TREATERY!!

that's right, friends.
on the first of the month,
we not only say the magic words,
but,
also, we bake somethin' special.
mmhmmmm-
then again,
i guess i make somethin' special most days, don't i?
yeah, yeah-
just about every day is a special day,
and just about every day has a treat on the schedule,
because today IS the day, just like yesterday was, and tomorrow will be.
that's real.
and y'know what else is real?
maple F*ing syrup.
don't even think about coming at me with that brown corn doo-doo sauce, man.
i want that concentrated acer essence on my tastebuds,
and nothing else will do.
luckily, i'm set up for success in the northern woodsly goodness of new englnad,
where's there's oceans of the stuff waiting just for me.
and were there's maple syrup, there's usually cinnamon,
and once we're effing around with cinnamon-
well,
that's when we gotta roll out the hottness.
word up.
maple pecan cinnamon rolls for the rabbit rabbit recital is what went down.
and they were expert AF, buddy.
see for yourself, via the chopped-nut-type teleport:

'SPLOSIVO!!!
nuts on nuts on nuts,
and coconut holiday NOG, for your noggin',
activated deep inside the dough, bro.
do you hang out with exxxplosively awesome edible morning gloriousness?
really? me TOO!!
here's the thing-
cinnamon rolls are good.
cinnamon rolls with nuts are great.
cinnamon maple nut rolls, with cinnamaplecreamchee' icing are expert.
i mean, C'MON, right?
too much is the right amount,
and that's just what this is.
molto molto, man.
good food, even when it's perhaps not as nutritionally health supportive as,
say, a carrot juice smoothie,
is still an impressive way to start your day.
intentionally fancy,
superior in taste and texture,
completely homemade-
that's an engaging exercise in active participation, begun before dawn, even.
dudes,
do YOU wanna have a great morning?
then let me suggest y'all make a batch of these bad boys for yourselves,
and watch the improvements to your daily routine commence immediately.
you don't know where to begin?
at the beginning, of course.
here's how it all unfolds:
-
*
CINNAMAPLE PECAN ROLLIOS!!
-
preheat your oven to 375℉
-
in a small pot, on low heat, warm up 1 cup vegan nog, 1/2 stick vegan butter, 1 tsp vanilla,
and 2 T maple syrup-
when the butter is melted, test the temperature,
and let it cool to right around baby-bottle-on-your-wrist degrees.
then add 2 tsp bread machine yeast (that's the refrigerated jar one, FYI)
-
in your trusty upright stand mixer,
combine:
3 T maple sugar;
3 T raw sugar;
1 tsp cinnamon;
1/2 tsp salt;
3 cups flour;
2 T fast-actin' yeast;
1/2 tsp gluten;
........and that one-pot warmish hottness from your stovetop.
knead it up for eleven minutes of lowish speed,
and rest it for five more,
before rolling out a rectangle on a floured work surface,
to be filled with the following:
-
toast 1/2 cup chopped pecans, and glaze with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
set aside to cool.
-
in a small bowl, cream together:
1/2 cup brow sugar;
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice,
1/4 tsp maple extract;
1/4 tsp vanilla;
3 T earth balance buttery pats.
-
spread the cinnamon stuff everywhere except pne long edge of the rectangle of dough,
drop those chopped nuts evenly throughout,
and roll it so the unsugared rim sticks to the outside, and seals it up.
depending on how gooey and warm it is in YOUR house,
(the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress is always pretty chilly)
you can cut a dozen rolls right away,
or wrap and chill that buttery mess until it's a bit firmer first....
that's a cut in half, and those halves cut in half,
and those quarters cut into thirds.
but, you probably knew that.
ANYway,
drop a few more nuts on top, sprankle style,
to reassure yourself that you're not a cheapskate lazy A*-hole who doesn't understand the rules.
and bake them for 20-30 minutes,
depending on how golden and gooey you like 'em.
mmmmmmmmm.
when they've cooled just a bit,
you MUST glaze 'em,
or you're categorically doing it all wrong.
real talk.
i already had a little cinnamaplecreamchee' frosting,
an i thinned it out a smidge with a drop of that NOG,
so that it was ready to be thickly drizzled all over those nutty buns.
holy sh!t, guys-
it was enlightening, even as it ascended beyond some level eleven excellence.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
*
food is my favorite thing.
i'm sayin',
i have some other things i really, really like, too.
(and a few people, as well, who i'll allow into the tightly-guarded, insulated,
echoless aureole around my close, secret, savage stormswept cast-iron furnace of a heart)
but,
it's food that brings it all together.
the unifying force.
the cohesive cinnamony-iced glue binding and bonding me and you and everyone we know.
if i wasn't cooking, i doubt i'd be surviving.
i've found a special sort of solace in creation and destruction,
my very own impermanent embrace,
and the best part?
i get to eat it all.
this is as close to non-attachment as i've ever gotten,
and as the last roll disappears into my mouth,
i'm letting go, and welcoming whatever comes next
(pizza, then cake, and eventually breakfast for dinner)
it's all really happening, friends.
and that's probably for the best;
never quiet, never soft.....