Party Time Chapter II

I have made a lot of these dinner rolls in the past 6 months.  And the last two weekends were no exception.  

They really do taste even better than they look......yum, yum.

For the last several parties I have thrown, I make these tasty little suckers and have several kinds of sliced meats and cheeses and butter to tuck in.  To make them even better, my guests can heat it up in the micro for about 10 seconds.....just like out of the oven.  I am not suppose to eat these darn things, but face it, these things make me weak and I usually have one just to make sure they are OK for guests.  :0

This pic was from the Silver Fox's graduation party after completing his RN degree.  Can you tell I used to sell Longaberger products and I still enjoy using them?  The large tray with the meat and cheese has a really nice plastic liner and I like to decorate under the liner as the food disappears....it still looks nice.  Also for a "tablecloth"  I had saved a poster that Jeff had done for one of his classes and it was huge, so made a nice backdrop on the table.

It you already have the Better Homes & Garden Cookbook, you don't need to write this down, you already have it.....under Bread....Yeast Rolls...Basic Roll Dough...although I have changed the original slightly because I mix it in the bread machine....my secret weapon.  

Basic Roll Dough

1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/4 cup milk, scalded
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 butter
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cup flour
egg

In a perfect world, your egg and butter should not be cold, but frankly I never do that.  And you will also need to pay attention to your bread machines preferences and adjust accordingly.

My bread machine requires you put in the yeast in the bottom and then the rest of the dry ingredients, liquid last.

Over the dry ingredients in the bread machine, I add the egg right from the shell  (I don't stir it ahead) and take a knife and cut up the butter into small pieces to add.   I heat up the milk in the microwave using a glass measuring cup.... heat for 1 minute, then stir and then 30 seconds more.  Then pour the hot milk over the top.

I set my machine to mix a sweet dough and a manual setting, so it is just mixing the dough and not going into a baking cycle.....that would not be good.  :(

I do watch it when I first turn it on, to scrap down the sides one time on the bowl and also to see if I need to add more liquid or flour.  I have found I like the dough to look soft, so it pretty much makes into a ball, but not quite in the bottom of the bowl near the paddle.  Then I let it do it's thing, which for my machine takes about an hour.

Then I remove the dough and divide in half and with each half I make 12 rolls, but you can make many different shapes if you choose to.  I place the dough in my hand and roll them into a ball.  I don't even grease my hands....the dough is just beautiful....then place the shaped rolls into a greased pie pans....I like heavy glass or stoneware pie plates.

I cover them with a clean dish cloth and let them rise...probably about an hour..until double.

I bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes until they are golden brown.  Then I take a cut stick of butter and rub the tops of them with butter right out of the oven.

Now obviously they are best right out of the oven to eat, but when doing a party or holiday....I make them ahead and after they are cooled....put them in a ziplock bag and stack them in the freezer.  I thaw them on the counter and you can warm them in the micro or if you are lucky enough to have a warming drawer oven, that would be perfect.

I use this same recipe to make pecan rolls or cinnamon rolls.  After taking the dough out of the bread machine....divide the dough in half.

Throw down some bench flour on your counter and with a rolling pin roll out the dough into a rectangular shape.  Spread the dough with generous amount of softened butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon and white sugar.  I don't measure.....just not skimpy with amounts, can include crushed pecans if you like.  Then starting along one of the long edges roll up the dough along the long side.

Prepare your pans....again I use glass or stoneware pie plates.....grease the pan with butter, then chunk up bits of butter and scatter over the bottom of the pan, sprinkle brown sugar next....maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup.  Again I don't measure, then if you like pecans add pecan half's next.

Divide your roll up dough into approximately 12-1" pieces and arrange in prepared pans....You will repeat this process for both pans or if you are doing this for just your family.  You can make a pan of each, one plain buns and one pan of pecan rolls.  This is what my family did.  I had both of these probably most every Sunday of my life when I was a kid.  My Grandma Thedens made these and pie every Saturday and Sunday AM for Sunday dinner.

Set aside and cover with a cloth and allow to rise until double and bake the same as listed above.

When you remove these from the oven find a plate that is larger around than your pie plate and lay the plate on top of your baked cinnamon rolls and with potholders invert the rolls onto the plate and scrap any remaining caramelized syrup onto your rolls and let cool....if you can stay out of them that long.

My oldest grandson, who will be 16.....I can hardly wrap my brain around that this fall.....  came up to me after one of these shingdigs and said... "Mommo, do you have any of these rolls left over that I could take home and I did have extra.... so sent him home with a dozen of them......don't know if any of the rest of the family ever saw them.....I doubt it.

The grandkids run by the basket of rolls and grab one and don't even butter them sometimes....they eat and run....cause they have so much playing to do here while the cousins are together.  :)

Enjoy!!!

Enjoy!!!!