Orange Sweet Rolls

I've tried a lot of orange rolls. The ones you buy in the freezer section. Some at the grocery store. Even ones from bakeries. I never really liked them. But these are incredible. I found this recipe here from allrecipes.com. If you plan on making for a crowd, I would double the recipe. This only makes about a dozen rolls as it stands.

ROLLS:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons grated orange peel

GLAZE: (If you like a lot of glaze, double this)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
4 teaspoons butter or margarine, softened
4 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (I used orange)

Directions
 
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. In a large mixing bowl, mix milk, shortening, sugar, salt and egg. Add yeast mixture and blend. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour (or more if you can). Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each half into a 15-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Mix filling ingredients until smooth. Spread half the filling on each rectangle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long end. Cut each into 15 rolls. Place in two greased 11-in x 7-in. x 2-in. baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Mix glaze ingredients; spread over warm rolls.

Sweet Potato Streusel

I got this recipe here. These were a HUGE hit at Thanskgiving. The streusel topping is the perfect finish.
Filling
3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup half and half
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup chopped pecans (I left these out)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

Filling:

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain; return to same pot. Stir potatoes over medium-high heat until excess liquid evaporates. Remove from heat. Add butter and sugar and mash potatoes until almost smooth. Mix in half and half, eggs, ginger and vanilla. Season with salt. Spread in prepared dish (filling will be about 1 inch thick).

Topping:

Rub together sugar, flour and butter in medium bowl until moist crumbs form. Mix in pecans and coconut. (Filling and topping can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle topping over filling. Bake until filling is set and topping is brown, about 60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Thyme & Brie Potatoes

My good friend and outstanding cook gave me this recipe. It was, no lie, my favorite part about Thanksgiving. I doubled the recipe, since we had 13 people. Awesome.


Ingredients
1.5 lbs (approx.) Yukon Gold Potatoes - no need to peel
1/3 cup milk or cream
2 Tb butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2-3 oz brie, rind removed, cubed
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Directions

Boil taters till soft. drain and mash, tossing in the ingredients as you go. Add more cream/milk if too thick.

Try this Pumpkin Pie!

I'm not a big pumpkin pie fan. I think the ones you buy in store bakeries are almost rubbery. So I decided to attempt making one with a different flavor and texture, one that I could polish right off. I searched and found the following recipe from the Food Network. I doubled the spices and oh man! My husband doesn't like pumpkin pie, neither does my brother-in-law, but they both ate two pieces of this pie.
Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 9-inch unbaked homemade or purchased pie crust

Directions
Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add pumpkin, eggs, cream, milk, and molasses; whisk filling to blend.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie until set in center and slightly puffed around edges, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool pie on rack. Serve with freshly whipped cream.