Cream Cheese Roll with Powdered Sugar Glaze

Itty bitty and I have been down with a cold the past couple of days and I've had zero motivation to get in the kitchen and put something together. Even Paula Deen's English Peas joke of a recipe seemed like to much of a hassle. I woke up this morning missing the kitchen. The pile of dishes was a bit of an eye sore though but I made it through the chiseling off of food from the plates and scrubbing the counter tops from the science experiment that was beginning to grow. I only joke. Kinda.

Head congestion and all I made a Cream Cheese Braid Cream Cheese Roll. Oh hell. This is why the Pretend Chef shouldn't make anything more complicated than a cup of hot tea when she's sick. When will I ever learn to read a recipe through? 8 hours for the dough to chill, not understanding how to roll the dough after the filling was spread, marking the dough with Xs, and a powdered sugar glaze with no vanilla extract. So I fumbled a bit.

The 8 hours of chilling time for the dough proved to be the easiest part for me. The rolling of the dough made absolutely zero sense. I normally would have Googled a "how to" video but my motivation to do so just wasn't there. I couldn't even figure out how to score the Xs to get that braided look. Needless to say, what I ended up with was a roll with cream cheese filling that oozed out, a hot mess, and a powdered sugar glaze that had no flavor thanks to running out of vanilla extract.

The end result was surprising tasty and moist. Next time the glaze will taste better with the vanilla extract. The cream cheese provides a subtle tang while the dough and glaze provide a sweetness to balance out the "roll".

Cream Cheese Braid

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, December 1997

Makes 4 (12-inch) loaves

Stars of the Show for the Dough:

• 1 (8 oz) container sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 (1/4 oz) envelopes dry active yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

And Action:

Heat the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan until the butter melts stirring occasionally. Cool to 105° to 115°.

Combine yeast and warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream mixture and eggs. Gradually stir in the flour. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

Divide the dough into fourths and turn out onto a heavily floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times.

Roll each portion into a 12x8-inch rectangle and spread each rectangle with one fourth of the Cream Cheese Filling (recipe below) leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Roll up starting starting at a long side, press the seam, and fold the edges under to seal. Place seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut 6 equally spaced Xs across the top of each loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm (85°), draft free place, for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Drizzle the warm leaves with the Powdered Sugar Glaze (recipe below).



Cream Cheese Filling

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, December 1997

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Stars of the Show:

• 2 (8 oz) containers cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

And Action:

Beat all ingredients in a mixer at medium speed until smooth.



Powdered Sugar Glaze

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, December 1997

Makes about 1 cup



Stars of the Show:

• 2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

And Action:

Stir all ingredients together.

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Cloverleaf Honey Wheat Rolls

I cannot stand wasting food. I dislike it so much that I have created a spreadsheet of ALL the food items that I have in the house and keep it updated on a daily basis. I even color code it with what is expiring during the current month and aim to make as much as I can to use up that ingredient. It's a great tool to have when I menu plan and now nothing gets pushed to the back of the cupboards and forgotten about. Having my spreadsheet has also help cut our food bill significantly.

Seeing that my 100% whole wheat flour was expiring by month's end I decided it was best to put it to use. I searched my favorite recipe website, MyRecipes, and did a quick search for whole wheat flour. Cloverleaf Honey Wheat Rolls. I had all of the other ingredients on hand and it wasn't a hard decision to make these.

I had tried another recipe similar to these that were good but not great, Herb Cloverleaf Rolls. Their pull apart shape made me giddy. I was excited to get in the kitchen and give the Cloverleaf Honey Wheat Rolls a go. When isn't honey and wheat a winning combination? Cooking Light recipe also. Can't go wrong.

Working with dough no longer intimidates me like in my earlier blogging days. Is that weird to say considering the fact that I've only been at this for three months? I use to question every step of the bread making process and now I can breeze through a recipe such as this without any self doubt. I've come a long way.

After these rolls got out of the oven letting them cool down enough to handle was pure torture. The apartment smelled of fresh bread and the sweetness of the honey had me dying to get my hands on these. I popped them out of the muffin pan and the time it took to photograph them was enough to let them cool.

I pulled one of the "cloverleafs" off and the steam rose. The smell was so sweet and tantalizing. They looked so airy and light. I raise the portion to my mouth and before I was able to take a bite itty bitty had also taken notice of the fresh out of the oven love and raced over to stake claim on a roll too. Both of us shared a first bite together. "Nom-me!" I couldn't agree more. Now if only Mr. Sideline Chef would have been home to see if these Cloverleaf Honey Wheat Rolls would be deemed "engagement" worthy. Guess I'll just have to make them again... oh darn! Haha!

Cloverleaf Honey Wheat Rolls

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, September 2002

Makes 1 dozen (Serving size = 1 roll)

*To Freeze: Wrap the baked rolls in foil and reheat at 350º for 10 minutes or until warm.

Stars of the Show:

• 1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
• 2 cups bread flour, divided
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• cooking spray
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 egg

And Action:

Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups bread flour, whole wheat flour, honey, butter, and salt to the yeast mixture stirring well until blended. Add 1/4 cup bread flour and stir to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough onto a well floured surface. Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Add enough of the remaining bread flour, 1 tbsp at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray and turning the top to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Coat a muffin pan with the cooking spray. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, separate each portion into 3 balls. Place the 3 balls into one muffin cup. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

Uncover the dough. Combine 1 tbsp water with the egg and brush over the tops of the dough. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 152 (18% from fat)
Fat: 3g (sat 1.6g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 5.1g
Carbohydrate: 27.3g
Fiber: 2g
Cholesterol: 24mg
Iron: 1.5mg
Sodium: 206mg
Calcium: 4mg

I'm linking this recipe to:

Honey Yeast Rolls

I doubt myself every time I bake. I prefer stove top cooking. I can keep an eye on the goods whereas our oven doesn't have a convenient little window to let me check on the baked goods to ensure they aren't burning. Not only does the actual baking process worry me it's the questioning of, "Is this how my dough is supposed to look?"

