Thanksgiving is hands-down my favorite holiday.  It’s wonderful to take a few days off from work to spend time on what matters most to me: family, friends, and food.  Each year, my Mom hosts an amazing Thanksgiving dinner with the traditional fare including (but by no means limited to) turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and…potato dinner rolls!  Just as good with leftovers as they are fresh out of the oven, potato rolls are deliciously soft and melt right in your mouth.  These rolls don’t really taste like potatoes, but the addition of mashed potatoes gives the dough a fluffy texture.

A Thanksgiving without potato rolls is truly not a real Thanksgiving for my family.  My Mom has been making potato dinner rolls for as long as I can remember, and this was the year for me to learn.  The pressure was on!  I started out a rookie, and after two batches I felt like a seasoned pro.  After the first batch, I took a few pointers and adjusted the second batch.  Here are some tips:

1.  Good yeast is key.  When adding yeast to the warm water, make sure that it fully dissolves.  This ensures that your dough will rise.  Bad yeast = bad rolls.

2.  Patience pays with potatoes.   My first batch used potatoes that were not cooked boiled through, and it made mashing a bit more difficult.  The dough was not as fluffy as my second batch, which used well-cooked potatoes.  Much better to err on the side of over-cooked potatoes.

3.  Add ingredients one at a time.  In an attempt to be efficient, I added most of the ingredients all at once, and ended up with a fairly tough dough.

The potato rolls were a big hit – both during Thanksgiving and the days following (so good with leftovers!).  With a recipe this simple and results so delicious, I’ll definitely be hitting up this recipe many times before next Thanksgiving!

Potato Dinner Rolls
Makes 24 rolls

1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 F)
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes
7 – 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Dough Preparation

1.  In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.

2.  Stir in sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, and mashed potatoes. Add 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth.

3.  Continue to add remaining flour until the dough is easy to handle. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.  (Shortcut alert – if you happen to have a KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook attachment, it’ll save a ton of time!  I used my Mom’s and now I can’t wait to get my own.)

4.  Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl (vegetable oil works fine) and turn greased side up. Cover bowl tightly and let sit at room temperature until the dough rises (at least 2 hours). You can store the dough for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Baking the Rolls

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide down into even sections and form rolls. Each batch should yield roughly 24 rolls. Place rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for approximately 30 minutes.

2.  Bake rolls for 18-20 minutes, or until golden.