yes, we do need the calories.

Today is a snow day. What does that mean, you may wonder? Well, aside from the blizzardy, thundersnow that is debilitating the midwest, it means that I'm going to bake. A lot. Because when the weather gets bad, that's what Julie's do. We bake.

So, I started my baking-palooza with an Avocado Pound Cake. I know that sounds pretty gross to many of you, but don't knock it until you try it. Plus, I'm going to count it as healthy because it has an avocado in it. Everything with avocado in it is healthy. Fact.

Then, I moved on to Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls. Now, let me tell you a little something about these cinnamon rolls:

1) They are from Bon Appetit which means they take for-ev-er. Seriously, why does Bon Appetit feel that every recipe should take a minimum of 4 hours? Is that really necessary? Couldn't there be an easier way to make melt-in-your mouth, calorie-filled, oozing cinnamon rolls with vanilla glaze? Probably not, but it took me 3.5 hours to make them this morning. Luckily, I love to bake and I had nothing better to do.

2) Yeast makes me uncomfortable. I don't know what it is about it, but it really bothers me. There is something about the smell, the foaming, and the fact that it is actually thousands of little organisms that live in the baking aisle of the grocery store.

Sure, this may look like a cappuccino. But it's not. It's foaming yeast.

You don't have to tell me. I already know. Yeast is gross. I'm literally gagging right now.

3) The recipe told me that it would make 12 cinnamon rolls. So obviously I doubled it thinking I would get 24 rolls out of it. However, the recipe failed to mention that by "12 cinnamon rolls" it actually meant "thousands of cinnamon rolls." Well, that may be an exaggeration. It made 68. How did 24 cinnamon rolls turn into 68? I have no earthly idea. I mean, I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong. There's nothing I love more than having 6 pans of cinnamon rolls in my kitchen. But, if you're in the neighborhood, please stop by and get some. I've already eaten 3 and I'm on an extreme sugar overload.

4) I'm not sure if I miscalculated the amount of flour I should add or if the recipe is very wrong in it's calculation. In defense of the recipe, I have a problem with measuring things. It all stems from the fact that I'm very easily distracted. If I don't add everything all at once, with no distractions, I always forget how much I have added. Always. But, I probably had to add about 2 extra cups of flour to the dough. That seems like a lot to me. But anyway, if you come to my house and see me holding a measuring utensil, DO NOT TALK TO ME. Unless you want incorrect proportions of ingredients in your baked goods.

5) Potatoes + cinnamon + brown sugar = heaven in a 9x13inch pan.

Tonight I'm eating steak and tomorry I'm going to bake Rosemary Black Pepper Soft Pretzels with Stout Mustard Cheese Sauce. I love snow days.