Sweet Yeast Rolls

These rolls are melt in your mouth delicious, I had to keep guard over them so Little Foodie wouldn't eat them all. I made a batch of these to take to my sisters house for Thanksgiving and I am sure they are going to be a huge hit. The recipe can make up to 5 dozen rolls but I only made about 3 dozen monster size dinner rolls, perfect for filling with Thanksgiving goodness. Enjoy!

1 pkg of active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
8 cups all purpose flour

2 TBS melted butter
2 whole eggs
2 tsp salt

Directions:
Soften yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Heat milk for about 2 minutes in the microwave.

Add the warm milk to the yeast and then add the sugar and enough flour to make medium batter and let stand for about 2 minutes

Add melted butter (which has been cooled), eggs, and salt. Beat well. Add the remainder of the flour. Sprinkle small amount of flour on counter and let dough rest. Meanwhile, clean and dry bowl; grease clean surface of bowl.

Knead dough until smooth and satiny. Put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. Cover, let rise in warm place until double in bulk.

Punch down. Turn out on floured board. Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes. Shape dough into desired forms. Place on greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

I will say this one time Pumpkin Donut Muffins are the most delicious thing you will ever eat for breakfast! Now this is not a breakfast food that you would want to eat everyday since it has lots of sugar on the outside but I do believe in everything in moderation. I adapted this recipe from one found on taskykitchen.com. Enjoy!!

• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 cup Canned Pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ½ cups Milk
• ½ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground clove
• For coating after baking- 1 stick Butter, Melted and cinnamon/sugar

• In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and clove, set aside.

  In a separate bowl, cream together 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter and egg. Mix in pumpkin and vanilla.

  Add flour mixture and milk alternately to the creamed mixture, beating well.

  Fill a greased mini muffin pan. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

  While muffins are still hot out of the oven, submerge in melted butter, and then roll in sugar ‘n spice mixture until coated. Serve warm.

Teacher Treats- Pumpkin Bread

I love making homemade goodies for Little Foodies teachers! Mini pumpkin bread makes the perfect Thanksgiving Treat and if you attach a handmade card filled with thanks it is even better. I adapted this recipe from one found on tastykitchen.com. Enjoy!

• 2 sticks Butter Or Margarine, Softened
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 3 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoons Cloves
• 1 can (15 Oz. Can) Pumpkin (not pie mix)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two loaf pans or 5 mini loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

• Cream butter; add sugar and beat well. Add eggs, one at the time, to the creamed mixture. Stir in vanilla. Mix together all of the dry ingredients. Alternately add the dry ingredients and pumpkin puree to the creamed mixture. Pour the mix into the prepared pans, dividing evenly and sprinkle tops with sugar (this gives a nice little crunch). Bake at 350 degrees for an 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean.

  
  

For the Love of Mojitos!!!

There is just something about a mojito, they are so refreshing with the mint and lime! This past week I had a friend over and I made some yummy watermelon mojitos and for dinner one night I made original mojitos, they were both super yummy and easy to make. Is it wrong that I grow mint in my garden just so I can use it to make mojitos? The watermelon mojito recipe was adapted from one found on tastykitchen.com.

Watermelon Mojitos

2 whole Large Handfuls Of Fresh Mint Leave

1 cup Water

1 cup Sugar

3 whole Handfuls Cubed Watermelon

Lime Juice (1 Fl. Oz. Or 3/4 Shot For Each Drink)

Light Rum (3 Fl. Oz. Or 2 Shots For Each Drink)

Crushed Ice

Club Soda

First you are going to make a simple syrup, this is key for any mixed drink that you would add sugar to. Place 8-10 mint leaves in a saucepan with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Cook on med/low heat until the sugar is dissolved, let this cool completely before continuing with the recipe. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge.

Place watermelon in a blender and puree until liquefied. If you have texture issues, run this through a sieve to get the remaining fibers out!

To make a single drink: Place 8-10 fresh mint leaves in the bottom of a glass and pour 2 shot glass measures (3 fl oz) of watermelon juice over the mint leaves. Use a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon to crush the mint leaves and watermelon juice together. Add 3/4 of a shot glass measure of lime juice (1 oz.), 2 shots (3 fl. oz.) of light rum and 1 shot glass measure (1.5 oz.) of the cooled simple syrup. Place liquid with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and give it a good shake. Pour into a glass and fill any extra room in your glass with club soda. Enjoy!

Original Mojitos

Simple Syrup (recipe found above)

Lime Juice

Rum

Club Soda

Ice

To make a single drink get a glass and add as much ice as you like. Take your trusty shot glass and add 2 shots of simple syrup to the glass. Next add 2 shots of lime juice and 2 shots of club soda. Depending on how strong you like your drink add 1 -2 shots of rum. Mix and taste. If you like your drink sweeter add a little more simple syrup or if you like your drink less sweet add another shot of lime juice. Enjoy!!

Finally a break from school!!!

I finally have a break from school, 5 whole weeks!!! I am hoping to be able to load a bunch of recipes during my break since Little Foodie is a summer camp and then spending some time with her cousins. Keep an eye out for some new recipes soon!!

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

I always try to keep a bag of blueberries in my freezer, they are perfect for making muffins, quick breads and even coffee cake. I made this for a weekend breakfast and it was super easy and yummy. Little Foodie loved the crunchy topping! Enjoy!!

Cake

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 cup vanilla yogurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blue berries

Topping

1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) butter melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar

Butter a 9X13 pan. Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl whisk together the flour, the baking powder, and a pinch of salt and in another bowl stir together the sour cream and the baking soda.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and 1 cup of the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture and stir the batter until it is combined well.

Pour the batter into a buttered 9 X 13 cake pan. Sprinkle blackberries evenly on top.

In a small bowl stir together melted butter, flour and sugar until it is sort of dough like and stuck together. Crumble topping mixture all over cake .

Bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer it to a rack, and let it cool. Serve warm or room temperature

Lemon Sugar Cookies

This is another great lemon recipe!! I promised Little Foodie and my husband I would make them a sweet treat while they were at school/work. I have been making a lot of chocolate goodies lately so I thought they might enjoy something different and I was right they LOVED these cookies!! They have a nice little crunch on the outside and the middle is soft and chewy. Enjoy!!

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Zest from 2 lemons
• 2 large eggs
• Juice from 2 lemons
• 2-3 tbsp sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Gradually mix in the flour at low speed, making sure to incorporate all of the flour and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Place remaining 2-3 tbsp sugar in a small bowl
Shape 1-inch balls of dough, roll in the sugar and place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until set. Edges should be slightly firm.
Cool cookies on the pan for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen