Friday, January 28, 2011

The Best Carmel Pecan Rolls Ever!



When I was growing up, my mom made Cinnamon Rolls every year for Christmas breakfast.  It was a tradition that my brother, dad and I looked forward to with great anticipation.  She always made them a week or two early, carefully wrapped them in tin foil and stowed them in the freezer.  On Christmas Eve, mom would retrieve them from the freezer and leave them on the counter overnight to thaw.  Early the next morning, as we kids were delighting ourselves with our new treasures, mom would slide the rolls into the oven and soon, their spicy, sweet scent would fill the air.  It was a simple tradition, but it was our tradition.

When I started a family of my own I was compelled to carry on the Cinnamon roll tradition.  Never being able to duplicate my moms perfect rolls, I had to expand my horizons and try new recipes.  After stumbling across this recipe, it became our new favorite Christmas morning treat.  Not only are these rolls full of Cinnamon and sugar, they have the added benefit of being smothered in Carmel and pecans.


Carmel Pecan Rolls

2 C Milk
1/2 C Water
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Butter
1/3 C Cornmeal
2 tsp. Salt
7 to 7 1/2 C Flour
2 T Yeast
2 Eggs

Topping:
2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Butter
1/2 C Milk
1/2 to 1 C Chopped Pecans

Filling:
1/4 C Butter, softened
1/2 C Sugar (I like to use Brown Sugar)
2 tsp. Cinnamon

In a saucepan, combine the first six ingredients, bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Set aside to cool to 120 degrees.  When cooled, add eggs and mix in.  Add yeast, mix well.  Allow to "sponge" for 20 to 30 minutes.  Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.  Knead until smooth.  Let rise until doubled.  Combine first 3 topping ingredients in saucepan; bring to a boil.  Pour into two greased 13x9" pans.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Divide dough in half.  Roll into rectangle, spread with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon mixture.  Roll dough into a log, seal edges.  Cut into 12 pieces, put into pan.  Let rise until double.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  Let cool for 1 minutes.  Invert onto a serving platter.

Heating the first six ingredients

Just after adding the eggs and yeast
After the yeast mixture has "sponged" for about
15  minutes
Making the Carmel topping
The greased pans with Carmel and pecans -
just waiting for the rolls!
The dough rolled out with cinnamon and sugar
Rolling for Cinnamon Rolls
Ready for the final rise
Fresh out of the oven
NOTE: when cooking in a wood cookstove, I
have to turn my rolls frequently so they do
not get too done on one side.  Notice the rolls on
the left are darker than the rolls on the right.
I also cover the rolls with tin foil for final baking
so they don't get too done on top!
The finished product!

These are a great favorite in our family.  I hope you enjoy them too!

8 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious, Christmas is a long ways off. May have to try it sooner ;) Thanks for all your wonderful posts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Y U M!!! These look AWESOME!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, the torment. I gained 6 pounds just reading the recipe. All your recipes sound so good to me. And the one or two I've tried have been delicious (and the recipes added to my files). We must have the same arrangement of taste buds or something.

    Pecans, something to add to the grocery list.

    NoCal Gal

    ReplyDelete
  4. Enola
    Just wanted to let you know I copied this recipe down yesterday and went straight home and made it. My son was upset because he couldn't stay up past his bedtime to try them and my husband couldn't even wait until they cooled off to start in on them. They are wonderful! Thank you so much for your site...it is a real blessing in my life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great and thanks, I am drooling and going to make then since I have all the ingredients in my food storage!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is neat how the topping is done on the bottom and flipped over. These sound delicious. Definitely copying this one down.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Do you think this recipe would work well for just regular cinnamon rolls (without the topping)? I have a hard time chewing nuts due to dental work, or sticky things, so I was wondering if I just made the first portion of the recipe, without the topping at all, if you think that would still be yummy - or if it wouldn't be sweet enough.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you so much! My fiance just made these incredible cinnamon rolls and I'm in heaven. We couldn't afford the pecans but praise God I was/am able to enjoy these!

    ReplyDelete