Author: Pamela Layton McMurtry

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General Conference Cinnamon Rolls


I started making fresh cinnamon rolls years ago on the weekend of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints General Conference so my family would sit and watch it on television!
For the General Conference broadcast: www.lds.org

CINNAMON ROLLS
So yummy with a glass of milk and fresh strawberries.
    Grease two 10″ x 15″ baking pans. 
   Scald in small saucepan:
2 C milk
    Remove from heat when small bubbles begin to form around the edge. Add:
6 Tbsp. butter
1/4 C + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

    Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, stir together:

1/3 C very warm water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
    In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat:
3 eggs
    After yeast mixture develops about an inch of foam on top, add to beaten eggs, with milk mixture
    is cooled to 115°, stir in:
2 C flour
    Beat until smooth, add:
2 C whole wheat flour
    Stir briefly, add
1 – 2 C flour
    Stir, dough will be thick and sticky.
    Cover bowl with clean towel and set aside. Allow dough to rise for 2 hours, stirring when the    
    dough reaches top of bowl. Melt in small saucepan:
6 Tbsp butter
    In a small bowl, stir together:
1/2 C granulated sugar
3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
    Chop
1 C pecans
    Heat oven to 400*. Divide dough into two portions. Roll one portion into a rectangle, about 1/2″ thick. With a pastry brush, or new paint brush, apply a thin coating of melted butter, spread half of cinnamon mixture and nuts. Roll up long edge as for jellyroll and pinch closed along seam. Take a 12” piece of dental floss and cut rolled dough into 1″ slices. Place slices on prepared baking pan about two inches apart. Cover with clean towel and set aside. Repeat with second portion of dough. Let rise until you can dent the dough with your finger and the dent remains – the dough is then ready to bake. While rolls are rising, wash mixing bowl. Bake in 400* oven for 12 -15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with remaining melted butter. Allow to cool slightly, frost with butter cream frosting.

Butter Cream Frosting

    Combine in an electric mixer bowl:
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp milk
   Mix until smooth, thin with additional milk if need. Spread over slightly cooled cinnamon rolls


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How to get the Easter Bunny to spend a little extra time in your yard

Santa’s not the only one who loves a big plate of cookies!

Sugar Cookies

Cream

1 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C sugar
1 egg
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon flavoring

Set aside. In another bowl sift together

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a smooth dough is formed.
Add 1 – 2 tsp water if necessary. Wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Roll
out fough on floured surface to 1/2 ” thick. Cut with cookie cutters, place on
lightly-greased cookie sheets. bake at 400 6- 8 minutes, until golden around
the edges. Cool on pan 5 minutes, then remove to a cookie rack. Frost with
Lemon Buttercream Frosting.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Cream together

1 C butter, softened
1 tsp lemon flavoring

Mix in

1 lb. powdered sugar
2 – 3 tBSP milk

Divide and add food coloring as desired (we used neon for the cookies in the photo). These are so delicious and can be baked ahead and frozen.

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An Irish Blessing


This Irish blessing came from last year’s Christmas card from my sister Melissa and her husband Patrick. Thank you Corrigan family.

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Happy Birthday MiMe! February 29, 1912

Vada, Karl and Larry Layton c. 1934

One hundred years ago, in small town in Arizona, a beautiful baby girl
was born. Her parents Frederick and Inza Holladay Webb welcomed
their eighth child into this large and happy family.

Born on February 29th, she only had a birthday every four years.
Vada was a descendant of William Shakespeare’s aunt, Margaret Arden,
and Mormon pioneer Chauncey Gilbert Webb who had a blacksmith
shop in Nauvoo, IL, entered the Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young
and later helped rescue the stranded Martin Willie handcart company

Vada Webb would grow up to be a high school valedictorian,
wonderful cook, loving mother and wife, immaculate housekeeper and
the most amazing grandmother. She understood children and their
needs and tenderly provided the most important loving care.
She was my idea of an angel.
Vada married Karl Layton, made a home for her children Larry and Judy
and was beloved by all her family. She loved children, red and pansies,
had a delightful sense of humor and a sparkle in her eyes.

