Boho Holiday Giveaway 2018

If you don’t have a KitchenAid stand mixer, you’re missing out on one of the most useful and durable pieces to own. We’re giving away a 5 qt. KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer in candy apple red, just in time for the holidays!

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter to win. The more options you complete, the more chances you have of winning. (open to US residents only) 

The only mandatory option is to leave a comment below the post - We want to know what you would do with the mixer - keep it or give it to someone special for the holidays?

Good Luck, and Happy Holidays from the Boho Tribe!

This giveaway is sponsored by the following content creators/influencers:

Shea Goldstein - Dixie Chik Cooks

Mary Marshall - Cooking with Mary and Friends

Ally Phillips - Ally’s Kitchen

Ann Krause - Sumptuous Spoonfuls

Abbe Odenwalder - This Is How I Cook

Michaela Kinkel - An Affair From The Heart

Liz Weber Berg - That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Claudia Lamasco - What’s Cooking Italian

Lynnette Moore - Moore or Less Cooking

Veronica Gantley - My Catholic Kitchen

Diane Baker - Canning and Cooking at Home

Sara de Leeuw - My Imperfect Kitchen

Lynn Vining - Southern With a Twist


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     I don't know about you but, it feels like the Holidays are trying to sneak up on me this year!  I decided to get busy and test out some recipes for Thanksgiving and I am adding this Swedish Cinnamon Star Bread to our menu.  The taste and visual appeal of this bread is amazing.  There are endless possibilities and variations for this recipe adding in everything from sweet to savory; nuts, Nutella, chocolate, jams, jellies, pesto, fresh herbs and sundried tomatoes.
    The first time I tasted Cinnamon Star Bread was at a Swedish Holiday party I attended years ago... and I can't believe it took me so long to make one myself.  I admit, it seems like a daunting task to twist and flip the sections of bread but, the dough is so soft and pliable, it all works out great!  It's the perfect "pull-apart cinnamon bread."
     As an Ambassador for Rodelle - they provided the Vanilla Paste used in this recipe. You too can bake with quality flavors and enhance your recipes - just stop by the Rodelle website and check out all their great baking essentials at: www.rodellekitchen.com
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Swedish Cinnamon Star Bread 

Dough

• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour 
• 1/4 cup Potato Flour or 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
• 1/4 cup Nonfat Dry Milk
• 3/4 cup Lukewarm water: the temp your yeast calls for, plus enough additional water to make a soft, smooth dough
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon Rodelle Vanilla Extract or Rodelle Vanilla Paste 
• 2 teaspoons Instant Yeast
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Filling

•   1 large egg, beaten *and set aside 

 

•   1/2 cup sugar
•   1 tablespoon cinnamon 

Instructions

1. Measure and sift the flour, potato flour, and dry milk. (If you're using instant mashed potatoes rather than potato flour - sift only the flour and dry milk.)
2. Combine all of the dough ingredients by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.
3. Place the dough in a lightly oiled/greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 minutes, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
4. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls, and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10" circle. Place the circle on a piece of parchment, brush a thin coat of the beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon-sugar, leaving 1/4" of bare dough around the perimeter.
6. Repeat with the next ball of dough - roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process — egg, cinnamon sugar, dough circle — leaving the top circle bare.
7. Place a 2 1/2" to 3" round cutter in the center of the dough as a guide. (I use a regular jar canning ring.) With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the center to the edge, through all the layers. I cut first in 4 equal parts then move on from there. 
8. To create twists: Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips.
9. Pinch each pair of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points. Remove the center round cutter/canning ring.
10. Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet. Cover the star and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.
11. While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.
12. Brush the star with a thin coat of the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until it's nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should register 200°F on a digital thermometer.
13. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
14. Store any leftover bread, wrapped in plastic, at room temperature. Freeze for longer storage.

Recipe adapted from KAF

    So excited to be working with our Gold Sponsor for #Choctoberfest 2018.  Imperial Sugars are new to me but, what a great product!  I am so happy they sent me their sugars and to use as baking season ramps up for the Holidays.  
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    A little bit of Imperial Sugar History:  "In 1843, along the banks of Oyster Creek in what would later become Sugar Land, the Williams brothers built a mule-powered sugar mill, began grinding sugar cane, and a Texas legacy was born. The Imperial Sugar Company is the one of the oldest continuously operating companies in the State of Texas and was founded by one of the original 100 families brought to the state by Stephen F. Austin. 
    Imperial Sugar provides high-quality sugar and sweetener products and over 100 years of time-tested recipes. Our family of products includes granulated sugar, light and dark brown sugar, free-flowing sugar, powdered sugar, sugar shakers and Steviacane® (Stevia + sugar blend). Imperial Sugar products are 100% pure cane sugar, non-GMO and provide consistently delicious results."

