Sweet Potatoes are More Than a Side Dish…

Sweet potatoes are the nutritional darling of the food world. High amounts of vitamin A, potassium, calcium and fiber make them a healthful addition to any meal. That’s one reason I was so excited to try Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls. I can feed my obsession for all things bread-related while feeling I’m honoring my commitment to provide delicious and nutritious meals.

I have a secret…I’ve never considered myself an expert "baker." I always felt baking required a level of precision and strict adherence to a recipe that seemed more like a science experiment I hoped wouldn’t fail. Cooking seems more improvisational for me. Give me ingredients as a guideline and a few studied techniques to prepare them and I can create something to suit my mood.

And then I made my first loaf of bread. Simple, homey goodness straight from my own oven! I now embrace my "inner baker." I plan whole meals around popovers, biscuits and rolls. Some say bread is the staff of life—in my house it’s the CEO. And homemade crescent rolls? I’ve been known to crack open a can of rolls from the refrigerated aisle of my local market, but this recipe is special and absolutely worth the work. Your dinner guests will thank you.
This recipe calls for a cup of mashed cooked sweet potato. Canned sweet potatoes work great, or you can pierce a whole sweet potato and microwave it for 7 minutes. Then, let it cool before peeling and mashing it.

Meanwhile, combine 1 ½ cups of flour in a large bowl with the yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

Next, heat the butter, milk and sweet potato in a medium sauce pan until the butter melts.

Add this to the dry ingredients and beat on low until mixed. Add the egg and continue mixing for 3 minutes.

Now it’s "hands on" time. Start stirring enough of the remaining flour into the batter until a "kneadable" dough forms. I used another 2 ½ C. flour to reach this point.

Instead of turning the dough onto a floured surface to knead, try my favorite no-mess method and just keep it in the bowl. I rotate the bowl while pulling the dough from the edges to the center. Add additional flour to keep it from sticking and keep going until it’s smooth and elastic (6 to 9 minutes).

Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Let it rest about 30 minutes until it doubles in size and an indentation remains when poked.

Divide the dough in half before rolling it into a 12-inch circle. Brush with melted butter before cutting into 12 wedges.

Roll each triangle tightly to form crescent shape before placing point side down on the baking sheet.

After all are formed, cover and let rest 20 minutes before baking at 375° for 10-12 minutes.

I like to brush the rolls with melted butter while still warm.

One more thing…an idea if you have any leftover rolls…they would be great the next day stuffed with ham, honey mustard and cheddar cheese or even alongside scrambled eggs and maple sausages.

I’d love to hear about your ideas and if you have any questions about these Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls.

Come back in a few days when Tami will share how to make easy gingerbread bars.

Emily is paid to write for the Land O’Lakes Recipe Buzz® Blog.