Cloverleaf Rolls and Libby's Pumpkin Pie

(photos from culinary.net--I forgot to take my own photos!)

I posted a message on a cooking forum in search of the ultimate pumpkin pie recipe--the undisputed vote was for Libby's straight off the back of the can! We made this recipe for "Turkey Treats" (Thanksgiving treats that we sold and sent home with teachers before Turkey break) and I brought one to Thanksgiving myself. Our Thanksgiving is a whole different story for a whole different time...it was great, though!

We made the yeast rolls, but wanted to make them a little different, so we made cloverleaf. We thought they were best with melted butter mixed with garlic powder brushed on them right before baking. Our first round turned out great, but our last rounds, not so much. Something was definitely up with our industrial mixer, and the dough didn't rise and turned a grayish green color (the dough hook was scraping up bits of the bowl into the dough..yuck!). We had to scrap 13 dozen rolls the morning of delivery, and disappoint a few people. But hey, I'd rather have none than have non-risen, greenish-gray ones, you? Every experience is a learning experience!

Libby’s Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
¾ c granulated sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
½ t salt
½ t ground ginger
¼ t ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) Evaporated milk
1 pie shell (homemade or store bought)

Directions:
Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
Pour into pie shell.
Bake in preheated 425 F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F; bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Parker House Cloverleaf Rolls

From Joy of Cooking
Yield: 24 2-inch rolls
Ingredients:
1 c milk
1 T sugar
2 T butter
¾ t salt
1 package active dry yeast
2 T 105-115 F water
2 2/3 c all-purpose flour, sifted
Melted butter
1 egg

Instructions:
Scald milk.
Add sugar, butter, and salt and stir until dissolved.
Sprinkle yeast over water.
Add the milk mixture when the yeast/water has cooled to lukewarm.
Beat in egg.
Stir in part of the flour; knead in the rest. Use only enough flour to form a dough that can be handled easily. Place in a greased bowl. Brush the top with melted butter.
Cover and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.
Punch down the dough. Now, fill greased muffin tins about one-third with 3 small balls (as sketched in Joy of Cooking, page 611).
Brush the tops with melted butter.
Let rise covered in a warm place until about doubled in bulk.
Bake in a preheated 425 F oven 15-18 minutes. Remove at once from pans.