Pumpkin Butter Rolls

Have you ever noticed that the colors of Autumn sometimes resemble the colors of the spices and some of the foods we use for Fall baking? The colors are at their peak here in Western Pennsylvania and it's absolutely gorgeous! Shades of orange like the colors of pumpkins, butternut squashes and sweet potatoes; the subdued yellows of ground ginger and acorn squash; while the fuchsias, magentas and other shades of red make me think of apples, cranberries, raspberries and grapes! Leaves that have already peaked falling like molasses do not go unnoticed, as specks of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, brown sugar, allspice and roasted pecans dot the earth below.

It's no wonder that so many, and I count myself among them, enjoy Fall baking!
I hope you'll enjoy this Fall inspired recipe I'm calling Pumpkin Butter Rolls! We sure did!

First you need a basic sweet roll recipe. Use your favorite, or you can use my favorite posted HERE.
If you don't have a sourdough starter, here's how you make the one I use:

Sourdough Potato Starter
Mix together in a medium to large glass jar the following ingredients:
3 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F.)

Seal loosely and refrigerate 3 or 4 days.

Please note this word of caution:
Covering the jar loosely allows the gases from the fermentation process to escape as they build. Failure to do this could cause personal harm if the container explodes. Please use caution and your best judgement!

Remove the jar from the refrigerator and feed to the starter the following ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons instant potato flakes
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F.)

Stir well with a wooden or plastic spoon. DO NOT use metal utensils as this can react with the fermentation process and kill the yeast.

Cover the jar loosely, and let stand at room temperature at least 12 hours or overnight. Mixture will be bubbly.

When you're ready to bake, stir the contents, remove 1 cup of starter. Cover the jar loosely and return to the refrigerator. Feed and bake weekly until your starter has had time to "grow." If you don't feel like baking, just toss out the 1 cup of starter needed for recipe and return to refrigerator.  (Because my starter is over a year old and well established, I now only feed and bake about every 2 weeks.)

Okay, so now you've finally (if you went the sourdough route) got the bread dough prepared! And it's ready for the filling:

Pumpkin Butter Filling:
1 cup pumpkin butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Mix together well and spread over prepared dough that has been rolled into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle (approximately 16 x12), keeping filling about 1 inch from the edge. Sprinkle with 1/2 cupped chopped pecans.

Beginning with the long side, roll the dough into a jelly roll, keeping the edges even. Don't roll too tightly or the filling will squish out! :-)  Pinch edge together to seal. Let dough rest for about 5 minutes.

Cut into 1 inch slices and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Let rise until doubled- about 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Pumpkin Butter Rolls before baking

Spread cream cheese frosting on warm not hot rolls and serve.

Pumpkin Butter Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Makes approximately 24 rolls. 

Bottom of Pumpkin Butter Rolls after baking- Ooey Gooey Goodness!

Enjoy!
Nathenia

Sourdough Orange Cinnamon Rolls

These are delicious and a huge hit amongst family and friends!
To make the cinnamon rolls:
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F)
6 cups bread flour
1 cup Sourdough starter (I use a potato starter, but the Amish Friendship Bread starter is just as good)
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Cinnamon Filling:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon (I double this)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
Mix above ingredients together and set aside.

6 Tbsp margarine, or butter, softened

Combine the sugar, salt, water, flour, and starter in a large bowl. Stir to make a dough. Form the dough into a ball. Grease another large bowl. Put the dough in and turn to coat. Cover and let stand overnight. (Do not refrigerate.) If you live in a high altitude, place the covered bowl in your oven with the light on.

After the dough has risen overnight, punch it down, divide it in half, and form two balls of dough. Take a ball of dough and roll it out as thin as possible on a floured surface. Spread half the butter then half of the cinnamon filling evenly over the dough.

Roll up the dough like a jelly roll. Cut each roll into slices 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Place the slices 1/2 inch apart in a buttered jelly roll pan, cover. Repeat with the remaining ball of dough and remaining butter, cinnamon filling. Let rise until double- about 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly while making the icing:
Makes approximately 2- 9x13 pans

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz Cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-4 Tbsp Orange Juice Concentrate
Zest of two oranges

Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the orange juice concentrate and zest.
Drizzle over the warm cinnamon rolls.

