Make-Ahead Butterhorns

Name: Make-Ahead Butterhorns
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 32 rolls.
Ingredients: 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast; 1/3 cup warm water (110° to 115°); 2 cups warm 2% milk (110° to 115°); 1 cup shortening; 1 cup sugar; 6 large eggs, room temperature; 2 teaspoon salt; 9 cups all-purpose flour, divided; 3 to 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Mom loved to make these lightly sweet, golden rolls. They're beautiful and impressive and have a homemade taste that makes them memorable. —Bernice Morris, Marshfield, Missouri

Ingredients

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
2 cups warm 2% milk (110° to 115°)
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon salt
9 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 to 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, shortening, sugar, eggs, salt and 4 cups flour; beat 3 minutes or until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead lightly. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.
Punch dough down; divide into 4 equal parts. Roll each into a 9-in. circle; brush with butter. Cut each circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges; roll up each wedge from wide edge to tip of dough and pinch to seal.
Place rolls with tip down on baking sheets; freeze. Transfer to airtight freezer containers; freeze up to 4 weeks.
To use frozen rolls: Arrange frozen rolls 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap; thaw in the refrigerator overnight. To bake, preheat oven to 375°. Let rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.

To bake rolls without freezing: Prepare and shape rolls as directed; arrange 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

1 roll: 239 calories, 9g fat (3g saturated fat), 39mg cholesterol, 178mg sodium, 34g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 1g fiber), 6g protein.

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Reviews

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Average Rating:

ms11145

Dec 22, 2019

This has been our family holiday tradition ever since this recipe was printed (eons ago). Love it that these can be made a day or two ahead of time. While they do freeze well, they need to be baked within a couple of weeks as they tend to lose their lightness when baked.
tammycookblogsbooks

Dec 22, 2019

These are a great replacement to my tried and true butterhorn recipe that was lost. I divided the recipe in half to make them.
cindiak

Dec 5, 2018

Baking with yeast has never been one of my strong suits. These were so easy and they came out light and buttery. No more canned crescent rolls for me. I've found a winning recipe even I can make.
Anne Bernadette

Nov 25, 2018

Even though I am an experienced cook, I have always been intimidated by recipes featuring breads made with yeast. A few weeks ago, I decided to try these butterhorns and froze them. Two days before Thanksgiving, I removed two and let them rise for five hours as directed and baked them for my husband and me. They were gorgeous, buttery, slightly crusty, with soft centers. They were mouth-watering delicious! I proudly baked the remainder for my family on Thanksgiving and the raves abounded. I can't wait to make them again. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Thank you, Bernice.
Carolyn

Nov 19, 2018

What are the options that can be used for 1 cup of shortening. I'm not a fan of crisco
Karlene

Nov 13, 2018

I made these with no variance and then froze them. However, I baked a few that I didn't freeze and Oh my Goodness!! They were delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe, my family is going to love them with their Thanksgiving Dinner!
shawnba

Dec 7, 2017

I absolutely love this recipe. Slightly sweet, it makes a great dinner roll, and can be shaped in a variety of ways. It’s also a really great base if you want try cimmanon rolls or any of the monkey bread type recipes. This has been moved to my “tried and true” file!!
LeslieH

Dec 25, 2016

What a tasty roll! Easy to make and good to eat hot or cold.
zookeeperk

Nov 16, 2016

So glad I tried this recipe. I froze half to have for Thanksgiving and baked the remainder.
riverwoman

Nov 16, 2015

Easy recipe to make & tasted great. I did add an extra 1/2 cup of flour to the mixture in my Kitchen Aid mixer bowl to get a soft dough. Then as I gently kneaded the dough on a floured surface, using a SPATULA to fold it over, sprinkle with flour, and fold over repeatedly, I added another 1/2 cup of flour in this step. This is a very soft dough and I couldn't knead with my hands. I finally put the dough in a greased bowl to rise. I wasn't able to make balls with the soft dough, but used a wooden spoon and took out portions and rolled out on a floured surface to the 9" circle. USE A ROLLING PIZZA CUTTER to cut into triangles, as this is much easier than using a knife. By the end of forming 50 crescent rolls, they were looking like the picture! I also used a small portion of the dough to make a few cinnamon rolls, which turned out great as well. I immediately baked my rolls instead of freezing them, as they will be traveling for hours on Thanksgiving Day, and we will just re-heat them in foil then. I will definitely be making this recipe again, and will try the freeze first method then. Thank you for sharing this recipe. NOTE: Watch your baking time, as this will depend on how large you make the rolls.