One of My Favorite Things

While I was busily entering all sorts of giveaways yesterday (seriously, you need to go check these out! Click HERE to see the 1000+ freebies being given away!!!) I came across some really fun blogs. Some of the folks would let you just enter a simple comment & you were all set. Others made you work for it. Okay, okay, it wasn't that bad but there were some who made you say something other than "Thanks! Count me in!!" or similar such things.

One blog I found (and instantly added to my Google Reader so I could continue to follow it) is called Ship Full O'Pirates. Seriously. I love that title. And you really need to go check out what she is giving away. It is, in a word, amazing!

So I had to leave a comment about my favorite Thanksgiving food. I innocently commented that I love my mom's homemade oatmeal rolls. Oh.my.gosh. (In fact, I think that is what I said in my comment.) We insist on her making these every time we have any family function that involves food - which is a few times a year.

Last Christmas my hubby (with a little help from his mom) bought me a professional KitchenAide mixer which I so so SO am loving. I use it a lot. My hubby's pretty happy he got it for me as well. So now that I have this wonderful mixer, I asked my mom for her recipe. Pretty simple right? I mean, how hard could it be to make these yummy, mouth-watering rolls?

Well, let's just say I gave up on making rolls with the recipe but it does turn out some fabulous tasting bread. ;-) I have no clue why my rolls do NOT turn out like my mom's but they don't. They don't look like them. They don't have the same texture. They do taste similar, but something is just missing from the whole thing. Thankfully she still makes them when asked. Phew!

Anyway, Mother Hen at Ship Full O'Pirates left me an e-mail..."Alright Lisa, I'm gonna have to insist that you give us the recipe for these." So here you go....

Disclaimer: My mom is one of those "add just a pinch" or "add enough flour until you can easily handle it" type of cooks. You will probably need to experiment a bit with this recipe to find out how much works for you. I'll try my best to share how I make it. ;-)

• In a large bowl place 1 cup of old-fashioned oatmeal.
• Add 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Pour 1 cup of boiling water in
• Let sit for one hour. DO NOT TOUCH! (My mom did say you can do this before going to bed & it's okay to let it sit for more than hour if need be, but it needs to sit for at least one hour.)
• Add 1/2 cup of molasses.
• Add 1/8 teaspoon salt.
• Place 1 tablespoon of yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water (water measurement is my own - I also use the same measuring cup that I measured the molasses in instead of adding sugar to the yeast. This will help prove it.)
• Let it prove (sit for a few minutes) & then add to oatmeal & molasses.
• Add flour 1 cup at a time until able to handle (See! I put in 3-4 cups & mix. Continue to add flour & mix until the dough comes away from the sides & does not stick to your hands/fingers when you touch it.)
• Rise 1-2 hours until dough doubles.
• Punch down dough & form either in to rolls or bread.
• Let rise in pans for another 30 mins (roughly).
• Bake at 350 until tap hollow (again - tap hollow?? Seriously, I can't tell you how much I ended up tossing!)
• If you are making bread, it takes about an hour.

These two loaves just came out a few minutes ago. YUM!