Homemade Sourdough Orange Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

Enjoy!!
Nathenia

Fun at the County Fair 2011- Blue Ribbon Recipes

Rides, food, music, animals, people (though by observation, sometimes the latter two might be interchanged!) A plethora of sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch, the County Fair can most definitely be an overload to the senses, especially those who choose to overindulge their taste buds before hopping on one ride after another! Thankfully I didn't have to experience the latter and enjoyed other fair attractions instead.

As with most all County Fairs, they attract both young and old and it makes for a wonderful week-long event that my family has enjoyed for many years. As a kid, I loved going to the fair with my Dad, especially the horse shows! It always seemed to rain when he took us in the mornings, so the smell of the horse barn and sweet hay was always in the air. LOL that could be why I love the smell to this day and where I really fell in love with horses! I also remember walking through the buildings with my Mom admiring all the canned goods and handwork items. My hubby could also tell you a story that would give you a good ole belly laugh of how one of his show pigs got loose and he had to chase it through the pig barn! Of course he wasn't laughing then, but it still made a wonderful memory that he can laugh about now. Fair week is a family event that makes for amazing memories so if you haven't taken your kids or your grandkids to your local fair, I encourage you to do so and even participate if you can!

Getting ready for the fair is a lot of work. Weeks and months of planning and preparation have gone into the entries. The pride and care one has taken in their projects, whether it's in raising a lamb through the 4-H program or baking a cake as a Girl Scout, explodes into the anticipation of winning a blue ribbon and for certain categories a premium to go along with it. The County Fair gives everyone- both young and young at heart, a chance to show off their favorite hobbies and crafts or to brag about that 50 pound squash one grew in their garden and almost everything else in between including a jalepeño eating contest and outhouse races!

This is the first year that none of my kids participated and though I still enjoyed attending and entering my crafts, canned and baked goods and a few photographs, it just wasn't the same without them there to share in the fun. But as in years past, I closed up shop for a week so I could gather up my projects and do last minute preparations.

Gathering things up.

This year I made 2 jams and 10 different varieties of jellies and after 105 jars later, I entered 10 of those along with banana bread, a lemon loaf, sourdough biscuits, a pie, several photos, the recycled antique window (above), and a couple of embroidered projects. Then there was the open baking contest for which I baked 3 more pies. LOL and let me tell you, there's nothing like a friendly open baking contest! So much excitement in the air!

I'm so glad that I wasn't a judge for all those baked and canned goods the fair took in this year. I have a hard enough time not tasting at home let alone being asked to judge such delicious and high calorie foods! LOL, but it's the County Fair where calories don't count, right?

Well, I didn't grow a 50 pound squash in my garden and my home-grown tomatoes were certainly nothing to brag about, but I did come away with several blue ribbons and as promised to my Yahoo group, I'm sharing some of the recipes I used for you to enjoy too!

2011 Blue Ribbon Jellies

I don't think I'll get all of the recipes added today, but here's a few to get you started:

Remember that Amish Friendship Bread sourdough starter I've been experimenting with for several months? I'm happy to report that there have been no more volcanic-like eruptions in my oven! In fact the Banana Bread recipe not only got 1st place in its category, it was also chosen as this year's "Best Bread" at the San Juan County Fair!

As you may recall from a previous post, we live at 5,860 feet above sea level, so this recipe has been adjusted for high altitudes. I have decreased the oil and the baking powder and increased the bananas. I also now bake ALL of my bread & pies with an unglazed clay pot in the bottom of the oven that has been filled with water. Having this moisture actually slows down the cooking process and simulates a sea level environment.

If you don't need to make adjustments, then you'll find the original Amish Friendship Bread recipes on the Friendship Bread Kitchen's web site. 

Banana Nut Amish Friendship Bread

1st Place & Best Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup Amish friendship bread starter
3 large mashed bananas
3 eggs
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
2 boxes banana cream instant pudding
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325° F. In a large mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed.
Grease 2 large loaf pans. Pour the batter evenly into loaf pans.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

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I guess I should mention that I threw out the original starter I made when I first began experimenting with the Amish Friendship Bread starter and the recipes at high altitudes. I just wasn't all that happy with the way the sponge was forming. I then decided I wanted more of a "wild" sourdough so when it got warmer, I made a new batch. My jar of starter now goes outside everyday to sit in the sun and soak up the wild yeasts that are in the air and comes in every evening before it starts getting cool. Now I have a TRUE New Mexico sourdough! I'll find a nice warm and sunny window to help keep the yeast thriving during the winter months.

By the way...you can use any sourdough starter with these recipes. For instance, if you want a sourdough that uses less sugar, try a potato bread starter instead.

