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Southern Butter Rolls

A almost forgotten Southern recipe, Southern Butter Rolls are the stuff of legend. A fluffy, tender biscuit, spiraled with cinnamon spiciness, and enrobed in gooey, buttery custard. What’s not to like?! 

Recipe is adapted from The Kitchn. 

  • Author: Erin Thomas
  • Prep Time: About 20-25 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 40-45 Minutes
  • Total Time: About 1 Hour
  • Yield: 12 Rolls 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Biscuit Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling

1 tbsp. + 11/2 tsp. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. + 11/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt (table or kosher)

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold

3/4 cup heavy cream + 1/4 cup water*

For the Dough Filling: 

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. brown sugar (light or dark), packed

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt (table or kosher)

For the Cream Sauce: 

114 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

11/2 cup heavy cream + 1/2 cup water**

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 tsp. salt (table or kosher)

1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9 X 13″ baking pan. Set aside. 

To Make Biscuit Dough and Rolls: 

In a large bowl, stir all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut butter into dough using a pastry cutter, two knives or your hands.  Mix until butter and dry ingredients until butter is slightly smaller than pea-sized pieces.  Add heavy cream and water.  Stir just until combined.  Add more heavy cream until dough is moist and slightly sticky.  Place dough on a floured board.  Pat dough out into a 12- by 15-inch rectangle.  Spread the softened butter on the dough’s surface. 

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sprinkle evenly over buttered dough.  Roll dough into a log, starting on a short edge.  Pinch the seams together with your fingers.  Cut dough into 12 even slices, about 1-inch thick.  Place cut side up in the greased baking dish.  Set aside. 

To Make Cream Sauce: 

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and water, powdered sugar, butter, and salt.  Constantly stir until mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour cream mixture over the cinnamon rolls.  The cream will fill up the pan and completely cover the dough.  

Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.  Place a sheet of aluminum foil underneath the baking pan to catch any overflowing drips.  Let rolls cool slightly before serving.  Rolls are best eaten on the day they are cooked. Store rolls in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  

Notes

*1 cup of whole milk, buttermilk or half-and-half can be used.  Depending on your climate, you may need to add tablespoons of milk to biscuit dough to form a soft, moist dough. 

**2 cups of whole milk or half-and-half can be substituted. 

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