Butterfly Crescent Rolls

Nothing takes me back "home" more than the smell of freshly baked bread permeating the air. Grandma and Mom are the best bread bakers I know and, with Grandma's permission, I share this delicious recipe. Big holiday dinners just would not be the same without these rolls!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Boiling Water

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2  Cup (1 stick) BUTTER

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Yeast

4 Cups Flour (divided)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In your favorite mixer* (I own a Kitchen Aide, which I LOVE--but I'd prefer a Bosch for bread...here's to someday!), mix the water, sugar and butter until the butter is melted.

3. Add the eggs and the yeast. (Test the temperature before dumping in your yeast. If it's too hot, the water will kill it.) Mix well.

4. Add half of the flour, and all of the salt and baking powder. Mix until fully incorporated.

5. Add the remaining flour. The dough should be slightly stiff.

6. Let your machine knead the dough for 10 minutes.

7. Move your dough to a Large Bowl (optional) and cover with a towel. Let rise until doubled in size.

8. Punch the dough down.

9. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 of the dough out in a circle (pizza shaped) until 1/2 an inch thick.

10. With a sharp knife (I use a pizza cutter), cut the dough like you would a pizza into several slices. The number of slices depends on what you're making the rolls for. The fewer the slices, the bigger the rolls--good for sandwiches. The more slices, the smaller the rolls--good for a dinner side!

11. Take a slice by the fat end and roll it up to the point.

12. Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet, point down so it doesn't come unrolled while baking and make bird shaped bread--NOT that I'm speaking from experience! *ahem*. Place them about 2 inches apart.

13. Continue until all the slices are shaped into rolls and on cookie sheets.

14. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled.

15. Repeat steps 9 - 14 for the other 1/2 of the dough.

16. Bake rolls for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the rolls are a nice golden brown color.

Doubles easily.

*If you don't have a mixer, that's fine! I used to make these by hand. When you get the kneading part, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand, turning about 200 times or for 10 minutes.

Source: My wonderful grandma, KaraLyn Taylor

ENJOY!

~Kara