Butterhorn rolls recipe

My Grandmother, Phebe Cotton, made these for special occasions. The family always looked forward to them. They are rich with butter and are a little bit sweet. They make the best turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving with a little mayo and some cranberry sauce. I started making them when we were first married and now my husband and son think they cannot have a major holiday without them. Frankly, they are kind of a pain to make as they only ever raised quickly for my grandmother in her overheated kitchen.

BUTTERHORNS

Servings: 36
Yield: 3 dozen

 Notes: These may take quite a while to raise since the dough is very rich with butter.  Grandma Cotton kept her kitchen HOT and that helped.  Find a very warm place for them to rise and they'll do much better.

1 cup milk, scalded (bring just to boil in saucepan and remove from heat)
1/2 cup cold butter
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast
4 1/2 cups bread flour, or more or less as needed
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature for forming rolls

1.    Cool scaled milk by adding the butter to it and set aside.  Beat the eggs and add the sugar to the eggs.  Add salt.  Add the yeast to the cooled milk and butter making sure first that the liquid is not too hot or cold for the yeast.  Add yeast mixture to the egg mixture.  Add flour until dough is  firm enough to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

2.    Knead dough and form it into three equal balls and let raise in a greased bowl.  Roll the balls around in the grease so they will separate.

3.    When very light, roll or pat balls into 1/2 inch thick circles.  You should not need to flour the surface as the dough is very buttery and shouldn't stick.  Spead each circle with butter.  Cut each circle into 12 pie shaped wedges (or only 8 for 2 dozen larger butterhorns).  Stretch each wedge out and roll from base to point.  Place on a greased baking sheet with point tucked underneath.  Sprinkle each with sugar if desired.

4.    When light and fluffy, bake at 375 degrees on the top rack of most ovens.

first rising of dough--keep it very warm

dough patted down, spread with butter and cut into wedges to roll up