*My Zumba dancing is so bad that it made my neighbors move. Or at least that is what I secretly hope. I do stomp extra loud for them. Now before you feel sorry for them know that they smoke out on their patio and we live in a completely smoke free place…not even parking lot. And from 8 am to 10pm daily they play their music so loud my floor vibrates (hence my Zumba retaliation).

*I may turn into a jelly bean I have eaten sooo many lately. If possible I think I ate my weight in them this week and going to two of me. Seriously, someone hide them from me. It’s very bad that Easter is around the corner.

*I have an urge to buy a cookbook anyone have a good suggestion for one?

*People like some seriously ugly stuff on Pinterest.

*Oreo came out with a Birthday Cake Oreo. I have heard mixed reviews…but that won’t stop me from trying.

*Being back to hockey is so nice. My arm isn’t 100% but it’s not bothered during hockey. Plus this girl got a new stick for Valentine’s and I am pretty sure the goalies in the league should be worried.

*The soda fountain Coke dispensers that have over 100 flavors are beyond cool. Sprite Zero comes in a bunch of flavors too…like peach! I love the peach!

*I have to stop smiling at people. I really am starting to understand why people go around frowning all the time. Today I smiled at a man sitting next to me at the allergy clinic. Bad choice. Did I get hit on (and who wouldn’t hit on me wearing my two sizes too big sweats and Flames sweatshirt)? No, I got a lecture about God. Let’s just say I am pretty sure this guy thought he was not going to be left behind in the rapture. Ugh.

*There is no market for selling your dog’s lesser vital organs. Darn.

*Two of the nicest people you ever met married each other today, wish them nothing but the best!

*I hate ad revenue for January and February, it’s downright depressing. Thank goodness for bulk Ramen. Well not quite that bad yet.

*I’ve never had a Honey Bell Orange until Harry and David sent me one in my Fruit of the Month box. They are awesome. Awesome. And oh yeah, awesome. I decided to make a hot water chocolate cake…but use orange juice instead. Gives the cake a hint of orange in all the right places. And anything with ganache has to be good.

*Have a happy and safe three day weekend to those in the states.

Chocolate Honey Bell Orange Cake with Ganache

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted and at room temperature
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (I used Harry and David Honey Bell Oranges)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment add eggs, milk, buttermilk, melted chocolate, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Put fresh orange juice into a small sauce pan and bring to a quick boil. Add to mixer and mix on low speed until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix on low-medium speed until fully incorporated.

Pour the thin batter into a greased and floured 13x9x2-inch baking pan or two greased and floured 9-inch layer cake pans or three greased and floured 8-inch layer cake pans.

Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes for a rectangular cake or 30 to 35 minutes for layers. A wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center should come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on rack then remove from pan and cool completely.

Chocolate Orange Ganache

1 cup heavy whipping cream
Zest of one orange (again I used the Honey Bell)
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl.

Heat the cream and orange zest in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil pour cream through a strainer to remove zest pieces.
Once strained, immediately pour orange infused cream our over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
Let sit at room temperature for a few minutes and then frost cake.

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and while most people will tell you that it’s the day to shop, I say it officially starts that which is the baking frenzy. It’s when I get the most traffic all year to my site (not to be confuse with January where everyone is on a diet and no one stops by).

I will admit that in the world of pastry I don’t really do pie. I hate making crust. And while I will happily eat a pie that someone made (especially apple) or hell even a Hostess hand pie, I just don’t get whipped into a frenzy over pie making. But then I saw a cinnamon roll crust using premade pie crust (feel free to make your own pie crust…I’m just in a time crunch) I knew pie had to be made. It’s really quite interesting. You cut the pie dough like cinnamon rolls and then re-roll it out.

I also prefer everything to be in mini form, I just feel less guilty. Which is ironic because I tend to eat twice as much. I read a study once about the mini candy bars that the found people who eat the minis were likely to eat three times the amount than if they just ate the real size candy bars. I could see that.

The apples I am using come from the Harry and David Fruit of the Month club. When I was growing up my aunt would give us the Fruit of the Month club as a gift every year. I looked forward to it and was super sad when it stopped coming. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving and it’s a great way to get someone to think of you every month. We used to call my aunt every month and thank her and tell her what we were sent. And it was something the whole family got to enjoy. When I was at Harry and David in October I told them my story of how much I loved to get the fruit each month and told them that I would love to challenge myself to make something every month with the fruit that comes. They liked that idea apparently as they sent me beautiful Honey Crisp Apples (my favorite in the apple world) as my first fruit for Fruit of the Month.

These are easy to make and you need no real special equipment other than just a muffin tin. You have to love that! You need to be careful when rolling out the dough (you could press it down really flat I guess) as some of the rolls like to come with the rolling pin. But just stick them back in their place and move on.

Get baking everybody!!!

Mini Baked Apple Pies with Cinnamon Roll Crust

Cinnamon Roll Crust (see recipe below)
3 – 4 Honey Crisp Apples (mine are from Harry and David), medium
1/4 cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp. fresh nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 TBSP butter, melted

Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce if desired (but why wouldn’t you?)

Peel, core and dice apples in to tiny pieces.

Toss apples with sugar and spices in a small bowl.

Cut pie crusts with a large circle cookie cutter or glass (12 circles total). Use something larger than the muffin up size.

Press pie crust dough into 6 of the muffin pan cups.

Fill each crust with equal parts of the sliced apple mixture.

Use the extra pie dough circles to cover each pie. Press around edges to seal.

Use a knife to cut slits in the top of each pie crust.

Brush the top of each pie crust with melted butter.

Bake at 425 for 25 – 30 minutes.

Adapted from 3 kids and Us.com

*Harry and David were kind enough to send me my apples as a gift.

Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust
2 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (or the whole box)
4 tsp. cinnamon
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

Roll out pie crust on a lightly floured surface. Brush with butter and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon. Roll up tightly and slice into 1/2-inch rounds, like miniature cinnamon rolls. See recipe above to see what to do with pie crust.
Recipe from Tablespoon.com