Butterhorns

I’ve got a smile on my face as I write this post. Why? Because today I’m thinking a lot about my ‘Get Happy’ List.

What’s that you ask?

Well, I like to think of it as a list of various things that no matter what may be going wrong or badly in my life, I can always turn to and rely upon to perk me up, keep me positive and help me ‘get happy. I’m sure all of you have one too, and I’d love to hear about some of the things on your list in the comments section of this post. In the meanwhile, I thought I’d share some of my Top 5 ‘Get Happy’ must-haves with all of you. Everyone has their share of stressful situations going on in their lives and sometimes we just need things that are able to help us relax and smile in spite of all the crap. Who knows? Maybe some of the things on my ‘Get Happy’ list can help to make some of you ‘ get happy’ too.

Cooking is (of course) on Jess’ Get Happy List, but there are other things too. some of them may make sense, while I’m willing to admit that some of them may not seem to make too much sense to you guys at all. But you know what? I accepted a long time ago that I was a weird/lame nerd and introvert with a schizophrenic taste in music that’s lost in a bizarre world of cooking, classic British novels, Photoshop, fictional characters/stories, and  90’s pop culture.  And I kinda like it.

{Get Happy} Movies:

1. A&E’s Pride and Prejudice (Starring Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle)

2. Sense & Sensibility (Starring Emma Thompson & Kate Winslet)

3. Phantom of the Opera (Schumacher Version starring Gerard Butler & Emmy Rossum)

4. My Fair Lady (Audrey Hepburn)

5. The Rescuers (Disney)

{Get Happy} Music:

1. Anything by Ella Fitzgerald…literally.

2. “Three Little Birds”- Bob Marley

3. “Glorious”- Darlene Zschech

4. “Suddenly I See”- K.T. Tunstall

5. “Can’t Give Up Now”- Mary Mary

Get Happy Tv:

1. The Office

2. Parks and Recreation

3. Hey Arnold

4. Rugrats

5. Investigative Discovery Shows (Deadly Women, Wicked Attraction, Who the ^%$ Did I Marry?)

{Get Happy} Food:

1. Pancakes

2. Meatloaf

3. Pizza

4. Thick, Iced Sugar Cookies

5. Fresh baked bread

This recipe makes me ‘get happy’ for a couple of reasons. In the first place, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t ‘get happy’ about crescent rolls. They’re buttery pieces of pure perfection that can go with just about every meal, any time of day. Apart from being delicious, they also look ‘pretty’ and make the baker look like they really know what they’re doing in the kitchen- which was a huge deal for me when I decided to start experimenting with yeast breads. This was one of the first recipes I tried to take on and I’m happy to say that it was a huge success. My family loves having homemade bread to eat with weeknight meals and I’ve come to rely on these butterhorn crescents as an easy, delicious accompaniment to our dinner.

These are sure to help you ‘get happy’, guys. Trust me.

*******************************

Butterhorns

Recipe Courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE VERSION 

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp plus 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 warm water (110°to 115°)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup warm 2% milk (110°to 115°)
• 1 egg
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 cups all purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water.

2. Add the butter, milk, egg, salt remaining sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

3. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

4. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll up each portion into a 12-in circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents.

5. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake 350° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Rub softened butter over crescents while still hot, then allow to cool.

***************************************

Related articles

• One Happy List
• Kamut and Polenta Bread
• Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• Gluten Free Bread Machine Bread Recipe