Grandma Douglass Schnecken Recipes

GRANDMA DOUGLAS'S SCHNECKEN

Steps:

• 1. To make the dough, melt the 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the milk and sugar and heat just to lukewarm (about 110°F), stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the warm milk mixture into a bowl. Stir in the yeast. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes, then stir in the salt.
• 2. Beat the whole egg and egg yolk together and add to the yeast mixture. Stir in the flour 1 cup at a time until you have a sticky dough. Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until you have a nice smooth dough. Butter a large bowl. Place the dough in the prepared bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours, until tripled in volume.
• 3. Meanwhile, brush a 9 × 13-inch baking pan with some melted butter (or spray it with vegetable oil spray). To prepare the sugar-pecan topping, melt the butter with the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat and spread the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.
• 4. Punch down the dough and turn it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for a minute, then use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 15 × 12 inches and 1/8 inch thick. To make the cinnamon-sugar filling, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and allow it to cool. Brush the butter thoroughly over the surface of the dough. In a bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the melted butter. Roll the rectangle up, like a jelly roll, along one long edge.
• 5. Slice the log of rolled dough into 1-inch-thick slices and arrange the slices, cut sides up, in the prepared pan. Cover the pan with a piece of plastic wrap (you can spray the plastic wrap first with vegetable oil spray to be sure it doesn't stick to the dough) and allow it to rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes.
• 6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the schnecken until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Check them occasionally during the baking time, and if they seem to be browning too quickly, loosely cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil.
• 7. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the schnecken out of the pan while still warm by inverting the pan over a large platter or baking sheet. Serve the schnecken warm.

GERMAN SCHNECKEN

Steps:

• Soften yeast in the warm water.
• Pour the scalded milk over sugar and salt in a large bowl; stir until sugar is dissolved. Cool to lukewarm.
• Blend in 1 cup of the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in yeast. Add ABOUT HALF the remaining flour and beat until very smooth. Beat in the eggs. Vigorously beat in the 1/2 cup softened butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time. Beat in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let REST 10 minutes.
• Knead until smooth and elastic ABOUT 10 MINUTES. Form into a ball and put into a greased deep bowl; turn dough to bring greased surface to top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down; pull edges of dough in to center and turn over completely in bowl. Cover; let rise again until nearly doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Lightly grease twenty- four 2 1/2 inch muffin pan wells. Put about 1 teaspoon of the melted butter into each well; reserve remaining butter.
• Mix the chopped nuts, brown sugar, currants, and cinnamon. Spoon 2 teaspoons into each well and gently press 3 or 4 pecan halves onto mixture.
• Again punch dough down; form into 2 balls. Roll ball into a rectangle 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick, 6 to 8 inches wide, and 12 inches long. Brush top surface of dough with half the remaining melted butter and sprinkle evenly with half the remaining brown sugar mixture. Beginning with longer side, roll dough tightly into a long roll. Cut roll into 12 slices. Place a slice, cut side down, in each well. Repeat with second ball. Cover; let rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes. Invert muffing pans on wire racks, set on waxed paper or aluminum foil, leaving pans over Schnecken 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks, glazed side up. To store, wrap tightly in foil Reheat just before serving. 2 dozen Schnecken.
• CAI The Canadian Family Cookbook.