This crescent roll recipe go WAY back in my family. They always steal the show on Thanksgiving, and many family gatherings in between. In fact, I can’t remember a Thanksgiving where these rolls haven’t been pretty much my favorite part of the meal. They are that good people!!!
I remember my darling Aunt Carolyn making huge batches of these rolls and freezing them to have on hand. I’ve watched the women in my life bake these a million times, and it never gets old. The smell that fills your home is so warm and cozy.
There are so many good versions of this recipe which have been passed down from mother to daughter, sister to sister and friend to friend…. It’s a hot topic which recipe is the best. Who knows? Today I am going to share with you “Crescent Rolls Ala Laura”. Ha ha ha. I have made these so many different ways, but these are my favorite so far.
They take such a short time, and bake up light and fluffy. You can also use this versatile sweet dough to make sweet rolls, dinner rolls, braided bread loaves and so much more. It is an awesome basic recipe that I use time and time again! I hope you love it as much as I do!
Whipped berry butter was on the menu and it sure delivered a punch of flavor! Make sure to visit my site for the Whipped Berry Butter recipe here: FRESH & HAPPY. The awesome part about making this is freezing half the recipe for later! Talk about a last minute wow factor for that dinner party you are hosting!
I’ve chatted with so many friends that have cold feet when it comes to trying their hand at baking. For some reason they fear that they will fail! If that sounds familiar, this easy crescent roll tutorial is a great jumping off point to getting your hands on some dough without all the fuss!
I love the fact that these crescent rolls only have a single rising time and you can freeze half of the rolls for your next sunday dinner! To bake the frozen crescent rolls simply remove them from the freezer bag and arrange them on a lined baking tray.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm location to thaw completely. Allow rolls to rise till double as well. Bake as normal. Plan on at least 6 hours for thawing and rising time. Take rolls out the morning you plan to bake them. Woot woot!
These rolls make people happy. That’s all there is to it! You can’t help but eat more than one! Especially when served with some whipped berry butter…. What are your favorite rolls to bake? I hope you take a few hours to experience the delights of freshly baked crescent rolls!
Perfect Crescent Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk microwave on high for 1 minute
- 3 tablespoons yeast
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 lrg eggs slightly beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup butter melted - divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter metled - divided
Instructions
- Pour whole milk in a microwavable container and heat for 1 minute. Pour it into a Bosch or KitchenAid Mixer fitted with a dough hook.
- Add yeast and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar.Stir until slightly combined. Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining sugar, slightly beaten eggs, salt, 1/2 cup of the melted butter and vanilla extract. Turn mixer on low and mix until ingredients are combined.
- Turn off mixer and add 2 cups flour. Pulse mixer on low until flour is incorporated.
- Turn mixer to low and slowly tap in remaining flour a little at a time (to prevent flour from flying everywhere). It is important to watch the consistency of your dough as you add your flour. Add a little and let it fully incorporate into the dough before adding more. You want a dough that is soft but not sticky.
- Once the motor bears down and slows a little turn it to medium speed. Add flour until dough begins pulling away from sides of mixer. Knead dough on medium speed for 10 minutes.
- Check dough consistency. Press dough with your finger. It should still be soft but not too sticky to handle. If you need to add a little more flour at this point you can.
- Remove dough from mixer and place on a lightly floured surface.
- Split dough into 2 even pieces. Set one aside.
- Press dough into a circular shape with hands, keeping it as symetrical as possible.
- Roll dough into circle with floured rollling pin - between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick
- Pour 1/4 cup meted butter onto flat dough. Spread evenly over dough
- Using a pizza cutter cut dough into 12 equal pie slice shapes.
- Roll dough starting at wide end into crescent roll.
- Place rolled crescent dough on a lined baking sheet. Make sure the end of the dough is tucked under the bottom of the crescent roll.
- Arrange all 24 crescent rolls on baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Place tray in a warm location to rise until double (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Brush with another 1/4 C melted butter
- Sprinkle with raw sugar crystals is desired.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Or until lightly golden and hollow sounding when you pat the center of the roll.
- brush with another 1/4 C melted butter
Whatever DeeDee Wants
Yum! I am a sucker for a good crescent roll!
Ashlee
Mmmmm yes please!
Jessi
They are the prettiest homemade crescent rolls I have every seen!!! 🙂
Is there any chance they can be made in a bread machine (for bulk freezing) ?
I had bought a stand mixer (a cheaper one) and it was pitiful.
Robyn
Have you ever used the dough flat for like a crust? I am wondering if I can just skip the shaping step and let it rise in a sheet?
Ashlee Marie
no I haven’t, this is bread, not a crust, they are very different things. you could shape them differently but I’d still recommend rolls, not crust.