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My grandmother made butter rolls on the nights when the cupboard was so bare that my grandfather would open it and shut the door again. She would say sit down, there’s dessert. Butter rolls are an old Southern Depression dessert, made out of almost nothing: a plain biscuit dough rolled thin, spread with soft butter, sugar and cinnamon, rolled up like a jelly roll and sliced. The slices go into a pan, and then comes the part nobody believes the first time. Hot sweetened milk with butter and vanilla is poured right over them before they go in the oven.
In the oven the milk thickens around the rolls into a creamy vanilla custard sauce, the tops bake golden and caramelized, and the bottoms stay soft and tender. They are eaten warm in bowls with a spoon. The one thing that decides whether you get a sauce or soggy rolls is the amount of milk and how hot it is when it goes on: enough to come about halfway up the rolls, no more, and poured on hot. Here is exactly how much milk to pour over so it bakes into a sauce.
Why this butter rolls works
- A plain biscuit dough. Flour, baking powder, cold butter and milk make a tender dough that rolls out easily and soaks up the sauce.
- Butter all the way to the edges. Soft butter under the sugar and cinnamon melts into every layer of the spiral.
- Hot sweet milk. Poured on hot, the milk starts cooking the rolls from the bottom and thickens into a custard sauce.
- Milk halfway up. About halfway up the sides of the rolls leaves the tops dry enough to bake golden while the bottoms poach in sauce.
- A short rest. Fifteen minutes out of the oven lets the sauce thicken to a spoonable custard.
Ingredients
Makes 12 rolls in an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan, about 8 servings. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed (75g)
- 3/4 cup cold whole milk (180ml)
For the filling
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, very soft (75g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the sweet milk sauce
- 2 cups whole milk (480ml)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (135g)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch fine salt
Use whole milk for the sauce; lower fat milk stays thin. Some families leave out the cinnamon and use only butter and sugar, which is how my grandmother made them when there was no cinnamon in the house.
How to make butter rolls
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Butter an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish.
- Make the dough: whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the cold milk with a fork until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a floured counter, knead it gently 4 or 5 times, and roll it into a rectangle about 10 by 14 inches and 1/4 inch thick.
- Spread the very soft butter all over the dough, right to the edges. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it evenly over the butter.
- Starting at a long side, roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll and pinch the seam closed. Cut it into 12 slices.
- Set the slices cut side up in the buttered dish, close together.
- Make the sauce: in a saucepan, heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the milk is steaming hot but not boiling. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the hot milk slowly over and around the rolls. It should come about halfway up their sides. Sprinkle any leftover cinnamon sugar on top.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the rolls are golden on top and the milk has thickened into a creamy sauce at the edges.
- Let the dish rest for 15 minutes. Serve warm in bowls, spooning the sauce over each roll.
Tips that make the difference
- Keep the dough cold until it is rolled, so the rolls bake tender and flaky.
- Use a sharp knife or a piece of thread to slice the log, so the spirals do not squash.
- Do not pour the milk over the tops of the rolls to cover them. Halfway up is enough.
- The sauce looks thin when the dish comes out. It thickens as it rests.
Variations
- Plain butter rolls. Leave out the cinnamon for the oldest version, butter and sugar only.
- Nutmeg. Add a grating of nutmeg to the sweet milk.
- Brown sugar. Use light brown sugar in the filling for a caramel flavor.
- Pecan. Scatter chopped pecans over the filling before rolling.
Storage and make-ahead
Butter rolls are best warm, the day they are baked.
Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; the sauce sets firmer when cold.
Reheat a serving in the microwave or in a low oven with a spoon of milk until warm.
Frequently asked questions
What are Southern butter rolls?
An old Southern dessert of biscuit dough spread with butter and sugar, rolled up, sliced and baked in sweetened milk that turns into a custard sauce.
How much milk do I pour over?
About two cups of hot sweetened milk for 12 rolls in an 8 or 9 inch pan, enough to come halfway up their sides.
Why is my sauce thin?
Give it 15 minutes out of the oven to thicken, and use whole milk. Lower fat milk stays runny.
Can I use canned biscuits?
You can, but the homemade dough takes ten minutes and soaks up the sauce far better.
Make them on a night when the cupboard looks empty, and serve them warm in bowls with plenty of sauce.
Southern Butter Rolls (The Depression Dessert Baked in Sweet Vanilla Milk)
Old-fashioned Southern butter rolls: biscuit dough spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon, rolled up, sliced and baked at 350 degrees in hot sweetened vanilla milk that turns into a custard sauce around the rolls.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 3/4 cup cold whole milk
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, very soft
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch fine salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Butter an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish.
- Make the dough: whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the cold milk with a fork until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a floured counter, knead it gently 4 or 5 times, and roll it into a rectangle about 10 by 14 inches and 1/4 inch thick.
- Spread the very soft butter all over the dough, right to the edges. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it evenly over the butter.
- Starting at a long side, roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll and pinch the seam closed. Cut it into 12 slices.
- Set the slices cut side up in the buttered dish, close together.
- Make the sauce: in a saucepan, heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the milk is steaming hot but not boiling. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the hot milk slowly over and around the rolls. It should come about halfway up their sides. Sprinkle any leftover cinnamon sugar on top.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the rolls are golden on top and the milk has thickened into a creamy sauce at the edges.
- Let the dish rest for 15 minutes. Serve warm in bowls, spooning the sauce over each roll.
