easy cinnamon rolls

I sort of made these cinnamon rolls on accident.  Well, I didn't accidentally make them, I just hadn't intended on making them when I set out making the dough.  I was making another recipe, which called for a sweet dough recipe, but only half of the amount that the recipe made.  Not wanting to waste the remaining dough, I looked through my recipe book for another recipe that only called for half the dough amount, and lo and behold: Cinnamon Rolls!  I had never made cinnamon rolls before, so I was actually excited to try them out.  Of course, now I know how to make cinnamon rolls, which seems like dangerous knowledge.  
The fun thing about these rolls is that they seem super easy to customize.  I imagine tossing some raisins or craisins in before rolling them could make for a tasty variation.  Or if you're into nuts, maybe making a maple pecan version?  Eh?  I love these basic recipes because they make for a good foundation for playing around with different variations.  

  (recipe via Betty Crocker)
Ingredients: for the dough (makes enough for two batches.  Use half of this to make the cinnamon rolls): 1 package active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water (105 - 115º F) 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled) 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 tsp salt 1 egg 3.5-4 cups all purpose flour
for the filling: 2 tbsp butter, softened 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp ground cinnamon
for the glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp milk  1/2 tsp vanilla extract
To make the dough: 1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl.  Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. 2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl and turn greased side up. 3. Cover and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1.5 hours.  Dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched.  If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can keep it in a greased bowl, covered, and refrigerate it after kneading.  It can keep for up to 4 days.
To make filling + form rolls: 1. Use 1/2 the dough you just made and roll it into a 15 x 9 in rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  Spread with softened butter.  Mix cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the rectangle. 2. Roll up the dough, tightly rolling from the long side.  Pinch edge of dough into the roll to seal well.  Stretch the roll to make it even.  Cut into 1 1/2 in slices and place them slightly apart in a greased 9 in. square pan.  Let rise until double, about 40 minutes. 3. Heat the oven to 375º F.  Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes.  Spread the rolls with the glaze while warm.
To make the glaze: Mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until glaze is smooth and of desired consistency.

black heart

Daylight "savings" always throws me off.  It always feels like all of a sudden I'm scrambling to get all my stuff done before the sun sets and I lose my light.  All of a sudden I have to have any photography-based projects done before 4 pm.  These photos barely made it before the sun slipped below the horizon.   It's so funny how much can change in a year.  I suppose not much has changed all that much, but I'm starting to think about my 27 before 28 goal list, and while there are definitely things I'd like to roll over from my 26 before 27 list which I haven't yet completed (hey-yo tattoo, gallery showing, and quilt), there are also some new things that I'm pretty excited about that I want to leap into.

 

dress/courtesy of modcloth :: quartz necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis bone necklace/thrifted :: triangle necklace/courtesy of moorea seal :: jacket/modcloth cuff (similar)/courtesy of lulu's :: photos by morrow studios

When I was down in St. Louis for STLFW last month I was at Neiman Marcus browsing through the makeup counters while wearing some dark lipstick, and I was looking for some really dark lipstick.  None of the makeup counter ladies really got what I was going for, and I realized that I was definitely not in the right place for something as avant garde as near-black lipstick.  Today I was inspired to figure out a way to attempt it and used some of my old MAC fluidline eyeliner to make some ombre black-to-scarlet lips, and I think it might be my new favorite thing.  I don't really feel like using eyeliner every time though, so I want to try some real black lipstick.  Does anyone have any suggestions for actual black lipstick?  I feel like it's not easy to come by, but I'm not a makeup expert by any stretch of the imagination. 

 

pumpkin caramels

Earlier in the year I attended the PNW Blogger meet up in Seattle and I won the book Sweet Confections in the raffle.  It's full of delicious looking candy recipes and I've been meaning to try them out, but candies always look a bit more intimidating than normal cooking, so I put it off.  Tis the season for all of the pumpkin things, though, so I decided to start with making the Pumpkin Caramel recipe from the book!  If you guys follow my twitter, you probably know the backstory to these caramels.  Truth be told, it took me five attempts to get these right and I nearly lost my mind!  The first time I did it, they never set up, the next couple times I messed up the part where I mixed the cream with the caramelized sugar, and then I also overheated a batch.  It was certainly a learning experience, but I think I've got it down now.  There's a lot more finesse and preciseness involved in making candy, but I was determined to figure it out.  
The next treat on my list, or rather Dan's, is fudge.  I'm not a huge fudge fan, but Dan has been begging me to make some, so I'm thinking I might try bourbon fudge or peppermint fudge.  Peppermint is very holiday friendly, but I do love mixing booze and treats.


