Monday, January 26, 2009

For a Not So Guilty Treat


I've received requests to post my Sweet Roll recipe. Since this recipe did not originate with me, I'll have to give credit where credit is due. When we lived in Tennessee, there was a sweet family at our church with three older daughters that I really enjoyed spending time with. One of the first times I had them over for tea, they brought a pan of freshly made sweet rolls. Wow... they were good! I asked for the recipe... and the rest is our family history. We make them for company and on special occasions and everyone always wishes I made more than 12! Thanks, Courtney, Amanda and Hannah :)

So, here's my Healthy For You Sweet Roll Recipe:

4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup hot water
2 Tbsp EVOO (that's extra virgin olive oil)
3 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast

The above ingredients can go in a bread machine dough cycle, in a mixer or worked out by hand. Slightly more flour may be necessary to make a workable dough if you use freshly milled flour. I knead mine in a mixer for about four minutes, but it would take about ten if you were kneading by hand. You want the dough to form a smooth ball.

If you are using active dry yeast, let the dough rise for about 30 minutes. If you use instant yeast, you can skip the first rise. Roll the dough out to a rectangle shape. It will be about an inch thick, 8 inches tall and 24 inches wide, but don't get perfectionist with it : )

Spread the rectangle with softened butter. It will take a few tablespoons. Sprinkle with Sucanat or Rapadura and cinnamon. Roll up the rectangle so that you have a 24 inch long loaf. Cut this long loaf into 12 swirls. Place in a sprayed 9x13 baking dish. (I use an EVOO cooking spray.)

Turn your oven on to preheat, but turn it off after about two minutes. Let the sweet rolls rise in this warm oven for about 30 minutes. When you see that they have gotten fluffy, turn your oven on to 350 degrees and bake until they are barely browned on the top. This will take 20-25 minutes. Don't preheat the oven... the rolls will continue to rise as the oven warms up to temperature.

While they bake, mix up a glaze. Start with 1 cup of powdered sugar. You don't have to use the white stuff... even this part can be healthy. You can purchase powdered Rapadura at Health Food Stores or you can put regular Sucanat through a food processor to achieve a powder. Add a tsp of REAL vanilla (Did you know artificial vanilla flavor is made with the same chemical they make antifreeze from?) and a tablespoon of milk and mix it to a smooth glaze. You can substitute Orange Juice for the milk if you want a vanilla-orangey-hint to the sweet rolls. After they cool for about ten minutes, pour on a glaze. Serve while warm and soft!

Okay. I know my blog needs photos. But I am so bad about remembering to take pictures! Just ask the grandparents... I should have taken a photo of our rolls the other night. So sorry. I will try to remember to take pics of the recipes I post. And when I get a picture of these sweet rolls, I can add it into this post for future readers...


Note on Jan. 28: My sweet friend Wendy sent me this picture after making these rolls at home. It's hard to top that kind of friend! Thanks Wendy : )

2 comments:

rhenry said...

first of all.. can i just say i am VERY much enjoying your blog. it truly is for me what you said in your Purpose driven blogging post"... many things you talk about are what i have wanted to research and haven't had the time to yet... or things that i have researched and am glad to hear someone else is on the same wavelength as me.. :) keep up the awesome work... love to you all!

Milkmaid said...

Made these for Easter lunch today. Yum! Thanks for the recipe.