Mentor Knows Best: The Mother’s Day Edition

Posted on Apr 29, 2015 in DELICIOUS

absolutely! DELICIOUS –

Whether she’s your mom or a “like-a-mother” mentor, chances are you’ve got a lot to thank her for this Mother’s Day. It’s a time for celebrating your biggest supporters, number one fans and best friends.

In life, we’re lucky to form relationships with women we can learn from and grow with. Beth Somers, Elizabeth Nelson and Emily Tatak from the Wilton Test Kitchen consider themselves lucky.

Beth Somers, Director of Creative Content Development, owes her start to her former boss Milette Raz. Raz is trained in the Wilton Method of Cake DecoratingTM and taught Somers how to decorate. But Somers thinks of Raz as so much more, calling her a mentor, her second mother and her friend. Years after working together, the duo teamed up for Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, returning home as champions of season six with winning recipes like Tropical Getaway Cupcakes.

Elizabeth Nelson, Assistant Culinary Specialist, attributes her love of baking to her grandma Ann, learning the basics with her and picking up passed down recipes that she brought with her to college. She looks up to her mother, her grandmother and her great-grandmother, whom she’s told she also gets her competitive nature from. Nelson and her grandmother went through a lot of trial and error together to come up with what they believe is the perfect cinnamon roll recipe, very similar to this recipe for Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Glaze.

For Emily Tatak, preserving family recipes and continuing the traditions around the holidays and in the kitchen led to her career at Wilton as an Assistant Culinary Specialist. She owes her inspiration to her mom, who taught her how to bake. Together they iced cakes, decorated sugar cookies and even made a gingerbread house from scratch. Keeping with tradition, celebrating the holidays without grandma Irene’s Kolachy recipe just wouldn’t be the same.

For more recipe ideas to honor your mother or special mentor, visit s.wilton.com/MentorKnowsBest.

Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Glaze

200-cinnamonServings: 1 dozen rolls

Rolls: 1 1/3 cups warm milk (105°F) 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 2 egg yolks 1 teaspoon Wilton Pure Vanilla Extract 3/4 teaspoon salt 4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting

Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons bread flour 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Glaze:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 1/2 cup lightly-packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon Wilton Pure Vanilla Extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (about 1/4 pound)

For rolls, stir together warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in large bowl. Let stand 5–10 minutes or until foamy. Add butter, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and salt. Mix with electric mixer using dough hook on medium speed until combined. Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time, and mix on medium speed until smooth, elastic dough forms, about 5 minutes.

Spray large bowl with vegetable pan spray. Form dough into ball, place into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

For filling, stir together butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium bowl until well-combined.

Prepare 13-by-9-inch pan with vegetable pan spray.

Punch dough down and roll out to 18-by-14-inch rectangle on floured surface. Spread filling onto dough and roll up from long end, like a jelly roll. Pinch seam to seal, trim ends and cut into 12 equally-sized pieces.

Place rolls into prepared pan; cover with plastic wrap and let rise 25–30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap from rolls and bake 25–29 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack while preparing glaze.

For glaze, melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and cream. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture reaches a simmer; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Pour glaze over warm rolls. Serve warm.

Grandma’s Kolachy Cookies

200-kolachyServings: 6 1/2 dozen cookies

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon Wilton Pure Vanilla Extract 1/2 teaspoon salt Poppy seed, apricot and strawberry pastry filling Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add flour, vanilla and salt; beat until just combined. Divide dough into 2 disks. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill at least 12 hours.

Heat oven to 375°F.

Working with 1 disk at a time, roll each to 1/8-inch thickness on generously floured surface. Cut cookies using 2 inch round cutter. Place on cookie sheet and make indentation in dough with thumb. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon pastry filling into each indentation.

Bake 16–18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on pan on cooling grid 5 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on grid. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Source: Family Features