I have wonderful memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas during my childhood.  Mom and Dad always began cooking early, so my sister and I woke up to smell of turkey and the sound of our parents singing Christmas carols.  This year we'll be going to my parents for Thanksgiving, and I know it will be a fun time.  My mom will do the "big" cooking, but I thought I'd share a few of the recipes that I will be making this year: pumpkin cookies, light sweet potato casserole, bacon-tomato cups w/homemade whole-wheat crescent rolls, & whole-wheat dinner rolls.

Pumpkin Cookies

Cookies

·         1 cup shortening

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 cup pumpkin

·         1 egg

·         2 cups flour

·         1 tsp baking soda

·         1 tsp cinnamon

·         1 tsp salt

1. Cream shortening and sugar, then add pumpkin and mix together.
2. Add egg and mix
3. Add dry ingredients and mix
4. Spoon on to cookie sheet (line sheet with tin foil and grease the foil)
5. Bake 375 degrees for about 10 minutes

Frosting

·         ¾ tsp vanilla

·         3 tbsp. butter

·         4 tsp milk

·         ½ cup brown sugar

·         1 cup powdered sugar

1. Cook butter, milk and brown sugar on low until dissolved, then take off stove
2. After mixture cools, add powdered sugar and vanilla
3. Pour over cookies

Light Sweet Potato Casserole (from AllRecipes.com)

·  3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks *(I will probably bake my sweet potatoes)

·  1/3 cup fat-free milk

·  1/4 cup egg substitute

·  2 tablespoons brown sugar

·  1/2 teaspoon salt

·  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

·  1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1.       Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan or Dutch oven; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Drain. *

2.       In a large mixing bowl, beat the sweet potatoes, milk, egg substitute, brown sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Bacon-Tomato Cups (from AllRecipes.com)

• 8 slices bacon
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (16 ounce) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough OR  homemade whole-wheat crescent dough

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a mini muffin pan.

2.       In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon into a medium mixing bowl, and mix with tomato, onion, Swiss cheese, mayonnaise and basil.

3.       Separate biscuits into halves horizontally. Place each half into cups of the prepared mini muffin pan. Fill each biscuit half with the bacon mixture.

4.       Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven , or until golden brown.

Homemade Whole-Wheat Crescent Dough (for bread machine)

•  1 egg, slightly beaten, plus enough water to equal 1 1/3 cups
• 1 cup butter or margarine softened (I use butter)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 - 5 cups fresh ground soft white flour (as much needed to make a good dough)
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

1.       Measure carefully, placing all ingredients except 2 tablespoons melted margarine or butter in bread machine.  Start with 4 cups of flour, and add more if needed to make a good dough ball- not too sticky, not too dry.

2.       Select DOUGH cycle on bread machine. Let it run.

3.       Remove dough from pan, using lightly greased hands.  Place dough in greased bowl, and turn greased side up.  Cover and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until double.

4.       Grease cookie sheet.  Punch down dough.  Roll dough into 20 -inch circle on lightly greased surface (I don't flour my surfaces when I'm using fresh-ground whole-wheat, the bran & fiber from the flour on the surface add a 'crunch' to the final product that I don't like.)  Brush with some of the melted butter.  Cut into 20 wedges.  Roll up each wedge, beginning at rounded edge.  Place rolls, point sides down, on cookie sheet and curve slightly.  Cover and let rise in warm place 20 to 30 minutes until almost double. 

5.       Heat oven to 357.  Brush rolls with remaining melted butter.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

***If you are using the dough with the Bacon-Tomato cups, then follow the directions, except that you need to cut each of the 20 wedges from Step 4 into two equal pieces.  Form each piece of dough into a mini-muffin tin, and let rise for 15-20 minutes.  Then fill with mixture from bacon-tomato recipe.

 Whole-Wheat Dinner Rolls

• 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 1/4 cup - 2 cups fresh ground flour (use as much needed to form good dough ball)
• 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• margarine or butter, melted

1.       Measure carefully, placing all ingredients except margarine in bread machine pan.  Use enough flour to make a good dough ball, not too sticky, not too dry.

2.       Select DOUGH cycle on bread machine.  Let it run.

3.       Remove dough from pan, using lightly greased hands.  Knead 5 minutes on lightly greased surface.  Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

4.       Grease large cookie sheet.  Divide dough into 12 equal parts.  Shape each piece into a ball.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Brush with margarine or butter.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes or until double.

5.       Heat oven to 375.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.