Mr. Sideline Chef loves rolls with dinner. They don't appear on our dinner table enough for his liking. I normally resort to packaged rolls (leaving it to the professionals) since my first attempt at rolls didn't quite turn out songs of praise. I loved the Herb Cloverleaf Rolls and their shape made me giddy. Wanting to continue on the search for a good roll I searched my favorite recipe site, MyRecipes, and found this recipe for Honey Yeast Rolls.

I had a handful of moments that had me sweating. Not having enough honey and forgetting to bring the eggs to room temperature before starting. (Luckily, Google knew what to do.) I also have never used my stand mixer to make the dough. I was used to turning dough out on a floured surface and kneading. The mixer did all of it and in the process somehow the dough made it's way to the top of the mixer and the cleanup was a mess. The amount of dough was so much that dividing it into 28 equal portions was a nightmare. I decided to take my experience from the Herb Cloverleaf Rolls and use my muffin pan to bake these rolls in. I just pulled a handful of the dough apart and threw it into each muffin cup. I ended up with 24 rolls and not 28. Close enough.

When they came out of the oven after 12 minutes they were beautiful and smelled delicious. Since I didn't have enough honey I ended up just brushing the baked tops with melted butter. I can only imagine how much better these would have been with the honey butter topping. These are sweet rolls but not too sweet and have a light and airy texture. These are hands down the best rolls I have ever made. So what if this was only my second attempt. A winner is a winner.

Itty bitty and I loved these rolls. Mr. Sideline Chef thought they were "good", this is a compliment, food doesn't make this man giddy except for a handful of things, and said that he's wanting something more like what they serve at "Red Lobster, you know, those Cheddar Bay Biscuits." There's no competing with those biscuits. My only retort was, "Those are biscuits and these are rolls." I don't even know the difference myself but it sounded logical.

Honey Yeast Rolls

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, May 2007

Makes 28 Rolls



Stars of the Show:

• 1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
• 1 (1/4 oz) envelope active dry yeast
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 large eggs, room temperature - I forgot to set the eggs out an hour before starting this recipe so I ended up placing the eggs in a bowl with warm tap water to cover them and let them sit for 5 minutes.
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 tsp salt
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup honey

And Action:

Combine first three ingredients in a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes or until mixture bubbles.

Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until 100° to 110°.

Stir together warm milk, eggs, and next three ingredients in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer, blending well. Add yeast mixture, stirring to combine. Gradually add 5 cups of flour, beating at medium speed. Beat 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.

Uncover dough and add remaining 1 1/2 cups of the flour beating at medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (85°) and free from drafts for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch the dough down. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and roll into 28 balls. About 1/4 cup dough per ball. Place balls in 4 lightly greased 9 inch pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°) and free from drafts for 1 more hour or until doubled in bulk.

Stir together 1/2 cup softened butter and 1/4 cup honey.

Bake the rolls at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Brush the tops with the honey butter. Serve with more honey butter if desired.

Note: To freeze, place baked rolls in a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Let the rolls thaw at room temperature and reheat if desired.

Herb Cloverleaf Rolls

"Whenever I made the cloverleaf rolls when you kids were growing up I dunked each ball into butter before adding it to the muffin pan." Courtesy of a phone call with my mom last night on trying to determine why my Herb Cloverleaf Rolls were a little on the dry side. Being a Cooking Light recipe theirs meant to be on the light side and of course the fat was considerably reduced by not dunking the balls in butter. To each their own... and their arteries.

While the rolls lack that airy texture they make you for it with flavor. As they were baking it smelt like rosemary focaccia bread. With first bite you get a taste of herb goodness from the dried rosemary, thyme, oregano, and black pepper. These would be a great roll to have on your Thanksgiving table this year.

Preparing this recipe couldn't have been easier. The downtime waiting for the dough to rise and rest gave me ample time to do the dishes, watch reality television show reruns, and write down another recipe on the lineup for the day.

Give these a try and if you decided to dunk them in butter like my mother did or try Cooking Light's version these won't disappoint.

Herb Cloverleaf Rolls

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, November 1998

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

Stars of the Show:

• 1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
• 3/4 cup milk - I used nonfat.
• 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
• 4 cups of bread flour or all-purpose flour, divided - I used bread flour.
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• cooking spray
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

And Action:

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the milks. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Add 3 cups flour, butter, and next 5 ingredients to the yeast mixture and stir until blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tbsp at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to your hands. I used the full cup of flour that was left.

Place dough in a large bowl that has been coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts (I place my bowl on top of my dryer after it's been running while I was preparing the dough, thanks mom for that tip!), 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 18 equal portions. Work with 1 portion at a time, cover the remaining dough to keep from drying, divide each portion into 3 equal portions. Shape each piece into a ball. Coat muffin pans with cooking spray and place 3 balls into each muffin cup. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 30 minutes or doubled in size.



I want a deep tissue rub down for 10 minutes and an hour nap... minus the punch afterward.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover dough. Combine 1 tbsp water and egg white in a small bowl. Brush over dough. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 119 (12% from fat)

Fat: 1.6g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.5g)

Protein: 4.4g

Carbohydrate: 21.3g

Fiber: 0.1g

Cholesterol: 1mg

Iron: 1.4mg

Sodium: 158mg

Calcium: 40mg