Pecan Rolls

By Texaschef11

Ingredients

• Dough
• 5-1/2 to 6-1/2 cups flour, unsifted
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• Pinch of powdered saffron for color (optional)
• 1 cup warm water
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• Filling
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• Topping
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1-1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1-1/2 cups pecan or walnut pieces

Preparation

Step 1

1) To make dough: Combine 1-1/4 cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in softened butter. if using, stir saffron into warm water until it dissolves. Add a little at a time to flour mixture and blend thoroughly. Beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Blend eggs into batter, one at a time. Stir another 1/2 cup of flour into batter and beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Blend in enough additional flour to make a soft dough. (I used a total of 5-1/2 cups flour) Knead dough on a lightly floured board about 8 to 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning it once to grease top. Cover and allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft free place until double in bulk (approximately one hour). Punch dough down and let rise again until it has again doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
2) To make filling: Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
3) To make topping: Spray two 6 cup Texas-size muffin tins with nonstick spray. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan set over moderate heat. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and toasted pecan pieces. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Divide mixture among muffin cups.
4) To assemble: Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll dough to form a 12 x 12-inch square. Spread 6 tablespoons butter over dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll dough into a cylinder. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut cylinder into 12 (1-inch each) slices. Transfer slices to muffin tins. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes.
5) To bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place muffin tins on baking sheets to catch drips. Transfer to oven and bake until lightly brown, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto heatproof racks. Let sit for two minutes. Remove tins and continue to cool to room temperature. Yield: 12 pecan rolls.