When these rolls came out of the oven and I tasted the first one sandwiched with a little butter I almost did a cartwheel. Finally, I’d made a recipe with yeast that actually tasted good!

Time for a quiz.
Which of the following accurately illustrates how Erin feels about baking bread:
A. I famously can’t make bread.
B. I’m impatient and dislike it when recipes take several hours to make.
C. I hate to cook anything with a high mess threshold.
D. All of the above

Give up? Well if you chose “D” you’re right on top of things. However, I plan to make an exception to this raging anti-bread sentiment in the future because I really liked these rolls.

In addition, these pumpkin dinner accompaniments are “Part 2″ of the recipes I made with one can of leftover Libby’s Pumpkin. Those little cans obviously have a lot more possibilities in them than just boring old Thanksgiving pies.

Can of Pumpkin Part 2	Dissolve Yeast & Sugar
Make Dough	Knead & Form Into a Ball
Let it Rise	Shape, Bake & Cool

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls (Originally published in the December 1998 edition of Cooking Light magazine. I halved the recipe as outlined below.)
Makes 12 Rolls

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 package dry yeast (about 1 1/8 teaspoons)
1 tablespoons brown sugar
3/8 cup warm fat-free milk (105° to 115°)
2 1/2 cups bread flour, divided
1/8 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 large egg (Note: Just scramble one egg in a dish and pour half into your recipe)
Cooking spray

Combine the pumpkin and vanilla extract, and set aside. Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 cup flour, pumpkin mixture, margarine, salt, vinegar, nutmeg, and egg to yeast mixture; beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Stir in 1 cups flour to form a sticky dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover dough, and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Coat muffin cups with cooking spray. Punch dough down. Divide into 12 equal pieces; shape each piece into a ball. Place 1 ball in each muffin cup. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover dough; bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.

Like many of you, my Crème Brûlée obsession stems from the movie Amelie. Who can forget that gorgeous scene where Audrey Tautou’s character cracks the caramelized top of her dessert while declaring it one of life’s simple pleasures? To that end, if there is Crème Brûlée to be found on a menu I always order it.

Last weekend I decided to try my hand at this decadent dessert, but instead of making the traditional custard I opted to use the lonely can of pumpkin filling that has been sitting in my kitchen cupboard since Thanksgiving. After all, canned pumpkin needs a home (in my belly) too. That one can of pie filling yielded another tasty treat as well, but more on that later this week.

Since I can’t be trusted in the presence of 8 dishes of fabulous dessert I cut the recipe in half and also substituted light cream for heavy cream. This brought the calorie count down to 210 per pretty pastel ramekin. Sadly I didn’t actually get to use my kitchen torch as it was out of fuel. I had to use the boring old broiler method instead. Boy was that an anxiety producing activity! Chris and I stood in front of the roaring hot stove like expectant parents watching the tops bubble, while I kept saying over and over again, “They’re going to burn! They’re going to burn!” Good times…

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée (Based on the recipe originally published by Emeril Lagasse)
Makes 4 half cup desserts

1 cup light cream
1/8 cup light brown sugar
1/8 cup sugar, plus 4 teaspoons
4 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Arrange 4 (1/2-cup) ramekins or custard cups in a large metal baking pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, brown sugar, and 1/8 cup granulated sugar. Bring to a bare simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy and lemon-colored. Slowly add half of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot cream, and whisk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin, and whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Divide among the prepared custard cups.

Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the custards are just set in the center but not stiff, 45 minutes to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle each custard with 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining sugar. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar. (Alternately, preheat the broiler, and broil until the sugar melts and caramelizes, watching closely to avoid burning and rotating the cups, about 1 to 2 minutes.) Place on small dessert plates and serve.

Controversy abounds on who exactly invented the Whoopie Pie, but having grown up in Maine I’m going to take a local stance and declare that they were invented in my home state. Of course if you’re from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, or any other New England region you’re also welcome to proudly make this claim because Mr. Wizard probably couldn’t unravel this culinary mystery.

What I do know is that I grew up on chocolate Whoopie Pies with fluffy white filling and to this day my mother will honestly call me in order to specifically discuss a delicious dessert that she happened to pick up at a grocery store, bake sale, or farm stand. The absolute best Whoopie Pie that I ever tasted came from the Maine company, Wicked Whoopies. Wicked Whoopies was actually featured on Oprah’s “Great Gift” show back in November of 2003. My heart still resides with their blueberry Whoopie Pie, and I’ve yet to taste its equal. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear as though they make that flavor anymore, but trust me — it was to die for.

My second favorite flavor is pumpkin anything so when I came across the recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies in Rachael Ray’s October issue I promptly added the ingredients I needed to my grocery list. Of course my mother called me to make sure I’d seen it too. She was just as excited as me to try it! Fortunately, this recipe is ridiculously easy. I suggest you make a batch for everyone that you know, or at least your office mates. These pumpkin treats will win anyone over and than they’ll owe you favors forever.

Making Whoopie	Scoop & Bake
Collectively Cool	Mmm…Cream Cheese Frosting
Edible Bribes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (Originally Published in the October 2007 Issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray)

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners’ sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.