Any Way You Like 'Em Rolls
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shorting or butter or margarine (shorting works best)
1 teaspoon salt
1 package or 1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup very warm water
1/2 cup very warm milk (scalded then cool to 120 or 130 degrees)
1 egg
Butter or margarine softened for melting
Mix: 2 cups of flour, the sugar, shorting or butter, and yeast in a large bowl. Beat on low speed, scraping bowl frequently , for 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle. Turn dough on lightly floured surface: knead until smooth and elastic, for about 5 minutes. Grease the large bowl. Place it in with the grease side up. Cover and let rise until it doubles in size, about one hour. (the dough is ready when you can touch it and the indentation remains) Punch down the dough and use any of these fun ways to shape it:
Cloverleaf Rolls- Cut half of the dough into 36 pieces. Shape into even sized balls. Do the same with the other half. Grease a medium 12 cup muffin tin (regular) Melt butter and dip each ball in it. Put 3 balls of dough in each of the muffin cups. Instructions for baking below. Makes 1 dozen rolls.
Crescent Rolls- Roll half the dough into a 12 inch circle on a floured surface. Spread with melted butter of margarine. Cut into 16 wedges that are even. (like you would cut a pizza) Roll up starting with the wider end.
Place the rolls on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat with the other half. Instructions below. Makes 16 rolls.
Fan Tans (my favorite)- Roll half the dough into a rectangle, 13x9 inches on a floured surface. Spread with melted butter of margarine. Cut crosswise into 6 strips. Each about 1 1/2 inch wide. Stack the strips evenly and ; cut into 12 pieces, each about 1 inch wide. Place cut side down in 12 greased medium muffin cups. Instructions for baking below.
*Baking instructions for Cloverleaf, Crescent, and Fan Tan rolls:
After putting rolls in the right pan cover and let raise another 30 minutes. Preheat oven 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 18 minutes.
I love these rolls! They are really good. We found them in a Betty Crocker cookbook so there is all rights reserved for that company. Hope you enjoy them!!!
