Better than bakery pecan rolls

Winter time is a great time to get together for brunch and prayer, and if you’re going to splurge a little, then it’s also a great time to make pecan rolls!

Buttery Caramel Pecan Rolls
(Makes 12 rolls)

I suspect culinary die hards would make their dough from scratch, and you can do so if you want to, but I’m very pragmatic, and I’ve found that frozen bread dough works just fine and saves me a couple of hours, so I start by:

#1. Defrost 1 pound of frozen bread dough#2. Cover bottom of 9X13″ baking dish with a mixture of:
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 oz. pecan halves#3. Roll out bread dough to an approximately 6X15″ rectangle
Butter liberally with 1/3 stick of softened butter (don’t go completely to the edges, or it’s hard to make the roll stick together tightly later)
Sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar on top
Sprinkle liberally with ground cinnamon (about 1 teaspoon)#4. Crush 6 oz pecans with a rolling pin (while they’re still in their bag), then spread them lightly over the bread dough. Use the remaining crushed pecans to fill in any open spaces in the bottom of the baking pan. #5. Roll the dough up, starting with the long, 15″ edge. You should end up with a roll about 15″ long and a couple of inches deep. Seal edges together by pinching them closed. (Don’t worry if they don’t seal tightly, and if you cut with the seam side down, they shouldn’t come apart much.) Slice with a sharp knife into twelve equal pieces. I’ve found it’s easiest to slice it once in the middle, and then into quarters, and then each of the quarters into three smaller pieces. #6. Separate each pecan roll and place them evenly in the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight (if you want). You can also set them on the counter to rise for several hours if you want to bake them that evening. I usually serve them for breakfast, so I keep them in the refrigerator over night and then in the morning, I take them out of the refrigerator and let them rise for several hours before baking. (If you don’t have “several hours,” you can warm them in an over set to “warm” or 150°F, but keep the plastic wrap on and be very careful, because they can start to bake or dry out, and it sometimes makes the plastic wrap stick so it’s hard to get off before baking. If the wrap sticks, pull super slowly, using your fingers to protect the rolls if need be, or you might end up with the rolls deflating. 😦 )#7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. If the rolls haven’t risen enough on their own (such as on a cold winter morning), you can also encourage them along by setting the pan (still covered, so they don’t dry out) on the top of your oven if it is warm. #8. When the rolls are starting to touch each other, take off the saran wrap and pop them into the oven preheated to 350°F. and bake them for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown. If you catch them when they’re no longer doughy but just starting to brown, I’ve found that they last longer without drying out. #9. Remove them from the oven and immediately overturn the pan onto a buttered cookie sheet so the pecan rolls end up upside-down with the pecans and caramel on top. Scoop out any remaining caramel and nuts with a spatula and redistribute it over the top of the pecan rolls. They are best served fresh out of the oven, although they are good all day. If you’ve succeeded in baking them through but only lightly, and you keep the unused rolls covered, they can be reheated and still taste fresh for a couple of days.