Merry Christmas Rolls

Many of the family members I've spoken to on the phone today have been celebrating this holiday morning with a breakfast of cinnamon rolls. What are you eating?

At our house, the tradition (which I mentioned here last year) is for Mom to make pecan rolls on Christmas Eve. We eat them warm, with sparkling cider or fizzy grape juice, as we each open one Christmas present that night after (or between) church services.

Leftover Pecan rolls have a place on Christmas morning, too, and are tasty with cocoa or orange juice. We eat more as the rest of the presents are unwrapped and declared over.

My mom's recipe is made with "Tupperware Bread" dough and the glaze from the following Betty Crocker recipe. She does not use the Betty Crocker dough, though you could. I've included Mom's dough recipe after the B.C. version.

Butterscotch Pecan Rolls
from Betty Crocker's Cookbook (1986)
Sweet Roll Dough (recipe below)
1/2 c. + 4 T. margarine or butter, softened (divided)
1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. pecan halves
4 T. corn syrup

Sweet Roll Dough:
1 package regular or quick-acting active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water (105 to 115 F)
1/2 c. lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooked)
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. shortening, margarine, or butter, softened
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 c. all-purpose flour (if using self-rising flour, omit salt)

For dough:
Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a 2 1/2 qt. bowl. Blend in the milk, sugar, shortening, salt, egg, and two cups of the flour. Stir until smooth, then stir in enough flour from the amount remaining until dough is easy to handle. Turn doough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic and smooth (approx. 5 minutes). Put dough in a greased 2 1/2 qt. bowl. Turn the dough so the greased side is up. At this point, the dough in the greased bowl can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days, if you're making the dough ahead of time.

Cover dough and let rise in a warm environment until the dough has doubled (approx. 1 1/2 hours). The dough is ready if an indentation remains when the dough is poked lightly. Punch down and continue with recipe.

Pecan Glaze:
Melt 1/4 c. butter. Into this, stir brown sugar, pecan halves, and corn syrup. Spread in a greased sheet pan, or in greased muffin cups. If too thick to spread, microwave for 30-45 seconds.

Create Rolls:
Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the dough (on a lightly floured surface) into a rectangle that measures 15x9 inches. Spread with 4 T. butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle this over the rectangle. Roll up tightly, from the 15" side. Pinch the edge of the roll into itself to seal it well. Stretch the roll so that it is an even size. Cut (Mom uses a little thread) into 1 1/2-inch slices. Place in pan over glaze. Let rise until doubled (approx. 40 minutes).

Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake rolls until they are golden brown (approx. 25-30 minutes). Immediately invert the pan over a heatproof serving plate or tray. Let pan remain for a minute or so before removing.

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My mom's Variation -- use this Tupperware Bread Dough instead of Betty Crocker's Sweet Roll dough. You'll only need half of this for the pecan rolls (or iced or glazed cinnamon rolls if you don't like pecans), but you can make two loaves of delicious bread with the other half of the dough.

9 c. flour
4 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
2 packages yeast
1 1/2 c. scalded milk
1 1/2 c. water
1 tsp salt
2 sticks margarine

Measure the flour into a large Tupperware bowl. Make a well in the center. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat 4 eggs with a fork or whisk. Add sugar and yeast. Stir in milk that has been cooled in the water. Add salt. Blend.

Pour wet ingredients into the well in the center of the flour. DO NOT MIX!!

Seal Tupperware bowl, "burp" it, and set the bowl in a sink full of warm water for 30 minutes. The seal should pop off, but if it pops before 30 minutes are up reseal it and leave it in the warm water for the remainder of the 30 minutes.

Melt 2 sticks of butter. After the 30 minutes are up, add the melted butter to the flour mixture. Mix well, then seal it, burp, and return it to the warm water for another 30 to 40 minutes.

When the seal has popped off the second time, knead 15 to 20 times, adding a little extra flour if you need to.

Divide and shape dough on floured surface -- half goes to 2 rolls of bread; half to pecan rolls. Let rise 15-20 minutes in a greased bread or cake pan. Bake in preheated 375 F oven for 30 minutes.

If you'd like to omit the pecans, here's an icing you can use to frost the baked and cooled cinnamon rolls (or use your favorite recipe):
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar
1/8 cup milk or more to thin mixture to desired consistency.

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Whatever you're eating today -- and whether you're celebrating anything I hope you're eating well -- I'm aiming my best wishes at you through this website! Merry Christmas and happy times to us all.