Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Butter Crescant Rolls

Look at this picture...what else do I have to say?

1 -1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup +1 TBSP sugar
1 egg
1 TBSP salt
2 TBSP yeast
2 cups of warm water
about 9-10 cups of flour
at least 1 cup of butter

Scald 1-1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.

Add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it). To cool it down add 1 egg and 1 TBSP of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. OR just let it cool for a while as the yeast mixture rises! Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 TBSP of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 TBSP of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly. You can stir in 1-2 cups of flour to the milk/butter mixture to cool it down further. Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture!

Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour. Remember to fluff your flour. Either sift it or take a whisk through it to lighten it, that way its not so dense when you go to scoop and measure. I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand. AT the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it rise.

Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Try to make them even, but they don't have to be perfect. Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with soft butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 TBSP per circle of dough.

Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter. Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough. Roll each triangle starting with the wide end. Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm to let them rise. DON'T let them rise to long or get to big..they will dry out in the baking! (This is key to this roll recipe!) Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven till they are golden brown. About 10-15 minutes. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.

While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

recipe : howdoesshe.com

Lemon Crinkle Cookies




This recipe won the LDS Living Cookie Recipe Contest. I love the chewiness. Next time I make it though I think I will add more lemon juice and zest so that the cookies really pack a punch!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 t. lemon zest
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again.

3. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly.

4. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

5. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not melty or shiny). Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Source: Lauren Brennan

Monday, December 5, 2011

Pineapple Casserole


I'm going to go ahead and prepare you-this is an odd combination of ingredients. In fact, when I was told about it and told what was in it, the only reason that I even tried it was so that I wouldn't hurt the person's feelings. Boy was I surprised! It was good.

Pineapple Casserole

2 large cans pineapple tidbits
(1 can drained, 1 can not drained)
2 cups grated cheese
6 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar
Ritz Crackers (about 30), crumbled
1 Stick butter or margarine, melted

1-Mix together the pineapple, grated cheese, flour, and sugar.
2-Put into a greased 9x13 pan.
3-Mix the crumbled Ritz crackers with the melted butter.
4-Cover pineapple mixture with the Ritz mixture.
5-Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

*Don't over-bake-the pineapple will get mushy.

Source: Patti Branham

best served warm.
don't overcook it or the pineapple will get too mushy.

Italian Oven-Fried Chicken


This take on parmesan crusted chicken comes out wonderfully juicy every time. It is delicious on it's own or on a bed of pasta and marinara sauce. Use bone-in chicken thighs, or go boneless and skinless, it works well with both. Just mind the cooking time for boneless.

Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
1/2 C. margarine or butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 C. dry bread crumbs
1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 C. finely chopped almonds
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (or dry)
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
6 chicken thighs

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a 13x9 inch pan, melt margarine/butter with garlic.
2. In a medium bowl combine bread crumbs, cheese, almonds, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper; mix well.
3. Dip chicken pieces in garlic butter, then coat with crumb mixture on all sides. (use the "shake n' bake method....Ziploc bags work great!)
4. Place skin side up in pan containing garlic butter. Bake at 400 degrees for *1 hour or until chicken is tender, basting occasionally with pan drippings.
*If you are using boneless, skinless chicken thighs, bake for 40 minutes.

Source: My collection of old family recipes

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Easy-Peezy Chicken Salad



This recipe is here for you if you ever need to make an appetizer in a flash!

Ingredients (all to taste):
canned chicken breast, drained
dill salad cubes
mayonnaise
kosher salt (or regular)
pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together! You can serve with crackers but it's also good as a sandwich.

Note--careful not to add too much salt as there is already salt in the pickles.

Source: my old boss, Lynn Burleson, had her husband make this at our request for several work events. It's so good that I was disappointed when it didn't show at one!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Butter Cream Frosting

My sister recent made these, and oh my YUM! They are a new fall/winter favorite. The cupcake is perfectly seasoned and the frosting is so soft and creamy... and full of cinnamon. YUM!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Butter Cream Frosting 

Cupcakes
 
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.


Frosting

Ingredients 
1 pound minus ½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
3-4 Tbs Heavy cream

Directions
Combine all ingredients and whip until creamy. Add additional cream if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Makes 24 cupcakes

Garnish
If desired, top cupcakes with a few gingersnap cookie crumbles.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Pumpkin Pancakes



These delicious pancakes are especially good in the fall, for Christmas breakfast, or a regular day of the week--pretty much ANY TIME! Our nieces stayed with us over Thanksgiving and they gobbled these up! No pun intended...

Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
3 tsp Baking Powder
2 Eggs
1.5 Cups Evaporated Milk
1/2 Cup Pumpkin (we use canned--refrigerate unused portion for later)
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Vanilla

1. Sift together all dry ingredients.
2. Add all wet ingredients and stir until well incorporated.
3. Bake in 6" diameter rounds in a frying pan or on a griddle over MEDIUM-LOW heat.  We make ours using a griddle and set it to 325.

Serve with apple sauce (pictured above), maple syrup, whipped cream, or whatever seems good to you!

*Halves easily.

Source: My aunt, Eileen

~Kara