Yeast Breads: Parmesan Pan Rolls

These buns have a unique shaping method that makes them very pretty in the pan. It also makes them incredibly easy to make. Press into the pan, slice, and bake. Serve these at a brunch and all your guests will be impressed.


Ingredients


For the Dough
1½ cups water
1 cup rolled oats
3 tbsp butter or margarine, softened
4 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2½ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
1 egg


For the Topping
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp garlic powder


Preparation


This dough is easy enough to prepare, simply place all dough ingredients in a large bowl and mix until a loose and slightly sticky dough forms. Turn this dough out onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough. This should take about 5 minutes.


Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise in a warm location. The dough must double in size, so give it a full hour to do so. Punch the dough down to remove the air bubbles and spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with baking spray to prevent sticking. A lasagna pan works particularly well in this instance.


Press the dough into the pan, making sure it fills all the corners. If you're having trouble getting the dough to relax into the corners, let the dough sit for 10 minutes. This will relax the dough, allowing it to press into the pan.


Take a sharp knife or spatula and cut the dough in the pan into buns. Cut at a diagonal in both directions, forming diamond-shaped buns. Try to press straight down with the knife or spatula, don't drag it though the dough. When the dough has been sliced, cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise until doubled in size again. This time it will take about 45 minutes.


Heat oven to 375°F. Uncover dough and take up your knife or spatula. Go over the slices you made earlier, being careful to press straight down and not drag the blade through the dough. Combine all topping ingredients and spread evenly over the rolls. Bake for 25 minutes, until rolls are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.


If you're going to serve these rolls immediately, you can leave them in the pan for presentation. Otherwise you'll have to remove them from the pan and cool completely on wire racks.


These rolls will keep for up to 4 days if stored in an airtight container. They never last that long in my house.

Yeast Breads: Sweet Honey Rolls

A honey glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness to these tasty buns. You'll need to reserve one egg white to add to the glaze, so separate one egg before you get started.


Ingredients


For the Dough
1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
1 egg
1 egg yolk


For the Glaze
⅓ cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1 egg white


Preparation


These rolls are easier to make than you might think. Place all dough ingredients in a large bowl and blend until a loose dough forms. Turn this dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is soft and elastic. This should take about 5 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rise in a warm location until doubled in size, about 1 hour.


Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with baking spray to prevent sticking. Punch down dough to remove air bubbles. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a smooth-topped ball and place into the baking pan. Repeat with remaining rolls, spacing them evenly in the pan.


Using a whisk, blend all glaze ingredients together until you have a smooth glaze. Drizzle half of this glaze over the rolls. Set glaze aside. Cover rolls with a damp towel and place in a warm location to rise for a second time. They need to double in size once again, so leave them be for about 45 minutes.


Heat oven to 375°F. Uncover rolls and drizzle with the remaining glaze. Bake for 25 minutes, until rolls are browned and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire racks.


These buns will keep for up to 5 days if kept in an airtight container.

Drop Cookies: Peanut Butterscotch Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are tasty, but peanut butterscotch cookies are divine. The addition of butterscotch chips gives these classic cookies a delightful upgrade. Serve them with milk for a fun afternoon snack.


Ingredients


½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1¾ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup butterscotch chips


Preparation


Heat oven to 375°F. Place sugars and butter in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and blend until smooth. Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt. Gently fold in butterscotch chips.


Scoop by rounded tablespoons and rolls into balls. Dip the tines of a fork into sugar and use the tines to flatten the cookies slightly. The traditional crisscross pattern is formed by using the fork twice, but you are not required to use the traditional pattern. You can make up your own pattern, either using a fork or something else in your cupboard. The bottom of a glass works well. Whatever you use, dip it in sugar first to prevent sticking. In the picture, I've used a holiday tea cup to mark the tops of my cookies.


Bake your cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets immediately and cool on wire racks.


These can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Snacks & Appetizers: Potato Sandwiches

Potatoes are delicious, especially mashed potatoes. They generally get eaten up, but after a large family meal, we always seem to have leftover mashed potatoes. This is a great way to use them up. If you don't have leftover mashed potatoes, you can whip them up specifically for this recipe.


Ingredients


3 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
4 tsp rosemary
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
cheddar cheese, grated
bacon slices, cooked


Preparation


These delicious snacks are incredibly easy to make. Combine mashed potatoes, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, rosemary, and parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Mix well. Heat a pan to medium heat.


While the pan is heating, decide how large you'll make your sandwiches. If you make them bite-sized, for appetizers, you'll obviously get more out of the recipe. Larger sandwiches will result in fewer. Once you've decided on size, tear the bacon into pieces that will fit.


