Our Favorite Dinner Rolls

So, this Thanksgiving, we made these rolls from "Our Best Bites." AMAZING. We made two dozen for Thanksgiving day. There were twelve of us. There was hardly enough, since some of us ate three of them. (Good thing some of us shared!!!) So, I had to make another batch (2 dozen) the next morning to go with Thanksgiving leftovers. Again, literally 30 seconds, and they were all gone. So, in the space of two days, between 12 people we ate 4 dozen rolls. Slightly disgusting, but not surprising!! We hope you love them too!!!

2 Cups Whole Milk*
1/2 Cup PLUS 1 Tablespoon sugar, divided
1/3 cup butter
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 packages (4-1/2 teaspoons) active dry or bread machine yeast
2/3 cup warm (105-115 degrees F) Water
8-9 Cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 Beaten Eggs

Combine Milk, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts into salty-sweet perfection.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. To hurry things up a bit, you can place the saucepan in a bowl of ice cubes. You want to make sure this mixture isn't too hot, otherwise it will kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tablespoon sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn't bubbled, you'll need to repeat this step with new yeast.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and cooled milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes. Add beaten eggs.

Stir in as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft - it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will stick to your finger when you touch it. Don't worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they're so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half. Spray two 9x13 inch glass pans with nonstick cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. A pizza cutter works well because it cuts right through the dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like Play-Doh. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan. Use a kitchen scale if you want to ensure that the rolls are exactly the same.

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

When done, remove from oven. Brush with melted butter. Or, better yet, just grab a stick of cold butter from the fridge, and rub it over the top of each roll. Make sure you grab one now and eat it while its still hot! This is your reward for making the best dinner rolls EVER!

24 Rolls.

Source: Our Best Bites

*TIP - The fat in whole milk is absolutely essential to the lightness and flavor of these rolls. If you're in a pinch, 2% works ok, but try to stay away from 1% or skim. If you're going to put all the work into these rolls, you want to make sure they taste amazing!

Breadsticks

This is a fantastic breadstick recipe. It is easy to make it is always turns out fantastic!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm (105-115 degrees F.) water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon active dry or bread machine yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-4 1/2 cups flour, divided

Directions:

1. In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly

2. Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 1 1/2 cups- 2 1/2 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

3. Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in bowl. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

4. Remove from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll dough into a rectangle 18-inches long and 9-inches wide and cut into 12 strips with pizza cutter.

5. Roll out a piece of dough into a snake and drape it over your forefinger and twist the dough. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly.

6. Cover the pan with a clean cloth and allow the dough to rise for another 30 minutes. When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. When the dough is done rising, bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Rub some melted butter on top and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning or with Parmesan cheese and garlic salt.

source: Our Best Bites

Peanut Butter Temptations

I found this recipe and knew that I had to make them. I have been having major chocolate/peanut butter cravings and this one satisfied! They are really close to the Cyclops Cookies but with a Peanut Butter Cup instead of a Hershey Kiss. I hope you enjoy them just as much as we did!

Ingredients:
About 40 Reese's Peanut Butter Miniatures
1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 Cups Flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees


2. Remove wrappers from candies



3. Line small muffin cups with paper baking cups, if desired



4. Beat Butter, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, egg and vanilla until fluffy in large bowl.



5. In another bowl stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended.



6. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place one in each paper-lined or ungreased muffin cup. Do Not Flatten



7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until puffed and lightly browned; remove from oven.



8. immediately press peanut butter cup in center of each cookie. Cool completely in muffin pan.

tips:

• I don't have two mini muffin pans so I used a fork to help me remove the completed cookies from the pan, once they had set just a little, and put them onto a cooling rack. It worked just fine and then I was able to do the second batch of cookies in the same pan.

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

I am always looking for a great popcorn recipe. I just think that popcorn is so versatile and you can do so much with it. I was lucky to come across this recipe from Our Best Bites. It is fantastic and totally worth the time that it takes to make it. It is a huge hit with everyone and great for parties.

Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans & White Chocolate
{AKA Cinnamon Bun Popcorn!}

Ingredients:

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*

1 C roughly chopped pecans

1 C brown sugar

3/4 t cinnamon

1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)

1 stick real butter (1/2 C)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

3 squares almond bark

*You can use air popped or microwave popcorn. If using microwave, anything works, but I prefer a "natural" flavor that's low in butter and salt.

