I made the crescent rolls the other night to take to a friend's house. Her kids devoured the rolls, and after her youngest had eaten three and asked for another, she was disappointed to be told they were all gone. The recipe makes four dozen rolls (I didn't take four dozen to the dinner), so with part of the dough I made some cinnamon twists. Laura made up some cream cheese frosting for some cookies we had the other day and it was perfect for dipping.
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| Sorry for the terrible lighting. This photo was taken at 3:45 AM. Yeah, I couldn't sleep...again. |
(Orange) Rolls (adapted from Kathy Knowlton who got it from someone named Gayle Jorgensen)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup plus 2 T sugar (divided)
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 T yeast (I use instant)
3 eggs, beaten
4-6 cups flour
extra butter as needed, melted
small amount of kosher salt (unless you're making sweet rolls)
Scald the milk (heat just until tiny bubbles start to form on the edge of the pan) and remove from heat. Add the butter, 1/2 cup sugar and salt and then cool mixture to lukewarm. Add the eggs. In a small bowl (I use my glass measuring cup) add yeast and 2 T sugar to warm water (wait a couple minutes if you are using regular yeast to make sure it proofs) and when the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add yeast mixture to milk mixture.
Now comes the only hard part- knowing how much flour to add. It's going to vary from day to day, kitchen to kitchen. Start with stirring in about four cups and add more until the dough is soft but still a little bit sticky. I stirred the flour in by hand instead of using a machine (it's pretty much the only exercise I've had in weeks). I used the full six cups. In fact, I actually made a mistake when reading the recipe and added 1 cup of warm water instead of 1/2 cup, therefore I needed more flour than 6 cups to resolve that mistake.
At this point, you can let it rise in the refrigerator or on the counter. It will rise more slowly in the refrigerator but sometimes that's a good thing depending on your schedule. If you choose that option, you need to take the dough out about three hours before you need to bake the rolls. If you don't refrigerate the dough, let it rise on the counter until doubled in size. "Punch" (I don't actually punch, I just collapse it) down the dough and shape into whatever you need depending on what you're going to make (crescents, balls, rectangle for cinnamon or orange rolls, etc.).
Divide the dough into four balls of equal size. Pick your variation from below.
For the twists shown here, I rolled out one ball the dough into a rectangle, brushed it with melted butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar, then used my pizza wheel to cut it into strips. I twisted the dough and baked it (see times below). If you want to make conventional cinnamon rolls, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread with melted butter. Spread a layer of brown sugar over the butter and sprinkle with as much cinnamon as you want. Roll up and slice (unflavored dental floss is my choice, or you can use thread too) and put in a 9x13" pan. Let rise and bake.
For the crescent rolls, roll dough into a circle. Brush with melted butter. Using pizza wheel, divide into twelve "pizza slices." Roll up, let rise and bake (again, see times below). When you take the rolls out of the oven, brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle a small amount of kosher salt on the tops of the rolls.
For the orange rolls, shape into twists or rolls (copy the cinnamon directions) rise and bake, then frost with glaze recipe below.
You could also turn these into breadsticks by rolling into skinny "snakes" then brushing with melted butter and sprinkling with a blend of Parmesan cheese mixed with a little garlic salt and oregano.
Let the rolls rise for about 15-20 minutes (it's not rocket science) and then bake at 375°F. for 15 minutes for the regular crescent rolls, 10-12 minutes for the twists or breadsticks, and 15-20 minutes for filled cinnamon or orange rolls.
Orange Glaze (I didn't use this part, but it was on the card from Kathy, so I'll include it)
2 T orange juice
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix all together and spread over cooked rolls or twists.
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup plus 2 T sugar (divided)
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 T yeast (I use instant)
3 eggs, beaten
4-6 cups flour
extra butter as needed, melted
small amount of kosher salt (unless you're making sweet rolls)
Scald the milk (heat just until tiny bubbles start to form on the edge of the pan) and remove from heat. Add the butter, 1/2 cup sugar and salt and then cool mixture to lukewarm. Add the eggs. In a small bowl (I use my glass measuring cup) add yeast and 2 T sugar to warm water (wait a couple minutes if you are using regular yeast to make sure it proofs) and when the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add yeast mixture to milk mixture.
Now comes the only hard part- knowing how much flour to add. It's going to vary from day to day, kitchen to kitchen. Start with stirring in about four cups and add more until the dough is soft but still a little bit sticky. I stirred the flour in by hand instead of using a machine (it's pretty much the only exercise I've had in weeks). I used the full six cups. In fact, I actually made a mistake when reading the recipe and added 1 cup of warm water instead of 1/2 cup, therefore I needed more flour than 6 cups to resolve that mistake.
At this point, you can let it rise in the refrigerator or on the counter. It will rise more slowly in the refrigerator but sometimes that's a good thing depending on your schedule. If you choose that option, you need to take the dough out about three hours before you need to bake the rolls. If you don't refrigerate the dough, let it rise on the counter until doubled in size. "Punch" (I don't actually punch, I just collapse it) down the dough and shape into whatever you need depending on what you're going to make (crescents, balls, rectangle for cinnamon or orange rolls, etc.).
Divide the dough into four balls of equal size. Pick your variation from below.
For the twists shown here, I rolled out one ball the dough into a rectangle, brushed it with melted butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar, then used my pizza wheel to cut it into strips. I twisted the dough and baked it (see times below). If you want to make conventional cinnamon rolls, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread with melted butter. Spread a layer of brown sugar over the butter and sprinkle with as much cinnamon as you want. Roll up and slice (unflavored dental floss is my choice, or you can use thread too) and put in a 9x13" pan. Let rise and bake.
For the crescent rolls, roll dough into a circle. Brush with melted butter. Using pizza wheel, divide into twelve "pizza slices." Roll up, let rise and bake (again, see times below). When you take the rolls out of the oven, brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle a small amount of kosher salt on the tops of the rolls.
For the orange rolls, shape into twists or rolls (copy the cinnamon directions) rise and bake, then frost with glaze recipe below.
You could also turn these into breadsticks by rolling into skinny "snakes" then brushing with melted butter and sprinkling with a blend of Parmesan cheese mixed with a little garlic salt and oregano.
Let the rolls rise for about 15-20 minutes (it's not rocket science) and then bake at 375°F. for 15 minutes for the regular crescent rolls, 10-12 minutes for the twists or breadsticks, and 15-20 minutes for filled cinnamon or orange rolls.
Orange Glaze (I didn't use this part, but it was on the card from Kathy, so I'll include it)
2 T orange juice
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix all together and spread over cooked rolls or twists.
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