Here's another 2011 San Juan County Fair blue ribbon winner. I made no adjustments to this recipe other than using Hungarian flour and an unglazed clay pot during baking: 

Sourdough Biscuits

1 package Active Dry Yeast
1 1/4 cup Lukewarm Water
1/3 cup Sugar
1 cup Sourdough starter
3/4 teaspoon Salt
5 cups bread flour (I prefer Hungarian or King Arthur's Flour for high altitudes)
Melted butter or Margarine

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with a little sugar till bubbly. Sourdough is a yeast but rises faster with added commercial yeast and of course living at a high altitude, sometimes a boost is needed.

In a large mixing bowl add sugar, salt, sourdough starter, yeast and flour. Cover; set in warm spot and let rise until double. Punch down and turn out onto floured work surface. Roll out to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut with biscuit cutter.

To prevent hard biscuits, try to cut out as many biscuits as possible before re-rolling the dough.

Dip both sides in melted butter and place on well-greased baking sheet.

Let rise 15 min. Bake at 425 - 20 min. or until golden brown.

Again, I used an unglazed clay pot filled with water in the bottom of my oven.

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Whether you like Banana Cream Pie or Coconut Cream Pie, the following recipe is for you! I entered the Coconut Cream Pie version in our County Fair's Open Baking Contest and got 1st place in that category. The judges wanted to take it home with them! I think I'll enter the Banana Cream next time! 

Coconut Cream Pie

The judges wanted to take this one home!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
Toasted coconut for garnish if desired.

Directions:
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy saucepan; stir well. Combine egg yolk, half-and-half, and milk and beat until blended. Gradually stir into sugar mixture until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer to a glass bowl, stir in butter, vanilla, coconut extract and coconut. Cover with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature. Pour cooled custard into baked pie shell and chill until firm.

Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over pie filling. Garnish with toasted coconut if desired.

Banana Cream Pie

Prepare as above, omitting the coconut and coconut extract. Arrange 2 large bananas that have been sliced and dipped in lemon juice to prevent browning in bottom of your cooled pie shell.

As you can see in the photo of the Banana Cream Pie, I chose to add what we call a "mile-high" meringue instead of the whipped topping in the recipe- LOL, that's the kind where the meringue is twice as high as the pie filling!

If you've never made a meringue, here are a few tips I've learned over the years.

* Use Fresh Eggs
* After separating the eggs, bring the egg white to room temperature (about 15-20 minutes)
* Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, AFTER the egg whites become foamy.
* Spread the meringue over a HOT filling and spread to the edges of the pie to seal completely before baking. This helps prevent weeping and shrinking.

Meringue

Ingredients:

4 Egg Whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Spread over hot filling, sealing to the edges. Bake 10-12 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool.

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As an experiment, I used lavender in several recipes this year, mostly jelly. The following pie recipe is what resulted from one of my experiments and received a blue ribbon in the regular baking category of "any other fruit pie" as well as a 3rd place ribbon in the Open Baking category of "any other pie." In the latter competition, there were 14 different varieties of pies judged which, according to the sponsors is the most risky category for an open baking competition because you never know what other pies you're up against like you would in a peach vs peach or coconut vs coconut.

If you don't have fresh chokecherries in your area, try using cherry juice or a cranberry juice cocktail. 

Chokecherry- Lavender Pie

Ingredients:
1 Baked Pie Shell, cooled
8 oz package Cream Cheese, softenend
8 oz carton Cool Whip, thawed
2 cups sugar divided in 1/2
2 Cups Chokecherry Juice (reserve 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon dried culinary grade lavender buds
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:
In microwave safe measuring cup heat 1/2 cup chokecherry juice. Remove from microwave and add lavender buds. Cover and steep for 10 minutes. Strain Juice, throwing away the lavender buds. Set aside to cool.

Add cornstarch to cooled 1/2 cup juice. Mix well and set aside.

Heat remaining 1-1/2 cups juice with sugar in a non-reactive saucepan & bring to a boil.

Add cornstarch mixture; cook to thicken over medium high heat, stirring constantly.
Set aside to cool.

Mix cream cheese, Cool Whip and 1 cup sugar until stiff. Spread ½ of this mixture into the bottom of pie shell. Keep filled crust and other half of mixture in refrigerator until ready to use.

When pudding mixture has cooled and thickened, spread over cream cheese mixture.

