Feather Rolls

Okay.. I love dinner rolls. These are my favorite. I love to make them at Thanksgiving, you can make then into crescent shapes, or clover leaf shapes, but my favorite is old fashioned Parker house rolls, where each is a cut out circle of dough, buttered, and then folded in half, and I poke my fingers around the edge to seal them. Then I let raise on a cookie sheet and bake. There is nother better than hot rolls out of the oven dripping with butter and jam...... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I remember Thanksgiving dinners at home where my Grandma Bergeson made them, I think that's all I would eat when I was little...hot rolls!!

Feather Rolls

2 envelopes yeast
1/2 cup luke warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
In a medium size bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the luke warm water. Let stand for about 5 minutes until it's bubbly on the top.
Meanwhile:
Scald 1 cup milk in a small saucepan (just heat so it gets hot, not boiling). Remove from  heat and add:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt.
Cool the milk mixture (either by sitting in the fridge for a few minutes or sitting the pan in a sink that's barely filled with cold water.)
Then add 2 beaten eggs, and stir to combine.
Place the milk mixture in a large mixing bowl that has a lid, add the yeast and 4 cups flour. Mix well. Cover bowl. And leave in the refridgerator over night. (you might need to punch the dough down a time or two until it gets cold enough that it doesn't pop the lid off your bowl.
Two hours or so before serving, roll dough into your favorite roll shapes.
For Parker house rolls:
Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll out each piece to 1/3-in. or 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Brush with butter if desired.
Using the dull edge of a table knife, make an off-center crease in each roll. Fold along crease so the large half is on top; poke around the edge with finger to seal shut if desired. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

For cresent shaped rolls, divide dough in half and roll each piece out into a large circle and 1/2 inch thick. Spread with butter. Then cut with pizza cutter through the middle and around like you would cut a pizza. Then roll each piece from the wide end to the center and shape into cresents about two inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Let raise and bake like the above directions.

For clover leaf rolls, roll 3 small balls of dough for each roll, dip each ball in melted butter and place in a greased muffin tin (3 balls to a cup). Let raise about 30 minutes or until puffing over the top of the muffin tin. Bake at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes.


This also makes great cinnamon rolls. Divide dough in half, roll into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, and spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Add raisins or nuts as desired. Roll up into a log, and slice. Place on greased cookie sheet and let raise until double in size. Bake at 350 for15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool slightly and ice with your favorite icing.