Make sure to visit Imperial Sugars Halloween Contest!!
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Brown Sugar Chocolate Bundt Cake 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed Imperial brown sugar
1/2 cup Imperial granulated white sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325º F. Prepare bundt pan with nonstick baking spray.
Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add sour cream and then incorporate the flour, salt, vanilla, chocolate, baking soda and cocoa.
Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Allow to rest in Bundt pan for about 10 minutes to cool before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  This cake is great frosted or unfrosted but, since Halloween is approaching, I opted for a pumpkin theme. 
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​Ingredients: 
Cake: 

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup Rodelle Baking Cocoa, plus more for dusting pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• 1 teaspoon Rodelle Vanilla Paste
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup boiling water
• 8 ounces chocolate, broken into pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
​Spray bundt pan with non-stick spray. Use a paper towel to make sure spray gets into every corner of the pan and dust with baking cocoa. Turn bundt pan over and shake out any excess cocoa powder.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.
Add in canola oil, buttermilk, vanilla paste. Mix on medium speed just until it starts to come together. Mix eggs in, one at a time. Slowly pour in boiling water. Mix for 2-3 more minutes. This batter will be thin.
Pour batter into bundt pan. Sprinkle chocolate onto batter; mix in with a spoon. 
Bake in preheated oven for 35 - 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs on it.

Allow cake to cool 15 minutes.
Turn cake pan over onto cooling rack and carefully lift pan to remove cake. Cool cake completely. Transfer to a serving platter

For the Cherry Jam  Frosting:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened

2 - 2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
3-4 Tablespoons cherry berry jam 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the cream cheese and butter; mix until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and jam and mix again. Pipe onto cooled cake. Refrigerate any leftovers

     These decadent chocolate donuts are not only lower in fat then their 'fried' counterpart,   they are easy to bake. The beautiful 'orange jazz' dark chocolate glaze enhances the overall flavor.  Forte Chocolates shared some of their chocolate bars with me, and they are wonderful for baking both savory and sweet dishes.  The chocolates at Forte are created by Master Chocolatier Karen Neugebauer, among one of the top Chocolatiers in the World today.  Forte Chocolates motto is "Celebrate Life with Chocolate" which I wholeheartedly agree with!    ~Enjoy! Diane 

Baked Chocolate Donuts with Forte Chocolates Orange Jazz Glaze  

Donut Ingredients: 
dry:
2 cups Cake Flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1 Tablespoon chocolate powder 
1 teaspoon salt
wet:
3/4 cup heavy cream 
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla paste 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 
Spray donut pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Add in all the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fill each pan cavity approximately 2/3 full (the batter will be thick, I use a ziplocked bag with the batter inside, twist bag, push all the batter to one lower corner, snip with scissors and fill pans.)  Bake 7-9 minutes or until the tops of the doughnuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan 4-5 minutes before removing donuts from pan.
Finish donuts with my Forte dark chocolate glaze topping recipe *below.

Chocolate Donut Glaze: 
2  1.58oz Forte Orange Jazz Chocolate Bars 
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
​2 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons water 

 Directions:
    Place all the glaze ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring in-between until all ingredients are melted and mixed.  You can dunk warm donuts or wait until they are completely cooled.  *We like eating warm donuts, fresh from the oven with the rich glaze...oh so good! 
Recipe Yield: Makes & Glazes 12 Donuts

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I want to thank Forte Chocolates again for sending me chocolates and for being a sponsor for #choctoberfest 2018 
If you would like to find out more about Forte Chocolates, click HERE. They do have a coupon code to use as part of celebrating Chotoberfest - buy two bars and get one free! How awesome is that?!  Coupon Code:  CHOCTOBERFEST2018

Please note too that Forte has a promotion starting October 15th for their Facebook and Instagram Followers called:  The Forte Holiday Bake-Off! 

All opinions expressed on my website and this blog post are my own. 
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