Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls

Winter is the season for soup.  Unfortunately, I'm not soup's biggest fan. I'm carbs' biggest fan (and absolutely hate to admit it).  So, in order to get myself excited about soup, I need to pair it with a warm roll, muffin or bread.  One of my favorite rolls to make are these Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls.  They take a little more attention than muffins, but the process melds perfectly with the making of a soup.  Let me explain what I mean.

Step 1:  Mix up the dough and set aside to rise until doubled.  While it's rising...

Step 2:  Make the soup.  While it's simmering....

Step 3:  Roll out and up the crescent rolls and set to rise again.  While they're rising...

Step 4: Finish the soup (if need be) and set the table.

Step 5: Pop the rolls into the oven, pour the water and stand in front of your oven while inhaling the incredible aroma wafting from it.  Don't burn your nose.

Step 6:  Sit down to soup and fresh, soft, sweet-smelling crescent rolls.

The end.

Oh, wait.  Did you want the actual recipe?  Of course you did.  First, let me say that just because they look fancy does not mean they're hard to make.  They're not.  Secondly, let me apologize about the lighting in some of these photos.  I am not a photographer and I make dinner at dinnertime (hence the poor lighting).  And I'm okay with that.

Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls (adapted from Simply In Season)
The original recipe calls for whole wheat bread flour.  I don't usually have this on hand.  My version (below) works beautifully using regular whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour in it's place.
Yields about 2 dozen crescent rolls

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (Scrub clean a large sweet potato and cut into quarters.  Cover with water and boil until very soft.  Remove peel and mash with a fork or potato masher or blend with an immersion blender.)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

In a small saucepan, combine mashed sweet potatoes, milk and butter.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter has melted.  In the meantime, combine 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, salt and spices in the bowl of your electric mixer.  Add the sweet potato mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well combined.  Add the egg and beat on medium speed until blended well.  Add remaining flours.  Once just combined, lift out the beater and, with your (clean) hand, finish kneading the dough in the bowl until smooth, adding a little more flour if it's too sticky to handle.  Leave the dough in the mixing bowl, cover with a towel and set aside to rise until doubled.

Once the dough is twice the size it was, punch it down and divide the dough in half.  Lightly flour your counter and rolling pin.  Roll half of the dough out on the counter into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.  With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 12-16 wedges.

Roll each wedge up tightly starting with the wider end.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.  Place the crescent rolls on a greased cookie sheet (or on parchment paper) and cover with a towel again until doubled (about 10-15 minutes).

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until they turn light brown.  Brush with melted butter while warm and serve right away.  Store cooled leftovers in an air tight container or plastic bag.

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