Our Fall baking is still in full swing! The days are both shorter & busier, but we are squeezing in new treats every chance we get.

These Maple Orange Pecan Cinnamon Rolls made using sourdough discard are the perfect, flavorful start to a crisp fall morning.

Unlike most cinnamon rolls, these don’t require any rise time, so you can still throw these together pretty quickly even on busy morning days. If you want to save even more time in the morning, you can prepare your filling & icing the evening before.

Ingredients | Dough

• 4 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Sourdough Discard
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Stick Melted Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
• 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup

Directions | Dough

• In the bowl of your stand mixer, add & whisk together all dry ingredients.
• Once whisked, add all wet ingredients to the same bowl.
• Use dough hook to mix until a ball forms and easily attches from the bowl, about 5-8 minutes.
• On a well-floured surface, roll the ball out to as best of a rectangle as you can. It helps to shape the dough into the shape before you begin rolling.
• Once rolled out, you can begin filling:

Ingredients | Filling

• 1 Stick Salted Butter
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
• *Plus 1 Cup Pecan Pieces, set aside.*

Directions | Filling

• In a small mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together, except the pecans.
• Place globs of the Filling mixture on top of the rolled out dough & spread evenly, leaving about 1/2 inch border.
• Sprinkle the Pecan pieces on top of the Filling spread.
• Fold top down 1 inch, fold borders on both sides, and gently roll down towards your body, forming an even log.
• Once log is finished & seam side down, grab a ruler and cut 1 Inch rounds, placing each roll in your cast iron skillet.
• Bake 30 minutes at 375°
• Let cool at least 10 minutes while you make the icing:

Ingredients | Icing

• 1 (8oz) Package Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• Zest of 1 Orange (Optional)

Directions | Icing

• Mix ingredients over medium-low heat until all combined, let cool slightly and pour on top of cooled rolls.
• Serve & Enjoy!!

We served these Maple Orange Pecan Cinnamon Rolls with fresh-squeezed orange juice. It is so much better than store-bought & no extra ingredients so it isn’t all fake tasting.

This was such a simple, yet flavorful & delicious way to begin our Fall morning. They make your entire home smell like a Fall candle during & after baking. I hope that you enjoy them as much as our family does!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

A few months ago I made a Ukrainian Care Package for my cousin. We were discussing the Ukrainian foods she loves & grew up eating when she told me about a special food that she ate growing up that her mom used to make for her as a special treat from my тато & her childhood.

I made a mental note that I would have to find a recipe & make it for my тато. It seems food triggers his childhood memories that he has compartmentalized deep, deep down inside himself more than anything else so far.

I had honestly forgotten about this dish for a few months; but then one day as I was reading my new-to-me cookbook written by Auschwitz survivors that I had gotten to resonate with my бабуся, who was also a holocaust survivor, I found the recipe for Strawberry Soup.

What my тато remembers is a little bit different: less soupy, more mashed consistency. His was also made with heavy cream instead of sour cream, but that’s an easy swap. Overall same concept though: Strawberries with cream & sugar.

What Survivor, Eva Kerenyi, shared with me through her story in this cookbook is very simple, although I did have to double the recipe the second time I made this, this week because of how good it is.

• 2 pounds Strawberries
• 3/4 cup sweet red wine
• 3/4 cup sour cream (or heavy cream)
• 1/2 cup sugar

Blend all ingredients together & chill in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. Serve chilled.

I, however, adapted it a little bit because I was a little bit concerned about the wine. I don’t drink alcohol. I was worried that if it was all just mixed together, it would act more as a mixed drink than a food dish. I’m sure I was just over-thinking it, but I wasn’t willing to risk it or let my kids eat it like that (even though Eva shared this recipe was from her own childhood so it must be child-friendly 🤷🏼‍♀️) so, I added an extra step.

Once blended, I cooked it on medium-high heat over the stove until it was boiling and then turned off the stove, but let continue to cook while the burner cooled until the soup was room temperature before transferring it into the refrigerator to cool.

I kept sneaking spoonfuls because it’s so delicious that it is addictive, but I can definitely confirm the longer it chilled, the better the flavor. Cooking it also really made the alcohol taste from the wine disappear which I really appreciate.

Unil next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Getting my sourdough starter – which I have officially named моя закваска (“My sourdough” in Ukrainian, because I like the way it sounds and it immerses the language into my daily life) – has been one of my best homemaking decisions ever! I have been baking like crazy every free second I get, obsessively trying all of the different ways to use up my discard.

I had a request for Bagels, so we went with a Pumpkin Pie flavor for Fall. They were literally the BEST Bagels we’ve ever eaten! I also went ahead and made a batch of Everything Bagels (which were great as well) using Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Seasoning because I knew my husband wouldn’t be on board with the Pumpkin Pie flavor.

From now on, we’re never buying bagels again. We are going to make our homemade Bagels even easier by preparing them the night before and letting them rise overnight while we sleep so that we can begin straight at the boiling stage in the morning and get right to our homeschool work.

We started in the morning with a nice room temperature sourdough discard that was fed the evening before.