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees

2. Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. And by large bowl, I mean like, twice as big as you think you really need. If you don't believe me, then maybe you will believe the scorching hot caramel goo that's splattered all over your hands while you're stirring in your not-so-big bowl. Just a thought.

3. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Like a 2-quart bowl or Pyrex measuring bowl. It's really important to incorporate the cinnamon into the brown sugar at this point. For some reason, if you don't it does crazy things. I don't know why. Try it and then email Alton Brown and ask him if you really want to know.

4. Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds (just to soften the butter a bit) and then stir to combine.

5. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes.

6. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.By this point it should be nice and bubbly. If it doesn't quite look like that you can microwave it a little longer, but just beware that if you over cook it, it will reach the hard candy stage and you'll end up with a giant clump of tasty concrete-like substance with little popcorn pieces stuck to it. Don't ask me how I know this.

7. Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Now take that foamy science project and pour it right over the popcorn and pecans.

8. Stir right away, and stir lots. Take too long and the caramel will harden on you. Keep stirring until everything is well coated.Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan.Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

9. After 30 minutes, take a piece out and let it cool. "Sample." If it's not crunchy enough, bake for another 5 minutes. "Sample" again. This will not be the end of "sampling."When it's done, give it a final stir and let it cool off for a bit while you melt your almond bark (just nuke it in the microwave according to the package directions) If you want, you can spread out your caramel corn on a clean piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil.

10. Now, just use a fork and drizzle the melted almond bark over the popcorn mixture.When it's hardened (pop it in the fridge to speed that process along) break into chunks and enjoy!

Source: www.ourbestbites.com

Brown Bag Burritos

Another Taste of Home find! I have been looking for lunchtime solutions lately that are quick to fix, so when I have a moment to eat during the day, I don't just look blankly in the fridge, shrug my shoulders, and make myself another lame sandwich. These frozen burritos rock! I especially love them because I can take them to school with me in my insulated lunch pack, then microwave when I get there. They're ready anytime, and they're really tasty!!!

2 lbs. Ground Beef
2 Cans (16 oz. each) Refried Beans
3 Cups (12 oz.) shredded mexican cheese blend, or cheddar cheese
1-1/3 cups enchilada sauce
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
16 flour tortillas - 10 in. - warmed

Optional toppings:
shredded mexican cheese blend/cheddar cheese
sour cream
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
sliced olives

In a dutch oven or large pot, cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Return to pan; add the beans, cheese, enchilada sauce, water, onion and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Spoon 1/2 cup filling off center on each tortilla. Fold sides and end over filling and roll up. Wrap individually in paper towels, then foil. Transfer wrapped burritos to a resealable plastic freezer bag. May be frozen up to 2 months.

To use frozen burritos:
Unwrap foil. Place paper-towel wrapped burritos on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Serve with toppings of choice.

16 burritos.

Source: Taste of Home

Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

Ok, so for those of you who don't know, Heather has an absolute obsession with Rice Krispie Treats. This is her ABSOLUTE favorite thing to munch on. Period. So, to no surprise, we recently received our latest Taste of Home issue, and I was thumbing through it, (unaware she was reading) when Heather let out a gasp behind me, and I hear a "wait! go back!" She saw these bars in the picture, and her pregnancy cravings kicked in with multiple oohs and yums. 1/2 hour later, I returned from a late night trip to the store with Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch in hand. The bars were devoured in record time by both of us, with lots of sticky fingers. Perfect late night snack (pregnancy or anytime!)

30 large Marshmallows
3 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
6 Cups Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch Cereal
1-1/2 cups Milk Chocolate Plain M&M's

In a large saucepan, combine the marshmallows, butter, and peanut butter. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Cereal and M&M's. Pat into a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into bars.

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes with Vanilla Glaze "Syrup"

So, we discovered that some friends in our ward and their family also have a food blog! We tried out these pancakes on Saturday morning from their recipes and they were SO good. They literally taste exactly like a cinnamon roll, fresh and hot out of the oven. Enjoy this one for your next weekend family breakfast!

1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
3 Tablespoons White Sugar
½ teaspoon Salt
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
2 whole Eggs Beaten
1 cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
¼ cup Butter, Melted
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon with a whisk. Whisk well to make sure everything is combined. In separate large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium/low heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. Brown on both sides. Serve warm with vanilla glaze over the top.

Vanilla Glaze:

1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2-6b Tlbs hot water

Melt butter over low heat in saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until smooth and the consistency of syrup.

Yield: 12 pancakes (when 1/4 cup batter is used for each pancake.)

Source: Smithalicious.blogspot.com