Helter Skelter Sweet Rolls Recipes

BASIC SWEET-ROLL DOUGH

Steps:

• Warm 1/2 cup water and the milk in a saucepan over low heat until a thermometer registers 100 degrees F to 110 degrees F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the yeast on top, then sprinkle with a pinch of the sugar; set aside, undisturbed, until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, the salt and nutmeg. Make a well in the center, then add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick and slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 6 minutes. Shape into a ball.
• Brush a large bowl with butter. Add the dough, turning to coat lightly with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is doubled in size, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly to release excess air; re-form into a ball and return to the bowl. Lightly butter a large piece of plastic wrap and lay it directly on the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

HELTER SKELTER SWEET ROLLS

Steps:

• Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle walnuts into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle about half the raisins with the walnuts.
• Tear one bread dough loaf into pieces; add to baking dish and top with remaining raisins.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir brown sugar, pudding mix, milk, and cinnamon with the butter; cook, stirring frequently, until the dry ingredients dissolve completely and the mixture thickens into a caramel-like sauce. Drizzle the sauce over the bread in the baking dish.
• Tear remaining dough loaf into pieces and arrange into he pan, filling any empty spots with dough pieces.
• Let the dough raise for 2 1/2 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven until no longer doughy in the center, about 30 minutes. Cool rolls in pan for 15 minutes.
• Turn the rolls out onto a serving platter large enough to contain the sauce that will run off the rolls.

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.

SWEET ROLLS

Steps:

• Let milk come to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Cool. Soften yeast in warm water. Stir into milk mixture. Pour into large mixing bowl. Add flour, a little at a time, to liquid mixture. Beat well. Turn out onto floured board. Allow to sit 15 minutes. Knead until smooth and satiny.
• Place dough into a greased bowl. Turn over once. Cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Roll out dough on floured board to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into three 8-inch squares (they don't have to be perfect squares). Work with 1 square at a time. Brush each square with melted butter.
• Mix 1 cup sugar with cinnamon (if necessary,you may have to make more sugar/cinnamon mixture.) Sprinkle most of this mixture generously over entire surface of each square. Starting at one side of each square, roll into a tube. Continue rolling back and forth, until 12 to 18 inches long. Repeat with other 2 squares. Cut each tube into wheels about 1/2-inch wide. Place wheels onto a baking sheet that has been brushed with melted butter and sprinkled well with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place them so that they touch. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar mixture. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 1 hour to rise again.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 18 to 20 minutes. (You can refrigerate rolls, covered, and then bring back to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.).

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!