Whole Wheat Cookin'

I've made a new resolution to not bake every day anymore because it's really gotten out of control. All my waking up every morning at 5:30 am to go work my butt off at the gym was doing me no good when I just come home and load up on butter, sugar, and chocolate! So, I'm going to try to just bake once a week...or maybe twice. But for now, I've been trying some more healthy recipes that I'm actually really excited about!

I have to admit I was very proud of my beautiful, delicious, and mostly healthy pizza we had last night. I used the CPK Honey-Wheat Pizza Dough recipe and then loaded it with the goods. I had to take a picture before I cooked it just in case while it was in the oven my kids escaped out the front door and before I could catch up with them, ran to the back of the house, and then back to the front again and had me running circles for a few minutes before I could catch them. Don't worry, I saved it and it was perfect!

California Pizza Kitchen Honey-Wheat Dough
(makes 2 individual size pizzas)

1 tsp yeast
1/2 C plus 1 tsp warm water
1 C flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
5 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 T extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tsp for coating

Mix yeast and water and set aside. Mix all other ingredients in large glass bowl. Make a well in the middle to add yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon to combine. Once initial mixing is done, lightly oil your hands and knead for about 5 minutes before forming into a ball.

Lightly oil the dough ball and your glass bowl. Place dough ball inside bowl and cover with plastic wrap so it's air tight. Let rise until double in size, about 2 hours. Punch down, reseal bowl, and let rise again. You can refrigerate it over night, but I didn't plan that far ahead.

Divide dough into two even pieces and shape on a lightly floured board or counter. (I used cornmeal instead of flour) Top with toppings of your choice and bake at 500 degrees for about 8-10 minutes on a preheated pizza stone.

These were my toppings in the following order:

pesto
mozzarella cheese
crumbled bacon
pine nuts
carmelized onions
goat cheese
tomatoes
more mozzarella and goat cheese

My whole wheat cinnamon rolls turned out to be more of a dessert than breakfast because I started out healthy, but kept adding more and more goodness to them. They were so light and sweet even without a glaze, but I did have to add one anyway. The juice from the berries just dripped all over the place without making it soggy though. My mouth it watering just looking at the pictures! I can't wait to make these again!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with Mixed Berry Filling

3 C white flour
2 C whole wheat flour
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp salt
2 pkg dry yeast
1 C milk
1/2 C water
1/2 C butter
2 eggs

Filling:
1 C chopped berries (I used the frozen mix from Costco that has raspberries, blueberries, and marionberries)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C chopped pecans or walnuts
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C butter, melted

Combine 2 1/2 C white flour and whole wheat flour in large bowl. Add sugar, salt, and yeast. Combine milk, water, and butter in pan. Heat until very warm. Gradually add to dry ingredients. Add eggs and flour. Let rise to double.

Combine all ingredients for filling.

Roll out to large rectangle (about the size of a cookie sheet) and spread filling over the entire thing. Roll up lengthwise and cut into 1 inch slices. Bake in 9x13 casserole dish at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Makes 15 rolls. Best served warm.

Top with glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and lemon juice, if you are like me and have to add more sugar to everything.