place a towel or plastic wrap as a lid and set to warm in a draft-free place, about 75 degrees, for 45 minutes to an hour. The dough should double in size.
- Punch down dough and cover it to rest for a few more minutes while more preparations are made.
Shape the rolls
- Coat the wells of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking spray with flour.
- Turn out dough onto a stretch of floured parchment paper. Roll out to a 15×12 rectangle. Using a bench knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into roughly 1-1/2 inch squares. Smaller pieces are fine, too.
- In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients: cheese, melted butter, rosemary, and basil. Toss in the dough pieces, moving them around to mix and coat.
- Pluck up pieces of dough and cheese and arrange them to more or less equally fill all 12 muffin cups. Pay attention to where the cheese is placed, because if it’s on the outside it could ooze out of the pan. Squeeze everything in. Cover with plastic wrap and set again to rise for 20 to 30 minutes. The rolls should look puffed.
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Finish them!
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the rolls.
- Bake for 24 to 27 minutes, until the tops are browned. An instant thermometer should read at least 200 degrees on the inside.
- As the rolls begin to cool in the pan, stir together the melted butter and salt. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the rolls. Serve hot.
- Store in the fridge for up to a few days, always warming to serve. Rolls can also be frozen for upwards of a month.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies
These Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies are something special. Orange and chocolate is such a classic combo, and it works very well with a soft, cakey cookie and sweet glaze.
This recipe of mine makes a LOT of cookies, whether you shape them to be big or small. The great news is that the dough is wonderful to freeze, so really, you can do a half batch or the whole thing whenever you want. Then on baking day, you just need to bake and glaze!
These are traditionally Italian Christmas cookies, but we are restricted by no season here at Bready or Not. Good things can and should be enjoyed all year long. Makes these ASAP, and just make more again later in the year!
By the way, if you want a more basic take, I also have a plain Ricotta Cookies recipe!
Bready or Not Original: Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies
This recipe makes a big batch of soft, tender cookies. The dough is great to freeze, too, so half could even be baked fresh, the other half frozen. The whole batch makes about 65 large cookies or 100 small ones.
Ingredients
Dough
- 15 ounces ricotta cookies
- 1 3/4 cups white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
- zest from 3-4 navel oranges
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
Glaze for full batch
- 2 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 4-5 Tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth and creamy.
- In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually combine with the wet mixture, scraping the bottom to incorporate everything. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- At this point, the dough can be divided, if desired, to freeze half or all. If baking soon, wrap and chill the dough for about two hours or overnight.
- To begin baking, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a large or small scoop or spoon to dole out dough balls spaced out on cookie sheet. Large cookies will bake in about 15 to 18 minutes; small cookies will need 11 to 13 minutes. The edges should be golden brown. Let cookies sit for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
Make the glaze
- Mix confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until thick and smooth. Use the back of a spoon to spread atop a cookie. Continue with the rest of the batch.
- Let cookies rest until glaze is set, about an hour or so, then transfer to a sealed container. Place waxed paper between layers if stacking the cookies. Store at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate-Almond Bundt Cake with Almond Glaze
I’m not going to lie: this cake has so many of my favorite things all in cake form, and it made me very happy. I hope you love this Chocolate-Almond Bundt Cake with Almond Glaze, too.
First of all, you can do your own from-scratch almond paste for this recipe. I did not. I used a tube from Trader Joe’s. You can also find it at Walmart and many other places.
Almond flavor carries through every bite of this recipe, in different forms, with different textures. There is sweetness here, but not hardcore. Really, it’s about how the almond and chocolate complement each other.
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate-Almond Bundt Cake with Almond Glaze
If you love chocolate and almond together, this bundt cake will be your slice of heaven. The cake looks beautiful, too, with a crown of glaze and sliced almonds.
Equipment
- 10-cup bundt pan
- baking spray with flour
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 7 ounces almond paste
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cups half & half (or milk) warmed to 70 degrees
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 + Tablespoons half & half or heavy cream
- sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat the interior of a 10-cup bundt cake with baking spray with flour.
- Beat butter and almond paste together until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the extracts. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to mix in everything.
- In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet alternatively with the half & half/milk. Scrape the bottom of the bowl again, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, leveling out the top.
- Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. A thermometer plunged into the cake should read over 205 degrees.
- Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely, speeding in fridge, if desired.
- For the glaze, mix together the confectioners’ sugar, almond extract, and half & half, adding more sugar or liquid as needed to reach a good thick, oozy consistency. Dollop onto the cake so that it dribbles down the sides. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge or at room temperature. Cake can also be individually sliced and frozen for later.
