Diana’s Sugar Rolls



Diana Shaw grew up watching her mother express love and caring by preparing and sharing food. Diana says, “This recipe from my mother is easy to make; it can be frozen, thaws quickly, and is easy to eat!” It makes approximately 90-100 sugar rolls, depending on the size. (Read “Following my mother’s example” here.)

1½ tbsp. yeast
¾ cup lukewarm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 lb. shortening
¾ cup milk
6 cups flour
3 eggs
dash of salt

Sprinkle yeast on ¾ cup warm water and 1 tsp. sugar in a small bowl. Set aside and let it sit for approximately ten minutes. In a small saucepan, warm shortening and milk to lukewarm. In a large bowl, put in remaining ingredients and add the shortening, milk and yeast mixture. Mix well to form a dough. Cover the dough bowl with a tea towel or plastic and place it in the refrigerator until firm (approximately 2-3 hours).

When ready, sprinkle counter with sugar instead of flour. Take a section of dough and roll into a circle shape, approximately the size of an 8-inch pie plate. Ensure both sides of the dough have sugar on them. Cut the circular shape into 8 wedges or “pie pieces.” Roll up each wedge, starting from the widest edge toward the tip, forming a crescent. Place the pieces on trays lined with parchment paper and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

These rolls freeze well. To freeze the dough, place in plastic bags, seal and freeze. It works best to form it into balls ready to be rolled into circles, so you don’t need to thaw the entire batch later. To freeze the baked rolls, put a piece of wax paper between the layers and freeze the rolls in an airtight container.

Read the related Gathering Around the Table story here.

 



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