Add a little butter to the pan and allow to melt. Take a little potato and form it into the size you've chosen. You can make your sandwiches square or round, or another shape if you prefer. You'll want the potato to be about ¼-inch thick. Place potato in the pan. Add a little grated cheese, some bacon, and a little more cheese. Take a little more potato and form it into the top of the sandwich. Place it on top of the cheese.


Allow to cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Flip gently and cook on the other side, again to golden brown. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Repeat this process for the rest of the potato mixture.


Serve warm, possibly drizzled with ranch dip or a creamy garlic spread.

Drop Cookies: Peannut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are a classic. They're delicious and fun. The forked pattern on the top is traditional, but it's not strictly necessary. I like the forked pattern not just because it's pretty, but because everyone can easily identify the peanut butter cookies on a tray of many cookies. But you can skip it, if you like.


Ingredients


½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup peanut butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1¾ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
sugar (optional)


Preparation


Heat the oven to 375°F. Beat sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, milk, vanilla, and egg and blend until smooth. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt until you have a soft dough. Using 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll dough into balls. Place these balls at least 2 inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet.


If desired, flatten slightly using the tines of a fork dipped in sugar. Crisscross the fork to give the cookies the traditional peanut butter cookie look. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove immediately from cookie sheet and cool on wire racks.


This recipe makes 2 dozen cookies. These cookies will keep for up to a week if stored in an airtight container.

Fried Cookies: Rosette Cookies

Deep fried dough is one of the sinful delights we all crave. Whether it's doughnuts, funnel cake, or anything else we find at a fair, our taste buds do a little dance of happiness. You can make these things at home, if you like.


Rosette cookies are tasty and easy to make, but you will need some supplies that might not be in your cupboard. While the ingredients are simple and found easily enough in your pantry, you'll also need a deep fryer and rosette molds. If you don't have a deep fryer, you can use a pot of oil on the stove. Either way, you'll need to keep track of the oil temperature, so get a good deep fry thermometer. If your deep fryer has temperature control, you won't need the thermometer.


Rosette molds are metal shapes that attach to a rod. They are plunged into hot oil to create the delicate rosettes. You can find them at some specialty shops, or you can buy them online. Try Amazon, searching for a rosette set. Sometime you'll find a rosette and timable set, which includes patty shell molds. They're not overly expensive, and they're great fun.


Ingredients


2 eggs
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla


Preparation


Beat eggs lightly in a shallow pan that is slightly larger than your rosette mold. Add other ingredient and beat until smooth. Don't overbeat, but don't leave lumps in the batter either. Your batter should look very much like pancake batter. Place the batter in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This will give you crisper rosettes.


Heat oil to 375°F. Place the rosette mold in the hot oil and leave it there for at least 3 minutes to heat. 5 minutes is better, at least for the first cookie. Remove batter from fridge while the mold is heating. Remove the mold from the oil, allowing excess oil to drip back into the deep fryer.


Dip mold into the batter, but only to the depth of the mold. You don't want the batter on top of the mold or the cookie will be difficult to remove. Hold the mold in the batter for 30 seconds to allow the batter to adhere to the hot oil. Place mold, with batter, into the fryer. The oil will bubble. When bubbling slows down and the rosette is a delicate brown, the cookie is done. Lift the mold out of the oil.


The cookie may fall right off the mold as you life the mold out. This is okay, and even ideal. It makes the cookie much easier to remove. Simply grab some tongs and fish it out of the oil. Allow excess oil to drip off the cookie, then allow cookie to cool on a wire rack. Place a few paper towels under the rack to catch any oil.


If the cookie doesn't come off the mold, use a fork to gently remove it. Be careful or you'll damage the cookie. When the cookie is free, place the mold back in the oil for a minute to reheat. Continue making cookies until you have no batter left.


If desired, sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar. You can even add a little cinnamon.


Cookie can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days once they're completely cool and dry. You can even freeze them for up to 2 weeks. If you want to recrisp the cookies, heat in a 300°F oven for 3 to 5 minutes.

Sliced Cookies: Sweet Molasses Rounds

These sweet and tender cookies can be made with either light or dark molasses. I prefer dark, but it really doesn't matter. The spices in this cookie mimic a hearty gingerbread, so almost everyone will like this. The dough is very tender, so it will require at least 2 hours in the freezer before slicing.


Ingredients


½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ cup molasses
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp ginger


Preparation


Beat sugar, molasses, butter, and egg in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add all other ingredients and blend until you have a smooth and slightly wet dough. Turn dough out onto a piece of wax or parchment paper. Roll into a log that is 12 inches long. Flatten ends. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until dough is set, about 2 hours.


Heat oven to 375°F. Remove dough from freezer and unwrap. Slice into ½-inch rounds and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are set and browned at the edges. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire racks.


This recipe makes 24 cookies. They will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.