 

(recipe via Sweet Confections) Makes appx 64 pieces
Tools: 8x8 inch pan Plastic Wrap 1 Quart saucepan 2 Quart saucepan Heatproof silicone spatula Candy thermometer Cutting board Parchment Paper Chef's Knife or Pizza wheel Cellophane or Waxed Paper
Ingredients: 1 tbsp corn syrup 1 tbsp golden syrup or molasses 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ginger 1/8 tsp allspice 1 tbsp unsalted butter 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1 1/2 cups cream 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin

1. Line an 8x8 inch pan with plastic wrap.
2. Mix together the corn syrup, golden syrup/molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice into a paste in a 1 qt saucepan.  Add the butter, kosher salt, pumpkin, and cream, and cook over medium heat.  Once it comes to a boil, decrease the heat to low to keep it warm.
3.  Meanwhile, caramelize the sugar in a 2 qt saucepan.  To caramelize sugar, heat the empty saucepan over medium high heat for a few minutes.  Pour about an 1/8 inch layer of sugar into the pan.  Wherever you first notice a darkened spot of brown caramelized sugar, begin stirring in that spot with a silicone spatula.  Gradually swirl the surrounding sugar into the liquified caramel.  Add another 1/8 inch layer and gradually stir it into the caramelized sugar.   Keep adding layers gradually, making sure not to add too much at once.  The sugar should stay mostly liquid.  Stir the sugar so it cooks evenly until all the sugar crystals are dissolved.
4.  When the sugar has fully caramelized, turn off the heat.  Slowly and gently add the cream mixture into the caramelized sugar, while stirring.  The mixture will bubble up pretty high, be careful of spatter.  Return heat to medium high and stir constantly and gently until it reaches 248º F.  If you don't heat it high enough the caramel won't thicken, too high and it will thicken too hard.  
5.  Pour into the prepared pan, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let set at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, at room temperature.
6. Unwrap the caramel and place it on a cutting board covered with parchment paper, to keep it from sticking.  Use a chef's knife or pizza wheel to cut the slab into 1/2 inch wide strips, and then cut each strip into 2 inch long pieces.  Wrap each piece individually in cellophane or wax paper.

black gold

It will never seem normal to me to head into the holiday season without snow on the ground.  I'm slowly getting used to it, but it's just never the same without big drifts of snow and days spent sledding and hot cocoa to thaw out frozen fingers.  I even miss the days of 5 hours of daylight.  So much about the holidays revolves around a snowy winter, so it's been an adjustment having a snowless holiday.  While many believe that a snowy climate limits what you can wear, I never really felt that my style was too limited by snow.  Even this outfit, with a winter coat added, would probably pass muster, though I'm sure I'd probably get some side-eyes wearing a crop top in November in Anchorage.  One trick that I use all the time for wearing tights in winter is layering them.  For a sheer tights situation, like these sheer black polka dot ones, I wear a thick, opaque nude pair of tights underneath to increase warmth.  If you have a nice, high quality pair of thick, opaque tights, you can throw them on underneath your sheer tights and it's almost the same as wearing leggings.  Tacoma's been pretty chilly these days, so I've already started using that trick.


 

bag + wallet/courtesy of fossil:: skirt + tights/courtesy of modcloth :: boots/target long sheer dress + claw necklace + belt/thrifted :: top/courtesy of spotted moth  quartz necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis :: hat/courtesy of lulu's  triangle necklace/courtesy of moorea seal
When I chose this purse and clutch/wallet to style for this collaboration with Fossil + Lucky Magazine, I didn't plan on pairing them with such a monochromatic matching outfit, but I'm kind of in love with it!  I love a more dramatic take on the holiday "silver and gold" trend.  Even my belt buckle and the metal details on my boots match the gold.  Sometimes it's fun to put an outfit together and then realize how much matching you did subconsciously.
I used to think that I was a silver girl.  I didn't like gold jewelry, and didn't much care for the color either.  In the past year or two I've started really enjoying the look of gold in my jewelry and accessories.  I even got a gold vintage party dress that I've been wanting to wear for over a year, but I just haven't gotten around to altering it to fit!  I've been slowly adding more gold to my wardrobe and I like the diversity that it brings.  Plus, being a fan of print mixing, I'm also into mixing metals, so I can still mix in my silver jewelry too!
 

*This post is in partnership with Fossil and Lucky Magazine. Thanks for supporting those companies which help keep Delightfully Tacky alive and kicking!

mushroom butternut gruyere tart

ModCloth asked me if I wanted to share a recipe for their friendsgiving series this past week, so I contributed this savory tart as an appetizer!  Head on over to the ModCloth blog to find the recipe!   I love fall flavors and this is a perfect combination of some of my favorites.  I thought it was a pretty fun idea for an appetizer, but it's also a great recipe for dinner.  Dan and I actually shared this tart and it was super filling.
I wanted to have a friendsgiving celebration this year, but I'm a bit too busy to pull it off.  I love the idea, though, since Thanksgiving is a holiday typically spent with family, but it's nice to also be able to give thanks with your friend group as well.  Plus, I'm all for holidays that involve copious amounts of food.  More of those, please.