Her loving influence lives on the lives of her descendants who
honor her life and legacy on this special day.

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Halloween in February?


Indeed! Long projects last and last and cross all holiday boundaries. I finally figured out my layout style: here’s a chapter heading that I think will work

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Catering

I’m developing a menu that I hope you’ll really like!

Please call me for wedding receptions, anniversaries,
luncheons, family reunions – anytime you want delicious
food with delightful presentation.

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Baby it’s cold outside…

The other Christmas decorations are put away, but I let the snowmen stay out
until Valentine’s Day. This one is ready to start his garden, but the ground is rock hard!
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In the news

I was awake (too) early this morning when a light flashed across my bedroom door. This is unusual because of the layout of my house and the fact that I’m on the second floor. I was waiting for our newspaper, The Deseret News, who had reviewed Newell’s book. Wondering if it might be the headlights of the newspaper deliverer, I grabbed my coat and boots and found the paper in the driveway. Eagerly I opened the paper and found the article. It was a good review and we are grateful for the exposure. We have been struggling and were hoping for “a break.”

Newell and I met twenty years ago at a single adult dance in Bakersfield. We were both divorced and lonely. We liked each other immediately. After spending time together, we decided to marry and try to blend our six children into a family; later adding one more to the mix. We have great kids, and have worked really hard – but it’s been a difficult road. We are grateful for the support we’ve had from family and friends and look forward to brighter days ahead. I’d like to see COMMODORE FARMER made into a movie. Its good entertainment with a focus on ethics, intelligence and integrity. If you haven’t read it yet, please check it out, I think you’ll enjoy it!

FROM THE DESERET NEWS:

January 8, 2011

Gene N. McMurtry’s new eBook, “Commodore Farmer,” is an intergalactic science fiction adventure with some unexpected twists and turns.

“COMMODORE FARMER,” by Gene McMurty, AKW Books, $6.50, 431 pages (f)

“Commodore Farmer,” Utah author Gene McMurtry’s first science fiction ebook, is an intergalactic adventure of intrigue, deception, suspense and the victory of good over evil.

The story begins with the interplanetary wedding of Prince Westmoreland “Wesley” James Andrew Ayr am-Spotsylvania and Princess Alicia Tsinndorf — heroes and heirs to the thrones of two neighboring planets.

The wedding provides a vehicle for the author to introduce many of the main characters, which include the wedding couple; Archbishop Stilton “Stilt” Farnsworth Canterbury am-Oceanside, a treacherous villain; and an assortment of other important members of the royal families.

For years, the archbishop has schemed for ways to rule the planets of Spotsylvania and Tsinndorf. His plan involves an extensive spy ring, bribery, lying, deaths by poisoning, and the kidnapping of Karl, the heir apparent — son of Wesley and Alicia.

Karl is the namesake of Commodore Karl J. Wahlenmaier, a terraformer — one who creates earthlike environments on un-earthlike planets. The book’s title comes from his nickname, Commodore Farmer. Walenmaier keeps a low profile, but has impressive resources and connections; he is not who he appears to be.

Will Stilt achieve his goal of interplanetary power? Will Karl be reunited with his parents? Just who is Commodore Karl J. Wahlenmaier? As the tale twists and turns to its end, these and other questions are answered in some unexpected ways.

“Commodore Farmer” is definitely G-rated. References to God, prayer, fasting and church attendance are made in subtle, positive ways. The heroes live by high moral values.

A few typos — along with spelling and punctuation errors sprinkled throughout the book — are annoying, but don’t get in the way of the story.

McMurtry, who lives in Kaysville, has a self-proclaimed, decades-long passion for science fiction and is a science buff with degrees in biology and human nutrition. According to the author’s website, the science used in the book is real.

Review by Rosemarie Howard. Her website is at www.dramaticdimensions.com.

To buy COMMODORE FARMER or read a free sample please visit:

http://www.akwbooks.com/BookStore/catalog/Commodore-Farmer-p-28.html