Gently spread remaining cream cheese mixture over pudding.

Garnish with fresh chokecherries and sprinkle with a few lavender buds. (I used dried pink rose and lavender buds. Serve Chilled.

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These should keep you busy for at least a couple of days. : ) I'll try to get the jam and jelly recipes posted in the next day or two.

Enjoy your day!

Nathenia

Amish Friendship Bread- Making the Adjustments

Pulling herself from her warm cozy bed, she stumbles into the kitchen, flips on the lights and grabs her first cup of coffee. As she sits at the table trying to wake up, she glances around the kitchen making mental notes of what needs to be gathered in preparation for the battle ahead.

Her mind drifts to the oven which less than 2 weeks ago was almost completely annihilated by the creature that did not stay within the boundaries of its loaf pans. This time it would be different!

Confident in her research regarding high altitude bread baking and having the tenacity of a bull dog that won’t let go (or so her husband says), she is bound and determined to win the battle that looms near. Glancing down at the adjustments she’s made to what was once a tried and true recipe at much lower altitudes; she quietly begins to gather her ingredients.

Though confident, she still proceeds with caution. Shielded by a favorite gingerbread apron and armed with the new knowledge of high-altitude baking and her trusty wooden spoon, she approaches the glass jar sitting in the corner of the kitchen counter and the bubbling creature that grows quietly within waiting to be fed and then conquered. And she thinks to herself… “How hard can this be?”

Okay, so I’m not a writer but I couldn’t help myself and for those following the Amish Friendship Bread posts, I am very happy to report that I did NOT have any messes or explosions in my oven to clean up! There are a couple of people I have to thank for that… If it weren’t for Susan G. Purdy’s website, High Altitude Baking the recipe adjustment guide from her book Pie in the Sky and a brochure on high altitude baking given to me by Laura, our County’s Home Economist, I don’t think I would have had the success I had on this last baking day.

Below you will find my adjustments to the Amish Friendship Bread and you’ll find the original recipe here.

• 3 extra large eggs (for added moisture)
• 1 cup less 3 tablespoons sugar (too much sugar weakens the structure at high altitudes in some baked goods.)
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour (for added strength)
• 1 small box of vanilla instant pudding
• ½ tsp baking powder

Bake at 350 degrees 45-50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Baking at a higher temperature helps to"set" the structure so that the baked goods don't overexpand and dry out. And since I'm baking at a higher temp, baking time was also decreased.

Loaf pans were dusted with sugar. The loaf on the right I added to the batter ½ cup dried cranberries and ½ cup chopped pecans. Very yummy and was gone by the end of the day!

This is the Banana/Walnut Bread version. Excellent breakfast bread!

Though there were no dragons to slay this day and I am very happy with my results, I think there is room for improvement and will continue to tweak my ingredients until I’m 100% pleased with the results. 

And by the way, if you like heart-warming stories, then be sure to read “Amish Friendship Bread: A Novel.” I’ve just started reading it and I love it so far! I plan to find a quiet corner this weekend to read it all the way through!
Hugs-n-Stitches!
Nathenia

Amish Friendship Bread- Baking Day Mishaps!

Thursday was baking day for my Amish Friendship Bread. After ten days of feeding and caring for my starter for the last 10 days it was time to see what this starter could actually do! I was so excited and quite nervous all at the same time. You already know the reasons why I haven't baked this bread in over 20 years from a previous post. So I'm sure you can understand my nervousness.

The directions were followed to the T and according to the recipe, I divided the starter into 4 parts (1 to keep and start a new cycle with and 3 to give away), but because I wanted to make sure the starter would work at the elevation at which we live, I decided to bake with all but the 1 to start a new cycle with.   It wasn't long before the memories of why I stopped baking yeast breads in New Mexico came flooding back!

I made the 1st batch using the recipe I recently acquired from the Friendship Kitchen website, the second batch I used the Banana Nut Bread modification and a third batch using my original recipe that I brought from Oklahoma.  How did they turn out? The 3rd batch rose and then fell so quickly, there was nothing left in the center and it was burnt. Into the garbage it went!  The banana nut version was actually some of the best banana bread I've ever tasted however it sunk in the middle and spilled over the sides. But that didn't make near the mess as the first batch did! Just picture Mount Vesuvius in my oven!  I'm glad I baked that first batch last, because it was complete and total destruction.  It reminded me of the volcano my daughter made for her 4th grade science project. Only instead of erupting all over kitchen counter and floor it was all contained nicely in my oven!
I ended up having to put my oven on a 6 hour cleaning cycle which set the smoke detectors off in my kitchen.   I wish I had thought of taking photographs for you to see the mess!

