Mascarpone-Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls

With Mother's Day just around the corner, what better way to make mom's day than to have a batch of these ooey-gooey, sticky, sweet, decadent Mascarpone-Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls and a big glass of milk and/or coffee ready for her?!? These have become a super favorite in our house ever since my own mom discovered the Pillsbury "Mascarpone-Filled Cranberry-Walnut Rolls" recipe around Christmas time. Now she makes it her own way with a variety of fillings and toppings. Feel free to experiment yourself. Try ricotta, cream cheese, or goat cheese, use any dried fruits, jams, honey, maple syrup, add mixed nut, walnuts, pistachios. As long as there's butter, biscuit, sugar, and love, they are sure to delight!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped 
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup white or brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 can (12 oz) biscuit mix (or make your own if you're feeling extra brave)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese or cream cheese, softened 
1/4 cup butter or margerine
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk 

Step 1: Heat oven to 350, grease a round pan or 8x8 square pan. Mix any nuts and/or fruit you are using in a small bowl. Lay out two shallow bowls or plates, one with melted butter and one with cinnamon/sugar.

Step 2: Put a glob of mascarpone in the center of one biscuit round (about 1 tbsp) and pinch the sides up around it. Roll into a ball, making sure cheese is completely covered. You could add the nuts and fruit in the middle here, or reserve to sprinkle them on top. 


Step 3: Roll each ball in the melted butter, then in the cinnamon and sugar. Place seam-side down in the greased pan. Once all biscuits are stuffed, spread remaining melted butter and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon and sugar.

  


Step 4: Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, until biscuits are nice and brown. Mix 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk until a thin glaze forms. Drizzle over the warm rolls.

 

These things are simply incredible, warm and chewy, sweet and cinnamony. That's my sexy "Time for Science" shirt in the background, drowning the rolls in icing!

Who wouldn't want to wake up to these!?! Make them any time really. Every day? Maybe if you're also a marathon runner...

What will you do for your mom on Mother's Day?

Pineapple Pancake Syrup

While maple syrup is delightful, sometimes you feel a little bolder at breakfast time. When I get bored or simply want something unexpected, I make up my own syrups. Since I had a huge amount of leftover pineapple upside down cake and sweet potato pancakes from breakfast at Snooze in Denver (which could be a huge post in its own right, seriously GO THERE, it's amazing), I decided to make a pineapple-y syrup to go with them. This would be a great syrup to make and have breakfast in bed for Valentine's Day (or the Saturday following).

Ingredients:

1/2 can pineapple chunks

1/4 cup pineapple juice from can

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

Step 1: Put all ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer 5-20 minutes, until it thickens to your liking.

These were the sweet potato pancakes, so those got extra love: melted marshmallows!

Step 2: Pour over pancakes. Stuff yourself silly, and smile. I bet this would taste great over my Perfect Pancakes too.

What's your favorite way to top pancakes?