More pumpkin, please

I've said it before, but Jason is not a fan of anything pumpkin. He turns his nose up at the idea, but the other two things I've made (Pumpkin Roll & Pumpkin Bars) have turned out to be hits. A few weeks ago I was reading a baby blog and came across a link to this blog. After scanning some photos - because really, that's how I decide what may or may not be good - I decided that I wanted to try the following recipe.




Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls from Lauren's Kitchen

• 2 packages/cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• 4 0z cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 t ground cinnamon
• 1/8 t fresh ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls to form 4 rectangles placed side by side. ((After I did this I tried to roll them up, I decided that next time I'll just do them 2 rectangles at a time - much easier to roll.)) Pinch seams together to form one long rectangle. Beat cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg with a mixer. Spread mixture over crescents leaving a 1/2 inch border around edges. Starting at long end, roll up then cut into 1" pieces. Place around 2 9" inch round pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. ((I used my two round Pampered Chef stones, so I did not use cooking spray.)) Bake for 28-30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting recipe below.

• 4 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 T canned pumpkin

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Spread over warm rolls.

We both really liked these. Jason's comment was that everything with pumpkin in it sort of tastes the same. Hopefully this means I can try more recipes. I think I cut them a little large because they fell over while baking, but they still tasted good. And when we reheated them the next day I threw them in the oven again - we thought they were still pretty good.

Time to make the donuts

Growing up we didn't really have the option of going to the donut shop for breakfast. It was half an hour away - by that time you may as well have lunch! Sure, we had donuts every once in a while, but that was on vacation.

We did, however, get donuts at home. Not very often, but occasionally my mom would make donuts. They were usually a treat for birthdays or some sort of holiday. I've been wanting to make them for a while and woke up earlier than Jason on Saturday. Being the wonderfully nice wife I am, I let him sleep while I made coffee and donuts for breakfast. It really took me a total of about 25 minutes to do both!

Quick & Easy Donuts

Take one can of regular size (not the Grands) buttermilk biscuits. Using the lid to a water bottle or soda bottle, cut out the donut holes. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan about 1/2" deep and heat. Drop the dough into the grease and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they're a light golden brown color. Drain on a paper towel. For the glaze I mixed milk and powdered sugar. You can also add a drop or two of food coloring for a special holiday.

I can't wait until Jett comes over again. The kid loves donuts with sprinkles so that's what he'll be getting for breakfast!

Just in case you didn't know...

Jason can cook. And pretty well, I might add. So one morning he made French Toast for breakfast. First, I'm not a fan of eggs. Sometimes the smell of cooked eggs will drive me out of the kitchen. So anything like French Toast or breakfast tacos (yes, I can eat these sometimes) has to be light on the eggs and I need something to mask the taste.

I have no idea how he made this, but he did insist on taking a photo.

Coffee's Perfect Mate

Yes - I'm a sucker for some flavored cream in my coffee. But I'm not talking about Coffeemate. I'm talking about biscotti. I love it with my coffee, especially if it's really crunchy.

This also marks the beginning of my holiday baking. Honestly, the season sort of got away from me and I'm going to have to cut back this year, but I was not cutting this out!

Holiday Biscotti (courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup dried cranberries

12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped

Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

((I skipped this part this year. Last year Jason said the white chocolate just does not go well with coffee.)) Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

Breakfast Baking

I've been dying to bake for a while now, but have opted not to because I really don't need to eat it! However, this weekend the in-laws will be in and I like to have a breakfast-type thing around for us to eat instead of resorting to cereal!

This recipe came from my great-aunt. My mom and I made it a few times, but the problem is that you can't really just eat a little of it. Well, we can't. I would eat anything with almond extract in it, so I have a hard time limiting myself when it comes to this recipe!

Almond Danish Puff

Preheat oven to 350. Cut 1/2 cup butter (softened) into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle in 2 T water and mix. Round into a ball and divide in half. On a baking sheet, put each 1/2 in strips of about 12*3" each. Heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and quickly add 1 cup water and 1 t almond extract. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and beat in 3 eggs, until smooth and glossy. Divide in 1/2 and spread over other dough strips. Bake for about 60 minutes, or until the top is crisp and brown. Cool and frost with glaze of 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2 T butter, 1 1/2 t almond extract and 1-2 T water (as needed).

I honestly did not intend on baking anything else, but...I left a stick of butter on the stove to soften and instead ended up with very melted butter! After digging around for something that called for only 1 stick of butter and other stuff that I actually had, I found the following recipe

Pecan Pie Muffins (Southern Living)

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix butter, eggs and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Spoon into lightly greased muffin pans and bake 8-10 min. Makes either 1 dozen regular muffins or 2 dozen mini-muffins.