We added together all the ingredients – first the dry, then wet – to form a nice smooth dough, then let the dough rise for a few hours.

After it doubled, it was time to form the Bagels. We cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and shaped the dough into Bagels. This was the best bagel dough I’ve worked with, and the first time they came out exactly the way I like my Bagels.

Mia did a great job shaping the Bagels! Once they were in their bagel form, we let them rest for another 30 minutes before boiling.

We filled our Cast Iron Dutch Oven with 8 cups water & 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and heat to a strong boil. Once the water was boiling, we added 2 Bagels at a time for 30 seconds on each side, then transfer to a wire rack with a piece of parchment paper placed on it until all Bagels

Then we did an egg wash to each bagel and added the Pumpkin Pie topping to the Bagels and baked for 20 minutes in the oven. This topping is a Fall-inspired copycat from Panera’s Cinnamon Sugar Bagels.

The kids loved picking all of the crispy melted topping off of the parchment paper and calling it “candy.” It reminded me a lot of a molasses candy (but with more toffee texture) that I had made at school as a child when I was learning about Little House on the Prarie & Pioneer life. It was one of my fondest memories from that school.

If you don’t have a bunch of kids to eat it all in seconds, consider crumbling up the pieces to use as a crispy topping for another Fall treat, or sprinkled on whipped cream on top of a warm pumpkin flavored beverage to make it extra special.

We waited about 5 minutes for the Bagels to cool because we were so hungry by the time they were finished, although I’d suggest a longer waiting period. It was very hot to cut, but soooo warm and delicious. The cream cheese was really easy to spread! Because they were fresh out of the oven we didn’t need to heat them in the Toaster. Later when we did reheat bagels in the Toaster, they were somehow even better.

I hope that you love them as much as we did!

Ingredients | Bagels

DRY:

• 3 3/4 Bread Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

WET:

• 1 Can Pumpkin Puree
• 3/4 Cup Sourdough Discard
• 1/4 Cup Warm Water

Ingredients | Pumpkin Pie Topping

• 4 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons White Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Turbanado Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Cardamom
• Salted Butter, melted

Ingredients | Additionals

• 8 Cups Water – for boiling
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar – for boiling
• 1 Egg yolk – for egg wash
• 1 Tablespoon-ish Water – for egg wash

Directions

• Add dry ingredients to the bowl of your Kitchenaid Stand Mixer then whisk together until combined.
• Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together using the dough hook.
• Transfer dough to a greased bowl to rise for at least 2 hours.
• Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Knead into balls and use your thumb to punch a hole through to form a bagel shape and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Let rise at least 30 minutes to overnight.
• Boil 8 cups water with 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar on stove. Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Add Bagels to boiling water 2 at a time for 30 seconds on each side. Remove from boiling water and set aside on a wire rack to cool while you finish boiling the rest of the Bagels. 
• Transfer cooled bagels back to your baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together Egg Yolk with 1 Tablespoon-ish water. (I usually just fill up the bigger half of the egg shell with water). Brush egg wash over each bagel getting the tops and sides really well covered.
• Top each bagel with the Pumpkin Pie topping, pressing in lightly.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 425°F. Flip baking sheet after 10 minutes (set timer so you don’t forget).
• Let cool before serving with Cream Cheese: plain, pumpkin spice, or maple pecan flavors would all be delicious. Enjoy!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov

Mia, Sasha, and I made the most delicious banana Scones for breakfast this morning & they went FAST! I’m definitely going to have to double the recipe next time because the kids were each so bummed when they went back only to find an already emptied sheet pan.

They are the perfect amount of banana, perfect amount of hazelnut, and perfect texture. Some scones can be so dry and dusty that you actually risk dying from choking, but not these! These are moist, but firm, and just sweet enough. Even my husband who isn’t a fan of sweets loved them!

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1.5 sticks Salted Butter, cut into cubes
• 2/3 cup Coconut Milk
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 3 Mashed Bananas
• 3 Tablespoons Melted Salted Butter (for brushing)
• 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream (for brushing)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425°F & line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking salt, cinnamon, & sea salt until combined.
• Add the butter cubes then incorporate using your hands until the mixture is coarse & crumbly like sand.
• Make a well in the center and add the liquid ingredients: mashed Bananas, coconut milk, and vanilla extract. Mix together until a dough forms, adding a little extra flour if the mixture is too sticky.
• Divide the dough into 2 even disks, form each disk into a 6″ patty. Cut each patty into 8 equal triangle pieces and place onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet. There should be a total of 16 scones on the sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes. While baking, whisk together the melted butter and heavy whipping cream.
• Remove pan from oven, brush scones with butter & cream mixture. Place back into oven for 5 more minutes.
• Remove from oven to let cool.
• While cooling, mix together 1 cup Hazelnut Spread, 3 tablespoons Heavy Cream, and 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract. Warm mixture in microwave for 30 seconds, stir.
• Drizzle warm Hazelnut mixture on top of scones, let rest a moment to let the Hazelnut drizzle settle, and serve. Enjoy!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov