12 Hour Butterhorns

3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter 

1 scant Tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs, well beaten
4 to 5 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, softened

Heat milk to almost boiling then remove from heat.  Add 1/2 cup butter, cut in pieces.  Stir till butter is melted.  Set aside. Pour warm water into a large bowl.  Add a teaspoon or so of the sugar and the yeast.  When mixture is foamy, add the remaining sugar, salt, eggs and milk/butter mixture (make sure its warm, not hot).  Add 3 cups of flour and stir well.  Add more flour about 1/2 cup, stirring after each addition.  You want just enough flour to make the dough leave the sides of the bowl but still be soft.  Cover and let rise in a cool place (mine goes in the basement).  Let rise for 5-7 hours (or till you wake up in the morning if started the night before).

Stir dough down and dump out on lightly floured surface.  Knead lightly, keeping dough soft.  Divide in half and roll each half into about a 14 inch circle.  spread 1/4 cup softened butter on each circle. Cut circles pie fashion into 16 pieces each.  Roll each piece from big to small end and pinch closed.  Place on greased cookie sheets, cover and let rise for 5-7 more hours.  Sometimes they will get really puffy during this rising, sometimes not so much but its fine either way.

Heat oven to 375 and bake rolls for 12-15 minutes or till lightly browned.  Cool on racks or a towel.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter (margarine works, butter is better)
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (not pie filling, just pumpkin)
1 egg 
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups quick oats
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (12 oz. bag)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla.  Add salt, cinnamon and baking soda, mix thoroughly.  Stir in flour, mix well.  Add oats and chocolate chips, mix well.  Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets (I usually put 12 on each baking sheet) and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.  Makes 8-10 dozen depending on size (and how much dough gets snitched while I'm making them).

Sugar Muffins

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening

1 egg

1 ½ tsp. Baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. Ground nutmeg

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup milk

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. Ground cinnamon

6 Tbsp. Butter, melted

Cream together sugar and shortening. Beat in egg, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Starting and ending with flour, alternately add flour and milk till mixed well. Fill 12 greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Mix cinnamon and second amount of sugar together. Remove muffins from tin, roll in melted butter then in cinnamon sugar mixture.

If you want to make these slightly healthier so you feel better about yourself do the following: in the top ingredients use 1/3 cup sugar and 2 1/2 Tbsp. shortening, add 1/4 cup applesauce with the milk.  For the bottom ingredients cut the butter to about 1/4 cup and the sugar will probably be about 1/3 cup but I've never actually measured the difference there.  Mix as directed but when rolling the muffins just roll the tops in butter and sugar.