Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Holiday Crescent Rolls

I found this recipe at one of my favorite cooking blogs, Jamie Cooks it Up! Jamie is so fresh and honest - you can really tell she is herself. And her recipes are fabulous! I have two recipes I'm sharing in this little mini-series from her and you'll love them both, I promise! Now, this recipe is purely from Jamie, however, in this post I'm going to share with you exactly how I made them. I cut the recipe in half because I didn't need 48 rolls so I'll just tell you how I did it. These are quite possibly some of the best rolls I've ever had so you won't regret making these . . . except for the not-good-for-your-hips part {but hey, that's what the holidays are all about, right? Right??........okay, maybe not}!




Holiday Crescent Rolls
Recipe from: Jamie Cooks it Up!
Time: 3 hours
Makes: 24 rolls

Ingredients:
1 cup scalded milk {put it in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes}
1 Tbsp. yeast + pinch of sugar
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup {1/2 stick} butter, softened
1 1/2 eggs {I use egg beaters or other type of egg substitute, so you would use 1/4 + 1/8 cup}
5-6 cups flour
1/4 cup {1/2 stick} butter, melted {for shaping the dough}

Directions:

Place the warm water, yeast and dash of sugar in the bottom of your mixer. Stir it around and let it proof {get all bubbly} for 5 minutes.
Add 3 cups of the flour and mix for 30 seconds. You want to add this much flour, before you add the scalded milk and eggs because the hot temperature of the milk would be too much for the yeast, and you don't want to "cook" your eggs.
At this point, drop your sugar container on the floor and spill all the sugar. 
And yes, that really is my beautiful kitchen floor.
Okay, I kid! I kid! This was just my clumsy self making a huge mess. . . .

Add the scalded milk, sugar, salt, softened butter (not the melted butter) and the eggs. Mix for 1 minute.

When you turn on your mixer, be careful not to turn it on too high. I'm just sayin'. Your kitchen could end up looking like this. Not that I would really know anything about that . . . 



The stuff was all over my floor too . . . but you saw enough of that already {besides the fact that you couldn't really see it because everything just blends into the lovely design}


Add the flour 1 C at a time, until the dough scrapes the side of your mixer clean.
Mix on high for 8 minutes. This much mixing really improves the texture and elasticity of the dough. I have also noticed, if I don't mix it long enough the dough doesn't rise as nicely.
Let the dough rise, in the mixer for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Punch the dough down (I just turn the mixer on for about 5 seconds) and divide it into 6 equal parts. Shape each part into a nice round ball and let them rest on the counter top. I always spread a little of the melted butter on the counter top, before I set the dough on it. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Letting dough rest for just a bit before it's shaped makes a HUGE difference when you are trying to shape it. Let's just say it cooperates better.
With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a nice round circle. You want the dough to be about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick after rolling it out. Pour a bit of butter in the center....I said it was no dieters delight...you see now what I mean.
With a pizza cutter, cut the circle into 8 equal triangles. Start from the fat end and roll each triangle up. Place on a large, sprayed cookie sheet.
It works best to place them in 3 rows, 8 rolls deep. They like to be about this close together.
Place them in a warm 170 degree oven, and let them rise for about 20 minutes. Don't let them get too tall. Once they start to touch each other, they have risen enough. I have a convection oven, so I can cook both pans at the same time. If yours is a conventional oven (this means it does not have a fan in the back), you will definitely want to cook one pan at a time. Just set one pan on the counter to rise. It will rise more slowly than the pan in the oven, but it will be just the right amount of time to get the other pan cooked and your oven empty and ready for the second pan.
Turn your oven up to 350. Leave the rolls in while the oven increases in temperature. (I have had people tell me who own gas ovens that they are better off taking the pans out of the oven while the temp. rises) Bake for about 15 minutes. After about 7 minutes (or when the top pan has gotten a bit golden on the top) I switch the bottom pan to the top, and the top to the bottom.
When the rolls are still hot, I brush them all over with more of the melted butter. Delightful!

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