Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com.  I don't know where the idea to make cinnamon rolls came from, but I decided it'd be nice to do when Kenny & Delaney were here.  This recipe was delicious and pretty simple to do.  Next time we have company stay with us, I'll probably make them again.  But we don't need a whole pan of these in the fridge, they will get eaten much too quickly!

rolls
1 c. milk
1/3 c. butter
1 (.25 oz.) package active dry yeast
1/2 c. sugar
4 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs

filling
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbl. cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins (optional, I didn't include them)

glaze
1 tsp. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. sifted powdered sugar
2 Tbl. half & half

1.  Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles; remove from heat.  Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.
2.  In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the milk mixture.  Add sugar, 3 c. of flour, salt and egg.  Stir well to combine.  Add the remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, stirring well after each addition.
3.  When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth and supple, about 8 mins.
4.  Lightly oil a larger bowl and place dough in it; coat with oil.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
5.  Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10"x14" rectangle.  Lightly brush the far edge with water.
6.  In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangle evenly.  The sprinkle raisins, if using.  Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.
7.  Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place in a greased 9"x13" pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rise overnight.
8.  The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Let the rolls stand at room temperature for 30 mins. before baking.
9.  Once at room temperature, bake for 25 - 30 mins., or until golden.  Meanwhile, combine corn syrup with vanilla in a small bowl.  Whisk in the powdered sugar and enough cream to make a thick glaze.  Drizzle glaze over the rolls and serve warm.

before going in the fridge at night

big rolls the next morning

out of the oven, yum!

Crescent Napoleons with Strawberries

I somehow found this recipe and showed Zak yesterday morning. His response, over & over again, "Make that tonight, make that tonight," until I finally agreed. I'm not trying to be snobby, but I don't normally go for recipes where you use pre-made mixes or whatever; it's just that I grew up having really delicious, from-scratch cakes and desserts. But this looked easy and delicious enough, so I figured why not?

I did have few little hiccups with it, however. Well, for starters, I was too busy paying attention to the prices of vanilla pudding instead of reading if it was actually instant or cooked pudding on the box. So I ended up with 2 boxes of cooked vanilla pudding instead of 1 box instant. And I figured that out, after whisking and whisking and then finding the box and realizing my mistake. But I just threw it in a saucepan and cooked it over medium heat until it bubbled and thickened up. I had to let it cool for awhile, which was disappointing, because we were so excited to try them. The other hiccup was that we didn't beat the whipped cream stiff enough, so when I added the whipped cream to the pudding, it didn't mix in well, and was very runny. I decided to put it in the fridge to thicken up. Another agonizing twenty minutes went by, but it had done just what I wanted.

Assembling these wasn't too difficult; I had a fair amount of leftover pudding, but it was difficult not to put a lot on the wafer, because it'd squish out everywhere. But I got it done, they looked pretty decent and were divine! Zak called them, 'everything a strawberry shortcake should be', and I envisioned myself making these many times in our future, because they are simple and delicious. Maybe I'll make some kind of fancy cake with them. Zak didn't even want to think about sharing these with our friends (I normally give away about 75% of the cookies and treats I make, just so we aren't too tempted). They are that yummy!

1 can (8 oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 c. milk

1 box (small, 4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding/pie filling mix

1 c. whipped topping or whipped cream

1 1/2 c. sliced strawberries

sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Unroll roll dough, separate into 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal.

3. Cut each rectangle into quarters, place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press each rectangle to form 3x2" rectangles. Sprinkle each with sugar.

4. Bake 8 - 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on cooling rack until completely cool, about 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat milk and pudding mix with wire whisk until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in the whipped topping/whipped cream.

6. Just before serving, place 8 baked dough rectangles on serving platter or tray. Reserve 1/2 c. pudding mixture. Divide remaining mixture onto rectangles and spread to edges.

7. Reserve at least 8 pretty strawberry slices for garnish. Divide remaining strawberries onto rectangles.

8. I had enough remaining pudding mixture that I put some on the bottom of the remaining dough rectangles to 'cement' the two crescent wafers together.

9. Garnish tops with about 1 Tbl. reserved pudding mixture and 1 strawberry slice. Store in refrigerator and/or enjoy!

Individual Cream Cheese Danishes

I came across these on food.com and decided to make them for a LOTR marathon with my friend. They are sooo easy to make and quite yummy, they got gobbled up! Zak requested some fruit flavor next time, so I think I might blend in raspberries or strawberries into the filling next time. I cut up little pieces of strawberries to put on top, which worked well. And I think I will altogether skip the frosting next time, it didn't really enhance the flavor. These are great for parties!

2 (10 oz.) cans crescent roll dough
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice (I did 1/2 tsp., which I think tasted better)
3/4 tsp. vanilla (I did 1 tsp.)
1 tsp. sour cream

optional icing
1 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbl. milk
1 Tbl. butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice (unrolled) dough into 1/4 inch slices (like making slice-and-bake cookies)
3. Place slices of dough on cookie sheet and make slight indentation in the middle.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and sour cream.
5. Add a Tbl. of filling to each roll.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
7. Optional icing: stir together powdered sugar, milk and butter. After danish has cooled, drizzle with icing.