Like I said in the last post, I'm not going to give up! I'm prepared to take notes and make modifications. I did get in touch with our County Home Economist and she gave me a brochure regarding high altitude baking.  I'm continuing to feed the starter, and in 8 days, I will be making bread again and hopefully with more success!  If there is anyone out there that lives at an elevation of over 5000 feet (I live at 5860 ft) and has had success in baking an Amish Friendship Bread or any kind of sourdough bread from a starter, would you please be kind enough to share your recipe?
Hugs-n-Stitches!
Nathenia

Amish Friendship Bread

Calling all bread bakers! Good cooks are everywhere, but someone that can bake bread and have it come out perfect every single time is...well an artisan in my books! I'm not talking about quick breads either. I don't know anyone who can't bake a quick bread. However, I do know several who have a hard time making yeast breads and for the last 22 years I can honestly and most unfortunately say, myself included. 

When I moved to New Mexico, I brought with me a sourdough starter called Amish Friendship Bread and another starter for Potato Bread. Prior to moving to the Land of Enchantment, I made bread twice a week and due to the fact that after a while, you run out of people to give starters to, I had enough starter to make several batches of bread at one time. So here I was with these Amish and Potato bread starters that I had cared for and fed for several years- LOL kinda like a chia pet only better!  I'd been making these breads for so long that I didn't even need the recipes anymore and they came out perfect every time! 

So what happened? After moving to New Mexico and making several attempts at baking these breads, my prize-winning loaves of bread became like flat bread that even the Navajo in this area wouldn't even consider using for Fry Bread!  Dry, crumbly, and hard. Ick!  Who wants bread like that? And I had no idea at that time the problems I was having had to do with the altitude at which we lived. While it might have made good croutons for a salad, I gave up after about 3 months and trashed both the Amish and the Potato bread starters.  No longer a stay-at home mom, raising my family, working and going to school full time, it wasn't long before bread baking became a past time and was soon forgotten. Of course I made several attempts over the years with other recipes, but none compared to my "Okie" breads. And since I no longer had starters, I couldn't try my sourdough breads again. So for the last 22 years I've stuck with quick breads and when rolls were required, the frozen Rhodes Rolls have done a pretty good job!

A few days ago, Janet, a Facebook friend and customer posted on her Facebook wall that she liked a link to a book called "Friendship Bread: The Novel."  The title caught by eye and naturally having made Amish Friendship bread years ago, I had to check it out.  Little did I know when I clicked that link, that I would find myself feeding and nurturing a bread starter again.  I've pre-ordered the book and can't wait to read it. But the great thing is that the author has made available the recipe and I'm finding myself reminiscing about the friendships that began just because of a bread starter!

But why blog about bread? More specifically why blog about THIS bread? Years ago, my friends and I used to pass a version of this Amish Friendship bread around to everyone.  When one of us needed a break from making it (didn’t know you could freeze it back then) we always knew where to go to get a new starter.  We  passed this around so many times, that I think some of our family and friends ran the other way if they saw us heading towards them with a jar of starter! Though we don’t live close to each other anymore, some of my fondest memories of being together in Oklahoma are sitting around our kitchen tables sharing fresh baked friendship bread and having a cup of coffee, talking about our kids, our husbands and everything else in between. Just enjoying each others company!  I just feel something this good has to be shared!

My original handwritten recipe

I'm on day 6 and have just fed my starter and given it another good stirring. Four days to go until bake time! I'm nervous and excited all at the same time and I'm hoping since this was started here and not in Oklahoma, that I'll have better luck. I've learned over the years that some recipes require a bit of adjusting due to us being at an altitude of 5860 feet. So in the event this recipe doesn't turn out the first time, I'm prepared to take notes and make the necessary adjustments for that perfect bread!  LOL and yes, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out!

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Thank you again  to Janet for sharing the link!  By next Saturday, I'm hoping to find myself in bread heaven again! : )  If anyone is interested in starting their own Amish Friendship Bread, be sure to visit the Friendship Bread Kitchen.  You'll find the recipe for the starter here and whether you share the bread starter with an old friend or someone you don't even know,  don't be surprised when something so simple as this recipe can be become the start of or be used to strengthen something so warm and wonderful as a friendship.
Nathenia