Best Ever Sweet Rolls Recipes

SWEET DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Place water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough/Knead and First Rise Cycle; press Start.
• When cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

BEST EVER SWEET ROLLS

Steps:

• In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water 3-5 minutes.
• Add cake mix, 1 cup flour, eggs, oil and salt.
• Beat well until bubbles appear.
• Add 5 1/4 cups flour, slowly.
• Mix in mixmaster or by hand until soft dough forms.
• Knead about 5 minutes.
• Place in greased bowl and let rise until double in size.
• Punch down dough, and roll out on lightly floured surface.
• Coat with melted butter, cinnamon, sugar and optional fruit.
• Roll up like a jelly roll.
• Cut with a dull knife or dental floss to desired thickness.
• Place in a greased baking pan and allow to rise until doubled - - (If you wish to freeze them to bake later, skip this rising step and put directly into the freezer).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes.
• Coat lightly with buttercream frosting once slightly cool.

BEST EVER CARAMEL ROLLS

Steps:

• Mix white sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
• Roll out 1 thawed loaf into a large rectangle. Brush half of the melted butter evenly over dough. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over butter. Roll up dough into a log starting with the long edge closest to you. Cut log into 1-inch slices with a sharp serrated knife. Arrange slices cut-side up in an ungreased 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Repeat step 2 with second thawed loaf.
• Combine brown sugar, vanilla ice cream, and 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir until melted and well-blended, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour caramel mixture over rolls in the baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until rolls double, 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.

GRANDMOTHER STOUGAARD'S CARAMEL PECAN SWEET ROLLS

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a small saucepan, and set over medium heat. Heat just until a skin starts to form on the top, then remove from the stove, and stir in salt and 1/4 cup margarine. Allow to cool to lukewarm.
• Place 1/8 cup of warm water in a small bowl. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the surface, and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, stir together the cooled milk mixture and the yeast for 2 minutes using an electric mixer on medium speed. Add egg, and mix well. Use a large wooden spoon to stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition until the mixture forms a dough. Knead on a floured surface, adding more flour if necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn once to coat the top. Cover, and let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Punch down dough, and let rest on the counter while you prepare the caramel topping. In a medium bowl, mix together the corn syrup, 1 1/2 tablespoons of water, 3 tablespoons of margarine and brown sugar until smooth. Spread an even layer onto the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking dish. Place pecan halves upside down in rows over the sugar mixture. Set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to a 9x12 inch rectangle Spread with 2 tablespoons of margarine. Mix together 1/4 cup of sugar with the cinnamon; sprinkle over the margarine. Roll the dough up starting at the long end to form a log. Pinch the seam together to seal. Cut the roll into 1 inch rounds. Place the rounds into the prepared baking dish. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes in the oven, until golden brown. Invert baking pan onto a cutting board or a clean cookie sheet while still warm so the caramel topping is on top.

GRAMMA'S OLD-FASHIONED CINNAMON SWEET ROLLS

Steps:

• In a liquid measuring cup, heat milk/water to "wrist-warm" (do NOT boil; just warm).
• Add yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar (you'll use the rest in the next step). Stir the yeast and sugar; let this "work" for about 5 or 10 minutes. You should have some bubbly, frothy stuff in the cup when you return. (If not--your yeast is no good, dump it out and get better yeast.).
• Pour yeast-milk into mixing bowl, and add remaining sugar, butter, eggs, salt and 1 cup of the flour. Using beater, mix this mess for about a minute.
• Switch to the paddle (flat beater) or a dough hook, and add remaining flour one cup-at-a-time. The dough will form a ball, and feel slightly sticky. You may not need the entire 5 1/2 cups (depends on humidity, too).
• Fill medium glass bowl with hottest tap water. If your oven can be adjusted to 100 degrees, set it to 100 degrees. Also, if your oven has a light, turn it on; place the hot water on the bottom of the oven. Close the door.
• Grease a large, glass bowl. Remove dough from mixing bowl to a floured table/counter-top; knead for 1 minute; form into a ball and place in greased bowl, turning to get grease on all sides. Cover bowl loosely with a sheet of plastic wrap.
• Turn off 100 degree oven, place bowl of dough into oven; close the door. Set the timer for 1 hour.
• Clean up the mess BUT leave floured counter-top AS IS.
• At the end of one hour the dough should've risen to about double the size. If not, let it go for another 15 minutes (set the timer--it's easy to forget---out of sight, out of mind!).
• Gather filling ingredients: 1/4 cup of melted butter; cinnamon; brown sugar; raisins and/or chopped nuts (optional).
• Punch down the down; remove from bowl; with a large butcher knife, cut dough into two equal parts. Set one aside (cover with plastic wrap).
• Grease two 13x9-inch pans with BUTTER (no substitutes are allowed -- this is GRAMMA's recipe). :-) humor me, okay?.
• On floured counter-top, lay dough and with a rolling pin, shape & roll into large rectangle, oh about 8 x 16 inches or a bit larger, keep thickness consistent throughout.
• Pour HALF of the melted butter over this, and spread with a pastry brush, right out to the edges. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon (like 1-2 tablespoons), then a handful of brown sugar, spreading it evenly with fingers; right to the edges!
• Sprinkle some raisins and chopped nuts -- if using. Keep these closer to the long side closest to you.
• HERE's THE HARD PART: Starting at the side closest to you, LOOSELY roll away from you. Loosely is the KEY word. Tuck in any runaway raisins or nuts.
• Use that big knife to divide the roll in half in the middle. Then cut each half into SIX equal portions, for a total of 12 rolls.
• Starting in the middle of the roll (nicest shaped rolls) and working to the sloppy outside roll piecs, set them along the outside edges of the buttered pan, spacing evenly in the pan. Put the two end rolls in the very center of the pan. Set the cut side DOWN (so the top looks flat-ish). Set this pan on the stove for now.
• Repeat with remaining dough; vary the ingredients -- if you skipped raisins or nuts, maybe add some to this pan of rolls.
• Check if the water in the oven is still warm, if not dump out and start with fresh hot water. Put plastic wrap on both pans (re-use the other piece), and pop in the warm oven. Set the timer for 45 minutes. Go do something productive---clean the counter-top before all that stuff gets hard! :-D.
• When the rolls have risen to the top of the pan (or a smidgen over), remove them from the oven, preheat oven to 350. When it's warm bake them for 20 minutes; tops will be golden brown.
• Cool on a rack; then frost with a cream cheese/butter cream frosting (slather it on thick like Gramma does for the grandkids!).
• You have JUST entered the Pearly Gates!