Crescent Rolls

A friend asked me this week if I have a dinner roll recipe we regularly make. Good timing, as I'd planned to share this recipe today! I have a yeast roll recipe from Kandy P. that has been my go-to recipe for many years now. It calls for a Tupperware bowl with a sealing lid, though. So I haven't shared it with you yet. Back at Christmas, though, I was looking for a crescent roll recipe in order to substitute homemade dough in a recipe calling for a can of Pillsbury crescent rolls. It worked great as a substitute in the recipe I was making, but it also made a great crescent roll in its own right! I've tweaked the original recipe (which I found on Food.com) in a few ways, and want to share it with you now! My family really likes these! My 3 year old also loves to help make them--she rolls them up pretty good!

Crescent Rolls
1 Tbs yeast
3 Tbs warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
4-5 cups flour

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar in warm water. Once yeast is bubbly, add salt, warm water, oil, eggs, sugar, and 2 cups flour. Beat with hand mixer (or by hand) until well mixed. Add remaining flour, one cup at a time. Once you have a "kneadable" dough (not too sticky), work it lightly to knead in flour to make a soft, smooth dough. At this point, you can refrigerate the dough up to 24 hours if you'd like--place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. You just need to take it out about 1.5 hours before you're ready to bake and serve it--allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before starting the following steps. If not refrigerating, place dough in a greased bowl and cover. Place in a warm spot and allow to rise until double (about an hour).

Punch dough down and separate into 2 pieces. Roll first piece into a large round circle, about 1/4 inch thick.

If desired, spread top lightly with softened butter.

Cut dough into pie shaped wedges. You should be able to cut about 12 pieces.

Starting from the large end, roll each pie piece up, tucking the pointed end underneath. Place on greased cookie sheets. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. Allow rolls to rise and approximately double in size. This will take about 20-30 minutes, but I've baked mine as quickly as 10-15 minutes after they've been made when in a hurry! Preheat oven to 375F (195C) while rolls are rising. Bake about 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.

Notes: This recipe originally called for shortening, melting it in boiling water, cooling to lukewarm, then adding to dough. I did that and they were great, but I also just tried them with oil. We didn't notice a big difference in flavor or texture. So use oil! Its cheaper, easier to find, and quicker! Also, the original recipe says to refrigerate dough over night. One time I made these the day I needed them and skipped the refrigerating. Refrigerating yeast doughs can help develop the yeasty flavor and texture (usually makes a chewier dough, like with the bread bowl recipe). However, we didn't notice a difference. I sometimes like to stick dough in the fridge more for time management--I can do part of the recipe the day before and still have hot rolls at a meal the next day. But, refrigerating or not, you should have the same end result in your roll!