Creamy Ham Croissants

Finally!  We're back online!  The last few weeks have been insane with finishing semesters and an awesome trip to Las Vegas.  We've got a lot of updating to do, just in time for Christmas.

I (daughter) love to make this very easy recipe to take as a hostess gift to holiday parties.  Instead of taking the traditional bottle of wine or bouquet of flowers, why not take these for a light breakfast for the morning after?

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked ham, diced (today I used Canadian bacon...still very yummy)
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 12 oz tube refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.  Mix ham & cream cheese in a bowl; set aside.
3.  Unroll and separate crescent rolls.  Place a spoonful of ham mixture on each.  Roll up, place on an ungreased baking sheet (or a baking sheet lined with a Silpat).
4.  Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 8 servings.

Recipe taken from the Gooseberry Patch Cookbook:  Almost Homemade, p. 33.

Pumpkin Scones

I (Daughter) love pumpkin anything, and I especially love fall because it gives me a good excuse to add pumpkin to everything!  Yesterday, I bought some pumpkin butter at the store, and needed something besides a traditional biscuit or English muffin to spread it on (although either option sounds pretty darn good...).  I looked for a pumpkin scone recipe online when I got home, and of course, didn't like any of what I found.  So I took inspiration from several different recipes.  They turned out a little more moist and dense than a traditional scone, and I attribute that to the moistness of the pumpkin.  Here goes!

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

¼ cup sugar

1 egg

1 can unsweetened pumpkin puree

¼ cup milk

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp salt

2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Topping:

2 tbsp milk

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup cinnamon

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 400° F.  Prepare a baking sheet…I like to use a Silpat silicone mat on a cookie sheet, but if you don’t have a Silpat, spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2.       Cream together butter and sugar, then add egg, pumpkin puree, and ¼ cup milk.  Beat until smooth. 

3.       In a separate mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Add pumpkin mixture, and knead together with a pastry blender until all ingredients are incorporated.  The dough will be sticky and somewhat gooey.

4.       Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.  Brush the tops of the scones with milk, and sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the top.

5.       Bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Allow to cool before serving.

Makes about 18 scones.